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Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2022 to 2023.
Rodon had 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth among all players and third among National League pitchers. But moving to the Yankees in 2023, he earned only 1.0 Box-Toppers point. That 18.8-point decline was the biggest among all players.
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The New York Mets are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2023 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the World Series champion Houston Astros saw the biggest decline.
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The New York Yankees and New York Mets lead Box-Toppers offseason rankings after landing the winter’s two biggest free agents.
The Yankees rank first after Carlos Rodon Thursday agreed to a free agent deal. Rodon earned 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth overall and third among National League pitchers. He ranked second among all free agents going into the 2023 season.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers lead Box-Toppers team rankings report for the fourth straight week.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees regain a razor-thin lead among American League teams and the Baltimore Orioles are the week’s hottest team, thanks to a mid-week acquisition.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Jameson Taillon is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Taillon struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Royals. Taillon did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Carlos Rodon is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Rodon struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two hits, one run and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Guardians.
Read MoreRays pitcher Tyler Glasnow is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extending his lead in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Corbin Burnes is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.
Burnes struck out nine over five innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 7-1, seven-inning win over the Reds.
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The Houston Astros rocketed to a huge lead in Box-Toppers team rankings this week, mainly due to acquiring Zack Greinke and other players at the July 31 trade deadline.
The Astros lead for the second week, but last week’s narrow lead has exploded to an enormous lead this week, as they gained the most Box-Toppers points of any team in the past week.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Gerrit Cole is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Grienke also rises to lead NL pitchers in season player rankings, plus he rises to fifth place in most career Box-Toppers points since 1995.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Jake Odorizzi is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Odorizzi struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Astros.
Read MoreJesus Aguilar of the Brewers is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s National League Championship Game 6, as Milwaukee pulls even in the series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Read MoreThe 2018 All-Star Game is an almost perfect example of why Box-Toppers is an antidote to shortsighted baseball thinking.
Two players were honored in the game—one who earned the game’s Most Valuable Player award and the other who earned the win. But Box-Toppers metrics say neither of those players really deserve the honors.
Read MoreFreddie Freeman of the Braves may be seeded seventh among the eight players in Monday’s Home Run Derby, but he has the most 2018 Box-Toppers points in the group.
Freeman has 6.5 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks third among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings. However, his 16 home runs this season is seventh-most among the eight derby participants and has him seeded seventh in the tournament-style derby.
Read MoreEddie Rosario of the Twins has the most 2018 Box-Toppers points among the 10 players on the All-Star Game Final Vote ballot.
Rosario has 6.5 Box-Toppers points this season, which ranks fifth among American League batters.
Read MoreRoyals pitcher Jason Hammel is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Verlander struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Dodgers. Verlander retired the first 13 batters he faced.
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Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.1 |
| 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 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
Plus, three players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors:
Player of the Day—Hamels pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 10-0 win over the Angels.
Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 147.0 for his career, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—David Ortiz (145.9), Jim Thome (146.7) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9). Hamels now trails 23rd-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).
Passing Cabrera, Hamels now ranks eighth among active players in career points, trailing the seventh-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (148.7).
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 203.8 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 190.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 184.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 167.5 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | min al | 151.2 |
| 20 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 149.2 |
Hamels has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 6-3 win over the Reds.
Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising from ninth to seventh place in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers.
Greinke also rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when player tracking began. He now has 167.5 career Box-Toppers points and with his points Friday, passes two players on the “all-time” list—Johan Santana (166.6) and Manny Ramirez (167.2). Greinke now trails ninth-place player, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (169.7).
American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in five runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Jesus Aguilar of the Brewers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Yankees. Aguilar also went 3-for-4 and drove in seven runs.
