Analyzing 25 years of Box-Toppers points leaders among American League and National League pitchers and batters each season.
Read MoreRed Sox’ Chris Sale tops players for Thursday, Aug. 8, reaching 10 Box-Toppers points for 8th straight season
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, reaching 10 Box-Toppers points for the eighth straight season.
Sale struck out 13 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.
Read MoreMarlins’ Caleb Smith tops players for Tuesday, July 23; Nationals’ Strasburg rises to 6th in player rankings
Marlins pitcher Caleb Smith is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox’ Sale tops players for Thursday, July 18; Nationals’ Strasburg rises to 7th in player rankings
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after becoming the sixth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Strasburg is Thursday’s National League Player of the Day.
Plus, Alex Bregman of the Astros rises to lead American League batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning AL Batter of the Day honors Thursday.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2018
Analyzing 24 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues
Read MoreCarlos Beltran ties Jason Giambi in 2017 for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points (19)
In 2017, Carlos Beltran tied Jason Giambi for the longest streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 19. With Beltran's retirement, CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols now have the longest active streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 17.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2017
An analysis of 23 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time' after the 2017 season
Randy Johnson leads Box-Toppers "all-time" career top 100 list, since record-keeping began in 1995. Clayton Kershaw, ranked third overall, leads all active players. And Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year Chris Sale makes the biggest jump up the top 100 chart.
Read More
In 2017, Clayton Kershaw has become new leader among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to 3rd on the ‘all-time’ top 100 list
During the 2017 season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has taken the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to third place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 100 players list.
Kershaw has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw leads all players with 22.1 points in 2017.
Read MoreNationals' Scherzer tops players for Tuesday, June 6; Reds' Gennett hits 4 homers
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 6:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 |
| 9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 |
Also Tuesday, Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Plus, Scooter Gennett of the Reds on Tuesday became the 17th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game and earned what seems to the be the second-highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter since player tracking began in 1995. However, that game score was not high enough to be the highest of Tuesday’s Players of the Game. And it also was not high enough to be the highest game score by a batter this season.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 14 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, maintaining his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (12.7). Scherzer also ranks second among NL pitchers behind Kershaw.
Scherzer also rises to 27th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he now has 143.7 career points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jake Peavy (141.8) and Tigers pitcher and former teammate Justin Verlander (142.0). Scherzer now trails 26th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0).
Scherzer rises to 10th in career points among active players, eighth among active pitchers.
It took Scherzer three fewer seasons than Verlander to rack up a comparable career Box-Toppers point total. Verlander was the 2,112nd player to debut in Box-Toppers, earning his first Player of the Game honor April 8, 2006. Scherzer was the 2,588th player to debut on May 26, 2009. Both Scherzer and Verlander have led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points in past seasons. Verlander led American League pitchers in 2011 (24.4) and 2012 (24.8). Scherzer led AL pitchers in 2013 with the Tigers (18.1) and National League pitchers in 2016 (25.7).
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel struck out five over 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one walk, in the 5-4 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Scooter Gennett of the Reds hit four home runs—only the 17th time in history that feat has been accomplished—in the 13-1 win over the Cardinals. Gennett went 5-for-5 and drove in 10 runs.
Gennett had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +14.0, which appears to be the second-highest game score for a batter in the 23 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping. The only batter to have a higher score happened earlier this season—Anthony Rendon of the Nationals on April 30 had a Box-Toppers game score of +15.0 (3HR 2B 6-6 5R 10BI in the 23-5 win over the Mets).
While Rendon earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points on April 30 for having the highest Box-Toppers game score of the day and earning overall Player of the Day honors, Gennett only earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for his high game score on Tuesday. Gennett’s +14.0 game score was second-best of Tuesday, behind Scherzer’s +15.0. That meant Gennett could not earn overall Player of the Day nor could he earn overall NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7). Tuesday’s AL Player of the Day Craig Kimbrel of the Red Sox earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points even though his Box-Toppers game score was far lower than Gennett’s (+5.1). Gennett easily beat out the next-highest NL batter who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies, who had a game score of +6.0.
Batters have hit four home runs in a game 17 times in Major League history, including five times during the Box-Toppers era (since 1995). Gennett’s Box-Toppers game of +14.0 is the highest of all four-home-run hitters in the Box-Toppers era. The other four-home run games during the Box-Toppers era:
- On May 2, 2002, Mike Cameron of the Mariners (4HR 4-5 4R 4BI in the 15-4 win over the White Sox) had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0.
- On May 23, 2002, Shawn Green of the Dodgers (4HR 2B 6-6 6R 7BI in the 16-3 win over the Brewers) had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, apparently now the third-highest game score by a batter in the Box-Toppers era.
- On Sept. 25, 2002, Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays (4HR 4-4 4R 6BI in the 10-8 win over the Devil Rays) had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0.
- On May 8, 2012, Josh Hamilton of the Rangers (4HR 2B 5-5 4R 8BI in the 10-3 win over the Orioles) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
Gennett became the 14th player in Major League history to have a game with 10 runs batted in. That’s a club that’s even rarer than the four-home run club. During the Box-Toppers era (since 1995), there have been four other games in which a player has had 10 RBIs:
- On May 10, 1999, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox (3HR 3-4 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Mariners) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
- On April 26, 2005, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (3HR 4-5 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Angels) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
- On Aug. 21, 2007, Garret Anderson of the Angels (2HR 2-2B 4-6 3R 10BI in the 18-9 win over the Yankees) had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0.
- On April 30, 2017, Rendon had his 10 RBI game in which he had a +15.0 game score, apparently the highest for a batter in the Box-Toppers era.
While Gennett’s Box-Toppers game score is the second-highest for a batter this season, it is only the 14th-highest for a player this season. The highest score of +18.0 was by Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg on May 27 (7IP 3H 0R BB 15K W in the 3-0 win over the Padres). Scherzer’s +15.0 game score Tuesday is the 11th-highest of the season. Scherzer also has the 12th-highest score of the season (+14.2 on May 26).
National League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-3 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises from eighth to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Ray (6.2IP 3H R 2BB 11K W in the 10-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (12.7) and Scherzer (12.0).
Streak—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Tuesday.
Gonzalez (HR 2-2 4R 2BI in the 11-3 win over the Indians) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Athletics and has 59.7 career points, 12th among active NL batters, fifth among active NL outfielders. He has three seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. His best season was 2015 with the Rockies when he had 11.5 points, first among NL batters. In 2016, he had 5.5 points.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kimbrel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gennett and Cano 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| 6/6 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | WSH 2, LAD 1 | Max Scherzer (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | |
| BAT | 14.0 | CIN 13, STL 1 | Scooter Gennett, LF | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10.2 | ARI 10, SD 2 | Robbie Ray (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 6.0 | COL 11, CLE 3 | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | PHI 3, ATL 1 | Aaron Nola (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| AL | 5.1 | BOS 5, NYY 4 | Craig Kimbrel (S,17) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | SEA 12, MIN 3 | Robinson Cano, 2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | MIL 5, SF 2 | Chase Anderson (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | KC 9, HOU 7 | Mike Moustakas, DH | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 10, MIA 2 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 6, PIT 5 (F/10) | Jonathan Schoop, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 5, DET 3 | Kole Calhoun, RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `CHW 4, TB 2 | Jose Quintana | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 2.1 | `OAK 4, TOR 1 | Ryan Madson (H,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 10, NYM 8 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 | 37.7 | 115.9 | 143.7 | -13.7 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 | 14.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 1.3 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 6.7 | 14.7 | 59.4 | 65.4 | -1.3 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.0 | 15.4 | 40.2 | 40.2 | -5.4 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 4.7 | 11.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 | -2.3 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 30.5 | 30.5 | 0.5 |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 40.5 | 78.4 | -5.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -4.0 |
| Schoop, Jonathan 3307 | 2b | bal al | 3.0 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -1.5 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b lf | cin nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| Madson, Ryan 1841 | pi cp mr | oak al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 25.7 | -1.0 |
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -5.7 |
| Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | rf | col nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 39.7 | 59.7 | -4.5 |
| Calhoun, Kole 3279 | rf | ana al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | -4.0 |
| Moustakas, Mike 2967 | dh 3b | kc al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 21.2 | 23.2 | 0.0 |
Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Wednesday, May 31, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 31:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
Scherzer struck out 11 in a five-hit complete game, allowing one run and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Giants.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the second player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and is second overall and among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (10.7).
