Blog
Padres pitcher Blake Snell is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Strider passes Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who has led rankings every day but one for the past three months.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Freddy Peralta is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer maintains his eight place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreIn four league division series playoff games Friday, these are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners: Giants pitcher Logan Webb, Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes, Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck and Kyle Tucker of the Astros.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first in season player rankings, passing previous leader Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler.
Cole struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Angels.
Read More
The Los Angeles Dodgers rise to a commanding lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report on the strength of the players they acquired prior to Friday’s trade deadline.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox fall from first to second in team rankings but maintain their lead among American League teams.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, the two active players with the most career Box-Toppers points both earned Player of the Game honors—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Astros pitcher Zack Greinke.
Read More
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the fourth straight week.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander continues to lead American League pitchers, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader continues to lead National League pitchers, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers continues to lead NL batters and Joey Gallo of the Rangers continues to lead AL batters.
Read More
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the third straight week.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander continues to lead American League pitchers, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader continues to lead National League pitchers, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers continues to lead NL batters and Joey Gallo of the Rangers continues to lead AL batters.
Read More
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Joey Gallo of the Rangers.
Read MoreThe Colorado Rockies visit the Chicago Cubs in the National League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.
Read MoreGiancarlo Stanton of the Marlins, who ranked second among National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points, was named NL Most Valuable Player Thursday.
But Jose Altuve of the Astros was named American League MVP despite his low Box-Toppers rankings—with just 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, he ranked 90th among AL batters and 387th among all players.
Read MoreChris Sale tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2017. Indians, Nationals and Astros each have seven players on the list, most of any team.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Daniel Mengden is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors. Plus, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale failed in his chance to rise to the Box-Toppers points lead after he did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s win.
Read More
A look at the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points at the midseason break. League-leading teams—Nationals, Astros, Dodgers—have the most players on the list.
Read MoreA look at the All-Star Game rosters through the Box-Toppers lens, including a look at the worthy left in the lurch and players whose selection Box-Toppers deems questionable.
Read More
Anthony Rendon of the Nationals, Justin Bour of the Marlins and Logan Morrison of the Rays have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the 10 players who are All-Star Game Final Vote candidates.
| BTP | ||||
| AL player | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16 |
| Logan Morrison | 1b | Rays | 4.2 | 2.0 |
| Elvis Andrus | ss | Rangers | 3.5 | 9.2 |
| Mike Moustakas | dh 3b | Royals | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Xander Bogaerts | ss | Red Sox | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Didi Gregorius | ss | Yankees | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| BTP | ||||
| NL player | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16 |
| Anthony Rendon | 3b lf | Nationals | 4.5 | 5.5 |
| Justin Bour | 1b | Marlins | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| Mark Reynolds | 1b | Rockies | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Kris Bryant | 3b lf | Cubs | 1.5 | 10.5 |
| Justin Turner | 3b lf | Dodgers | 1.0 | 2.5 |
But if players’ 2016 Box-Toppers point totals are taken into consideration, Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers would be considered leading candidates.
Voting ends today as fans pick one of the five players in each league to fill the final roster spots on the 2017 American League and National League All-Star teams.
In the AL, Logan Morrison of the Rays has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five AL candidates with 4.2. That puts him 15th among AL batters for the season and fourth among AL first basemen.
However, Elvis Andrus of the Rangers, who has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season, had 9.2 points in 2016, most of any of the five AL candidates. That ranked 10th among AL batters in 2016, second among AL shortstops. None of the other five AL candidates had more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.
In the NL, Anthony Rendon of the Nationals and Justin Bour of the Marlins have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five Final Vote candidates with 4.5. Rendon ranks 13th among NL batters and third among NL third basemen. Bour ranks 16th among NL batters and sixth among NL first basemen.
However, Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who has 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017, has the most 2016 points among the five NL candidates with 10.5. That ranked second among NL batters in 2016, behind Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7). Bryant was also NL Most Valuable Player in 2016.
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.
A look at top players in Box-Toppers points by position in both leagues over both 2017 and the combined 2016-17 seasons.
Read More
Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Estrada struck out 12 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 3-1 win over the Orioles.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 |
National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 3-2 win over the Braves.
Strasburg earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 4.4 for the season, most among the 16 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Strasburg ranks 22nd among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.
Strasburg also has the most career Box-Toppers points among the 16 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday with 87.3. That ranks 14th among active NL pitchers and 107th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
National League Batter of the Day—Kris Bryant of the Cubs homered twice and went 3-for-3, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 13-6 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Yan Gomes of the Indians homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-6 win over the Astros.
Notable—Kyle Freeland of the Rockies became the third pitcher this season to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for batting.
Freeland (HR 2B 2-2 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Reds) had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 for batting, best among Rockies players Sunday. He had a Box-Toppers game score of -5.8 for pitching (5.2IP 5H 4R 2BB 3K W).
Previously this season, two Cardinals have earned Player of the Game honors for batting—Adam Wainwright on April 21 and Carlos Martinez on May 8. In 2016, pitchers earned Player of the Game honors for batting eight times.
Scoring—Estrada 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. Bryant and Gomes 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.
| 5/21 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.2 | TOR 3, BAL 1 | Marco Estrada (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| NL | 8.2 | WSH 3, ATL 2 | Stephen Strasburg (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 8.0 | SD 5, ARI 1 | Clayton Richard (W,3-5) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | `PIT 1, PHI 0 | Chad Kuhl | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | CHC 13, MIL 6 | Kris Bryant, 3B | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 6.0 | CLE 8, HOU 6 | Yan Gomes, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | LAD 6, MIA 3 | Brandon McCarthy (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.1 | NYY 3, TB 2 | Dellin Betances (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | LAA 12, NYM 5 | Mike Trout, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CHW 8, SEA 1 | Derek Holland (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.2 | `TEX 5, DET 2 | Sam Dyson (H,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | KC 6, MIN 4 | Brandon Moss, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 12, OAK 3 | Hanley Ramirez, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | STL 8, SF 3 | Randal Grichuk, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 6, CIN 4 | Kyle Freeland, P | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | MIN 8, KC 4 | Robbie Grossman, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.4 | 19.5 | 78.6 | 87.3 | -10.7 |
| Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 30.1 | 49.8 | 0.0 |
| Richard, Clayton 2584 | pi sp | sd nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 14.2 | 33.6 | 2.0 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 3.0 | 14.0 | 43.1 | 46.1 | -8.0 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | -1.0 |
| McCarthy, Brandon 2082 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 | 5.7 | 25.4 | 39.5 | 0.3 |
| Gomes, Yan 3177 | ca | cle al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 2.0 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Grichuk, Randal 3474 | rf | stl nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 1.5 |
| Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b lf | chi nl | 1.5 | 12.0 | 20.5 | 20.5 | -9.0 |
| Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 1.0 | 13.5 | 48.5 | 50.0 | -11.5 |
| Ramirez, Hanley 2119 | dh 1b | bos al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 23.5 | 58.6 | -6.0 |
| Moss, Brandon 2520 | dh rf lf 1b | kc al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 26.0 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| Grossman, Robbie 3267 | rf | min al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -1.0 |
| Kuhl, Chad 3687 | pi sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Dyson, Sam 3399 | pi mr | tex al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
A compilation of player and team standings from the end of the 2016 season, featuring a plethora of posts to prep for the 2017 season, including preseason team standings and Box-Toppers 2017 playoff and World Series picks.
Read MoreBox-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.