Orioles’ Rodriguez tops players for Saturday, March 30; Giants’ Hicks tops NL players

Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Rodriguez struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 13-4 win over the Angels.

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Orioles’ Rodriguez tops players for Saturday, Sept. 16; Tovar tops both games in twin bill

Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Ezequiel Tovar of the Rockies became just the 13th player to win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader since player tracking began in 1995.

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Seven Box-Toppers points leaders among players named to 2022 All-MLB First Team

Seven Box-Toppers points leaders are among players selected for 2022’s 16-member “All-MLB” team announced Tuesday.

One other Box-Toppers leader was chosen for the “All-MLB” Second Team.

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A look at Box-Toppers’ choices for 2022 All-MLB team

Here is a look at Box-Toppers choices for the All-MLB Team for 2022.

Voting is open here until Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Winners will be announced Dec. 5 with a first and second All-MLB team.

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How 2022 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers rankings

Seven of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards Thursday were also among the leaders at their positions in 2022 Box-Toppers point totals.

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Yankees’ Aaron Judge, Box-Toppers’ top AL batter, wins 2022 Hank Aaron Award

Aaron Judge of the Yankees, winner of the American League 2022 Hank Aaron Award given to the league’s best offensive performer, also led AL batters in Box-Toppers points.

Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals, who won the award in the National League, ranked seventh among NL batters in 2022 Box-Toppers points.

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Box-Toppers 2022 year-end All-Star teams

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2022 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander.

The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league.

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White Sox’ Dylan Cease tops Box-Toppers’ list of worthy, but unchosen All-Stars

White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is the most deserving player not selected to the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.

A Box-Toppers look at All-Star starters, reserves and snubs.

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Angels’ Ohtani tops players for Thursday, June 16; Padres’ Musgrove rises to lead player rankings

Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in player rankings.

Also Thursday, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

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Cardinals’ Wainwright tops players for Tuesday, May 31; Rangers’ Perez rises to 5th

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Rangers pitcher Martin Perez rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.

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Mets' Colon tops players for Monday, Aug. 31; Keuchel rises to 5th in player rankings, Archer rises to 10th

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

Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31.

Also Monday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to 10th place.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 31.  


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 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 17.7
6 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 17.1
7 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 17.0
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—Colon pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 3-1 win over the Phillies.

Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 140.1 for his career, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Monday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5 Box-Toppers points) on the “all-time” list. He trails 21st-ranked player Zack Greinke (142.7 points).

Colon has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season. He becomes the 29th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 22nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Canha of the Athletics homered, scored twice and drove in four runs, in the 11-5 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Adam Duvall of the Reds hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the 13-6 win over the Cubs.

This was Duvall’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Duvall made his Major League debut June 26, 2014, and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,573rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings list after earning Player of the Game honors Monday:

  • Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (7IP 6H 2R 10K W in the 8-3 win over the Mariners) rose to fifth place with 17.7 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind David Price of the Blue Jays (18.1 Box-Toppers points).
  • Rays pitcher Chris Archer (6IP 4H 0R 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Orioles) rose to 10th place with 16.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher John Lackey rises to 57th place among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lackey (6IP 4H 2R 8K ND in the 8-5 win over the Nationals) now has 104.8 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0 points) on the “all-time” list and trails 56th-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Lackey has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

Debut—In addition to Duvall, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Monday: Rockies pitcher Simon Castro earned his first career Player of the Game honor. Castro (2IP 0R 0H K W in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut July 5, 2013, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,574th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Canha and Duvall 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/31 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Mets Bartolo Colon (W,12-11) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 1 9
9.0 Padres Tyson Ross (W,10-9) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 2 7
AL 6.0 Indians Danny Salazar (W,12-7) - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 2 1 10
6.0 Astros Dallas Keuchel (W,16-6) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 8
5.0 Rays Chris Archer (W,12-10) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 3 6
4.1 Marlins Chris Narveson (W,2-1) - - - - - - 5.1 2 0 0 2 3
BAT 4.0 Athletics Mark Canha, 1B 3 2 1 4 1 2 - - - - - -
4.0 Dodgers Chris Hatcher (W,2-5) - - - - - - 3.0 3 0 0 0 4
BAT 3.0 Reds Adam Duvall, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 `Cardinals John Lackey - - - - - - 6.0 4 2 1 4 8
3.0 Rockies Simon Castro (W,2-0) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Red Sox Jackie Bradley Jr., LF 3 2 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Royals' Young tops players for Friday, May 1, A-Rod earns Player of the Game honor with 660th homer

Royals pitcher Chris Young is Friday’s Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees was top player in the game in which he tied Willie Mays’ career home run mark and Mets pitcher Matt Harvey rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


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 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 4.7
6 Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 rf fla nl 4.5
7 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp cin nl 4.4
8 Kazmir, Scott 1947 pi sp oak al 3.7
9 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 3.7
10 DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 pi sp cin nl 3.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Young allowed no hits and no runs over five innings, striking out nine, in the 4-1 win over the Tigers.

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn struck out 10 over seven innings and allowed one run in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Pirates. Lynn exited the game with the score tied at 1-1 and so did not earn the win, but picked up a no-decision.

National League Batter of the Day—Justin Upton of the Padres went 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in two runs, in the 14-3 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Brett Hayes of the Indians hit a three-run home run in the 9-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Rankings—Matt Harvey rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday (7IP 0R W in the 4-0 win over the Nationals). Harvey earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season.

Notable—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees tied Willie Mays’ career home run mark of 660 Friday and also earned Player of the Game honors (pinch-hit homer in the 3-2 win over the Red Sox). Rodriguez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season and moves into 11th place in player rankings, second among AL batters (Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers leads with 3.7). Rodriguez has already eclipsed his 2013 Box-Toppers point total of 3.0.

Rodriguez now has 182.8 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) and first among all batters.

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Mark Canha of the Athletics (HR 2-4 R 2BI in the 7-5 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 18th career game. He is the 3,454th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Mike Foltynewicz of the Braves is the first pitcher in 2015 to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. In 2014, seven different pitchers earned Player of the Game honors for batting—Madison Bumgarner of the Giants did it twice. Foltynewicz (2B 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Aug. 2, 2014, and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,455th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Young earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lynn earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Upton and Hayes each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/1 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Royals Chris Young (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 5.0 0 0 0 3 9
NL 10.0 `Cardinals Lance Lynn - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 10
8.0 Rays Alex Colome (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 3 0 0 0 6
7.0 Twins Kyle Gibson (W, 2-2) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 1 4
7.0 Cubs Jon Lester (W, 1-2) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 1 4
4.1 Astros Josh Fields (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.1 1 0 0 0 4
BAT 4.0 Padres Justin Upton LF 4 3 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Mets Matt Harvey (W, 5-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 3
3.1 Dodgers Carlos Frias (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 5.1 4 0 0 1 3
3.1 `Giants Chris Heston - - - - - - 6.1 5 1 1 1 5
2.0 Marlins Marcell Ozuna CF 4 1 4 1 1 0 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 Indians Brett Hayes C 3 1 1 3 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees Alex Rodriguez PH, DH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Athletics Mark Canha LF, 1B, LF 4 1 2 2 0 2 - - - - - -
1.0 Braves Mike Foltynewicz P 2 0 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.