The Philadelphia Phillies lead Box-Toppers team rankings for the second week.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals regain the lead among American League teams and the Seattle Mariners are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreCubs’ Imanaga tops players for Wednesday, May 1, rising to 2nd in player rankings
Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Royals pitcher Seth Lugo rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Braves pitcher Chris Sale rises to 20th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list.
Read MoreRoyals’ Lugo tops players for Friday, April 26; Nola, Helsley, Imanaga rise in top 10 list
Royals pitcher Seth Lugo is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, three players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after each earned Player of the Game honors: Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rises to third place, Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley rises to fourth place and Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga rises to seventh place.
Read MorePhillies’ Aaron Nola tops players for Monday, April 15, rising to 7th in player rankings
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
Nola struck out nine over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Rockies. Nola did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.
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Dodgers lead 2024 Box-Toppers preseason team rankings; Rays top AL teams
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2024 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the San Diego Padres saw the biggest decline.
Read MorePhillies’ Suárez, Royals’ Lugo top players in spring games for Friday, March 8
Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Suarez struck out five over 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 6-3 win over the Astros.
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Braves, Astros, Mariners among leaders in Box-Toppers offseason team rankings
The Atlanta Braves are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2024, with a roster mostly intact from 2023 when they had baseball’s best record.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are Box-Toppers’ top two American League teams, with the Mariners having one of the best offseason improvements of any team so far. And also, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have made big offseason splashes adding Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez, their offseason ranking has actually fallen from third place last season to fourth place now.
Read MoreTwins’ Ober tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 26; Padres’ Lugo tops NL players
Twins pitcher Bailey Ober is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Ober struck out eight over five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 11-3 win over the Athletics.
Read MoreRangers’ Garver tops players for Sunday, Sept. 3; Dodgers’ Miller tops NL players
Mitch Garver of the Rangers is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Garver hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 6-5 win over the Twins. Garver went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
Read MoreRays’ Springs tops players for Sunday, April 2; Padres’ Lugo tops NL players
Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Springs struck out 12 over six scoreless and hitless innings, allowing one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Tigers.
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Dodgers top Box-Toppers 2021 preseason team rankings; White Sox top AL teams
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2021 preseason rankings. They also ended 2020 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team and World Series champions.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Chicago Cubs saw the biggest decline.
Read MoreMets’ Seth Lugo tops players for Sunday, June 10; Mariners’ Paxton, Indians’ Kluber rise in top 10 player rankings
Mets pitcher Seth Lugo is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Mariners pitcher James Paxton rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to eighth place after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreIndians' Danny Salazar tops players for Sunday, Sept. 4; Braves' Teheran tops NL players
Indians pitcher Danny Salazar is Sunday’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. 4:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Salazar struck out 11 over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, six hits and two walks, in the 6-5 win over the Marlins. Salazar did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the Indians trailing, 1-0.
Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.5 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Julio Teheran pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Abreu of the White Sox hit a pair of three-run homers in the 13-11, 12-inning win over the Twins. Abreu went 3-for-7, driving in seven total runs.
Abreu earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, his first points of the 2016 season. Abreu led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in his rookie year of 2014 with 15.5 and had 3.0 points in 2015.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Padres.
Puig earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day and has 2.5 points for the season. It is his first Player of the Game honor since being called back up after spending a month in the minors. Puig, despite his star status, has only 8.5 career Box-Toppers points over four seasons—1.5 in 2013, 1.0 in 2014, 3.5 in 2015 and 2.5 in 2016.
Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Lackey (5IP H 2R BB 4K ND in the 3-2, 13-inning win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks 11th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers. He is the third Cubs starting pitcher among Box-Toppers top 10 NL pitchers—Jon Lester (17.1) ranks fourth and Jake Arrieta (13.7) ranks eighth.
Lackey now has 121.1 career Box-Toppers points, 39th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 38th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).
Also notable—Albert Pujols of the Angels extends his lead in career Box-Toppers points among active batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Pujols (HR 3-4 R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 182.3 career points. It is the first point Pujols has earned since becoming the active career leader in points after the Yankees released previous leader Alex Rodriguez (187.0) on Aug. 13. Pujols ranks sixth among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began and trails fifth-ranked player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (183.0) by only 0.7 points. Sabathia is the active career leader in points. (See the updated list of top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points on the home page.)
Pujols has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, his best year since 2011 when he had 12.5 points with the Cardinals. Pujols ranks 11th among AL batters this season.
Debut—Mets pitcher Seth Lugo made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Lugo (7IP 6H R 0BB 4K W in the 5-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut July 1 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,729th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Teheran earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Abreu and Puig 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/4 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.2 | `CLE 6, MIA 5 | Danny Salazar | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| NL | 6.0 | ATL 2, PHI 0 | Julio Teheran (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 5.1 | `OAK 1, BOS 0 | Kendall Graveman | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | CHW 13, MIN 11 (12) | Jose Abreu, 1B | 7 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 7, SD 4 | Yasiel Puig, RF | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | MIL 10, PIT 0 | Jonathan Villar, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `CHC 3, SF 2 (13) | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.1 | NYY 5, BAL 2 | Dellin Betances (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 5, WSH 1 | Seth Lugo (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 5, TB 3 | Joaquin Benoit (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | HOU 7, TEX 6 | Chris Devenski (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 4, SEA 2 | Albert Pujols, DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | DET 6, KC 5 | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | STL 5, CIN 2 | Seung Hwan Oh (S,15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | ARI 8, COL 5 | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 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 | +/- |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 | 23.1 | 42.8 | 121.2 | 3.7 |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 | 25.9 | 35.3 | 35.3 | -0.9 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.7 | 16.4 | 44.5 | 44.5 | 1.0 |
| Pujols, Albert 1438 | dh 1b | ana al | 8.0 | 15.0 | 45.0 | 182.3 | 1.0 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 6.7 | 15.7 | 42.6 | 51.1 | -2.3 |
| Graveman, Kendall 3444 | pi sp | oak al | 6.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 1.3 |
| Oh, Seung Hwan 3693 | pi cp | stl nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | 2b | ari nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.0 |
| Villar, Jonathan 3233 | ss ph | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi sp | hou nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 2.5 | 6.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -1.0 |
| Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 20.0 | 20.0 | -1.5 |
| Benoit, Joaquin 1663 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 29.5 | -1.0 |
| Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |