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The New York Mets are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2023 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the World Series champion Houston Astros saw the biggest decline.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks first in points over the past six seasons.
Ohtani earned 40.8 Box-Toppers points combined in 2021 and 2022 to lead all players in that span, while Scherzer earned 104.6 from 2017-2022, most in that span.
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The New York Yankees and New York Mets lead Box-Toppers offseason rankings after landing the winter’s two biggest free agents.
The Yankees rank first after Carlos Rodon Thursday agreed to a free agent deal. Rodon earned 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth overall and third among National League pitchers. He ranked second among all free agents going into the 2023 season.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Michael Wacha is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Wacha struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Yankees.
Read MoreReds pitcher Hunter Greene is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Greene struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 7-0, seven-inning win over the Diamondbacks.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Andrew Heaney is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
Heaney struck out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 9-1 win over the Reds.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2022 preseason rankings. They also ended 2021 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Oakland Athletics saw the biggest decline.
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Julio Urias of the Dodgers, who led all pitchers in wins in 2021 with 20, also ranked fourth among all players in Box-Toppers points with 19.1.
Among the 13 pitchers with 14 or more wins in 2021, Urias is one of five who were among the top 10 in Box-Toppers points for the season. Meanwhile, Max Scherzer of the Dodgers, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2021, also had Box-Toppers’ highest Sincere Win Differential (SWD) of +10.1.
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The Milwaukee Brewers are the top-ranked team going into 2022, leading Box-Toppers offseason team rankings as of mid-December.
Players currently signed to the Brewers 40-man roster accumulated 111.1 Box-Toppers points during the 2021 season, most of any team. The Chicago White Sox rank second overall with 109.2 Box-Toppers points, leading all American League teams.
Read MoreRays pitcher Michael Wacha is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. However, by earning Friday’s honor as a pitcher, Ohtani no longer qualifies to be ranked among batters and so loses his lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
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Three teams each have six players among the top 100 in Box-Toppers’ 2021 player rankings at the All-Star break.
The Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays each have six players on the top 100 list, tied for the most of any team. All teams have at least one player among the top 100. The Milwaukee Brewers, currently Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team with 67.2 accumulated Box-Toppers points in 2021 have three players on the list. The defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers have four players on the list.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extending his lead in season player rankings.
deGrom struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs, four hits and no walks, in the 4-3, eight-inning win over the Brewers. deGrom did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in Box-Toppers’ “all-time” rankings.
Scherzer struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Scherzer did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
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The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2020 preseason rankings, rising from fifth place at the end of the 2019 season.
The 2019 World Series-champion Washington Nationals, ranked second at the end of 2019, maintain second place in the 2020 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Houston Astros—2019’s top-ranked team and American League champion—had the biggest decline.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Wacha struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 5-0 win over the Pirates. Wacha had a no-hitter intact until giving up his first and only hit in the ninth inning.
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Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Player of the Day—Wacha pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Brad Peacock struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk in the 6-2 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Nicholas Castellanos of the Tigers homered twice and tripled, going 4-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 9-3 win over the Royals.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 9-7 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kershaw (7IP 7H 0R BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season, leading second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (19.0 Box-Toppers points).
Kershaw is on pace to earn about 38.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, which would break the single-season record of 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002. Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.
Kershaw also now has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.
Remarkably, Kershaw has more career Box-Toppers points than the combined total of the 14 others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday. The 14 other players have 190.5 career Box-Toppers points combined. Kershaw still beats them by more than 10.0 with 205.8. Granted, none of the other 14 has significantly high career Box-Toppers point totals—Bryce Harper of the Nationals has the most with 34.4, which ranks 540th among all players since 1995.
Notable—Phillies pitcher Pat Neshek Tuesday earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly three years.
Neshek (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 5, 2014. Despite his lack of recent Player of the Game honors and Box-Toppers points, Neshek was selected to be a 2017 National League All-Star.
Debut—Red Sox pitcher Hector Velazquez made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday after earning his first career Player of the Game honor.
Velazquez (4IP 2H 0R BB 3K W in the 5-4, 15-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut May 18 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,853rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Peacock earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castellanos and Parra 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.
