Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreAstros’ Valdez tops players Sunday, Aug. 18; Brewers’ Rea tops NL players
Astros pitcher Framber Valdez is Sunday's Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Valdez struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk in the 2-0 win over the White Sox.
Read MoreMets’ Quintana tops players for Friday, June 21; Braves’ Sale rises to 2nd in rankings
Mets pitcher Jose Quintana is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Braves pitcher Chris Sale rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and first place among National League pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAthletics’ Kaprielian tops players for Sunday, Oct. 2; Phillies’ Wheeler tops NL players
Athletics pitcher James Kaprielian is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kaprielian struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 10-3 win over the Mariners.
Read MoreBlue Jays’ Manoah tops players for Monday, June 13; Padres’ Darvish tops NL players
Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Manoah struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 11-1 win over the Orioles.
Read MoreBrewers’ Peralta tops players for Monday, May 16, rising to 9th in player rankings
Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
Peralta struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Braves.
Read MoreReds’ Mahle tops players for Wednesday, June 16; Yankees’ Cole rises to lead player rankings
Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to second place in player rankings and Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler maintained his fifth-place spot in rankings after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMets’ deGrom tops players for Monday, May 31, rising to 6th in player rankings
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in season player rankings.
deGrom struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Read MoreYankees’ Kluber, pitching a no-hitter, tops players for Wednesday, May 19
Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber, pitching a no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to fourth place and Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers rises to fifth.
Read MoreBox-Toppers selects seven players for 2021 Hall of Fame induction in internet writers’ ballot
Box-Toppers is voting for seven players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot—Todd Helton, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent, Aramis Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreComparing Box-Toppers All-Decade All-Star teams—2010s vs. 2000s
Comparing Box-Toppers’ All-Decade All-Star teams from the 2000s and the 2010s, a couple of interesting things stand out:
Albert Pujols was the leading batter in Box-Toppers points in both decades.
Batters overall earned precipitously fewer Box-Toppers points in the 2010s compared to the 2000s.
Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg tops players for Thursday, April 4; Indians’ Bauer rises to lead season player rankings
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreIndians’ Carlos Carrasco top players for Tuesday, Aug. 28, rises to 6th in player rankings
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
Carrasco struck out 11 over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 8-1 win over the Twins.
Read MoreDodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, April 15; Rangers' Colon is 1st to earn Box-Toppers points in 20 seasons
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Rangers pitcher Bartolo Colon, flirting with a perfect game at age 44, becomes the first player to earn Box-Toppers points in 20 different seasons after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MorePhillies' Nick Pivetta tops players for Thursday, April 5; Red Sox' Price tops AL players
Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Pivetta struck out nine over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins.
Read MorePhillies' Aaron Nola tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 13; Twins' Santana rises to 9th in Box-Toppers rankings
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer failed in his chance to take the 2017 Box-Toppers points lead after he did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s loss Wednesday.
Read MoreMets' Jacob deGrom tops players for Friday, July 14, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 14:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
deGrom struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 14-2 win over the Rockies.
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, rising to 10th place in player rankings, seventh place among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers hit two homers, including a ninth-inning, three-run shot, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins. Puig went 2-for-4, driving in four total runs.
Puig earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 Box-Toppers points for 2017, which is his highest single-season total of his five-season career. His previous best seasons were 2015 and 2016 when he had 3.5 each season. He had just 1.5 points in 2013 and just 1.0 point in 2014.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 5-3 win over the Royals.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 113.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 49th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Beltre now trails 48th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).
Passing Sosa, Beltre now ranks 15th among all batters since 1995, trailing 14th-ranked Torii Hunter (115.9). Beltre also ranks 15th among active players in career Box-Toppers points, trailing 14th-ranked player, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (117.5). He ranks third among active batters in career points, behind second-ranked Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9).
Beltre has 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Puig and Beltre each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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| 7/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | NYM 14, COL 2 | Jacob deGrom (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 8.1 | WSH 5, CIN 0 | Gio Gonzalez (W, 8-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | OAK 5, CLE 0 | Sonny Gray (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 6.0 | SEA 4, CHW 2 | James Paxton (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | LAD 6, MIA 4 | Yasiel Puig (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | PIT 5, STL 2 | Josh Bell (1B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `BOS 5, NYY 4 | Matt Barnes | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | TEX 5, KC 3 | Adrian Beltre (3B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHC 9, BAL 8 | Wade Davis (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 10, MIN 5 | Marwin Gonzalez (LF) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 9, PHI 6 | Ryan Braun (LF) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 7, DET 2 | Jose Bautista (RF) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 4, ARI 3 | Jim Johnson (S, 20) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | TB 2, LAA 1 (F/10) | Alex Colome (S, 26) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | SF 5, SD 4 | Gorkys Hernandez (LF) | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 | 19.4 | 54.8 | 54.8 | 0.0 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 8.0 | 12.4 | 19.1 | 19.1 | 3.6 |
| Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi cp | atl nl | 6.0 | 10.0 | 21.0 | 27.7 | 2.0 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 5.7 | 6.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 | 4.7 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 5.0 | 14.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 | -4.0 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 4.5 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 1.0 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 60.1 | 89.5 | -3.0 |
| Barnes, Matt 3466 | pi mr cp | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 2.5 | 12.0 | 45.9 | 113.8 | -7.0 |
| Bautista, Jose 2169 | rf | tor al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 26.5 | 65.4 | 1.5 |
| Gonzalez, Marwin 3078 | lf | hou al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.5 |
| Hernandez, Goryks 3758 | cf lf | sf nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Braun, Ryan J. 2300 | lf | mil nl | 2.0 | 12.5 | 38.0 | 90.2 | -8.5 |
| Davis, Wade 2681 | pi cp | chi nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 21.0 | 28.0 | -2.0 |
| Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Friday, April 21; Harper, Holland rise into Box-Toppers top 10
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kluber pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out nine and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the White Sox.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 21:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 5.0 |
| 2 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 6 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 4.0 |
| 7 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 3.7 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
| 9 | Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 3.0 |
Kluber led AL players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 21.2. This was Kluber’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor for 2017.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Trevor Cahill allowed one run and three hits over seven innings, striking out six, in the 5-3 win over the Marlins.
National League Batter of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright homered and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 6-3 win over the Brewers.
This is the first time this season that a pitcher has earned Player of the Game honors for batting. It was done eight times in 2016 (including twice by Wainwright) and seven times in 2015. Wainwright has earned Player of the Game honors four times in his career for batting: July 24, 2012, May 2, 2016 and Sept. 5, 2016. He’s earned NL Batter of the Day three times (the only time he didn’t was Sept. 5, 2016).
Wainwright had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 for batting, which was the same as his Box-Toppers game score for pitching (5IP 6H 2R 0BB 9K W). But in cases of game score ties, batters beat pitchers, so Wainwright the batter beat out Wainwright the pitcher on the tiebreaker to earn Player of the Game honors.
Wainwright also now has 113.5 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 48th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list: Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). He now trails 47th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).
American League Batter of the Day—Joey Gallo of the Rangers hit two homers, going 2-for-3 and driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Royals.
Rankings—Two players rise into Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:
- Bryce Harper of the Nationals (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Mets) rises to fifth place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 4.0 for the season.
