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Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, regaining the lead in season player rankings, passing Astros pitcher Justin Verlander.
Also Thursday, Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreWhite Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth in season player rankings.
Cease struck out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 7-6, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays. Cease did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Blue Jays took the lead after he exited.
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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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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.
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The Milwaukee Brewers continue to lead Box-Toppers team rankings at the All-Star break.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox continue to lead American League teams and the Philadelphia Phillies are the hottest team since July 1.
Read MoreEric Haase of the Tigers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Haase hit a pair of two-run home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 11-5 win over the White Sox.
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The Chicago White Sox lead Box-Toppers team rankings for the second straight week.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers rise to lead National League teams and the Los Angeles Angels are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Trevor Rogers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Indians pitcher Aaron Civale rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreRays pitcher Nick Anderson is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s American League Division Series Game 4 win over the Astros.
Anderson struck out two over 2 1/3 scoreless middle relief innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 4-1 win, the day’s only game.
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The Tampa Bay Rays rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers rise to lead National League teams and the Chicago Cubs are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreYankees pitcher James Paxton is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, three players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday: Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to third place, Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana rises to eighth place and Indians pitcher Shane Bieber rises to ninth place.
Read MoreAnthony Rendon of the Nationals had the best single-game performance by a batter in the 2017 season as measured by Box-Toppers game score.
It also appears to be the highest game score for a batter in Box-Toppers’ 23 seasons of record keeping.
Read MoreThree of the four players who won Cy Young or Most Valuable Player awards in 2017 also led their teams in Box-Toppers points for the season.
The only exception: American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve did not lead Astros batters in Box-Toppers points. In fact, with only 2.5 Box-Toppers points, he finished 11th among Astros batters and 21st among all Astros players.
Read MoreChris Sale tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2017. Indians, Nationals and Astros each have seven players on the list, most of any team.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, extending his dominating lead among National League batters. Rizzo becomes the first batter since June 27 to be ranked among the season’s top 10 players.
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Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 |
Samardzija pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-1, 13-inning win over the Cardinals. Samardzija picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Samardzija has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points of any of the 13 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday. Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season and ranks 23rd among all players, ninth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 3-0 win over the Astros.
Clevinger had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.0, tied with overall Player of the Day Jeff Samardzija. But Samardzija won Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more innings pitched (eight vs. seven).
American League Batter of the Day—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox homered twice and doubled twice, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 16-1 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—JT Riddle of the Marlins homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-6 win over the Dodgers.
This was Riddle’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Riddle made his Major League debut April 11 and was playing in his 19th career game. He is the 3,805th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Debuts—In addition to Riddle, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Samardzjia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Clevinger earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Garcia and Riddle each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
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.
| 5/20 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | `SF 3, STL 1 (F/13) | Jeff Samardzija | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| AL | 11.0 | CLE 3, HOU 0 | Mike Clevinger (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.2 | ARI 9, SD 1 | Robbie Ray (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 8.0 | CHW 16, SEA 1 | Avisail Garcia, RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TB 9, NYY 5 | Corey Dickerson, DH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | `OAK 8, BOS 3 | Frankie Montas | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.2 | CIN 12, COL 8 | Asher Wojciechowski (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | DET 9, TEX 3 | Alex Avila, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIA 10, LAD 6 | JT Riddle, SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BAL 7, TOR 5 | Mark Trumbo, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 6, PHI 3 | David Freese, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 7, LAA 5 | Michael Conforto, LF | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `ATL 5, WSH 2 | Jose Ramirez (H,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 | 14.7 | 50.8 | 53.8 | -6.7 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 4.0 | 6.5 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 1.5 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 | 9.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -3.7 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | cf lf | nym nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -2.0 |
| Avila, Alex 2642 | ca 1b | det al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10.5 | 20.0 | 2.0 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp mr | cle al | 2.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -0.3 |
| Freese, David 2710 | 3b | pit nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 20.2 | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| Ramirez, Jose A. 3716 | pi mr | atl nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Riddle, JT 3805 | ss | fla nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | dh rf | bal al | 1.0 | 9.2 | 28.9 | 34.9 | -7.2 |
| Dickerson, Corey 3222 | dh lf | tb al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | -3.5 |
| Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi mr | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Wojciechowski, Asher 3804 | pi mr | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Mets' Syndergaard tops players in first weekly Box-Toppers player rankings report of the season. Royals' Vargas tops AL players.
