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Twins pitcher Ervin Santana had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2017 to 2018.
Santana, who earned 16.1 Box-Toppers points in 2017 (ninth among all players), earned no points in 2018. His decline of 16.1 points was just ahead of Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, whose 6.7 points in 2018 represented a 15.1-point drop from the 22.5 points he earned in 2017.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Mike Clevinger is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, the third day in a row an Indians pitcher has earned that honor. Clevinger also becomes the 26th player this season to reach 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also Friday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer failed to retake the Box-Toppers player rankings lead after he did not earn Player of the Game honors in his start, a win over the Phillies. That gives Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale the chance to take the lead in his start Saturday against the Rays.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw retakes the season Box-Toppers player rankings lead only four days after losing it to Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. Kershaw, making his first start Friday after returning from five weeks on the disabled list, earns Player of the Game honors and retakes the 2017 Box-Toppers points lead he held for more than three months.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies rises to lead National League batter in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Albert Pujols of the Angels moves with 0.2 career Box-Toppers points of “all-time” batting leader Alex Rodriguez.
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Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Nelson pitched a complete game, allowing one run (no earned runs), six hits, two walks and striking out 10, in the 2-1 win over the Padres.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 |
| 4 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 6 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 |
| 8 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 10 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 7.7 |
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jacob Faria struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, six hits and one walk, in the 9-1 win over the Tigers.
American League Batter of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 5-2 win over the Twins.
Encarnacion earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.2 for the season, most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Encarnacion ranks 21st among all players and fourth among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a walk-off three-run homer to complete hitting for the cycle in the 7-5 win over the Giants. Arenado also tripled, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs.
Debut—Johan Camargo of the Braves made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Camargo (2-2 2R BI in the 5-4 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut April 11 and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,829th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Nelson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Faria earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Encarnacion and Arenado 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.
| 6/18 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | MIL 2, SD 1 | Jimmy Nelson (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| 8.0 | NYM 5, WSH 1 | Jacob deGrom (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | TB 9, DET 1 | Jacob Faria (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | CLE 5, MIN 2 | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| - | 5.0 | BOS 6, HOU 5 | Xander Bogaerts, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 7, SF 5 | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | LAD 8, CIN 7 | Kenta Maeda (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | ARI 5, PHI 4 (F/10) | Fernando Rodney (S,20) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 7, TEX 3 | Kyle Seager, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 7, PIT 1 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 5, MIA 4 | Johan Camargo, 3B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | KC 7, LAA 3 | Salvador Perez, C | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BAL 8, STL 5 | Seth Smith, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 7, CHW 3 | Steve Pearce, O | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 4, NYY 3 | Sean Doolittle (S,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | cle al | 6.2 | 14.2 | 49.3 | 73.3 | -1.8 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.0 | 9.0 | 19.4 | 19.4 | 3.0 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.7 | 14.4 | 49.8 | 49.8 | -5.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 4.5 | 15.2 | 25.2 | 25.2 | -6.2 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 4.5 | 7.5 | 31.5 | 31.5 | 1.5 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | -6.0 |
| Rodney, Fernando 1803 | pi cp | ari nl | 4.0 | 9.0 | 27.0 | 39.0 | -1.0 |
| Faria, Jacob 3816 | pi sp | tb al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Smith, Seth 2489 | rf lf | bal al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 20.5 | 41.2 | -2.0 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 1.5 |
| Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 2.0 | 11.5 | 30.5 | 30.5 | -7.5 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 21.2 | 23.7 | -2.0 |
| Pearce, Steve 2371 | lf | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 15.0 | 17.0 | -1.0 |
| Doolittle, Sean 3052 | pi cp | oak al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| Camargo, John 3829 | 3b | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
| 10 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
Also Sunday, Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings—first among all batters—after earning American League Batter of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Nelson struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, seven hits and no walks, in the 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Tommy Hunter pitched two scoreless innings—the ninth and the 10th—striking out three and allowing no hits, in the 8-6, 15-inning win over the Twins. Hunter picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the score was tied 5-5 when he exited.
