A detailed look at Box-Toppers points leaders for 2023: Top players by position in each league

Here is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2023.

The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications.

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Cubs’ Smyly tops players for Friday, April 21; Gallen, Ohtani rise in top 10 player rankings

Cubs pitcher Drew Smyly is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—Diamondbacks Zac Gallen rises to third place and Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani rises to sixth place.

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Marwin Gonzalez tops players in World Series Game 5 as Astros hold off Braves

Marwin Gonzalez of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s World Series Game 5.

The Houston Astros win 9-5, holding off the Atlanta Braves, who still lead the best-of-seven game series, 3-2.

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Jorge Soler tops players in World Series Game 4 as Braves take 3-1 series lead over Astros

Jorge Soler of the Braves is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s World Series Game 4.

The Atlanta Braves win 3-2 to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series over the Houston Astros.

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Dodgers’ Jansen, Astros’ Graveman top players in Tuesday’s league championship series games

Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen and Astros middle reliever Kendall Graveman are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s two league championship series games.

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Reds' Brandon Finnegan tops players for Thursday, Aug. 4; Blue Jays' Happ rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan is Thursday’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 Aug. 4:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 18.7
3 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 16.4
4 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 14.5
5 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 14.4
6 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 14.1
7 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 14.1
8 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp chi nl 12.4
9 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 11.0
10 Happ, J.A. 2536 pi sp tor al 11.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Finnegan pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 7-0 win over the Cardinals.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Drew Smyly struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the Royals. Smyly did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited the game with the Rays trailing 2-0.

National League Batter of the Day—Denard Span of the Giants hit a 10th-inning, go-ahead home run in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Phillies. Span also went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Billy Butler of the Athletics hit a 10th-inning, pinch-hit single and scored a run, in the 8-6, 10-inning win over the Angels.

This was Butler’s first Player of the Game honor of 2016 and he has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. Butler earned his first points in 2007 with the Royals and has 47.6 career points, 28th among active AL batters. His best season was 2012 with the Royals when he had 9.7 points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 1.5 points with the Athletics.

Rankings—Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Happ (6IP 4H R BB 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He displaces Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (11.0 Box-Toppers points) from the top 10 season player rankings list and ranks third among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Finnegan earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smyly earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Span and Butler 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

8/4 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 CIN 7, STL 0 Brandon Finnegan (W,7-8) - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 0 4
AL 7.0 `TB 3, KC 2 Drew Smyly - - - - 7.0 5 2 2 1 10
5.0 TOR 4, HOU 1 J.A. Happ (W,15-3) - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 1 6
4.1 BOS 3, SEA 2 (11) Craig Kimbrel (W,2-3) - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 SF 3, PHI 2 (10) Denard Span, CF 4 2 3 2 - - - - - -
3.0 LAD 4, COL 2 Kenley Jansen (S,32) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.1 CLE 9, MIN 2 Dan Otero (W,3-1) - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 ATL 5, PIT 2 Jim Johnson (S,7) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 NYM 4, NYY 1 Jay Bruce, RF 4 1 1 3 - - - - - -
BAT 1.0 OAK 8, LAA 6 (10) Billy Butler, PH-DH 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
1.0 CHW 6, DET 3 Tim Anderson, SS 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.2 TEX 5, BAL 3 A.J. Griffin (W,5-1) - - - - 5.2 5 3 3 0 6

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 +/-
Happ, J.A. 2536 pi sp tor al 11.0 24.1 39.5 47.5 -2.1
Bruce, Jay 2453 rf nym nl 7.5 10.7 30.7 57.8 4.3
Smyly, Drew 3009 pi sp tb al 6.4 12.4 34.5 34.5 0.4
Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp lad nl 5.0 9.0 35.4 35.4 1.0
Finnegan, Brandon 3535 pi sp cin nl 5.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 2.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 4.0 10.0 53.7 54.7 -2.0
Griffin, A.J. 3074 pi sp tex al 3.7 3.7 18.4 18.4 3.7
Span, Denard 2502 cf sf nl 3.0 3.0 11.7 25.7 3.0
Johnson, Jim 2417 pi mr cp atl nl 2.0 4.0 14.0 19.7 0.0
Otero, Dan 3365 pi mr cle al 2.0 3.7 4.7 4.7 0.3
Anderson, Tim 3659 ss chi al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Butler, Billy 2330 dh ph oak al 1.5 3.0 28.2 47.6 0.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Syndergaard tops players for Wednesday, June 15; Kershaw extends dominant season Box-Toppers lead

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 15:


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 18.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 11.7
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 10.0
4 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 10.0
5 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 10.0
6 Lackey, John 1640 pi sp chi nl 9.4
7 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 9.0
8 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 8.8
9 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 8.7
10 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 8.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his dominant lead in season player rankings and Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to fourth in player rankings.

Player of the Day—Syndergaard struck out 11 over 8 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, five hits and no walks, in the 11-2 win over the Pirates.

Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, becoming the fourth player this season with 10 or more points. It is the second straight year Syndergaard has reached 10 points—in 2015, he had 10.4.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Drew Smyly struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and no walks, in the 3-2, 13-inning win over the Mariners. Smyly did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.

National League Batter of the Day—Melvin Upton of the Padres homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Marlins.

Upton had a Box-Toppers game score of +4, the same as DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies, who was Player of the Game in the 6-3 win over the Yankees. While both players also had similar batting lines (3-3 2R 2BI), Upton won NL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he hit a home run.

American League Batter of the Day—Hanley Ramirez of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer, going 2-for-3 and scoring twice, in the 6-4 win over the Orioles.

Kershaw—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his dominant lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Kershaw (7.1IP 5H 2R BB 11K W in the 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 18.0 for the season. He now leads second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (11.7) by 6.3 points, meaning Fernandez would need at least four starts to have a chance of catching Kershaw.

Kershaw also now has 177.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began (see homepage for updated list of “all-time” top 20 players in career points). Kershaw trails fifth-ranked player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (182.0).

Rankings—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Cueto (7IP 7H R BB 9K W in the 10-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the fifth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the fifth season Cueto has reached 10 points, the third straight season.

Notable—With the rise of Syndergaard and Cueto in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, the only batter—Manny Machado of the Orioles—has slipped off the top 10 list. Machado, who leads AL batters with 8.7 Box-Toppers points, now ranks 11th among all players. Machado had been in the top 10 overall rankings since May 8. 

The top NL batter, Eugenio Suarez of the Reds (7.0), ranks 20th among all players. 

Also, with Machado sliding out of the top 10, eight of the top 10 players are now from the NL. The only two from the AL are Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (8.8 points, eighth place) and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (8.7 points, 10th place).

Debut—Tim Anderson of the White Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Anderson (3B 3-5 3R in the 5-3 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,659th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smyly earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Upton and Ramirez 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

6/15 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.1 NYM 11/PIT 2 Noah Syndergaard (W,7-2) - - - - 8.1 5 2 1 0 11
AL 10.2 `TB 3/SEA 2 Drew Smyly - - - - 6.2 4 2 2 0 12
8.1 LAD 3/ARI 2 Clayton Kershaw (W,10-1) - - - - 7.1 5 2 2 1 11
6.0 SF 10/MIL 1 Johnny Cueto (W,10-1) - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 1 9
6.0 `DC 5/CHC 4 Stephen Strasburg - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 8
5.0 LAA 10/MIN 2 Hector Santiago (W,4-4) - - - - 6.0 2 1 1 2 5
BAT 4.0 SD 6/MIA 3 Melvin Upton, LF 3 2 3 2 - - - - - -
4.0 COL 6/NYY 3 DJ LeMahieu, 2B 3 2 3 2 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 BOS 6/BAL 4 Hanley Ramirez, 1B 3 2 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 TEX 7/OAK 5 Rougned Odor, 2B 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
2.2 TOR 7/PHI 2 Marco Estrada (W,5-2) - - - - 6.2 4 2 2 1 5
1.2 `HOU 4/STL 1 Collin McHugh - - - - 6.2 7 1 1 2 6
1.0 CHW 5/DET 3 Tim Anderson, SS 5 3 3 0 - - - - - -
1.0 KC 9/CLE 4 Eric Hosmer, 1B 5 2 2 2 - - - - - -
1.0 `ATL 9/CIN 8 Bud Norris - - - - 5.0 3 3 3 2 7
`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 18.0 43.7 143.8 177.3 -7.7
Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 10.0 22.8 74.0 93.4 -2.8
Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 10.0 20.4 20.4 20.4 -0.4
Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 8.4 22.4 68.5 76.2 -5.6
Santiago, Hector 3109 pi sp ana al 6.4 14.4 26.8 26.8 -1.6
Estrada, Marco 2847 pi sp tor al 6.0 14.0 38.1 38.1 -2.0
Smyly, Drew 3009 pi sp tb al 4.7 10.7 32.8 32.8 -1.3
LeMahieu, DJ 3091 2b col nl 4.5 11.5 17.5 17.5 -2.5
McHugh, Collin 3316 pi sp hou al 3.0 12.7 24.5 24.5 -6.7
Hosmer, Eric 2886 1b kc al 3.0 12.0 25.5 25.5 -6.0
Odor, Rougned 3336 2b tex al 3.0 6.0 7.5 7.5 0.0
Norris, Bud 2638 pi sp atl nl 2.0 3.0 33.4 42.4 1.0
Ramirez, Hanley 2119 1b ss bos al 1.5 1.5 24.2 52.1 1.5
Upton, Melvin 1922 lf sd nl 1.5 1.5 14.5 36.2 1.5
Anderson, Tim 3659 ss chi al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Rays' Smyly tops players for Tuesday, April 19; Nationals' Strasburg tops NL players

Rays pitcher Drew Smyly is Tuesday’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 April 19:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Velasquez, Vince 3611 pi sp phi nl 4.0
2 Latos, Mat 2644 pi sp chi al 3.7
3 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 3.4
4 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 3.0
5 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 3.0
6 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 3.0
7 Morton, Charlie 2503 pi sp phi nl 3.0
8 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 2.7
9 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 2.7
10 Santiago, Hector 3109 pi sp ana al 2.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Smyly struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 3-0, 10-inning win over the Red Sox. Smyly did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied, 0-0.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 7-0 win over the Marlins. Strasburg earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Tyler Flowers of the Braves went 4-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 8-1 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 8-6 win over the Tigers.

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

  • White Sox pitcher Mat Latos rose to second place (6.1IP 2H 0R 5K W in the 5-0 win over the Angels), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season.
  • Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rose to eighth place (6.1IP 4H R 5K W in the 3-2 win over the Mariners), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

Streak—Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Hammel (6IP 5H R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rays and has 47.2 career points, which ranks 27th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2014 with the Cubs and the Athletics when he had 10.4 points, 25th among AL pitchers. In 2015, he had 9.7 points with the Cubs, 22nd among NL pitchers.

Debut—Reds pitcher Robert Stephenson made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Stephenson (7IP 3H R 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut April 7 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,617th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Smyly earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Strasburg earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Flowers and Perez each earn 1.5 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

4/19 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 16.0 `Rays Drew Smyly - - - - - - 8.0 1 0 0 2 11
NL 13.0 Nationals Stephen Strasburg (W,3-0) - - - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 2 10
7.0 Dbacks Robbie Ray (W,1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 5 0 0 2 8
6.1 White Sox Mat Latos (W,3-0) - - - - - - 6.1 2 0 0 3 5
5.0 Cubs Jason Hammel (W,2-0) - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 0 6
BAT 4.0 Braves Tyler Flowers, C 4 1 4 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 4 1 2 5 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Mets Yoenis Cespedes, CF-LF 3 2 1 3 2 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Reds Robert Stephenson (W,2-0) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 2 3
3.0 Athletics Fernando Rodriguez (W,1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.1 Indians Carlos Carrasco (W,2-0) - - - - - - 6.1 4 1 1 3 5
2.1 Blue Jays Roberto Osuna (S,5) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Padres Fernando Rodney (S,2) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Rangers Elvis Andrus, SS 3 1 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Brewers Chris Carter, 1B 1 0 0 2 1 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 Players of the Games

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 +/-
Latos, Mat 2644 pi sp chi al 3.7 7.7 44.9 63.6 -0.3
Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 2.7 20.7 36.8 36.8 -15.3
Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 2.7 16.7 62.8 70.5 -11.3
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 cf lf dh nym nl 2.0 12.9 33.9 33.9 -8.9
Smyly, Drew 3009 pi sp tb al 2.0 8.0 30.1 30.1 -4.0
Osuna, Roberto 3512 pi cp tor al 2.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 -2.0
Perez, Salvador 2972 ca kc al 1.5 6.0 19.2 19.2 -3.0
Flowers, Tyler 3101 ca atl nl 1.5 2.5 10.0 10.0 0.5
Hammel, Jason 2235 pi sp chi nl 1.0 10.7 34.1 47.2 -8.7
Ray, Robbie 3502 pi sp ari nl 1.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 -3.0
Carter, Chris 2828 1b dh mil nl 1.0 2.0 19.9 20.9 0.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803 pi cp sd nl 1.0 2.0 19.0 31.0 0.0
Rodriguez, Fernando 3537 pi mr oak al 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0
Andrus, Elvis 2582 ss tex al 1.0 1.0 8.5 11.5 1.0
Stephenson, Robert 3617 pi sp cin nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Rays' Smyly tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 1; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 5th in player rankings

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Rays pitcher Drew Smyly is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 1.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 19.4
2 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 19.1
3 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 18.7
4 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 18.1
5 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 18.0
6 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 17.7
7 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 17.1
8 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 16.4
9 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
10 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 16.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Smyly pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 11-2 win over the Orioles.

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Villanueva pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, striking out six and allowing one hit, in the 8-5 win over the Nationals. Villanueva did not earn the win, picking up a no decision because he exited with the Cardinals trailing, 4-3.

National League Batter of the Day—Darin Ruf of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 14-8 win over the Mets.

This was Ruf’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ruf made his Major League debut Sept. 14, 2012, and was playing in his 219th career game. He is the 3,575th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the 7-5 win over the Astros.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Greinke (7.1IP 5H R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Greinke also now has 143.7 career Box-Toppers points and maintains his rank at 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).

Notable—Prince Fielder rises to fourth place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Fielder (HR 2-5 2R 2BI in the 8-6 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.

Debut—In addition to Ruf, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday: Marlins pitcher Justin Nicolino earned his first Player of the Game honor (7IP 6H 0R 3K W in the 7-1 win over the Braves). Nicolino made his Major League debut June 20 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,576th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Smyly earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Villanueva earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Ruf and Morrison 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

9/1 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Rays Drew Smyly (W,2-2) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 1 10
NL 8.1 `Cardinals Carlos Villanueva (MR) - - - - - - 3.1 1 0 0 0 6
7.0 Brewers Jimmy Nelson (W,11-10) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 0 6
7.0 Yankees Michael Pineda (W,10-8) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 0 7
BAT 6.0 Phillies Darin Ruf, 1B 5 2 3 6 0 0 - - - - - -
4.1 Dodgers Zack Greinke (W,15-3) - - - - - - 7.1 5 1 1 1 5
4.0 Dbacks Phil Gosselin, 2B 3 1 2 4 2 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Cubs Kyle Schwarber, LF 3 3 2 2 1 1 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Mariners Logan Morrison, PH-1B 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Matt Shoemaker (W,7-9) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 5
2.0 Twins Eduardo Escobar, SS 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Blue Jays Ryan Goins, 2B 3 2 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Dbacks Aaron Hill, PH 1 0 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Justin Nicolino (W,3-2) - - - - - - 7.0 6 0 0 2 3
1.0 Tigers Ian Kinsler, 2B 5 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Rangers Prince Fielder, 1B 5 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Pirates' Gerrit Cole tops players for Wednesday, April 29, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Wednesday’s Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Cole struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, in the 8-1 win over the Cubs. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season.

While Cole has the same number of Box-Toppers points as overall leader Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, Cole is in second place in player rankings because he had fewer points in 2014—Hernandez had 20.8, Cole had 5.7.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 29.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 6.0
2 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 6.0
3 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 5.0
4 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 4.7
5 Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 rf fla nl 4.5
6 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp cin nl 4.4
7 Kazmir, Scott 1947 pi sp oak al 3.7
8 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 3.7
9 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 3.7
10 DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 pi sp cin nl 3.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel allowed one run over eight innings in the 7-2 win over the Padres. Keuchel rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season.

Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of 7.0, tied with three other AL players—Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello and Rays pitcher Drew Smyly. But Keuchel beat Smyly in a tiebreaker because he earned the win in his game, while Smyly had a no-decision. And Keuchel beat Jimenez and Porcello in a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—he had eight, while the other two both had seven.

National League League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and went 3-for-5, in the 8-3 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Roberto Perez of the Indians homered, doubled and went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs, in the 7-5 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday (2HR 2B 3-5 2R 4BI in the 10-7 win over the Twins). Cabrera earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season. He leads all American League batters.

Cabrera now has 131.9 career Box-Toppers points and moves up to 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With Wednesday’s point, Cabrera passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (131.8 Box-Toppers points). Cabrera now trails Jason Giambi and David Ortiz (who both have 133.4)

Cabrera ranks ninth among all batters since 1995 and is the fourth-ranked active batter, behind Alex Rodriguez (181.8), Albert Pujols (167.3) and David Ortiz (133.4).

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Braun and Perez 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.

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

4/29 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 9.0 Pirates Gerrit Cole (W, 4-0) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 0 1 8
8.0 Dbacks Josh Collmenter (W, 2-3) - - - - - - 8.0 5 1 0 0 6
AL 7.0 Astros Dallas Keuchel (W, 3-0) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 0 4
7.0 Orioles Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 7.0 3 2 0 1 6
7.0 Red Sox Rick Porcello (W, 2-2) - - - - - - 7.0 2 1 1 2 6
7.0 `Rays Drew Smyly - - - - - - 6.0 4 2 2 1 10
BAT 5.0 Brewers Ryan Braun RF 5 2 3 5 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 5.0 Indians Roberto Perez C 3 3 3 2 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Tigers Miguel Cabrera 1B 5 2 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Angels Mike Trout CF 3 2 2 3 1 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Marlins Sam Dyson (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 Nationals Danny Espinosa 3B 5 2 4 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.1 `Mariners Danny Farquhar (H, 4) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 `Cardinals Jordan Walden (H, 8) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Dodgers Scott Van Slyke LF 2 1 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Indians' Kluber tops players for Saturday, Sept. 6, ranks 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, Saturday’s Player of the Day, ranks fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Kluber pitched a complete game, allowing one run and five hits and striking out eight, in the 3-1 win over the White Sox. Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 19.4 for the season. He maintains his fourth place spot in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) He ranks second among American League pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Tigers (21.1 Box-Toppers points).

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is National League Player of the Day. Liriano pitched six scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 5-0 win over the Cubs.

Albert Pujols of the Angels is AL Batter of the Day. Pujols homered and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-5 win over the Twins.

Buster Posey of the Giants is NL Batter of the Day. Posey homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice, in the 5-4 win over the Tigers.

Notables: Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto maintained his fifth-place spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Cueto (7IP R 8K W in the 2-1 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.4 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers.

Rays pitcher Drew Smyly rises to 17th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Smyly (6IP R 8K ND in the 3-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks ninth among AL pitchers.

Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu rises to 29th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Ryu (6.2IP 9K ND in the 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 11th among NL pitchers.

Kluber receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Liriano receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pujols and Posey each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

906 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Indians Corey Kluber (W, 14-9) - - - - - - 9.0 5 1 0 0 8
NL 10.0 Pirates Francisco Liriano (W, 4-10) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 2 9
6.0 `Rays Drew Smyly - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 2 8
5.0 Reds Johnny Cueto (W, 17-8) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 2 8
BAT 4.0 Angels Albert Pujols 1B 5 3 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Pirates Mark Melancon (W, 3-4) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
3.2 `Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu - - - - - - 6.2 7 2 2 1 9
BAT 3.0 Giants Buster Posey 1B 3 2 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.1 Braves David Carpenter (W, 6-3) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Mariners Kyle Seager 3B 5 2 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rockies Michael McKenry C 4 2 2 2 2 1 - - - - - -
1.1 Red Sox Clay Buchholz (W, 7-8) - - - - - - 6.1 4 2 2 2 5
1.0 Yankees Martin Prado 2B 4 2 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Athletics Josh Reddick RF 4 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Cardinals Oscar Taveras RF 3 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Phillies A.J. Burnett (W, 8-15) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 2 4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

 

Phillies' Hamels, Athletics' Hammel top players for Monday, Sept. 1

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, who pitched the first six innings in a combined no-hitter, is Monday’s Player of the Day.

Hamels pitched six no-hit innings, allowing no runs, walking five and striking out seven, in the 7-0 win over the Braves. The other three Phillies pitchers who combined for the no-hitter were Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He becomes the 40th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 25th among all players and ninth among National League pitchers. Hamels has now earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in each of the nine years of his career.

Athletics pitcher Jason Hammel is American League Player of the Day. Hammel allowed one run over eight innings, striking out five, in the 6-1 win over the Mariners. Hammel earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points earned since being traded from the Cubs, giving him 10.4 for the season. He becomes the 41st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 40th among all players and 19th among AL pitchers.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers is AL Batter of the Day. Cabrera hit two home runs, going 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 12-1 win over the Indians. Cabrera becomes the 42nd player this season to earn 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and second among AL batters, behind Jose Abreu of the White Sox (15.5 Box-Toppers points). In 2013, Cabrera led AL batters with 16.9 Box-Toppers points.

Josh Rutledge of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Rutledge went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-9 win over the Giants.

Notable: Rays pitcher Drew Smyly rose to 21st place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Smyly (5.2IP 7K ND in the 4-3 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 13th among AL pitchers.

Hamels receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hammel receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Cabrera and Rutledge each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

901 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Phillies Cole Hamels (W, 8-6) - - - - - - 6.0 0 0 0 5 7
AL 7.0 Athletics Jason Hammel (W, 2-5) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 1 5
BAT 6.0 Tigers Miguel Cabrera DH 5 4 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
5.1 Cubs Jacob Turner (W, 5-8) - - - - - - 6.1 5 1 1 1 7
5.0 Twins Joe Mauer DH 4 2 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
BAT 5.0 Rockies Josh Rutledge SS 3 3 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Padres Tyson Ross (W, 13-12) - - - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 2 8
3.2 `Rays Drew Smyly - - - - - - 5.2 3 2 2 2 7
3.0 Royals Salvador Perez C 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Giants Hunter Pence RF 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Cardinals Kolten Wong PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Marlins Steve Cishek (S, 32) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Nationals Denard Span CF 5 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.