C.J. Cron of the Angels had highest Box-Toppers game score among batters in 2016, which is only 149th-best game score among 2,428 games played.
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Chicago Cubs, week's hottest team, maintain 1st place in Box-Toppers team rankings
Cubs expand narrow lead over 2nd-place Dodgers. Red Sox top AL teams.
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Chicago Cubs hold slim edge over Los Angeles Dodgers in Box-Toppers team rankings report
With trade deadline acquisitions, Dodgers are hottest team of the week. Other teams strengthened by trades include Mets, Blue Jays, Rangers, Giants, Twins, Orioles.
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Chicago Cubs regain lead in Box-Toppers team rankings after acquiring Aroldis Chapman
Cubs, week's hottest team, thanks to Chapman trade, regain lead after Red Sox hold it for one week. Red Sox, despite down week, still lead AL teams.
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Boston Red Sox rise to top Box-Toppers team rankings, ending Chicago Cubs' 3-month lead
Red Sox rise largely on the strength of acquiring Drew Pomeranz from the Padres. Cubs fall after three-month reign atop team rankings, but still lead NL teams.
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Nationals, Dodgers close in on Cubs. Indians maintain AL lead. Red Sox make big jump as hottest team since June 30.
Read MoreDodgers' Clayton Kershaw continues lead of Box-Toppers All-Star teams for both 2015 and 2015-16
A look at leaders in Box-Toppers points by position and league over both 2016 and 2015-16.
Read MoreYankees' Tanaka tops players for Friday, May 27; Orioles' Machado rises to 5th in Box-Toppers rankings
Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 27:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 5 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 7.4 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 |
Player of the Day—Tanaka pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four, in the 4-1 win over the Rays.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Christian Friedrich pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 7-5 win over the Red Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hill of the Brewers hit two homers and went 3-for-4, in the 9-5 win over the Reds.
Rankings—Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Machado (2B 4-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He extends his lead among AL batters.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 125.1 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Lester (6.1IP 6H 2R 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Phillies) ranks 35th in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 34th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).
Debut—Twins pitcher Pat Dean made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Dean (7IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut May 11 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,644th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Tanaka earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Friedrich earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Hill 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/27 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | NYY 4/TB 1 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 8.1 | LAA 7/HOU 2 | Matt Shoemaker (W,3-5) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | SD 10/ARI 3 | Christian Friedrich (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 7.0 | MIN 7/SEA 2 | Pat Dean (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 6.2 | DET 4/OAK 1 | Michael Fulmer (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | TOR 7/BOS 5 | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | `NYM 6/LAD 5 | Jacob deGrom | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | COL 5/SF 2 | Tyler Chatwood (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | KC 7/CHW 5 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 9/CIN 5 | Aaron Hill, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | CHC 6/PHI 2 | Jon Lester (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | BAL 6/CLE 4 | Manny Machado, SS | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 9/TEX 1 | Starling Marte, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | STL 6/DC 2 | Stephen Piscotty, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 4/MIA 2 | Arodys Vizcaino (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 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 | +/- |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 | 16.2 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 1.2 |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b 3b | mil nl | 4.5 | 7.5 | 21.5 | 40.5 | 1.5 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.0 | 16.0 | 62.2 | 125.1 | -8.0 |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 4.0 | 13.9 | 33.9 | 33.9 | -5.9 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.0 | 12.0 | 24.7 | 24.7 | -4.0 |
| Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | col nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 4.0 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Marte, Starling 3122 | lf | pit nl | 2.5 | 7.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.5 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 | 24.4 | 37.4 | 37.4 | -20.4 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 2.0 | 11.0 | 24.5 | 24.5 | -7.0 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 7.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 | -3.7 |
| Piscotty, Stephen 3570 | rf | stl nl | 2.0 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | -2.2 |
| Friedrich, Christian 3024 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 1.7 |
| Vizcaino, Arodys 3533 | pi cp | atl nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Dean, Pat 3644 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Brewers' Hill tops players for Saturday, May 7; Dodgers' Kershaw takes Box-Toppers points lead
Aaron Hill of the Brewers is Saturday’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 May 7:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 4 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 5.0 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 4.7 |
| 10 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 4.7 |
Meanwhile, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to take the lead in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Hill hit three homers, including a 10th-inning, go-ahead grand slam, in the 13-7 win over the Reds. Hill went 3-for-5 and drove in seven total runs.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 7-2 win over the Twins.
Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, rising to third place in season player rankings, first among AL players.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit two homers and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Tigers.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 104.3 for his career. He rises to 59th place in points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (103.3) and Jamie Moyer (104.0). Beltre has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day was an NL batter, Aaron Hill of the Brewers.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Kershaw (7IP 8H 2R 10K W in the 6-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (6.0).
Also, Kershaw now has 166.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 10th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails ninth-place player, Johan Santana (166.6).
Notable—Two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:
- Athletics pitcher Rich Hill (5.2IP 2H R 5K W in the 8-4 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to fourth place.
- Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (8.1IP 8H 0R 3K ND in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to fifth place.
Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Sale earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Beltre earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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
| 5/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Brewers | Aaron Hill, 3B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 8.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,7-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | Royals | Ian Kennedy (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.1 | `Mariners | Nathan Karns | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Yankees | Nathan Eovaldi (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 3.2 | Athletics | Rich Hill (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Stephen Piscotty, RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | David Wright, 3B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `Giants | Johnny Cueto | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Addison Russell, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Brett Oberholtzer (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | `Dbacks | Tyler Clippard | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Zach Britton (S,7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rays | Steven Souza, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 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 | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 32.7 | 132.8 | 166.3 | -18.7 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 | 24.5 | 76.7 | 78.7 | -13.1 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 29.1 | 1.4 |
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 | 17.8 | 69.0 | 88.4 | -7.8 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 4.0 | 10.7 | 54.5 | 60.5 | -2.7 |
| Souza, Steven Jr. 3461 | rf | tb al | 2.7 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | -2.8 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 2.5 | 15.0 | 40.9 | 104.3 | -10.0 |
| Karns, Nathan 3414 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -3.0 |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 3b 2b | mil nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 19.0 | 38.0 | -1.0 |
| Russell, Addison 3559 | ss | chi nl | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | -0.5 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 21.1 | 21.1 | 0.0 |
| Britton, Zachary 2835 | pi cp | bal al | 1.0 | 9.7 | 29.1 | 29.1 | -7.7 |
| Piscotty, Stephen 3570 | rf | stl nl | 1.0 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | -3.2 |
| Clippard, Tyler 2291 | pi mr | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 17.0 | 28.4 | 0.0 |
| Oberholtzer, Brett 3244 | pi mr | phi nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Wright, David 1911 | 3b | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 24.5 | 75.1 | 1.0 |