Normally, middle relievers who pitch fewer than three innings and do not earn the win or save don’t earn Player of the Game honors. But Hunter did because he had a higher Box-Toppers game score and the same or more innings pitched than the player who otherwise would have won. Closer Erasmo Ramirez (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv) with a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 was in line for Player of the Game honors. But Hunter edged him out because he had both a higher Box-Toppers game score (+5.0) and more innings pitched (2.0 vs. 1.0).
Additionally, Hunter, with only two innings pitched, was able to win AL Player of the Day honors because of lower Box-Toppers game scores of AL players who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday, including his runner-up, Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin, who despite a complete game win (CG 6H R 0BB 3K W in the 10-1 win over the Royals) only had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0.
National League Batter of the Day—Adam Duvall of the Reds homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-4 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Judge of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4 in the 9-5 win over the Athletics.
Judge earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season, rising to seventh in season player rankings. He also rises to first among all batters, moving ahead of Bryce Harper of the Nationals (6.0), who falls out of the overall top 10 to 11th place.
Notable—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to 70th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Cueto (6IP 6H R BB 8K W in the 7-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 101.8 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list—Jason Schmidt (101.2), Mark Teixeira (101.3) and Tim Wakefield (101.4). Cueto now trails 69th-place player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).
Scoring—Nelson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hunter earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Duvall and Judge 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.
| 5/28 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | MIL 9, ARI 5 | Jimmy Nelson (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | CIN 8, PHI 4 | Adam Duvall, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | COL 8, STL 4 | Gerardo Parra, RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | SF 7, ATL 1 | Johnny Cueto (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | `TB 8, MIN 6 (F/15) | Tommy Hunter | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4.0 | CLE 10, KC 1 | Josh Tomlin (W,3-6) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | SD 5, WSH 3 | Kirby Yates (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.2 | LAD 9, CHC 4 | Josh Fields (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | NYY 9, OAK 5 | Aaron Judge, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | MIA 9, LAA 2 | JT Riddle, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 5, BOS 0 | Christian Bergman (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 8, BAL 4 | Yuli Gurriel, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | CHW 7, DET 3 | Miguel Gonzalez (W,4-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1.0 | NYM 7, PIT 2 | Jay Bruce, RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | TEX 3, TOR 1 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Gonzalez, Miguel 3062 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 | 13.1 | 41.9 | 41.9 | -5.1 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | 4.0 | 12.5 | 29.7 | 62.8 | -4.5 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 4.0 | 7.0 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 1.0 |
| Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf | cin nl | 3.5 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | -3.0 |
| Bergman, Christian 3799 | pi sp | sea al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Gurriel, Yuli 3796 | 1b | hou al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 17.0 | 23.5 | 0.0 |
| Riddle, JT 3805 | ss | fla nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 18.4 | 72.0 | 101.8 | -14.4 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 2.0 | 11.2 | 16.2 | 21.7 | -7.2 |
| Tomlin, Josh 2771 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 20.4 | 26.4 | -3.0 |
| Hunter, Tommy 2623 | pi mr | tb al | 1.7 | 2.7 | 9.7 | 17.7 | 0.7 |
| Yates, Kirby 3628 | pi mr | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Fields, Josh 3247 | pi mr | lad nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
Nomar Mazara of the Rangers is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer—who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016—earned his first Box-Toppers point of the season after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Mazara hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 10-5 win over the Athletics.
National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Amir Garrett pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four, in the 2-0 win over the Cardinals.
This was Garrett’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. He is the 3,672nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Garrett had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of 6.0, tied with two other Friday Players of the Game—Mazara and Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson. Mazara won the tiebreaker over Garrett because in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters top pitchers. Garrett won the tiebreaker over Nelson because Garrett earned the win in his game, while Nelson picked up the no-decision.