Rankings—In addition to Greinke, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Debut—Twins pitcher Trevor Hildenberger made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Hildenberger (2.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 9-6 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut June 23 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,846th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Greinke earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Springer and Aguilar 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.
| 7/7 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.2 | TEX 10, LAA 0 | Cole Hamels (W, 4-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 9.0 | HOU 12, TOR 2 | George Springer (CF) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 9.0 | ARI 6, CIN 3 | Zack Greinke (W, 11-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 8.0 | MIL 9, NYY 4 | Jesus Aguilar (1B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | SEA 7, OAK 2 | James Paxton (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | CHC 6, PIT 1 | Kris Bryant (3B) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.1 | MIA 6, SF 1 | Dan Straily (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | COL 12, CHW 4 | Nolan Arenado (3B) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | SD 4, PHI 3 | Austin Hedges (C) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CLE 11, DET 2 | Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 3.1 | MIN 9, BAL 6 | Trevor Hildenberger (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | `WSH 5, ATL 4 (F/10) | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 6, STL 5 | Jose Reyes (SS) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 4, KC 1 | Kenta Maeda (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | BOS 8, TB 3 | Dustin Pedroia (2B) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 | 42.7 | 120.9 | 148.7 | -8.7 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 | 23.8 | 52.5 | 57.9 | -1.0 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 | 21.1 | 90.4 | 167.5 | 1.7 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 | 15.7 | 26.4 | 26.4 | 1.7 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -3.0 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 7.0 | 11.4 | 18.1 | 18.1 | 2.6 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 5.5 | 16.2 | 26.2 | 26.2 | -5.2 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf dh cf | hou al | 5.0 | 11.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 | -1.5 |
| Hedges, Austin 3790 | ca | sd nl | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 3.0 | 20.8 | 72.0 | 147.0 | -14.8 |
| Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b lf | chi nl | 2.5 | 13.0 | 21.5 | 21.5 | -8.0 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | ss 3b | nym nl | 2.5 | 4.5 | 13.5 | 32.5 | 0.5 |
| Aguilar, Jesus 3787 | 1b | mil nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 19.0 | 38.5 | -4.0 |
| Hildenberger, Trevor 3846 | pi mr | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Reds pitcher Scott Feldman is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Feldman pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Giants.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Luis Severino struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 5-4, 18-inning win over the Cubs. Severino picked up the no-decision and did not earn the win because the Cubs tied the game after he exited.
Severino earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, most among the 14 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Severino ranks 20th among all players in season Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Tommy Pham of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 4-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 6-4, 14-inning win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Sandy Leon of the Red Sox hit two homers and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 17-6 win over the Twins.
Debut—Jesus Aguilar of the Brewers made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Aguilar (HR 2B 2-2 R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut May 15, 2014, and was playing in his 63rd career game. He is the 3,787th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Feldman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Severino earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pham and Leon 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.
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.
| 5/7 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | CIN 4, SF 0 | Scott Feldman (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| AL | 9.0 | `NYY 5, CHC 4 (F/18) | Luis Severino | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 6.0 | MIA 7, NYM 0 | Jose Urena (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 5.2 | CLE 1, KC 0 | Mike Clevinger (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | COL 5, ARI 2 | Tyler Chatwood (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | TOR 2, TB 1 | Ryan Tepera (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | STL 6, ATL 4 (F/14) | Tommy Pham, LF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | BOS 17, MIN 6 | Sandy Leon, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | PHI 6, WSH 5 (F/10) | Aaron Altherr, RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 8, DET 6 | Ryon Healy, DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 6, PIT 2 | Jesus Aguilar, 1B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 4, CHW 0 | Chris Tillman (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 5, LAA 3 | Ken Giles (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 4, TEX 3 | Edwin Diaz (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.7 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 1.7 |
| Healy, Ryon 3685 | 1b 3b dh | oak al | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.5 |
| Altherr, Aaron 3563 | lf rf ph | phi nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 |
| Feldman, Scott 2632 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 19.7 | 27.7 | 3.0 |
| Tepera, Ryan 3774 | pi mr | tor al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | col nl | 2.7 | 9.7 | 16.4 | 19.4 | -4.3 |
| Giles, Ken 3402 | pi cp mr | hou al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -1.0 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp mr | cle al | 1.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -1.3 |
| Leon, Sandy 3676 | ca | bos al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | -1.5 |
| Pham, Thomas 3596 | lf | stl nl | 1.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 40.8 | 44.8 | -7.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -6.0 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -1.7 |
| Aguilar, Jesus 3787 | 1b | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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.