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Royals pitcher Jason Vargas is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 |
| 3 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 5 | Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 2.5 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
Vargas pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.
Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to second place among players in Box-Toppers points for 2017. He trails Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who also has 3.0 Box-Toppers points, but holds the tiebreaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2016—16.7 vs. 1.0.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Josh Smoker pitched three innings of extra-innings middle relief in the 9-8, 16-inning win over the Marlins. Smoker allowed no runs, one hit, one walk and struck out five, pitching the 12th, 13th and 14th innings. Smoker did not earn the win or save because the game was tied when he exited.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring twice, in the 11-5 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs homered and went 2-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 4-0 win over the Dodgers.
Rankings—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Garcia (3-4 R 3BI in the 10-4 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.5 for the season. He is the only batter in Box-Toppers’ top 10 season player rankings.
Scoring—Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smoker earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Sano and Rizzo 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.
| 4/13 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.2 | KC 3, OAK 1 | Jason Vargas (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | TEX 8, LAA 3 | Yu Darvish (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 8.0 | NYY 3, TB 2 | Luis Severino (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| NL | 6.0 | `NYM 9, MIA 8 (F/16) | Josh Smoker | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | MIL 5, CIN 1 | Jimmy Nelson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIN 11, DET 5 | Miguel Sano, 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHW 10, CLE 4 | Avisail Garcia, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | COL 3, SF 1 | Chris Rusin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | CHC 4, LAD 0 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | BAL 2, TOR 1 | Jonathan Schoop, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.1 | `BOS 4, PIT 3 | Eduardo Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 29.4 | 50.2 | 2.0 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 2.5 | 5.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 0.0 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 | -1.0 |
| Smoker, Josh 3725 | pi mr cp | nym nl | 1.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | -0.3 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 28.5 | 28.5 | -1.5 |
| Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -1.5 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 11.4 | 56.6 | 56.6 | -9.4 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -3.7 |
| Schoop, Jonathan 3307 | 2b | bal al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -3.5 |
| Rusin, Chris 3236 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -1.7 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp mr | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
Padres pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 186.0 |
| 6 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 185.7 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 168.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 157.1 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 149.5 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
Also Saturday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Chacin pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Kendall Graveman allowed one run and two hits over seven innings, striking out five, in the 6-1 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Phillies tripled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 17-3 win over the Nationals.
Kendrick has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Angels and has 35.5 career points, fifth among active AL second basemen. His best season was 2009 with the Angels when he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL second basemen.
American League Batter of the Day—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Twins.
Greinke—Zack Greinke rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (6.2IP 5H R 0BB 6K W in the 11-2 win over the Indians).
Greinke earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season, and now has 157.1 career points, passing Tim Hudson (157.0) on the “all-time” list. Greinke now trails 13th-ranked player John Smoltz (160.9).
Greinke also has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Royals, but earned none in 2006, so his 11-season streak begins in 2007 with the Royals. His best season was 2009 with the Royals when he had 21.5 Box-Toppers points to lead all players.
Notable—Three players Saturday became the first to earn Player of the Game honors twice in the 2017 season, which began last week:
All three players now have 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. Based on tiebreakers, Bedrosian ranks seventh among all players for the season, Givens ranks ninth and Holland ranks 10th.
Debut—Albert Almora Jr. of the Cubs made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Almora (3-4 R 2BI in the 11-6 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 7, 2016, and was playing in his 49th career game. He is the 3,764th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Chacin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Graveman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kendrick and Garcia each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
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.
