Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Stroman struck out seven over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Reds.
Read MoreRangers’ Gibson tops players for Saturday, June 26; Mets’ deGrom extends player rankings lead
Rangers pitcher Kyle Gibson is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreCardinals’ Wainwright tops players for Sunday, June 20; Indians’ Hentges tops AL players
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Wainwright struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and three walks, in the 9-1, seven-inning win over the Braves.
Read MoreYankees’ Montgomery tops players for Friday, May 21; Dodgers’ Bauer rises to 4th in player rankings
Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreBox-Toppers selects seven players for 2021 Hall of Fame induction in internet writers’ ballot
Box-Toppers is voting for seven players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot—Todd Helton, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent, Aramis Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreReds’ Trevor Bauer tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 19, rises to 2nd in season player rankings
Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.
Bauer struck out nine in a scoreless seven-inning complete game, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 5-0, seven-inning win over the Royals.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top shortstops by time frame (after 2019 season)
Miguel Tejada has the most Box-Toppers points of any shortstop since tracking began in 1995.
Tejada, who played from 1997 to 2013 primarily for the Athletics and Orioles, but also for the Astros, Giants, Padres and Royals, earned 102.3 career Box-Toppers points. That is 25.9 Box-Toppers points ahead of the second-place shortstop in career Box-Toppers points, Derek Jeter (76.4), who played for the Yankees from 1995 to 2014.
Read MoreBox-Toppers selects six players for Hall of Fame in internet writers’ ballot
Box-Toppers votes Todd Helton, Derek Jeter, Jeff Kent,, Curt Schilling, Billy Wagner and Larry Walker into the Hall of Fame on Internet Baseball Writers of America ballot.
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 MoreCubs’ Yu Darvish tops players for Saturday, June 15; Indians’ Bieber rises to 9th in player rankings
Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Indians pitcher Shane Bieber rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreRed Sox’ Chris Sale tops players for Wednesday, June 5; Rays’ Morton rises to 3rd in player rankings
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Rays pitcher Charlie Morton rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox’ Chris Sale tops players for Wednesday, May 8; Diamondbacks’ Ray tops NL players
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Sale struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Orioles. Sale did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
Read MoreHow 2019 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
Four players—Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday.
The three pitchers selected—Rivera, Halladay and Mussina—are among the top 40 players in career Box-Toppers points (tracking began in 1995). Martinez ranks ninth among designated hitters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, but he started his career in 1987, before the advent of Box-Toppers tracking.
Read MoreBox-Toppers votes eight players to Hall of Fame in internet writers’ ballot
Box-Toppers is voting for eight players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top closing pitchers by time frame (after 2017)
Trevor Hoffman has the most Box-Toppers points of any closing pitcher since tracking began in 1995, more even than Mariano Rivera, considered by many to be the greatest closer of all time.
Craig Kimbrel leads active closers in career Box-Toppers points. Other leaders include Edwin Diaz, Greg Holland and Kenley Jansen.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top shortstops by time frame (after 2017)
Miguel Tejada has the most Box-Toppers points of any shortstop since tracking began in 1995. Derek Jeter ranks a distant second.
Other leaders at shorstop include Troy Tulowitzki, Elvis Andrus, Corey Seager and Stephen Drew.
Read MoreHow 2018 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
Four players—Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday. Key players overlooked: Curt Schilling, Jeff Kent, Johan Santana and the PED-clouded five of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa.
Read MoreNationals' 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 |
Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Thursday, May 4, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in season player rankings.
Scherzer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 4:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to third in player rankings, first among National League pitchers, passing previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Though Scherzer and Kershaw both have 6.0 points on the season, Scherzer ranks ahead because he had more 2016 Box-Toppers points—25.7 vs. 24.4. Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016; Kershaw was second.
Scherzer also now has 137.7 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Matt Andriese pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits, in the 5-1 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Ben Gamel of the Mariners doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-3 win over the Angels.
This was Gamel’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Gamel made his Major League debut May 6, 2016, and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,784th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds doubled twice and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Pirates.