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| 7/18 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | STL 5, NYM 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 6, SEA 2 | Brad Peacock (W, 8-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | DET 9, KC 3 | Nicholas Castellanos (3B) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | LAD 1, CHW 0 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 15-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | `TB 4, OAK 3 | Erasmo Ramirez | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 9, SD 7 | Gerardo Parra (LF) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BOS 5, TOR 4 (F/15) | Hector Velazquez (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 4, LAA 3 | Bryce Harper (RF) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 11, CIN 2 | Rey Fuentes (PH-CF) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 12, TEX 1 | Dylan Bundy (W, 9-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 6, MIN 3 | Didi Gregorius (SS) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 5, MIA 2 | Pat Neshek (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, MIL 3 | Felipe Rivero (S, 8) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | CHC 5, ATL 1 | Javier Baez (2B) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SF 2, CLE 1 (F/10) | Sam Dyson (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 | 46.5 | 146.2 | 205.8 | -2.3 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 34.4 | 34.4 | 4.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 6.5 | 9.0 | 21.0 | 27.5 | 4.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 15.8 | 6.4 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b 3b | chi nl | 5.2 | 7.2 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 3.2 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 24.7 | 24.7 | 3.0 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | bal al | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -2.0 |
| Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | 3b | det al | 3.5 | 9.0 | 17.2 | 17.2 | -2.0 |
| Ramirez, Erasmo 1786 | pi cp sp mr | tb al | 3.0 | 6.7 | 15.7 | 17.7 | -0.7 |
| Dyson, Sam 3399 | pi cp mr | sf nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Rivero, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | nyy al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| Neshek, Pat 2196 | pi mr | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 1.0 |
| Fuentes, Reymond 3301 | cf ph | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Velazquez, Hector 3853 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Wacha struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 10-1 win over the Brewers. Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and ranks sixth in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 4 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b ss | cin nl | 2.0 |
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis struck out six over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-3 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 9-7 win over the Red Sox. Davis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day and now has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising to third in season player rankings.
National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 6-4 win over the Braves.
Zimmerman has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Nationals and has 56.3 career points, ninth among active NL batters. His best season was 2013 with the Nationals when he had 9.2 points, sixth among NL batters. He had 3.0 points in 2015 with the Nationals.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lewis earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and Zimmerman each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/11 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Cardinals | Michael Wacha (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| AL | 5.0 | Rangers | Colby Lewis (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Cubs | Hector Rondon (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Jose Altuve, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman, 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Nick Tropeano (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | `Padres | Carlos Villanueva | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | Marlins | Chris Narveson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Pirates | Francisco Cervelli, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Jake Arrieta of the Cubs led all players with 22 wins and 29.1 Box-Toppers points. Dallas Keuchel of the Astros led AL players with 20 wins and 21.4 Box-Toppers points.
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Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s two American League Division Series playoff games.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is top player in the other ALDS game.
Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, driving in four total runs.
During the regular season, Tulowitzki had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 133rd among all players, 28th among AL batters and third among AL shortstops, behind Eduardo Escobar of the Twins (7.7) and Carlos Correa of the Astros (7.2). Tulowitzkiled all National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 (11.6).
The Rangers lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Texas.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits to earn Player of the Game honors.
During the regular season, Keuchel had 21.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. It is the second time this postseason Keuchel has earned Player of the Game honors—he was also top player in the Astros’ Oct. 6 NL Wild Card playoff game win against the Yankees.
The Astros lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Houston.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/11 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Troy Tulowitzki, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| POG | 4.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Coming Monday: League Division Series playoff games resume:
The pitching matchup Monday:
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Astros—Lance McCullers, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 120th among all players, 46th among AL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Monday:
Blue Jays—R.A. Dickey, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 180th among all players, 64th among AL pitchers.
Rangers—Derek Holland, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 369th among all players, 106th among AL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Monday:
Cardinals—Michael Wacha, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 53rd among all players, 23rd among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 29.1 Box-Toppers points, first among all players, first among NL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Monday:
Dodgers—Brett Anderson, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 147th among all players, 46th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
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 tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.