Astros’ Verlander tops player for Saturday, April 13; Sabathia earns Box-Toppers points in 19th straight season, tying all-time record

Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth in season player rankings.

Also Saturday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia ties Box-Toppers’ all-time record by earning at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 19 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors.

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Braves’ Sean Newcomb tops players for Sunday, July 29; Red Sox’ Eovaldi tops AL players

Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Newcomb had a no-hitter intact through 8 2/3 innings before giving up his only hit. He struck out eight over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers.

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Rangers' Darvish tops players for Tuesday, May 16; Harper, Darvish rise in Box-Toppers top 10

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 16:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 8.4
2 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 7.7
3 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 7.0
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 6.0
5 Harper, Bryce 3011 rf dc nl 6.0
6 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 6.0
6 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 5.4
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 5.4
9 Triggs, Andrew 3723 pi sp oak al 5.4
10 Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp tex al 5.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Bryce Harper of the Nationals rises to fifth place in season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Darvish struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 5-1 win over the Phillies.

Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings, seventh among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies homered and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-11, 13-inning win over the Tigers.

Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0, which was tied with Jake Marisnick of the Astros, who was Player of the Game in the 12-2 win over the Marlins. Marisnick had a very similar line score to Davis, homering twice, doubling and going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs. But Davis beat Marisnick to earn AL Batter of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more walks Tuesday (two vs. zero).

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Charlie Blackmon.

Rankings—Bryce Harper of the Nationals rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Harper (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 8-4 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 6.0 for the season. He maintains his rank as top-ranked batter and is the only batter among the top 10 in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 188.0 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday (6.2IP 5H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 7-1 win over the Royals). Sabathia ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, trailing fourth-place player and active career points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (190.7).

Also notable—Matt Kemp of the Braves earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Tuesday. Kemp (2-5 R 4BI in the 9-5 win over the Blue Jays) also was Player of the Game Monday in the 10-6 win over the Blue Jays. He has 3.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, fifth among NL batters.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Rays pitcher Jose Alvarado (2IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND in the 6-4 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut May 3 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,797th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Ian Happ of the Cubs (HR 1-3 2R 2BI in the 9-5 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut May 13 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,798th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Blackmon earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Davis earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

5/16 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 TEX 5, PHI 1 Yu Darvish (W,4-2) - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 9
BAT 5.0 BAL 13, DET 11 (F/13) Chris Davis, 1B 5 3 3 4 - - - - - -
5.0 HOU 12, MIA 2 Jake Marisnick, CF 5 3 3 4 - - - - - -
3.2 NYY 7, KC 1 CC Sabathia (W,3-2) - - - - 6.2 5 0 0 2 4
3.0 LAA 7, CHW 6 (F/11) Cameron Maybin, LF 6 2 5 2 - - - - - -
3.0 OAK 9, SEA 6 Mark Canha, CF 5 2 3 3 - - - - - -
3.0 `TB 6, CLE 4 Jose Alvarado (H,2) - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 1
NL 2.0 COL 7, MIN 3 Charlie Blackmon, CF 5 1 3 3 - - - - - -
2.0 ATL 9, TOR 5 Matt Kemp, LF 5 1 2 4 - - - - - -
2.0 MIL 6, SD 2 Eric Sogard, 3B 4 1 4 1 - - - - - -
2.0 WSH 8, PIT 4 Bryce Harper, RF 4 2 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 BOS 6, STL 3 Jackie Bradley Jr., CF 3 2 2 1 - - - - - -
2.0 CHC 9, CIN 5 Ian Happ, CF-LF 3 2 1 2 - - - - - -
2.0 SF 2, LAD 1 Ty Blach (W,1-2) - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 4
2.0 ARI 5, NYM 4 Fernando Rodney (S,10) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` 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 (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game Pos Team ’17 ’16-17 ’12-17 Career +/-
Harper, Bryce 3011 rf dc nl 6.0 9.0 33.4 33.4 3.0
Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp tex al 5.0 15.4 60.6 60.6 -5.4
Kemp, Matt 2151 lf atl nl 3.5 11.0 34.0 62.6 -4.0
Sabathia, C.C. 1492 pi sp nyy al 3.0 9.0 35.5 188.0 -3.0
Maybin, Cameron 2672 lf ana al 2.0 5.0 10.5 17.5 -1.0
Sogard, Eric 3174 ss 3b 2b mil nl 2.0 2.0 6.0 6.0 2.0
Blackmon, Charlie 2891 cf col nl 1.7 5.7 12.2 13.7 -2.3
Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 1.5 9.0 50.9 59.4 -6.0
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 cf bos al 1.0 6.5 17.0 17.0 -4.5
Rodney, Fernando 1803 pi cp ari nl 1.0 6.0 24.0 36.0 -4.0
Blach, Ty 3754 pi sp sf nl 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 -1.0
Marisnick, Jake 3428 cf hou al 1.0 2.0 5.0 5.0 0.0
Canha, Mark 3454 cf oak al 1.0 1.0 3.5 3.5 1.0
Alvarado, Jose 3797 pi mr tb al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Happ, Ian 3798 cf lf chi nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