This is the sixth straight season Scherzer has earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and his seventh season overall.
Scherzer also now has 141.7 career Box-Toppers points, 29th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 28th-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8).
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Indians.
American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros homered twice and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 17-6 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Eric Thames of the Brewers homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Mets.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Manaea earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Springer and Thames each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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| 5/31 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | WSH 3, SF 1 | Max Scherzer (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.0 | OAK 3, CLE 1 | Sean Manaea (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 8.1 | SEA 5, COL 0 | James Paxton (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | STL 2, LAD 1 | Carlos Martinez (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | HOU 17, MIN 6 | George Springer, DH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | BOS 4, CHW 1 | Drew Pomeranz (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | BAL 10, NYY 4 | Adam Jones, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | TB 7, TEX 5 (F/10) | Austin Pruitt (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `SD 2, CHC 1 | Luis Perdomo | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.2 | MIA 10, PHI 2 | Dan Straily (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 7, NYM 1 | Eric Thames, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | ARI 6, PIT 5 (F/14) | T.J. McFarland (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 3.0 | `LAA 2, ATL 1 | Jesse Chavez | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | DET 6, KC 5 | Justin Upton, LF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 5, CIN 4 | Ryan Goins, SS | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 | 35.7 | 113.9 | 141.7 | -15.7 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.5 | 17.9 | 32.6 | 32.6 | -6.9 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 5.0 | 9.4 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 0.6 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 | -2.3 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 4.0 | 11.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | -3.0 |
| Goins, Ryan 3478 | ss | tor al | 4.0 | 5.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.5 |
| Chavez, Jesse 2780 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 22.1 | 23.1 | 3.0 |
| Thames, Eric 2909 | lf 1b | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 3.0 |
| Pruitt, Austin 3773 | pi mr cp | tb al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 15.1 | 26.1 | 26.1 | -9.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf dh | hou al | 2.5 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -4.0 |
| Jones, Adam 2347 | cf | bal al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 34.5 | 52.0 | 1.5 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 2.0 | 8.7 | 34.9 | 53.1 | -4.7 |
| McFarland, T.J. 3585 | pi mr cp | ari nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| Perdomo, Luis D. 3715 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Friday, May 26, rises to 4th in season player rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Scherzer struck out 13 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 26:| 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 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and rises from fifth to fourth place in season player rankings. He is second among National League pitchers, behind overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (10.7).
Scherzer also now has 139.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 28th-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8).
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Yankees.
American League Batter of the Day—Devon Travis of the Blue Jays hit a grand slam and doubled in the 7-6 win over the Rangers. Travis went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Justin Bour of the Marlins hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4 in the 8-5 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Wood (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 8K W in the 4-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He rises from eighth to fifth place in rankings. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (10.7) and Scherzer (8.0).
