Blog

Reds’ Spiers tops players Monday, July 29; Royals’ Witt tops AL players

Shawn Plank July 30, 2024

Reds pitcher Carson Spiers is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Spiers struck out four over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 7- 1 win over the Cubs.

Giants’ Snell tops players Sunday, July 14; Angels’ Fulmer tops AL players

Shawn Plank July 14, 2024

Giants pitcher Blake Snell is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Snell struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Twins.

Yankees’ Gil tops players for Wednesday, May 29, regaining season player rankings lead

Shawn Plank May 30, 2024

Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, regaining the lead in season player rankings.

Also Wednesday, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Brewers’ Adames, Yankees’ Stroman top players in spring games for Sunday, March 24

Shawn Plank March 25, 2024

Willy Adames of the Brewers is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.

Also Sunday, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola earned his third Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2024 spring training season.

Giants’ Estrada, Mariners’ Moore top players in spring games for Tuesday, March 19

Shawn Plank March 20, 2024

Thairo Estrada of the Giants is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s spring training games.

Estrada hit a grand slam, tripled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 9-8 win over the Royals.

How 2023 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank December 27, 2023

Six of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards in 2023 were also among the leaders at their positions in 2023 Box-Toppers point totals.

The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers, analyzing traditional box scores, tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.

Box-Toppers 2023 year-end All-Star teams

Shawn Plank November 29, 2023

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2023 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider.

The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to nine batters in each league are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.

A Box-Toppers preview of the four Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday, Oct. 3

Shawn Plank October 3, 2023

The Wild Card round of Major League Baseball’s postseason begins Tuesday with four best-of-three series.

Here is a Box-Toppers look at the eight teams competing in the four Wild Card round series.

Blue Jays’ Chris Bassitt leads Box-Toppers’ list of worthy but unchosen All-Stars

Shawn Plank July 11, 2023

Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt is the most deserving player not selected to the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.

Bassitt has 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, fourth among all players and third among American League pitchers.

Ohtani leads player rankings for 4th week; Strider rises to lead NL pitchers

Shawn Plank July 9, 2023

Shohei Ohtani of the Angels leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the fourth straight week.

Ohtani also leads American League pitchers and batters. Also this week, Spencer Strider of the Braves rises to lead National League pitchers in Box-Toppers rankings. Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves leads NL batters for the second week.

A look at Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams as voting wraps up this week

Shawn Plank June 26, 2023

With voting wrapping up this week for the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, here’s a look at Box-Toppers points leaders at each position in both leagues, through the games of Sunday, June 25.

The first phase of fan All-Star voting is now closed and the second phase, with finalist voting only, continues through Thursday. Here is more information about how that works. The All-Star Game is Tuesday, July 11, in Seattle.

Twins’ Maeda tops players for Friday, June 23; Dodgers’ Outman rises to lead NL batters

Shawn Plank June 24, 2023

Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, James Outman of the Dodgers rises to lead National League batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Twins’ Ryan tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 13; Padres’ Darvish tops NL players

Shawn Plank September 14, 2022

Twins pitcher Joe Ryan is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Ryan struck out eight over seven scoreless and hitless innings, allowing two walks, in the 6-3 win over the Royals.

New York Yankees regain top spot in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings

Shawn Plank June 10, 2022

The New York Yankees regain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers, leaders for the past three weeks, fall to second place but maintain their lead among National League teams. Plus, the San Diego Padres are the week’s hottest team.

Brewers maintain Box-Toppers team rankings lead ahead of Yankees

Shawn Plank June 3, 2022

The Milwaukee Brewers maintain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the third week.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees remain top American League team and the New York Mets are the week’s hottest team.

Milwaukee Brewers lead Box-Toppers team rankings for 2nd week

Shawn Plank May 27, 2022

The Milwaukee Brewers maintain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the second week.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees remain top American League team and the Boston Red Sox are the week’s hottest team.

Milwaukee Brewers regain lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report

Shawn Plank May 20, 2022

The Milwaukee Brewers regain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, last week’s overall leader, fall to second place, but still lead American League teams. Plus, the Boston Red Sox are the week’s hottest team.

New York Yankees rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings, Brewers fall to 2nd

Shawn Plank May 13, 2022

The New York Yankees, the week’s hottest team, rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers, last week’s overall leader, fall to second place, but still lead National League teams.

Twins’ Winder tops players for Friday, May 6; Brewers’ Lauer rises to 2nd in player rankings

Shawn Plank May 7, 2022

Twins pitcher Josh Winder is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Brewers pitcher Eric Lauer rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings—first place among National League pitchers—after earning NL Player of the Day honors.

Week’s hottest team Milwaukee Brewers rise to 1st in Box-Toppers team rankings

Shawn Plank May 6, 2022

The Milwaukee Brewers, the week’s hottest team, rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Angels, last week’s overall leader, fall to second place, but still lead American League teams.

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.

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.