How baseball stars are trending: Kershaw remains strong over past half decade—who is rising & who is declining

Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer hold dominant lead among players in Box-Toppers points over last several years. Using longer term measure, Chris Sale rises to lead AL pitchers, Yoenis Cespedes rises to lead NL batters.

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Clayton Kershaw holds a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points since start of 2011

Kershaw, who has ranked 1st or 2nd among all players in Box-Toppers points each of the past six seasons, has a dominating lead among players over 2011-2016.

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A look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads the list of the top 100 players for 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 20th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

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A look at Box-Toppers All-Stars: Top players by position & league for July 21

11 AL players and seven NL players are leaders in Box-Toppers points for their position for both 2016 and 2015-16.

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An All-Star break look at who Box-Toppers deems to be All-Stars

A look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position and by league for the 2016 season and for the combined 2015-16 seasons.

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Nationals' Max Scherzer ‘most worthy but unchosen' player for 2016 All-Star Game

A look at the All-Star rosters based on Box-Toppers points. Which players were worthy but unchosen? Which players made it but probably shouldn't have?

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A look at Box-Toppers All-Stars at the season's halfway point

Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league in both the 2016 season the combined 2015-16 seasons.

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Astros' George Springer tops players for Friday, June 24, a second straight lackluster day of performances

George Springer of the Astros is Friday’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 June 24:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
2 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 11.7
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 11.7
3 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 10.7
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 10.0
6 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 10.0
7 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 9.8
8 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp ari nl 9.7
9 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 9.7
10 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 9.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Springer hit a grand slam and a triple in the 13-4 win over the Royals. Springer went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five total runs.

National League Player of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres homered and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-4 win over the Reds.

Both Springer and Myers had Box-Toppers game scores Friday of +5.0, but Springer held the tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day honors because he hit a homer and a triple, while Myers hit a homer and a double. 

Batters of the Day—There are no separate American League or National League Batters of the Day for Friday because both the overall Player of the Day and the NL Player of the Day were batters—Springer and Myers.

Notable—Mariners pitcher Wade LeBlanc earned his first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

LeBlanc (6IP 3H 0R BB 3K ND in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) last earned Player of the Game honors and a Box-Toppers point on Aug. 15, 2010, when he was with the Padres.

Commentary—It was the second unremarkable day in a row for Box-Toppers Players of the Games, with no particularly outstanding performances contributing to team wins. Thursday’s Player of the Day had the season’s second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win that honor; Friday had the third-lowest high score of the season.

And while some of the blame on low scores Thursday was placed on the light schedule (only nine games played), Friday’s scores did not fare much better with a complete slate of 15 games.

It was a rare occurrence Friday when no pitchers earned Box-Toppers bonus points for being overall or league Player of the Day—batters won both spots.