National League Batter of the Day—Yangervis Solarte of the Padres doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Giants.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Nomar Mazara.
Debut—Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors (6IP 4H R 2BB 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers). Freeland was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,763rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Streak—Seth Smith of the Orioles has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Smith (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-5 win over the Yankees) made his Box-Toppers debut in 2008 with the Rockies and has 39.2 career Box-Toppers points, ninth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Rockies when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer now has 132.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 7K W in the 7-6 win over the Phillies). Scherzer ranks 31st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4).
Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 25.7. This was his first point of the year. He now leads all players in Box-Toppers points over 2016 and 2017 with 26.7, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (26.4).
Scoring—Mazara earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garrett earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Solarte earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
| 4/7 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | TEX 10, OAK 5 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 6.0 | CIN 2, STL 0 | Amir Garrett (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 6.0 | `MIL 2, CHC 1 (F/11) | Jimmy Nelson | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 4.2 | LAA 5, SEA 1 | Jesse Chavez (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | COL 2, LAD 1 | Kyle Freeland (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `DET 6, BOS 5 | Michael Fulmer | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.2 | WSH 7, PHI 6 | Max Scherzer (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SD 7, SF 6 | Yangervis Solarte, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | MIA 7, NYM 2 | Derek Dietrich, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | KC 5, HOU 1 | Jason Vargas (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | PIT 5, ATL 4 | Ivan Nova (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2.1 | TB 10, TOR 8 | Alex Colome (S,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | BAL 6, NYY 5 | Seth Smith, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ARI 7, CLE 3 | Paul Goldschmidt, 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 3, CHW 1 | Phil Hughes (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -5.0 |
| Garrett, Amir 3762 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Solarte, Yangervis 3304 | 3b | sd nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -1.5 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 26.7 | 104.9 | 132.7 | -24.7 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -11.7 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 1.0 | 10.0 | 18.7 | 18.7 | -8.0 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 24.7 | 32.1 | -7.0 |
| Smith, Seth 2489 | rf | bal al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 18.5 | 39.2 | -4.0 |
| Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 1.0 | 5.5 | 36.9 | 40.9 | -3.5 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | -2.0 |
| Dietrich, Derek 3199 | 3b | fla nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 27.4 | 48.2 | 0.0 |
| Chavez, Jesse 2780 | pi sp | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 20.1 | 21.1 | 1.0 |
| Hughes, Phil 2272 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 30.5 | 49.2 | 1.0 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day on the final day of spring training.
The 2017 Major League Baseball season begins Sunday with three games. Box-Toppers begins its 23rd season tracking players and its fifth on the web. See more about the player tracking metric in our opening day post and come back Monday morning to see how Box-Toppers rated the top players in the opening day games.
Box-Toppers has tracked several days of spring training during 2017 as a sort of a test and demonstration of the Box-Toppers player tracking metric. Even after 22 seasons of tracking (including sharing those results for the past four seasons on Box-Toppers.com), we need to spend a little time practicing covering first base on a bunt and getting in shape for the 2,430 games to be tracked during the regular season.
Player of the Day—Nelson allowed one run and two hits over five innings, striking out three, in the 5-4 win over the White Sox. Nelson did not pick up the win because he exited with the Brewers trailing. Nelson had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.
American League Player of the Day—Melvin Upton Jr. Of the Blue Jays homered and went 1-for-2, driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Pirates. Upton had 2.5 Box-Toppers points in 2016 for the Padres and Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Nick Hundley of the Giants hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, in the 6-3 win over the Athletics. Hundley had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2016 with the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Melvin Upton Jr.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Nelson would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Upton would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Hundley would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Nine spring training games were scheduled for Saturday—five are listed below. Three games are not listed because they ended in ties (Red Sox 4, Nationals 4; Mariners 1, Rockies 1; and Angels 4, Dodgers 4). One game is not listed because it was an exhibition between the Reds and the Reds Futures Team.
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.
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Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/1 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 4.0 | `MIL 5, CHW 4 | Jimmy Nelson | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| BAT | 3.0 | SF 6, OAK 3 | Nick Hundley C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 3.0 | TOR 6, PIT 4 | Melvin Upton Jr. RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | TEX 5, KC 3 | Allen Webster (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | MIA 3, DET 2 | Boo Vazquez PR-RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| ` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Estrada pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out 10, in the 1-0, 12-inning win over the Rays. Estrada picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because he left the game in scoreless tie. Estrada had a perfect game before allowing a hit in the eighth inning.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson allowed one run on two hits over eight innings, striking out five, in the 4-1 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Brett Lawrie of the Athletics hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5 in the 8-2 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasmany Tomas of the Diamondbacks doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 8-7 win over the Rockies.
Notable—Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Vogelsong has 7.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players, 13th among NL pitchers. Vogelsong (6IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 6-0 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game.
Rankings—Two pitchers ranked among Box-Toppers top 10 players this season started Wednesday but both failed to earn Player of the Game honors as their teams both lost:
Streak—Omar Infante of the Royals has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 12 straight seasons.
Infante was Player of the Game in Wednesday’s 8-2 win over the Mariners (2B 3-4 R 3BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Infante earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2004 with the Tigers. His best year was 2012 when he had 4.5 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers and ranked third among AL second basemen. Infante had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2014 with the Royals.
Infante has 29.5 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks fifth among active AL second basemen.
Return—Dodgers pitcher J.P. Howell earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the first time in more than five years Wednesday. Howell (1.1IP H 0R K W in the 5-2 win over the Cubs) last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 5, 2009, when he was with the Rays.
Debut—Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Heaney (6IP 4H R 5K ND in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Astros) made his Major League debut June 19, 2014, and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,515th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nelson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Lawrie and Tomas 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/24 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.2 | `Blue Jays | Marco Estrada | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| NL | 8.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W, 4-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Twins | Phil Hughes (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | `Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | `Angels | Andrew Heaney | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Athletics | Brett Lawrie 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Omar Infante 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Clay Buchholz (W, 5-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Giants | Ryan Vogelsong (W, 6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Reds | J.J. Hoover (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Yankees | Ivan Nova (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Dbacks | Yasmany Tomas RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.1 | Dodgers | J.P. Howell (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Saturday’s Player of the Day.
Jimenez pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight, in the 7-1 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine, in the 6-0 win over the Pirates.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 |
| 2 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 3 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 2.0 |
| 4 | Wilson, C.J. 2074 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 |
| 5 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
| 6 | Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | oak al | 2.0 |
| 7 | Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.7 |
| 9 | Harang, Aaron 1599 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.7 |
| 10 | Peralta, David 3370 | lf | ari nl | 1.7 |
American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers went 4-for-5, scored three times and drove in two runs, in the 9-6 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Dexter Fowler of the Cubs hit two triples, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.
Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. Bradley (6IP H 0R 6K in the 6-0 win over the Dodgers) is the 3,438th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Kershaw—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, last year’s overall leader in Box-Toppers points with 31.5, has yet to earn his first Box-Toppers points of the season after two starts. Only once last season did Kershaw have two straight starts when he failed to win Player of the Game honors and earn Box-Toppers points (May 11 and May 17). Saturday he gave up 10 hits and six runs (five earned) over 6 1/3 innings, striking out five, and picking up the loss in the 6-0 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Scoring—Jimenez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nelson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Kinsler and Fowler each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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
| 411 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Orioles | Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| NL | 12.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 10.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 8.0 | Padres | James Shields (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Dbacks | Archie Bradley (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | `Phillies | Cole Hamels | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Tigers | Ian Kinsler 2B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | White Sox | David Robertson (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S, 2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Cubs | Dexter Fowler CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Mariners | Nelson Cruz RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Yankees | Chris Young CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Braves | Julio Teheran (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 0.0 | Rangers | Rougned Odor 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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 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.