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Manaea earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Travis and Bour each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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| 5/26 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.2 | WSH 5, SD 1 | Max Scherzer (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | |
| AL | 10.0 | OAK 4, NYY 1 | Sean Manaea (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 9.1 | NYM 8, PIT 1 | Jacob deGrom (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 9.0 | CIN 5, PHI 2 | Tim Adleman (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 9.0 | HOU 2, BAL 0 | Joe Musgrove (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 9.0 | LAD 4, CHC 0 | Alex Wood (W,6-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 8.2 | TB 5, MIN 2 | Chris Archer (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 6.0 | COL 10, STL 0 | Antonio Senzatela (W,7-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 6.0 | `ARI 4, MIL 2 (F/10) | Zack Godley | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | ATL 2, SF 0 | Jaime Garcia (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TOR 7, TEX 6 | Devon Travis, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CHW 8, DET 2 | Melky Cabrera, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | KC 6, CLE 4 | Mike Minor (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | MIA 8, LAA 5 | Justin Bour, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | BOS 3, SEA 0 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
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 | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 | 33.7 | 111.9 | 139.7 | -17.7 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 8.0 | 26.4 | 26.4 | 6.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 5.7 | 10.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 1.0 |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 3.0 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.7 | 13.4 | 48.8 | 48.8 | -6.0 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b | fla nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 1.0 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 3.0 | 12.0 | 52.1 | 52.1 | -6.0 |
| Senzatela, Antonio 3760 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 2.7 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | -4.0 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | lf ph | chi al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 32.5 | -2.0 |
| Travis, Devon 3436 | 2b | tor al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 27.1 | 44.8 | -7.0 |
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -2.7 |
| Adleman, Tim 3625 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Minor, Mike 2894 | pi mr sp | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 25.4 | 28.1 | 1.0 |
Yankees' Micheal Pineda tops players for Monday, April 10; Giants' Moore tops NL players
Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Pineda struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. Pineda retired the first 20 Rays batters.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 10:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 2.0 |
Pineda receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season and rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Moore allowed one run and three hits over eight innings, striking out five, in the 4-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
National League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Nationals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14-6 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Rankings—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Verlander (7IP 3H R 2BB 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.
Verlander now has 142.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 26th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0).
Streaks—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday:
- Cubs pitcher Jon Lester has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers (6IP 4H R BB 7K ND). Lester earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox and has 144.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 24th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9). Lester also rises to eighth among active players in career Box-Toppers points. Lester’s best season was 2010 with the Red Sox when he led all players with 23.4 points. In 2016, he was fourth among all players with 22.1.
- Jay Bruce of the Mets has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 4-3 win over the Phillies (2HR 2-3 3R 3BI). Bruce earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Reds and has 59.8 career Box-Toppers points, 10th among active NL batters. His best season was 2010 with the Reds when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points, third among active NL batters. In 2016, he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among NL batters.
Debut—Reds pitcher Cody Reed made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Reed (3IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K ND in the 7-1 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut June 18, 2016, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,765th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Pineda earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moore earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Drew earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
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| 4/10 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.2 | NYY 8, TB 1 | Michael Pineda (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | SEA 6, HOU 0 | James Paxton (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | SF 4, ARI 1 | Matt Moore (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8.0 | OAK 2, KC 0 | Jharel Cotton (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | `CIN 7, PIT 1 | Cody Reed | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | WSH 14, STL 6 | Stephen Drew, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | `CHC 3, LAD 2 | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | NYM 4, PHI 3 | Jay Bruce, RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | `DET 2, BOS 1 | Justin Verlander | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | SD 5, COL 3 | Wil Myers, 1B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 | 17.4 | 62.6 | 142.0 | -12.0 |
| Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 24.4 | 36.1 | -4.0 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | sf nl | 1.7 | 14.1 | 37.6 | 39.6 | -10.7 |
| Drew, Stephen 2210 | ss 2b | dc nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 17.5 | 37.5 | 1.5 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 23.1 | 68.6 | 144.2 | -21.1 |
| Myers, Wil 3228 | 1b | sd nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 19.2 | 19.2 | -8.7 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | 1.0 | 9.5 | 26.7 | 59.8 | -7.5 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 5.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | -3.4 |
| Cotton, Jharel 3733 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Reed, Cody 3765 | pi mr | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Padres' Richard tops players for Tuesday, April 4; Yankees' Sabathia resumes lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points
Padres pitcher Clayton Richard is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia resumed the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points only one day after losing that lead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
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 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 186.0 |
| 6 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 185.7 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 168.7 |
| 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 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 156.1 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 148.5 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.