Starting pitchers generally are the players with each day’s highest Box-Toppers game scores, but for the past two days only two starting pitchers have even earned Player of the Game honors (Friday—Wade LeBlanc of the Mariners, Thursday—Wei-Yin Chen of the Marlins. Interestingly, both pitchers earned no decisions.) There have been 12 middle relievers or closers with two or fewer innings pitched who earned Player of the Game honors over the 24 games played Thursday and Friday.

In addition, over the past two days, players earning Player of the Game honors have had relatively fewer season Box-Toppers points. It is as if the big stars have mostly taken the past two days off. Friday’s Player of the Game with the most season Box-Toppers points is Chris Davis of the Orioles (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Rays). Davis earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season, 27th among all players and fourth among AL batters.

Interestingly (or not), baseball’s other Khris Davis (of the Athletics) also earned Player of the Game honors Friday in the 7-4 win over the Angels (2-4 R 3BI).

Scoring—Springer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Myers earns 1.7 points for being NL Player 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

6/24 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 5.0 HOU 13/KC 4 George Springer, RF 5 2 3 5 - - - - - -
NL 5.0 SD 13/CIN 4 Wil Myers, 1B 5 2 3 5 - - - - - -
5.0 NYM 8/ATL 6 James Loney, 1B 3 3 2 3 - - - - - -
5.0 `SEA 4/STL 3 Wade LeBlanc - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 1 3
4.0 ARI 10/COL 9 Yasmany Tomas, RF 5 2 3 4 - - - - - -
4.0 NYY 5/MIN 3 Aroldis Chapman (S,14) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
4.0 BOS 8/TEX 7 Koji Uehara (S,2) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.2 PIT 8/LAD 6 Neftali Feliz (W,2-0; H,17) - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 MIL 5/DC 3 Carlos Torres (W,1-1) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.1 CHC 5/MIA 4 Hector Rondon (S,13) - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 OAK 7/LAA 4 Khris Davis, LF 4 1 2 3 - - - - - -
2.0 SF 5/PHI 4 Brandon Belt, 1B 4 1 2 3 - - - - - -
2.0 CHW 3/TOR 2 Nate Jones (W,3-2) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 BAL 6/TB 3 Chris Davis, 1B 4 1 2 2 - - - - - -
1.0 CLE 7/DET 4 Chris Gimenez, C 4 2 2 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 +/-
Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 6.5 17.5 48.4 56.9 -4.5
Myers, Wil 3228 1b sd nl 5.7 8.7 14.2 14.2 2.7
Springer, George 3337 rf hou al 5.5 6.5 9.5 9.5 4.5
Davis, Khris 3242 lf oak al 4.2 8.2 14.2 14.2 0.2
Belt, Brandon 2943 1b sf nl 4.0 5.5 17.5 17.5 2.5
Chapman, Aroldis 2826 pi cp nyy al 3.0 11.0 41.0 42.0 -5.0
Uehara, Koji 2802 pi cp mr bos al 3.0 8.0 25.0 29.0 -2.0
Rondon, Hector 3201 pi cp chi nl 3.0 5.0 8.0 8.0 1.0
Tomas, Yasmany 3489 lf rf ari nl 2.5 6.0 6.0 6.0 -1.0
Jones, Nate 3125 pi cp mr chi al 2.0 3.0 10.0 10.0 1.0
Feliz, Neftali 2651 pi mr cp pit nl 1.0 2.0 10.7 18.7 0.0
Torres, Carlos 2668 pi mr mil nl 1.0 2.0 8.0 9.7 0.0
Gimenez, Chris 2870 ca cle al 1.0 2.0 4.0 4.0 0.0
Loney, James 2206 1b nym nl 1.0 1.0 12.0 33.4 1.0
LeBlanc, Wade 2669 pi sp sea al 1.0 1.0 1.0 8.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' 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.

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Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw continues leading Box-Toppers All-Stars over 2016 and combined 2015-16 seasons

A look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position over the 2016 season so far and the combined 2015 and 2016 seasons.

