Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers point total from 2015 to 2016—16.8. Both 2015 Cy Young Award winners, Dallas Keuchel and Jake Arrieta, are among the top four "big dippers" in points from 2015 to 2016.
Read MoreGiants' Chris Heston top players in Sunday, March 13's spring training games
Giants pitcher Chris Heston is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Sunday.
Heston pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four, in the 8-1 win over the Padres. Heston had 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 15th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk and striking out four, in the 6-1 win over the Rays. Sanchez had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.
American League Batter of the Day—Trevor Plouffe of the Twins hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, driving in four runs, in the 14-6 win over the Orioles. Plouffe had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.
National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 9-5 win over the Tigers. Marte had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 16th among NL outfielders.
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was Player of the Game in the 6-4 win over the Rockies. Kershaw pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. Kershaw finished second in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 25.7 (Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta finished first with 29.1). Kershaw led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points from 2011-2014 and led all players in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Heston would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sanchez would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Plouffe and Marte would earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Cardinals vs. Nationals and Cubs vs. Athletics).
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
| 3/13 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| AL | 6.0 | Blue Jays | Aaron Sanchez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Twins | Trevor Plouffe 3B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Mets | Matt Harvey (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Brewers | Zach Davies (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 4.0 | Rays | Hank Conger C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Phillies | Adam Morgan (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | José Altuve DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Pirates | Starling Marte LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Johnny Giavotella 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Zack Cozart SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Michael Freeman LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Box-Toppers’ top single game performances for 2015
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer had three of the 13 best Box-Toppers game scores of 2015, including the top score of +26 with his 2nd no-hitter of the season on Oct. 3.
Read MorePostseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 2 of 6 major honors
Box-Toppers pitching leaders Jake Arrieta and Dallas Keuchel won Cy Young Awards. But Box-Toppers leaders in four other award categories did not win awards.
Read MoreRookies with most Box-Toppers points fail to even receive votes in top rookie balloting
Giants pitcher Chris Heston led NL rookies in Box-Toppers points and Indians pitcher Carlos Rodon led AL rookies. Both were shut out of Rookie of the Year voting, losing to Kris Bryant (NL) and Carlos Correa (AL).
Read MoreBox-Toppers points leaders win only 2 of 9 Players Choice Awards
Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays wins Players Choice top player award, though Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Year.
Read MoreMets' Matt Harvey is Box-Toppers Most Improved Player in 2015
Coming back from injury, Matt Harvey had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points from 2014 to 2015. Rangers' Prince Fielder had big comeback year in AL, but 2 AL players had bigger gains from 2014 to 2015.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2015
Jake Arrieta of the Cubs tops Box-Toppers player rankings in 2015. The World Champion Kansas City Royals have the most representatives among the top 100 players—seven.
Read MoreCubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 22, solidifies lead in Box-Toppers player rankings
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his lead in player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Mike Trout of the Angels took the lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 22.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 20.4 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 18.0 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 10 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 4-0 win over the Brewers.
Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 25.1 for the season. He becomes the 21st player with 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.
With his points Tuesday, he takes a 2.4-point lead over second-place player and fellow NL pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. That means Kershaw would need to earn Box-Toppers points in each of what would likely be his final two starts of the season to have a chance to pass Arrieta. Kershaw has led NL pitchers for the past four seasons. Only one player has led his league category in Box-Toppers points in more consecutive seasons since 1995—Randy Johnson led NL pitchers five straight years from 1998 to 2002.
American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing three hits, in the 11-2 win over the Royals.
Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks 20th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Cody Asche of the Phillies homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Marlins.
Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Tuesday became the 21st player in 21 seasons with 25 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st on the list.| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2000 | 33.7 |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 33.7 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2000 | 33.5 |
| 4 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 31.5 |
| 6 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 7 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 8 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 10 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 12 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 12 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 14 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 15 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 15 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 17 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 17 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 19 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 20 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| 21 | *Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 25.1 |
| * Current season | |||||
American League Batter of the Day—Delino DeShields of the Rangers went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-6 win over the Athletics.
Rankings—Mike Trout of the Angels took the lead among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Trout (HR 1-3 R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He passes Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5) to lead AL batters. Trout ranks 25th among all players.
Notable—Two others who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Tuesday achieved notable milestones:
- Giants pitcher Chris Heston rose to 12th place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Heston (4.1IP 2H 0R 7K ND in the 4-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 29th among all players.