Debut—Keon Broxton of the Brewers made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor. Broxton (HR 2B 4-5 R 2BI in the 5-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 21, 2015, and was playing in his 107th career game. He is the 3,785th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Andriese earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gamel and Votto each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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| 5/4 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | WSH 4, ARI 2 | Max Scherzer (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| AL | 7.0 | TB 5, MIA 1 | Matt Andriese (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 6.2 | CHW 8, KC 3 | Derek Holland (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | SEA 11, LAA 3 | Ben Gamel, RF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BAL 8, BOS 3 | Seth Smith, RF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | OAK 8, MIN 5 | Jharel Cotton (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 3.1 | `COL 3, SD 2 (F/11) | Kyle Freeland | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | CIN 4, PIT 2 | Joey Votto, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | MIL 5, STL 4 | Keon Broxton, CF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 10, HOU 4 | Joey Gallo, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHC 5, PHI 4 (F/13) | Koji Uehara (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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 | 6.0 | 31.7 | 109.9 | 137.7 | -19.7 |
| Gallo, Joey 3485 | 3b | tex al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.0 |
| Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 29.1 | 48.8 | -1.0 |
| Andriese, Matt 3505 | pi sp mr | tb al | 2.7 | 4.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 0.7 |
| Smith, Seth 2489 | rf | bal al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 19.5 | 40.2 | -3.0 |
| Cotton, Jharel 3733 | pi sp | oak al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 1.5 | 12.0 | 26.7 | 65.7 | -9.0 |
| Gamel, Ben 3784 | rf | sea al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | chi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 25.0 | 31.0 | -3.0 |
| Broxton, Keon 3785 | cf | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Pirates' Ivan Nova tops players for Sunday, April 23; Red Sox' Rodriguez tops AL players
Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Nova struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Yankees.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 23:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 5.0 |
| 2 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 7 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 4.0 |
| 8 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 9 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 3.7 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.
American League Batter of the Day—John Hicks of the Tigers homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-4 win over the Twins.
This was Hicks’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hicks made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2015, and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,777th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-0 win over the Giants.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Scherzer (8IP 5H 3R BB 9K W in the 6-3 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season. Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 25.7.
Scherzer now has 135.7 career Box-Toppers points, 30th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).
Streak—Mariners pitcher Yovani Gallardo has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Gallardo (6.1IP 4H R BB 7K W in the 11-1 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Brewers and has 90.7 career points, 10th among active AL pitchers. His best season was 2011 with the Brewers when he had 19.9 points, fourth among NL pitchers.
Notable—Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo earns his first Box-Toppers points in nearly three years after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Arroyo (6IP 3H 2R 0BB 7K W in the 7-5 win over the Cubs) last earned Player of the Game honors on May 13, 2014, when he was with the Diamondbacks. He was out in 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery and did not appear in 2016.
Scoring—Nova earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodriguez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hicks and Parra each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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| 4/23 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | PIT 2, NYY 1 | Ivan Nova (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| AL | 7.0 | BOS 6, BAL 2 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | |
| 6.1 | SEA 11, OAK 1 | Yovani Gallardo (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | TEX 5, KC 2 | Yu Darvish (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | CIN 7, CHC 5 | Bronson Arroyo (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | DET 13, MIN 4 | John Hicks, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | WSH 6, NYM 3 | Max Scherzer (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | `PHI 5, ATL 2 | Zach Eflin | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | CHW 6, CLE 2 | Derek Holland (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `HOU 6, TB 4 (F/10) | Brad Peacock | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | COL 8, SF 0 | Gerardo Parra, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | STL 6, MIL 4 | Kolten Wong, 2B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 6, LAA 2 | Marcus Stroman (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 6, ARI 2 | Brandon McCarthy (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 7, SD 3 | Christian Yelich, CF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | 4.0 | 29.7 | 107.9 | 135.7 | -21.7 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 11.0 | 26.7 | 34.1 | -5.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 7.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | -2.0 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 | 12.4 | 57.6 | 57.6 | -8.4 |
| Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 28.1 | 47.8 | -2.0 |
| McCarthy, Brandon 2082 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 4.7 | 24.4 | 38.5 | -0.7 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 22.5 | -1.0 |
| Hicks, John 3777 | 1b | det al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 7.7 | 24.1 | 24.1 | -5.7 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | cf | fla nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 16.5 | 16.5 | -4.5 |
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Gallardo, Yovani 2333 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 39.4 | 90.7 | -1.0 |
| Wong, Kolten 3377 | 2b | stl nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 0.0 |
| Arroyo, Bronson 1375 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 21.4 | 85.9 | 1.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 10.4 | 1.0 |