Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, May 23, rises to 3rd in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, passing Schilling

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his top spot in season player rankings and rising to third place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 23:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	10.7
2	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	9.4
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	6.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
6	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	6.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	6.0
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
9	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	6.0
10	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	6.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors: Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rose to second place and Astros pitcher Lance McCullers rose to sixth place.

Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 10 over nine innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Cardinals. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied 1-1 when he exited after nine innings.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He is the first player to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, the ninth straight season he’s earned 10 or more points in a season. Kershaw was also the first player to 10 points in 2016, reaching the milestone a week earlier than this year (May 17).

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	194.4
4	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	188.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	162.8
14	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	151.2
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.

Kershaw maintains his top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, ahead of second-place player, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (9.4 Box-Toppers points), who was American League Player of the Day Tuesday.

Kershaw also rises to third place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw now has 194.4 career Box-Toppers points and passes Curt Schilling (194.1) on the “all-time” list. It should be noted that Schilling began his career in 1988, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, and so would likely have more total career points. Rough Box-Toppers projected estimates put Schilling’s actual career total at 232. (A look at projected Box-Toppers point totals for pitchers who began their careers before 1995.)

Kershaw has risen steadily up Box-Toppers career points rankings in recent years but his rise will now become more difficult. Kershaw now trails second-place player Pedro Martinez on the “all-time” list, who has 244.8 career Box-Toppers points since 1995. The 50.4-point gap between Martinez and Kershaw is the largest between any two players in “all-time” Box-Toppers rankings. In essence, Kershaw has whizzed by the close-together “inner planets” of players with fewer than 200 Box-Toppers points and now has to travel much greater distances to reach the “gas giants” of players with more than 200 career Box-Toppers points since 1995—Martinez and Randy Johnson (the overall leader with 278.8 points).

However, given Kershaw’s pace, perhaps the 50.4-point gap between Martinez and Kershaw is not so great and insurmountable. Kershaw has earned 50.8 points since July 23, 2015, less than two complete seasons (which included time on the disabled list). If Kershaw were able to maintain that pace, he might catch Martinez by the end of the 2018 season.

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 2-0 win over the Orioles.

Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season, rising from third to second place in season player rankings, first among AL pitchers, passing previous AL pitching leader, Chris Sale of the Red Sox (8.4 points). Santana trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (10.7 points).

Santana also now has 106.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 59th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes six players on the “all-time” list: Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1), Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7), Aramis Ramirez (105.8), Carlos Beltran of the Astros (105.9), Frank Thomas (106.2) and Red Sox pitcher David Price (106.2). Santana now trails 58th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1).

National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rendon of the Nationals homered twice and doubled in the 10-1 win over the Mariners. Rendon went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rangers.

Rankings—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. Rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

McCullers (5IP H 0R 2BB 5K W in the 6-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 145.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday (CG 4H R 0BB 10K W in the 4-1 win over the Giants). Lester had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, but lost out on earning Player of the Game honors to Kershaw, who had a game score of +14.0. So Lester only earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game.

That point boosts him to 24th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz (145.9). Lester now ranks seventh among active players in career points, trailing Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2).

Debut—Blue Jays pitcher Danny Barnes made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Barnes (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 2, 2016, and was playing in his 26th career game. He is the 3,807th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Rendon and Bogaerts each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