- Cardinals pitcher John Lackey maintained his rank of 55th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Lackey (7IP 9H R 7K W in the 3-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 107.8 for his career. He trails 54th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1). He has 9.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked 17th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Asche and DeShields each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/22 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,20-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| AL | 13.0 | Mariners | Hisashi Iwakuma (W,9-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 9.0 | `Tigers | Daniel Norris | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 8.0 | Dbacks | Robbie Ray (W,5-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Twins | Ervin Santana (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Braves | Matt Wisler (W,6-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.1 | `Giants | Chris Heston | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Phillies | Cody Asche, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Orioles | Brad Brach (MR) (H,12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rangers | Delino DeShields, CF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W,13-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | `Pirates | Joakim Soria (MR) (H,9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Carlos Beltran, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Brad Boxberger (S,36) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Angels | Mike Trout, CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Angels' Shoemaker tops players for Tuesday, July 21; Mets' deGrom rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, Giants pitcher Chris Heston became the 16th player this season with 10 Box-Toppers points and Matt Holliday of the Cardinals earned Box-Toppers points for the 12th straight season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 21.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 12.7 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 10 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
Player of the Day—Shoemaker pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits, in the 7-0 win over the Twins.
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Chris Heston pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out six, in the 9-3 win over the Padres.
Heston earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, rising to 15th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, ninth among NL pitchers. He is the 16th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Batter of the Day—Shin-Soo Choo of the Rangers hit for the cycle and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three, in the 9-0 win over the Rockies.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring two runs, in the 8-5 win over the White Sox.
Holliday earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, his first points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Rockies. His best season was 2007 with the Rockies when he had 16.2 points, first among NL batters and seventh among all players. In 2014, he had 7.5 points with the Cardinals, eighth among NL batters.
Holliday has 91.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 88th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Holliday ranks first among active NL outfielders in career Box-Toppers points and third among active NL batters, behind Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers (103.3) and Ryan Howard of the Phillies (93.2).
Rankings—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
deGrom (6IP 3H 2R 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers behind overall leader Max Scherzer of the Nationals (15.0).
Debut—Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Schwarber hit two home runs—a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth and a go-ahead homer in the 13th—in the 5-4 win over the Reds. Schwarber (4-7 2R 4BI) made his Major League debut June 16 and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,536th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Shoemaker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Heston earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Choo and Holliday each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/21 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W,5-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| NL | 10.1 | Giants | Chris Heston (W,10-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 9.0 | Marlins | Mat Latos (W,4-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 6.2 | `Royals | Joe Blanton | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Rangers | Shin-Soo Choo, RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Mariners | Franklin Gutierrez, PH-LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Cardinals | Matt Holliday, DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rays | Nathan Karns (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Cubs | Kyle Schwarber, C | 7 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Brewers | Jean Segura, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Chris Carter, DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `Yankees | Dellin Betances (H,15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Russell Martin, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Braves | Chris Johnson, 1B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Giants' Chris Heston pitches no-hitter, tops players for Tuesday, June 9, rises to 8th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Giants pitcher Chris Heston, pitching a no-hitter, is Tuesday's Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth in season player rankings.
Heston struck out 11 over nine innings, allowing no hits, runs or walks, in the 5-0 win over the Mets. Heston allowed three base runners—he hit three batters with pitches.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 9.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 12.4 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 11.0 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 11.0 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 5 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 6 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 7 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 8 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.7 |
| 9 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 8.1 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 |
Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, rising to eighth in player rankings and fifth among NL pitchers.
Heston had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of 20, the second-highest score of the season. On May 13, Corey Kluber of the Indians had the season’s highest Box-Toppers game score so far—25 (8IP H 0R 0BB 18K).
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 6-0 win over the Cubs.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds hit three home runs, going 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in four runs, in the 11-2 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Kole Calhoun of the Angels doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Rays.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Brewers pitcher Taylor Jungman (7IP 3H R 5K W in the 4-1 win over the Pirates) was also making his Major League debut Tuesday. He is the 3,493rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon (6IP 4H 0R 5K W in the 4-2 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut April 21 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,494th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sanchez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Votto and Calhoun each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/9 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Reds | Joey Votto 1B | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 6.2 | Tigers | Anibal Sanchez (W, 4-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | Rockies | Jorge De La Rosa (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Yankees | Masahiro Tanaka (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | Brewers | Taylor Jungmann (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | White Sox | Carlos Rodon (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Rangers | Nick Martinez (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 4.1 | Royals | Chris Young (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Angels | Kole Calhoun RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Kenley Jansen (S, 7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Orioles | Zach Britton (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Dustin Ackley PH, LF | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
San Francisco Giants rise to top Box-Toppers weekly team rankings
Giants rise from 5th to take top spot. Royals fall from 1st to 4th but still top AL teams. Pirates are hot team of the week.
Read MoreWhite Sox' Sale tops players for Thursday, May 28; Giants' Heston rises to 8th in Box-Toppers player rankings
White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Thursday’s Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Giants pitcher Chris Heston rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
Player of the Day—Sale pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out 12, allowing four hits, in the 3-2 win over the Orioles.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 28.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 11.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 8 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.7 |
| 9 | Fielder, Prince 2029 | dh | tex al | 6.5 |
| 10 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Chris Heston pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing four hits, in the 7-0 win over the Braves.
Heston rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates went 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 11-5 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no AL batters earned Player of the Game honors.
Debut—Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rodriguez (7.2IP 3H 0R 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Rangers) was also making his Major League debut Thursday, playing in his first career game. He is the 3,480th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Heston earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. McCutchen earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL 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
| 5/28 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.2 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 9.2 | Red Sox | Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| NL | 8.1 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6.0 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W, 3-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 4.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 3.2 | Athletics | Evan Scribner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Orioles | Zach Britton (S, 13) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Mariners' Hernandez continues Box-Toppers player rankings lead; Hosmer, Harper rise to lead batters
King Felix reigns for 4th week. Pirates' Cole is top NL pitcher. Royals' Hosmer rises to lead AL batters, Nationals' Harper rises to lead NL batters.
Read MoreGiants' Chris Heston tops players for Tuesday, May 12, is among 3 to rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings
Giants pitcher Chris Heston is Tuesday’s Player of the Day and is one of three players to rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season.
Heston rises to seventh place Tuesday, while Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to second place and Eric Hosmer of the Royals rises to fifth.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 12.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
Player of the Day—Heston pitched a complete game, allowing one run, two hits and striking out 10, in the 8-1 win over the Astros. Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, putting him in seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings, third among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Brewers.
National League Batter of the Day—Andre Ethier of the Dodgers homered, went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs, in the 11-1 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics homered, went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Red Sox.
Rankings—In addition to Heston, two other players rose in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
- Rays pitcher Chris Archer rose to second place. Archer (7IP 2R 8K ND in the 4-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season.
- Eric Hosmer of the Royals rose to fifth place. Hosmer (HR 2-3 2R 2BI in the 7-6 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season. He takes the lead among AL batters, passing previous leader Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (4.7 Box-Toppers points).
Scoring—Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Ethier and Reddick each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s 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.
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 | 15.0 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | 11.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 4.2 | `Tigers | Alfredo Simon | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Dodgers | Andre Ethier RF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Mike Zunino C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Mark Trumbo RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Josh Harrison 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Rays | Chris Archer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Athletics' Scott Kazmir (7IP H 0R 10K) tops players for Wednesday, April 8
Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.
Kazmir pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 10, in the 10-0 win over the Rangers.
National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Aaron Harang pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers hit three home runs and drove in four in the 7-4 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 7-5 win over the White Sox.
Debut—Giants pitcher Chris Heston made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, marking the first time he earned Player of the Game honors. Heston struck out five over six innings in the 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Heston is the 3,437th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Streak—Angels closing pitcher Huston Street has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 11 straight seasons. Street was Player of the Game in the 5-3 win over the Mariners after allowing no runs and no hits and striking out one in the ninth inning. Street began his 11-year streak in 2005, scoring 4.0 Box-Toppers points that season with the Athletics. His best years were 2006 and 2008, also both with the A’s, when he scored 8.0. The fewest points he earned in a season prior to this year was 1.0 in 2013 with the Padres. He had 5.0 points in 2014 with both the Padres and the Angels. He has 47.0 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 22nd among closing pitchers since 1995.
Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Harang earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Cain each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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
| 408 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | Athletics | Scott Kazmir (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| 12.1 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 11.2 | Rays | Jake Odorizzi (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| NL | 11.1 | Phillies | Aaron Harang (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 7.2 | Tigers | Anibal Sanchez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Dodgers | Adrian Gonzalez 1B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | `Braves | Shelby Miller | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Jacoby Ellsbury CF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Wilin Rosario PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | J.J. Hoover (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Huston Street (S, 2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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. | ||||||||||||||||