Sabathia earned Player of the Game honors in the win over the Rays, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point and giving him 186.0 for his career. On Monday, Kershaw passed him by earning overall Player of the Day honors, giving him 185.7 career points. With Tuesday’s point, Sabathia resumes his spot in fifth place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
In addition, Sabathia has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied for the seventh-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history and currently the second-longeststreak among active players (behind only Carlos Beltran’s 18-season streak).
Player of the Day—Richard pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Dodgers.
Richard now ranks third among all players in season Box-Toppers points with 2.0.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 6-3 win over the White Sox.
Verlander has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and has 141.0 career Box-Toppers points, 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8). Verlander ranks 10th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Verlander, who has played his entire career with the Tigers, earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006. His best seasons were 2011 (24.4 points) and 2012 (24.8), when he led all AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Gorkys Hernandez of the Giants doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
This was Hernandez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut May 21, 2012, and was playing in his 105th career game. He is the 3,758th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Sabathia, one day after losing the lead, regained the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Sabathia (5IP 3H 0R 2BB 2K W in the 5-0 win over the Rays) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 186.0 for his career. That puts him ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (185.7), who only passed Sabathia on Monday. Sabathia again ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began. He now trails fourth-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0) by only 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Sabathia also has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied for the seventh-longest streak in Box-Toppers history with six others who had 17-year streaks—Mariano Rivera (1995-2011), Derek Jeter (1996-2012), Paul Konerko (1998-2014), Tim Hudson (1999-2015), Torii Hunter (1999-2015) and David Ortiz (2000-2016). Sabathia’s streak is the second-longest streak among active players, behind only Carlos Beltran, who has earned Box-Toppers points for 18 straight seasons from 1999-2016 and could extend it to 19 seasons if he earns Box-Toppers points in 2017.
Sabathia earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Indians. His best season was 2008 with the Indians and Brewers when he had 26.7 Box-Toppers points, ending the season ranked first among NL pitchers. In 2014, he barely kept the streak alive earning only 1.0 Box-Toppers point as a Yankee.
Scoring—Richard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hernandez earns 1.5 points for being NL 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
| 4/4 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | SD 4, LAD 0 | Clayton Richard (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | CHC 2, STL 1 | Jake Arrieta (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 4.1 | DET 6, CHW 3 | Justin Verlander (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| 4.0 | HOU 2, SEA 1 | Lance McCullers Jr. (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.2 | CLE 4, TEX 3 | Carlos Carrasco (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 6, MIL 5 | Greg Holland (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | SF 8, ARI 4 | Gorkys Hernandez, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | NYY 5, TB 0 | CC Sabathia (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 7, OAK 6 | Cam Bedrosian (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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 Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Richard, Clayton 2584 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 12.2 | 31.6 | 0.0 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 1.7 | 16.4 | 61.6 | 141.0 | -13.0 |
| Hernandez, Goryks 3758 | cf | sf nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 16.7 | 71.5 | 76.5 | -14.7 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 13.4 | 42.1 | 47.5 | -11.4 |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 7.1 | 13.8 | 13.8 | -5.1 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 33.5 | 186.0 | -5.0 |
| Bedrosian, Cam 3694 | pi cp | ana al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
| Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 31.0 | 34.0 | 1.0 |
Carlos Beltran could tie Jason Giambi in 2017 for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points (19)
Jason Giambi leads list of players who earned Box-Toppers points in most consecutive seasons (19). Carlos Beltran, with 18 straight seasons earning points, could tie Giambi if he earns Box-Toppers points in 2017.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2016
An analysis of 22 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time'
Randy Johnson holds commanding lead in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw jumped from 13th to 6th on career list and at current pace could catch Johnson in 2020.