5/23	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	`LAD 2, STL 1 (F/13)	Clayton Kershaw	-	-	-	-		9.0	3	1	1	0	10
	13.0	CHC 4, SF 1	Jon Lester (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	1	1	0	10
AL	11.0	MIN 2, BAL 0	Ervin Santana (W,7-2)	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	2	6
BAT	7.0	WSH 10, SEA 1	Anthony Rendon, 3B	4	3	3	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.0	HOU 6, DET 2	Lance McCullers Jr. (W,5-1)	-	-	-	-		5.0	1	0	0	2	5
	5.1	LAA 4, TB 0	Matt Shoemaker (W,4-2)	-	-	-	-		6.1	3	0	0	3	5
	5.0	MIA 11, OAK 9	Justin Bour, 1B	5	4	4	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	BOS 11, TEX 6	Xander Bogaerts, SS	5	4	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	NYM 9, SD 3	Michael Conforto, LF	4	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	TOR 4, MIL 3	Danny Barnes (W,1-2)	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	COL 8, PHI 2	Charlie Blackmon, CF	4	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	CLE 8, CIN 7	Edwin Encarnacion, 1B	4	3	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	ATL 6, PIT 5	Matt Adams, 1B	5	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	KC 6, NYY 2	Danny Duffy (W,4-3)	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	2	3	7
	1.0	ARI 5, CHW 4	Fernando Rodney (S,11)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	0

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	10.7	35.1	134.8	194.4	-13.7
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	9.4	13.4	46.2	106.7	5.4
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	6.0	12.1	18.8	18.8	-0.1
Conforto, Michael 3622	cf lf	nym nl	4.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	-1.0
Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	dc nl	3.5	9.0	15.5	15.5	-2.0
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	3.0	13.7	31.7	32.7	-7.7
Shoemaker, Matt 3290	pi sp	ana al	3.0	10.0	28.4	28.4	-4.0
Blackmon, Charlie 2891	cf	col nl	2.7	6.7	13.2	14.7	-1.3
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	2.0	24.1	69.6	145.2	-20.1
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	cle al	2.0	10.0	45.1	69.1	-6.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp	ari nl	2.0	7.0	25.0	37.0	-3.0
Bour, Justin 3433	1b	fla nl	2.0	4.5	14.5	14.5	-0.5
Adams, Matt 3220	1b ph	atl nl	2.0	3.0	11.5	11.5	1.0
Bogaerts, Xander 3383	ss	bos al	1.5	2.5	8.0	8.0	0.5
Barnes, Danny 3807	pi mr	tor al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

White Sox' Samardzija tops players for Monday, Sept. 21; Price, Keuchel both rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija, pitching a one-hitter, is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 21.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Monday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings, maintaining his lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Plus, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to second among AL pitchers, fifth overall and becomes the fifth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Samardzija pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Tigers. Samardjiza allowed only one baserunner when he allowed a single in the fifth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the 9-5 win over the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day—Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox hit a grand slam, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Jorge Soler.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

• Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to third place and maintained his lead among AL pitchers. Price (7IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season. Price now trails two players in Box-Toppers season player rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (23.1) and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7).
• Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to fifth place and second place among AL pitchers, behind Price. Keuchel (7.2IP 6H R 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.4 for the season. Keuchel becomes the fifth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, Keuchel passes Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke (19.7) and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (19.4) in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Scoring—Samardjiza earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Soler earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/21	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	White Sox	Jeff Samardzija (W,10-13)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	1	0	0	0	6
	11.0	Blue Jays	David Price (W,17-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	7
	4.2	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W,18-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	6	1	1	1	6
BAT	4.0	Red Sox	Xander Bogaerts, SS	5	2	2	5	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	4.0	Cubs	Jorge Soler, PH	1	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	White Sox	Erik Johnson (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	2	2	9
	3.0	Pirates	Starling Marte, LF	5	2	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mets	Jonathon Niese (W,9-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	2	2
	3.0	`Cardinals	Jaime Garcia	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	2	5
	1.0	Dbacks	Paul Goldschmidt, 1B	4	2	2	1	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Blue Jays' Buehrle tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 24; Kershaw has 4th-most single-season Box-Toppers points in past 20 years

Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw now has the fourth-highest single-season Box-Toppers point total in the past 20 seasons.

Buehrle pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 10 in the 1-0 win over the Mariners.

Most BTP single season

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now is tied for the fourth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 31.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014 and likely finishes the season 2.2 points behind the single-season record of 33.7 set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
4	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	31.5
6	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
7	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
8	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
9	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
10	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Kershaw extended his overall Box-Toppers points lead after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Kershaw (8IP R 11K W in the 9-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 31.5 for the season.