| 4/8 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.2 | SD 2, SF 1 | Jhoulys Chacin (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| AL | 7.0 | OAK 6, TEX 1 | Kendall Graveman (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 6.0 | STL 10, CIN 4 | Michael Wacha (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | ARI 11, CLE 2 | Zack Greinke (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | MIA 8, NYM 1 | Adam Conley (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.2 | LAA 5, SEA 4 | Cam Bedrosian (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PHI 17, WSH 3 | Howie Kendrick, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | CHW 6, MIN 2 | Avisail Garcia, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | TB 3, TOR 2 (F/11) | Erasmo Ramirez (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | PIT 6, ATL 4 | Gregory Polanco, LF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 4, BOS 1 | Jose Iglesias, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 5, NYY 4 | Mychal Givens (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 4, LAD 2 | Greg Holland (S,4) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | CHC 11, MIL 6 | Albert Almora Jr., CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | KC 7, HOU 3 | Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 7.7 | 14.4 | 29.8 | -3.7 |
| Bedrosian, Cam 3694 | pi cp | ana al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi mr | bal al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 32.0 | 35.0 | 2.0 |
| Graveman, Kendall 3444 | pi sp | oak al | 1.7 | 7.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | -4.3 |
| Kendrick, Howie 2191 | 2b lf 1b | phi nl | 1.5 | 5.5 | 19.5 | 35.5 | -2.5 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 1.5 | 4.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -1.0 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 80.0 | 157.1 | -8.7 |
| Conley, Adam 3594 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 7.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | -5.7 |
| Polanco, Gregory 3361 | lf | pit nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -4.5 |
| Ramirez, Erasmo 1786 | pi cp | tb al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 13.7 | 15.7 | -2.7 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 20.7 | 20.7 | -1.0 |
| Cuthbert, Cheslor 3683 | 3b | kc al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Iglesias, Jose 3532 | ss | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Almora, Albert Jr. 3764 | cf | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Red Sox pitcher David Price is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Price struck out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs, two hits and no walks, in the 12-2 win over the Orioles.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 3 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Game, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 20th among all players and sixth among American League pitchers.
Price also now has 106.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 59th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes five players on the “all-time” list—Carlos Beltran of the Rangers (104.9), Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1), Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7), Aramis Ramirez (105.8) and Frank Thomas (106.2). He now trails 58th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1).
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks allowed one hit and one run over eight innings, striking out seven and walking two, in the 4-1 win over the Cardinals.
Hendricks earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Hendricks ranks 15th among all players and 11th among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasmany Tomas of the Diamondbacks hit a grand slam and doubled, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 12-9 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox homered and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 11-4 win over the Indians.
Notable—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson now has 12.1 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Hellickson (6.1IP 3H R 3BB 6K in the 6-2 win over the Pirates) now ranks 23rd among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano now has 102.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Liriano (6.1IP 3H 2R BB 6K ND in the 3-2 win over the Rays) now ranks 67th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and now trails 66th-ranked player Miguel Tejada (102.3). Liriano has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 30th among AL pitchers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hendricks earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Tomas and Garcia 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.
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Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/12 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | BOS 12, BAL 2 | David Price (W,16-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |
| NL | 10.0 | CHC 4, STL 1 | Kyle Hendricks (W,15-7) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | ARI 12, COL 9 | Yasmany Tomas, RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | OAK 16, KC 3 | Daniel Coulombe (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 6.1 | `DET 4, MIN 2 | Daniel Norris | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 5.2 | `CIN 3, MIL 0 | Keyvius Sampson | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 5.1 | PHI 6, PIT 2 | Jeremy Hellickson (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | SEA 8, LAA 1 | Ariel Miranda (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.1 | `TOR 3, TB 2 | Francisco Liriano | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | ATL 12, MIA 7 | Nick Markakis, RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | CHW 11, CLE 4 | Avisail Garcia, RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | TEX 4, HOU 3 (12) | Rougned Odor, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SD 4, SF 0 | Paul Clemens (W,3-5) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | WSH 8, NYM 1 | Anthony Rendon, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | LAD 8, NYY 2 | Howie Kendrick, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 | 23.1 | 28.1 | 28.1 | 3.7 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 12.4 | 33.5 | 89.5 | 106.2 | -8.7 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 12.1 | 17.1 | 40.8 | 43.8 | 7.1 |
| Tomas, Yasmany 3489 | rf lf | ari nl | 7.7 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 4.2 |
| Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 | 21.9 | 62.4 | 102.2 | -7.9 |
| Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 6.5 | 9.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 3.5 |
| Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 5.5 | 6.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 4.5 |
| Markakis, Nick 2116 | rf | atl nl | 5.0 | 9.5 | 20.5 | 47.1 | 0.5 |
| Kendrick, Howie 2191 | 2b lf 1b | lad nl | 4.0 | 8.0 | 20.0 | 34.0 | 0.0 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | dh rf | chi al | 2.5 | 5.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -0.5 |
| Coulombe, Daniel 3720 | pi mr | oak al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Norris, Daniel 3548 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Clemens, Paul 3185 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Miranda, Ariel 3738 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Sampson, Keyvius 3737 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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.