Read MoreTigers' Justin Verlander tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 27; Nationals' Scherzer extends Box-Toppers points lead
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 27:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 24.4 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | died* | 22.4 |
| 4 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 22.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.2 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 17.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 8 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.7 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.
Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. But Scherzer (25.7 Box-Toppers points) is now just 1.3 points ahead of second-place player Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.4), meaning Kershaw could still pass Scherzer for the season points title in his scheduled start Saturday. The season ends Sunday.
In addition Tuesday, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Verlander pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 12-0 win over the Indians.
Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.7 for the season, rising to 12th place among all players and fourth place among American League pitchers.
Verlander also rises to 28th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he now has 139.3 points, passing 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). He trails 27th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Moore struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 12-3 win over the Rockies.
Moore earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He becomes the 49th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to 33rd place among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in the 7-1 win over the Dodgers. Renfroe went 2-for-4.
This was Renfroe’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Renfroe made his Major League debut Sept. 21 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,749th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Tim Anderson of the White Sox homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-6 win over the Rays.
Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer’s 2016 point total of 25.7 now is tied for the 20th-best in a single season.| 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 | Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 9 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 10 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 11 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 13 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 13 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 15 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 16 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 18 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 18 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 20 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 20 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2015 | 25.7 |
| 20 | *Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2016 | 25.7 |
| 23 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| * Current season | |||||
Box-Toppers points leader—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his lead in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Scherzer now has 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 23rd time in Box-Toppers’ 22-season history that a player has earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a season.
Scherzer (6IP 6H 2R 2BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) is now 1.3 points ahead of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.4). Kershaw is scheduled to start Saturday, meaning he could pass Scherzer if he earns NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7 points) or overall Player of the Day (worth 2.0 points). However, Scherzer is also in line to make his final start of the season Sunday.
Scherzer took the Box-Toppers points lead from Kershaw on Aug. 25. Kershaw had been in the lead since May 7 and raced to a commanding lead with 20.0 points by the end of June, but went on the disabled list for two months after that, allowing Scherzer to catch and pass him.
Scherzer’s 25.7 points now ranks tied for 20th among the highest single-season Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Two other players achieved 25.7 in a single season—Johan Santana of the Twins in 2006 and Kershaw in 2015. (See the Best seasons chart.)
Scherzer also now has 131.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4).
Rankings—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Syndergaard (6IP 5H R 0BB 8K W in the 12-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.7 for the season, passing Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (15.7) on the season top 10 list and now trails sixth-place player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (17.8). Syndergaard ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Notable—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco now has 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Nolasco (8IP 5H R 2BB 4K W in the 8-1 win over the Athletics) ranks 32nd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.