Kershaw’s 31.5 points for the season is tied for the fourth most earned in a single season since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. In 1999, Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson also had 31.5 Box-Toppers points.

Kershaw, in what was likely his final regular season appearance, finishes 2.2 Box-Toppers points behind the “all-time” single-season record of 33.7, set by Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. So even if Kershaw were to make one more appearance and even if he were to earn Player of the Day in that appearance, the most he could earn is 2.0 more Box-Toppers points, meaning he would still fall short of Johnson’s record.

Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse is National League Player of the Day. Lohse pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out six and walking none, in the 5-0 win over the Reds. Lohse earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.1 for the season. He is the 55th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 17th among NL pitchers and 42nd among all players.

Tommy Medica of the Padres is NL Batter of the Day. Medica hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3 in the 4-3 win over the Rockies.

Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Bogaerts went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 11-3 win over the Rays.

Notables: Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta ranks 15th in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Arrieta (7IP R 10K W in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran ranks 16th in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Teheran earned Player of the Game honors for batting, one of eight times this season—it occurred twice on Wednesday—that a pitcher has earned Player of the Game honors for batting. Teheran (2-2 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

Twins pitcher Phil Hughes ranks 18th in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Hughes (8IP R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks ninth among AL pitchers.

Orioles pitcher Bud Norris becomes the 56th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Norris (6IP 9K W in the 9-5 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 49th among all players and 23rd among AL pitchers.

Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday for batting—one of eight times this season a pitcher has been Player of the Game for batting and one of two times it happened Wednesday. Kendrick doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in a run, in the 2-1 win over the Marlins.

Buehrle receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lohse receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Medica and Bogaerts each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

924	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	Blue Jays	Mark Buehrle (W, 13-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	1	10
NL	13.0	Brewers	Kyle Lohse (W, 13-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	6
	13.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W, 10-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	0	1	10
	9.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W, 21-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	8	1	1	0	11
	7.0	Rangers	Lisalverto Bonilla (W, 3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	2	7
	6.0	Twins	Phil Hughes (W, 16-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	0	5
	5.0	Tigers	Justin Verlander (W, 15-12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	7	1	1	0	6
	3.1	Angels	Hector Santiago (W, 6-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	3	0	0	2	3
BAT	3.0	Padres	Tommy Medica LF	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 15-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	3	3	1	9
	2.1	Indians	Zach McAllister (W, 4-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.1	1	0	0	0	1
BAT	2.0	Red Sox	Xander Bogaerts SS	4	1	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Braves	Julio Teheran P	2	0	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Phillies	Kyle Kendrick P	3	0	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Kershaw, top NL player for Sunday, Sept. 14, becomes only 3rd player in 20 seasons with 30 Box-Toppers points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Sunday’s National League Player of the Day, becomes only the third player in the past 20 years to earn 30 Box-Toppers points in a single season.

Most BTP single season

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now has the sixth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 30.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014 and has a chance to break the single-season record of 33.7 set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
5	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
6	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	30.5
7	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
8	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
9	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
10	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Kershaw, who earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points, now has 30.5 for the season and with possibly two starts remaining, still has a chance to break the single-season record for Box-Toppers points of 33.7, set twice by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in 2000 and 2002. 

If Kershaw has two starts remaining, he would need to earn at least NL Player of the Day in both starts—worth 1.7 points each—to pass Johnson’s record. He could have as many as 34.5 total points if he is Player of the Day (earning 2.0 points each) in both starts.

Kershaw joins Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only players who have earned 30 or more Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Johnson scored 30 three times (1999, 2000 and 2002) and Martinez did it twice with the Red Sox (1999 and 2000). So Sunday marked only the sixth time in 20 seasons that a player has passed the 30-point threshold.

Kershaw earned his 1.7 points Sunday by striking out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Giants. Kershaw extends his overall lead in Box-Toppers points for the season (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page), with 7.9 points more than the second-place player, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (22.6 Box-Toppers points).

With points earned Sunday, Kershaw moves from seventh to sixth place on the Box-Toppers “all-time” single-season points list, passing the 29.4 Randy Johnson earned in 2001 with the Diamondbacks.

Meanwhile, Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Archer struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays. Archer earned no decision because after he left, the Blue Jays tied the game before the Rays went ahead in the top of the 10th inning.

Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 32nd among all players and 18th among American League pitchers.

Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Bogaerts homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Royals.

Neil Walker of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. Walker homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Cubs.

Notables: Athletics pitcher Jon Lester rose to 13th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Lester (6IP 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.

Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann rose to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Zimmermann (6.2IP 0R 5K W in the 3-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks ninth among NL pitchers.

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to 43rd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Keuchel (7IP R W in the 6-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 21st among AL pitchers.

Archer and Keuchel on Sunday both passed 10.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. They are the 47th and 48th players this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Archer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts and Walker each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

914	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	`Rays	Chris Archer	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	3	9
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Xander Bogaerts SS	4	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	5.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W, 19-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	7	2	2	1	9
	5.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W, 11-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	4
	5.0	Twins	Trevor May (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	3	3	0	10
	5.0	Athletics	Jon Lester (W, 15-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	4	7
	4.2	Nationals	Jordan Zimmermann (W, 12-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	6	0	0	1	5
	4.2	Cardinals	Marco Gonzales (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	4	1	1	4	9
	4.2	`Orioles	Chris Tillman	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	1	1	1	6
	4.0	Rangers	Luis Sardinas 2B	5	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Pirates	Neil Walker 2B	4	2	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Brewers	Matt Garza (W, 8-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	3	6
	2.0	Tigers	J.D. Martinez LF	3	1	2	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Zeke Spruill (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	1	1
	2.0	Marlins	Steve Cishek (S, 35)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	1	3

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Rangers' Darvish tops players for Friday, July 18, Giants' Bumgarner rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rises to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Darvish struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run, in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, moving him to 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings, sixth among American League pitchers.

Bumgarner rises from fourth to third in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Bumgarner (6IP 1R 7K W in the 9-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.5 for the season. He now ranks second among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who leads all players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points.

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is NL Player of the Day. Liriano struck out eight over five innings in the 4-2 win over the Rockies. Liriano left the game with the score tied 1-1 and so did not pick up the win.

Jason Kipnis of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Kipnis hit two home runs and drove in four, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. d’Arnaud went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs in the 5-4 win over the Padres. This was d’Arnaud’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,384th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. d’Arnaud made his Major League debut Aug. 17, 2013, and was playing in his 87th game.

Notable: Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox, Player of the Game in the 5-4 win over the Royals, also made his Box-Toppers debut. He is the 3,383rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Bogaerts made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2013, and was playing in his 107th game.

Darvish receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Liriano receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Kipnis and d’Arnaud each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Friday, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

718	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.2	Rangers	Yu Darvish (W, 9-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	3	12
NL	6.0	`Pirates	Francisco Liriano	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	1	0	3	8
	5.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 11-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	2	7
	5.0	White Sox	Daniel Webb (W, 5-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	Indians	Jason Kipnis 2B	5	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Cardinals	Lance Lynn (W, 11-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	4	9
	3.0	Braves	Craig Kimbrel (S, 30)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	Angels	Hector Santiago (W, 2-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	2	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Red Sox	Xander Bogaerts 3B	3	2	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rays	Ben Zobrist LF	3	2	1	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	Yankees	David Phelps (W, 4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	6	3	2	1	7
BAT	1.0	Mets	Travis d`Arnaud C	5	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Athletics	Josh Donaldson 3B	4	1	1	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Brewers	Scooter Gennett 2B	3	2	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Diamondbacks	Nick Evans PH	1	0	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.