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Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw leads All-Stars in Box-Toppers points over both 2016 and 2015-16

Kershaw passes Jake Arrieta of the Cubs as Box-Toppers points leader over both 2015-2016, 39.7-37.8. Kershaw also leads players for 2016.

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Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Thursday, May 12, solidifies lead in season Box-Toppers points, rises to 8th in ‘all-time' points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, pitching a three-hit shutout, is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and solidifies his lead in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 12:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 9.0
2 Machado, Manny 3087 3b ss bal al 6.7
3 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 6.0
4 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 6.0
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 5.7
6 Quintana, Jose 3040 pi sp chi al 5.7
7 De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 pi sp ari nl 5.7
8 Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 5.5
9 Hill, Rich 2215 pi sp oak al 5.4
10 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 5.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw also rises two spots to eighth place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when tracking began.

Kershaw pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, allowing one walk and striking out 13, in the 5-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season, 2.3 more than second-place player, Manny Machado of the Orioles.

Kershaw also now has 168.3 career Box-Toppers points and rises from 10th to eighth on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings, passing two players—Johan Santana (166.6) and Manny Ramirez (167.2). Kershaw trails seventh-place player Roy Halladay (170.7).

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher David Price struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 11-1 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-10 win over the Angels.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


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 nyy al 187.0
5 CC Sabathia pi sp nyy al 180.0
6 Albert Pujols 1b dh ana al 175.3
7 Roy Halladay pi sp retired 170.7
8 Clayton Kershaw pi sp lad nl 168.3
9 Manny Ramirez lf dh retired 167.2
10 Johan Santana pi sp free agent 166.6
11 Roger Clemens pi sp retired 164.8
12 Felix Hernandez pi sp sea al 163.7
13 John Smoltz pi sp retired 160.9
14 Tim Hudson pi sp retired 157.0
15 Mike Mussina pi sp retired 155.6
16 Barry Bonds lf retired 153.2
17 Greg Maddux pi sp retired 151.7
18 Zack Greinke pi sp ari nl 149.4
19 Chipper Jones 3b retired 149.0
20 Javier Vazquez pi sp retired 148.3
List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

American League Batter of the Day—Chase Headley of the Yankees homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Besides Kershaw, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday:

  • Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (7IP 8H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to fourth place. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
  • Chris Davis of the Orioles (2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 7-5 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.5 for the season, rising to eighth place. He ranks second among AL batters, behind teammate Manny Machado (6.7). In addition, Davis Thursday earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day—he was Player of the Game Wednesday in the 9-2 win over the Twins.

Streak—Padres pitcher James Shields has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Shields (7IP 7H 0R 9K W in the 3-0 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rays and has 97.4 career points, 11th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2011 with the Rays when he had 20.1 points, third among AL pitchers. He had 5.7 points in 2015 with the Padres.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Price earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Holliday and Headley 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/12 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 18.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1) - - - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 1 13
AL 9.2 Red Sox David Price (W,5-1) - - - - - - 6.2 6 1 1 1 12
8.0 Padres James Shields (W,2-5) - - - - - - 7.0 7 0 0 1 9
BAT 5.0 Cardinals Matt Holliday, DH 5 3 4 3 1 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Yankees Chase Headley, 3B 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Phillies Odubel Herrera, CF 4 2 4 0 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Orioles Chris Davis, 1B 4 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Giants Johnny Cueto (W,5-1) - - - - - - 7.0 8 2 2 2 9

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 9.0 34.7 134.8 168.3 -16.7
Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 6.0 18.8 70.0 89.4 -6.8
Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 5.5 16.5 47.4 55.9 -5.5
Price, David 2593 pi sp bos al 4.7 25.8 81.8 98.5 -16.4
Holliday, Matt 1836 1b dh lf stl nl 3.0 4.5 34.7 94.8 1.5
Herrera, Odubel 3449 cf phi nl 2.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 -2.0
Headley, Chase 2552 3b nyy al 1.5 3.5 15.0 25.5 -0.5
Shields, James 2157 pi sp sd nl 1.0 8.4 66.6 97.4 -6.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Roark tops players for Saturday, April 23; Indians' Kluber tops AL players

Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Roark struck out 15 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 2-0 win over the Twins.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 23:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 5.0
2 Volquez, Edinson 2220 pi sp kc al 4.4
3 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 4.0
4 Velasquez, Vince 3611 pi sp phi nl 4.0
5 Santiago, Hector 3109 pi sp ana al 3.7
6 Latos, Mat 2644 pi sp chi al 3.7
7 Davis, Chris 2478 1b ba al 3.5
8 Cano, Robinson 2092 2b sea al 3.5
9 Suarez, Eugenio 3355 3b cin nl 3.5
10 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 3.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 10-1 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Eugenio Suarez of the Reds hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs in the 13-5 win over the Cubs.

Suarez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season and rising to ninth in player rankings. He also rises to lead all NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-3 win over the Athletics.

Rankings—Besides Suarez, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings Saturday after earning Player of the Game honors:

  • Angels pitcher Hector Santiago (6IP 4H 2R 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season, rising to fifth among all players and second among AL pitchers (behind Edinson Volquez of the Royals with 4.4).
  • Chris Davis of the Orioles (HR 4-5 3R 2BI in the 8-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season, rising to seventh among all players and first among AL batters.

Debut—Kelby Tomlinson of the Giants made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Tomlinson (1-1 R BI in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2015, and was playing in his 61st career game. He is the 3,619th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Roark earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Suarez and Donaldson 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/23 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 17.0 Nationals Tanner Roark (W,2-2) - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 3 15
AL 14.0 Indians Corey Kluber (W,1-3) - - - - - - 8.0 2 1 1 0 10
10.1 Dodgers Kenta Maeda (W,3-0) - - - - - - 6.1 3 0 0 1 8
BAT 6.0 Reds Eugenio Suarez, 3B 4 3 3 4 1 1 - - - - - -
6.0 Dbacks Rubby De La Rosa (W,2-3) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 1 6
5.2 `White Sox Carlos Rodon - - - - - - 6.2 2 2 2 2 7
BAT 5.0 Blue Jays Josh Donaldson, 3B 4 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Phillies Odubel Herrera, CF 4 4 3 2 2 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Orioles Chris Davis, 1B 5 3 4 2 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Astros Colby Rasmus, LF 4 1 2 5 1 1 - - - - - -
4.0 `Yankees Masahiro Tanaka - - - - - - 7.0 5 2 2 1 7
3.0 Cardinals Aledmys Diaz, SS 5 1 5 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Hector Santiago (W,2-0) - - - - - - 6.0 4 2 2 2 7
2.0 Giants Kelby Tomlinson, PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.1 Mets Steven Matz (W,2-1) - - - - - - 6.1 9 2 2 0 8
`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 +/-
Santiago, Hector 3109 pi sp ana al 3.7 11.7 24.1 24.1 -4.3
Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 3.5 14.5 45.4 53.9 -7.5
Suarez, Eugenio 3355 3b cin nl 3.5 6.5 9.0 9.0 0.5
Matz, Steven 3516 pi sp nym nl 3.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 -0.5
Roark, Tanner 3261 pi sp dc nl 3.0 4.0 19.0 19.0 2.0
Maeda, Kenta 3609 pi sp lad nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144 3b tor al 2.5 12.4 32.4 32.4 -7.4
Rasmus, Colby 2608 lf hou al 2.5 8.5 22.7 34.2 -3.5
Rodon, Carlos 3494 pi sp chi al 2.0 10.1 10.1 10.1 -6.1
De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 pi mr ari nl 2.0 8.0 12.0 12.0 -4.0
Diaz, Aledmys 3612 ss stl nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 1.7 15.1 45.9 45.9 -11.7
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 pi sp nyy al 1.0 9.0 21.7 21.7 -7.0
Herrera, Odubel 3449 cf phi nl 1.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 -3.0
Tomlinson, Kelby 3619 ph sf nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

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