- Rockies closing pitcher Greg Holland (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 6-5 win over the Giants) rises to sixth place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 4.0 for the season.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Blue Jays pitcher Ryan Tepera (3IP H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 8-7, 13-inning win over the Angels) made his Major League debut May 10, 2015, and was playing in his 59th career game. He is the 3,774th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Sept. 7, 2015, and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,775th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cahill earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Wainwright and Gallo 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 4/21 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CLE 3, CHW 0 | Corey Kluber (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| NL | 7.0 | SD 5, MIA 3 | Trevor Cahill (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 5.0 | PHI 4, ATL 3 | Jeremy Hellickson (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | TOR 8, LAA 7 (F/13) | Ryan Tepera (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | STL 6, MIL 3 | Adam Wainwright, P | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | TEX 6, KC 2 | Joey Gallo, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.1 | PIT 6, NYY 3 | Juan Nicasio (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 13, LAD 5 | Daniel Descalso, PH-1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 2, BOS 0 | Dylan Bundy (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 6, CIN 5 (F/11) | Carl Edwards Jr. (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 6, TB 3 | Ken Giles (S,4) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 6, SF 5 | Greg Holland (S,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | WSH 4, NYM 3 (F/11) | Bryce Harper, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 6, DET 3 | Eddie Rosario, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 3, SEA 1 | Sean Manaea (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
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 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 31.4 | 31.4 | 1.0 |
| Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 34.0 | 37.0 | 4.0 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | bal al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -3.0 |
| Gallo, Joey 3485 | 3b | tex al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 23.2 | 67.4 | 67.4 | -19.2 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 | 15.1 | 36.1 | 46.8 | -11.1 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp mr | sd nl | 1.7 | 4.7 | 19.4 | 41.9 | -1.3 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.5 | 11.7 | 62.8 | 113.5 | -8.7 |
| Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi mr sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 10.0 | 22.4 | 26.4 | -8.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -5.7 |
| Giles, Ken 3402 | pi cp mr | hou al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -2.0 |
| Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | min al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -2.0 |
| Descalso, Daniel 2855 | ph 1b | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 11.2 | 0.0 |
| Edwards, Carl Jr. 3775 | pi mr | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Tepera, Ryan 3774 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Mariners' Walker tops players for Wednesday, June 8; Lackey, Scherzer rise into Box-Toppers top 10
Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker is Wednesday’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 8:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.4 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher John Lackey and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer both rose into Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner became the 71st player since 1995 with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points.
Player of the Day—Walker pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher John Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Phillies.
Lackey earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season and rising to eighth in season player rankings. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Lackey also rises to 43rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Lackey now has 116.2 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9), Angels pitcher Tim Lincecum (115.0) and Torii Hunter (115.9). Lackey now trails 42nd-ranked player Todd Helton (116.4).
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 2-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 12-7 win over the Reds.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Scherzer (7IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 11-4 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
Scherzer also rises to 47th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, Scherzer has 114.0 for his career and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Scherzer now trails 46th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).
Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner becomes the 71st player with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Bumgarner (6IP 4H R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 100.7 for his career. He rises to 68th place among all players since 1995, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Bumgarner now trails 67th-ranked player Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9).
Bumgarner also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 12th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lackey earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Moss each earn 1.5 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.
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
| 6/8 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | SEA 5/CLE 0 | Taijuan Walker (W,3-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| NL | 12.0 | CHC 8/PHI 1 | John Lackey (W,7-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.2 | MIL 4/OAK 0 | Chase Anderson (W,4-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 8.1 | BAL 4/KC 0 | Chris Tillman (W,8-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 7.0 | DC 11/CHW 4 | Max Scherzer (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | ATL 4/SD 2 | Julio Teheran (W,2-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TOR 7/DET 2 | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | COL 1/LAD 0 | Chris Rusin (W,2-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | NYY 12/LAA 6 | Chris Parmelee, 1B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `SF 2/BOS 1 | Madison Bumgarner | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | TB 6/ARI 3 | Corey Dickerson, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIN 7/MIA 5 | Trevor Plouffe, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | STL 12/CIN 7 | Brandon Moss, LF-1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | NYM 6/PIT 5 | Michael Conforto, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | HOU 3/TEX 1 | Jose Altuve, 2B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.4 | 18.1 | 37.8 | 116.2 | -1.3 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 | 29.0 | 93.6 | 114.0 | -13.0 |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.0 | 25.0 | 95.0 | 100.7 | -9.0 |
| Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 6.0 | 13.0 | 22.5 | 22.5 | -1.0 |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 5.5 | 15.4 | 35.4 | 35.4 | -4.4 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 5.0 | 9.7 | 38.8 | 40.8 | 0.3 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.0 | 9.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 1.0 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | lf | nym nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | sea al | 4.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -9.0 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 3.0 | 10.7 | 38.8 | 38.8 | -4.7 |
| Rusin, Chris 3236 | pi sp | col nl | 2.7 | 3.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 1.7 |
| Plouffe, Trevor 2869 | 3b | min al | 2.5 | 5.5 | 21.5 | 21.5 | -0.5 |
| Moss, Brandon 2520 | rf lf | stl nl | 1.5 | 6.5 | 22.5 | 24.5 | -3.5 |
| Dickerson, Corey 3222 | lf | tb al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -2.0 |
| Parmelee, Chris 2996 | 1b | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | -1.0 |
Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 29, extends lead in season Box-Toppers points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and extends his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 29:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 5 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 |
Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 4-2 win over the Mets. Kershaw picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Mets tied the game after he exited.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.0 for the season. He holds a dominating lead in player rankings, 5.0 points ahead of second-place player, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (9.0).
Kershaw also has 173.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails sixth-ranked player, Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3).
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ricky Nolasco struck out seven over six innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Wilson Ramos of the Nationals homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-2 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 13th inning in the 8-6 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Hill (6.1IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the White Sox (8.7).
Streak—Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Pence (3-2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 8-3 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 49.7 career points, 10th among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL outfielders. In 2015, Pence had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Giants.
Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey rises to 46th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Lackey (7IP 4H R 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 113.5 for his career. Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, Lackey now ranks 46th and with his point Sunday, he passes four players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Lackey now trails 45th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9). Lackey has 5.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 11th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nolasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramos and Correa each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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
| 5/29 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.2 | `LAD 4/NYM 2 | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | DC 10/STL 2 | Wilson Ramos, C | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.1 | ARI 6/SD 3 | Archie Bradley (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | MIA 7/ATL 3 | Derek Dietrich, 2B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| AL | 5.0 | MIN 5/SEA 4 | Ricky Nolasco (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| 4.0 | MIL 5/CIN 4 | Jonathan Villar, SS | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | HOU 8/LAA 6 | Carlos Correa, SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.1 | OAK 4/DET 2 | Rich Hill (W,8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 3.0 | SF 8/COL 3 | Hunter Pence, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 7/PHI 2 | John Lackey (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 2/TB 1 | Nathan Eovaldi (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 5/TOR 3 | Koji Uehara (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | KC 5/CHW 4 | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `BAL 6/CLE 4 | Darren O'Day | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | TEX 6/PIT 2 | Mitch Moreland, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 | 39.7 | 139.8 | 173.3 | -11.7 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 32.1 | 4.4 |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.7 | 15.4 | 35.1 | 113.5 | -4.0 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.7 | 7.7 | 24.8 | 24.8 | 3.7 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 4.0 | 12.2 | 18.2 | 18.2 | -4.2 |
| Nolasco, Ricky 2125 | pi sp | min al | 3.7 | 5.7 | 26.4 | 79.5 | 1.7 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 2.5 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -4.7 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi mr cp | bos al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 24.0 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| O’Day, Darren 2577 | pi mr | bal al | 2.0 | 3.7 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 0.3 |
| Ramos, Wilson 2904 | ca | dc nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 0.5 |
| Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b | tex al | 1.0 | 7.2 | 15.2 | 16.2 | -5.2 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 22.0 | 49.7 | -1.0 |
| Dietrich, Derek 3199 | 2b | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Bradley, Archie 3438 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Villar, Jonathan 3233 | ss | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |