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Box-Toppers is voting for four players for 2023 Hall of Fame induction on the internet writers’ ballot—Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Box-Toppers is voting for four players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2023 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players: Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreTrevor Hoffman has the most Box-Toppers points of any closing pitcher since tracking began in 1995, more even than Mariano Rivera, considered by many to be the greatest closer of all time.
Craig Kimbrel leads active closers in career Box-Toppers points. Other leaders include Edwin Diaz, Greg Holland and Kenley Jansen.
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Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez rose to second in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season and Eugenio Suarez of the Reds earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 |
| 7 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b ss | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 |
Player of the Day—Estrada struck out eight over seven scoreless innings in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis struck out six over seven innings, allowing two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants homered and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Dodgers.
Notable—Two players earned Box-Toppers points for the second time this season Sunday:
Debut—Aledmys Diaz of the Cardinals made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Diaz (2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 12-7 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,612th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Streak—Huston Street of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Street (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Athletics. He has 51.0 career points, ranked second among active AL closing pitchers (behind Francisco Rodriguez of the Tigers who has 60.4). His best season was 2008 with the Athletics, when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked fourth among AL closing pitchers. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Angels.
Scoring—Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bettis earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Machado and Belt 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/10 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Blue Jays | Marco Estrada (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Manny Machado, 3B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | Rockies | Chad Bettis (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 3.2 | `Royals | Edinson Volquez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Giants | Brandon Belt, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Aledmys Diaz, SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Joe Ross (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Huston Street (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Phillies | Jeremy Hellickson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Sean Doolittle (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Eugenio Suarez, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Cubs | Tommy La Stella, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Monday’s Player of the Day, while Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir took the season lead in Box-Toppers points.
Cole struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Tigers to earn Player of the Day honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 3.7 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 |
| 3 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 |
| 6 | Wilson, C.J. 2074 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Street, Huston 1979 | pi cp | ana al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | oak al | 2.0 |
American League Player of the Day—Kazmir earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points as AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, the most of any player this season. Kazmir struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Astros. Kazmir was one of three players Monday who were the first this season to earn Player of the Game honors for the second time. The others were Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi (8IP R 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Blue Jays) and Huston Street (1IP 0R 2K Sv in the 6-3 win over the Rangers). Both Odorizzi and Street have 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
National League Batter of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit two two-run homers and went 3-for-5 with three runs in the 7-6 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead grand slam in the 6-5 win over the Orioles.
Streak—Nick Markakis of the Braves has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. Markakis (1-2 BI) was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Marlins to earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He began his 10-season streak in 2006, when he earned his first Box-Toppers point with the Orioles. His best year was 2009 with the Orioles when he earned 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking fifth among AL outfielders. In 2014, he had 3.0 points with the Orioles. Markakis has 38.6 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks him 14th among active outfielders currently in the NL.
Debut—Dodgers pitcher Yimi Garcia made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Garcia (1IP 0R 2K W in the 6-5 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,440th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He is the only player in the Box-Toppers database named "Yimi."
Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kazmir earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Soler and Drew each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/13 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Pirates | Gerrit Cole (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| AL | 6.0 | Athletics | Scott Kazmir (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Cubs | Jorge Soler RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Yankees | Stephen Drew PH, 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Ender Inciarte CF, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Red Sox | Mookie Betts CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Rays | Jake Odorizzi (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Huston Street (S, 3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Rafael Betancourt (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Yimi Garcia (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | Brewers | Carlos Gomez CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Braves | Nick Markakis RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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.
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. | ||||||||||||||||
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.