Debut—Raul A. Mondesi of the Royals made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Mondesi (BB R 0-0 in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Oct. 30, 2015, and was playing in his 46th career game. He is the 3,750th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Mondesi is the son of outfielder Raul R. Mondesi, who played from 1993 to 2005. The elder Mondesi earned 59.9 career Box-Toppers points from 1995, when tracking began, through 2003, when he last earned points.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moore earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Renfroe and Anderson 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
| 9/27 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.2 | DET 12, CLE 0 | Justin Verlander (W,16-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| NL | 10.2 | SF 12, COL 3 | Matt Moore (W,12-12) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | SD 7, LAD 1 | Hunter Renfroe, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | NYM 12, MIA 1 | Noah Syndergaard (W,14-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | TOR 5, BAL 1 | Aaron Sanchez (W,14-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 5.0 | STL 12, CIN 5 | Jhonny Peralta, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | LAA 8, OAK 1 | Ricky Nolasco (W,8-14) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | WSH 4, ARI 2 | Max Scherzer (W,19-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | CHW 13, TB 6 | Tim Anderson, SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | ATL 7, PHI 6 | Tyler Flowers, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 6, BOS 4 | Tyler Austin, 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 8, SEA 4 | George Springer, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `CHC 6, PIT 4 | Trevor Cahill (H,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | TEX 6, MIL 4 | Carlos Gomez, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | KC 4, MIN 3 (11) | Raul Mondesi, 2B | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the 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 (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.7 | 46.7 | 111.3 | 131.7 | 4.7 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 | 27.1 | 27.1 | 27.1 | 6.3 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 14.7 | 21.1 | 84.3 | 139.3 | 8.3 |
| Nolasco, Ricky 2125 | pi sp | ana al | 11.4 | 13.4 | 34.1 | 87.2 | 9.4 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.4 | 11.4 | 36.9 | 36.9 | 11.4 |
| Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | tor al | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 7.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf | hou al | 6.5 | 7.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 5.5 |
| Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Gomez, Carlos 2397 | lf cf | tex al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 19.5 | 30.5 | -3.0 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi mr sp | chi nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 27.1 | 40.2 | 2.0 |
| Flowers, Tyler 3101 | ca | atl nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 1.5 |
| Austin, Tyler 3732 | 1b | nyy al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Renfroe, Hunter 3749 | rf | sd nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Peralta, Jhonny 1815 | 3b ss | stl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 39.4 | 1.0 |
| Mondesi, Raul A. 3750 | 2b | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 20, ranks 3rd in Box-Toppers season player rankings
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in third place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 20:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 |
| 4 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 10 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 |
Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Nationals.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 22.4 for the season. He moves to within 0.3 points of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) and within 1.3 points of season Box-Toppers points leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7). That means with one or two more starts remaining this season, Fernandez has a chance to rise to the overall lead for the first time this year.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 8-1 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Odubel Herrera of the Phillies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-6 win over the White Sox.
American League Batter of the Day—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
- Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (7IP 6H R 0BB 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season, rising from fifth to fourth place in season rankings.
Lester now also has 142.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 26th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0). Lester now ranks 10th among all active players in career points, seventh among active pitchers.
- Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (5IP 6H 2R BB 8K W in the 10-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season, rising to 10th in season player rankings. He rises to third among AL pitchers, behind Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (20.2) and Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (16.8). Happ displaces Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill (14.4) from the top 10 list.
Debut—Giants pitcher Steven Okert made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Okert (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,745th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Herrera and Mazara 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
| 9/20 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 17.0 | MIA 1, WSH 0 | Jose Fernandez (W,16-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | 9.0 | DET 8, MIN 1 | Matt Boyd (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 7.2 | HOU 2, OAK 1 (10) | Chris Devenski (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 6.1 | `NYY 5, TB 3 | Michael Pineda | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 4.2 | CLE 2, KC 1 | Andrew Miller (W,9-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.1 | BOS 5, BAL 2 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W,3-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PHI 7, CHW 6 | Odubel Herrera, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | STL 10, COL 5 | Randal Grichuk, CF | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | SD 5, ARI 2 | Adam Rosales, 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 6, CIN 1 | Jon Lester (W,18-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.2 | `SF 2, LAD 0 | Steven Okert (H,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 5, NYM 4 | Adonis Garcia, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | PIT 6, MIL 3 | Tony Watson (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TEX 5, LAA 4 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | TOR 10, SEA 2 | J.A. Happ (W,20-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| `Denotes that the 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 (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 | 27.1 | 53.1 | 53.1 | 17.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 | 33.1 | 79.3 | 142.2 | 9.1 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 | 27.8 | 43.2 | 51.2 | 1.6 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | tex al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 6.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 5.1 |
| Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 16.7 | 34.1 | 34.1 | -4.7 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp | cle al | 6.0 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 21.0 | 2.0 |
| Garcia, Adonis 3613 | 3b | atl nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Watson, Tony 3215 | pi cp | pit nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -2.3 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi mr sp | hou nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Herrera, Odubel 3449 | cf | phi nl | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -0.5 |
| Grichuk, Randal 3474 | cf | stl nl | 1.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -8.5 |
| Rosales, Adam 2647 | 2b | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 11.7 | -1.0 |
| Okert, Steven 3745 | pi mr | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 14; Dodgers' Kershaw rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the fifth player this season with 20 Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 14:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 20.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earns his first Box-Toppers point in nearly three months and despite not earning points for almost half the season, rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings for 2016.
Player of the Day—Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out eight, in the 7-0 win over the Cardinals.
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season. He maintains his rank of fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, fourth among National League pitchers.
This is Lester’s second season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2010, he had 23.4 points with the Red Sox, leading American League pitchers.
Lester also now has 141.2 career Box-Toppers points, 27th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 26th-ranked player Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.
Gausman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers point for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.8 for the season. He becomes the 40th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 32nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Jean Segura of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and went 5-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers tripled, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning his first Player of the Game honor Wednesday in nearly three months.
Kershaw (5IP H 0R 0BB 5K ND in the 2-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.0 for the season, rising from fourth to second in player rankings. Kershaw trails overall leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7 Box-Toppers points) by 2.7.
Kershaw’s second-place spot is remarkable since he was on the disabled list for two months with lower back issues and last earned Player of the Game honors June 20. Kershaw held a dominant lead in Box-Toppers points for much of the middle of the season, leading in points from May 7 to Aug. 25, when Scherzer passed him.
Kershaw also now has 180.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and third-most among all active players, behind Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (184.0) and Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3). (See the homepage for the updated top 20 list of all players since 1995.)
Fernandez—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, now ranked third in Box-Toppers player rankings with 20.4 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game in his start Wednesday.
Fernandez (7IP 6H 4R 2BB 3K W in the 7-5 win over the Braves) had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of −6.0. Teammate Marcell Ozuna earned Player of the Game honors (HR 2-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark now has 12.7 Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Roark (7IP 3H 0R 4BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the Mets) now ranks 18th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Segura and Kinsler each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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
| 9/14 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | CHC 7, STL 0 | Jon Lester (W,17-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 9.0 | BAL 1, BOS 0 | Kevin Gausman (W,8-10) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 9.0 | `LAD 2, NYY 0 | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | WSH 1, NYM 0 | Tanner Roark (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | MIL 7, CIN 0 | Junior Guerra (W,9-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | OAK 8, KC 0 | Sean Manaea (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | ARI 11, COL 6 | Jean Segura, 2B | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.1 | SD 3, SF 1 | Luis Perdomo (W,8-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | DET 9, MIN 6 | Ian Kinsler, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | TB 8, TOR 1 | Corey Dickerson, LF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 7, ATL 5 | Marcell Ozuna, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CLE 6, CHW 1 | Coco Crisp, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 6, PIT 2 | Tommy Joseph, 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 8, TEX 4 | Evan Gattis, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SEA 2, LAA 1 | Edwin Diaz (S,16) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| `Denotes that the 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 (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.0 | 46.7 | 146.8 | 180.3 | -4.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 20.1 | 32.1 | 78.3 | 141.2 | 8.1 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.7 | 13.7 | 28.7 | 28.7 | 11.7 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 10.8 | 16.5 | 24.2 | 24.2 | 5.1 |
| Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Kinsler, Ian 2144 | 2b | det al | 6.0 | 12.5 | 31.7 | 62.1 | -0.5 |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | cf rf | fla nl | 5.0 | 8.0 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 2.0 |
| Dickerson, Corey 3222 | lf | tb al | 4.5 | 7.5 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 1.5 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | 2b | ari nl | 4.5 | 6.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 2.5 |
| Gattis, Evan 3179 | ca | hou al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| Crisp, Coco 1876 | lf | cle al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 21.5 | 38.7 | 1.0 |
| Joseph, Tommy 3681 | 1b ph | phi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Perdomo, Luis D. 3715 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |