Dbacks' Zack Greinke tops players for Thursday, May 11; Vargas, Keuchel rise in Box-Toppers top 10

Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Grienke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 11:  

	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	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	6.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	5.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	5.4
8	Triggs, Andrew 3723	pi sp	oak al	5.4
9	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	5.0
10	Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, two players rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to fifth place and Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to seventh place.

Player of the Day—Greinke struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one hit—an eighth-inning home run—in the 2-1 win over the Pirates. Greinke allowed just the one run and walked only one.

Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 160.8 for his career, 14th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 13th-place player John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list. Greinke ranks fifth among all active players.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 7-1 win over the Angels.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-2 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-7 win over the Dodgers.

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

• Royals pitcher Jason Vargas (7IP 3H 0R BB 4K W in the 6-0 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to fifth place, third among AL pitchers.
• Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (6IP 5H R BB 9K W in the 3-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to seventh place, fifth among AL pitchers.

Streak—Mike Napoli of the Rangers has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday (2HR 2-3 2R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Padres).

Napoli earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Angels and has 58.7 career points, sixth among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2011 with the Rangers when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL batters. In 2016, he had 6.5 points with the Indians, ninth among AL first basemen.

Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fulmer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Smoak and Arenado each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

5/11	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.0	ARI 2, PIT 1	Zack Greinke (W,4-2)	-	-	-	-		8.0	1	1	1	1	11
	8.0	HOU 3, NYY 2	Dallas Keuchel (W,6-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	0	1	9
AL	7.0	DET 7, LAA 1	Michael Fulmer (W,4-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	2	7
	7.0	KC 6, TB 0	Jason Vargas (W,5-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	1	4
BAT	6.0	TOR 7, SEA 2	Justin Smoak, 1B	3	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	`BOS 4, MIL 1	Eduardo Rodriguez	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	0	5
	5.0	TEX 5, SD 2	Mike Napoli, DH	3	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	MIN 7, CHW 6	Brandon Kintzler (S,8)	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	4.0	COL 10, LAD 7	Nolan Arenado, 3B	4	3	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.1	CIN 3, SF 2	Wandy Peralta (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		1.1	1	0	0	0	2

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	6.0	7.0	32.4	53.2	5.0
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	5.4	12.4	48.2	48.2	-1.6
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	4.7	14.4	83.7	160.8	-5.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	bos al	4.7	9.4	15.4	15.4	0.0
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	3.7	16.4	16.4	16.4	-9.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	3.0	13.7	23.7	23.7	-7.7
Kintzler, Brandon 3150	pi cp	min al	3.0	3.0	5.0	5.0	3.0
Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	tor al	2.5	6.0	19.2	25.4	-1.0
Peralta, Wandy 3782	pi mr	cin nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Napoli, Mike 2161	dh 1b	tex al	1.0	7.5	30.7	58.7	-5.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Friday, Sept. 23, rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 23:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his spot of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for the season, rising to seventh place in season player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers.

With Arrieta rising back into Box-Toppers top 10 list, he displaces Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (14.7 points) from the list, who falls to 11th.

Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1. This was Arrieta’s first Player of the Game honor in a month—he was Player of the Day on Aug. 23.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher James Paxton struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 10-1 win over the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians homered, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-2 win over the Giants.

Myers earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL batters, 1.0 point behind leader Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7).

Rankings—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his rank of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Hamels (7IP 6H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.8 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (21.2).

Hamels now has 144.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (143.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz of the Red Sox (144.9). Hamels also rises to eighth place in career points among active players.

Hamels has earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and in each season has earned 10 or more points. The 17.8 points he’s earned in 2016 is his best season; his previous best was 2011 with the Phillies when he had 15.8.

Notable—Two other players who have more than 10 Box-Toppers points for the season earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer (7IP 8H R 0BB 9K W in the 8-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He ranks 23rd among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
• Red Sox pitcher Drew Pomeranz (5IP 4H R 0BB 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 28th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.

Also notable—Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano now has 103.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Liriano (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K in the 9-0 win over the Yankees) rises to 66th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing Miguel Tejada (102.3) on the “all-time” list. He trails 65th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Liriano has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 24th among AL pitchers.

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

• Rafael Ortega of the Angels (PH 2B 1-1 3BI in the 10-6 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut Sept. 30, 2012, and was playing in his 60th career game. He is the 3,746th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Alen Hanson of the Pirates (2-3 2R in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut May 16 and was playing in his 18th career game. He is the 3,747th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Paxton earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Myers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/23	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	CHC 5, STL 0	Jake Arrieta (W,18-7)	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	1	10
AL	9.0	SEA 10, MIN 1	James Paxton (W,5-7)	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	0	9
	7.0	TOR 9, NYY 0	Francisco Liriano (W,8-13)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	2	6
	6.0	DET 8, KC 3	Michael Fulmer (W,11-7)	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	1	1	0	9
	6.0	TEX 3, OAK 0	Cole Hamels (W,15-5)	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	0	0	2	7
	5.2	NYM 10, PHI 5	Hansel Robles (S,1)	-	-	-	-		2.2	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	4.0	CLE 10, CHW 4	Jose Ramirez, 3B	5	3	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	SD 7, SF 2	Wil Myers, 1B	3	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	LAA 10, HOU 6	Rafael Ortega, PH	1	0	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	BOS 2, TB 1	Drew Pomeranz (W,11-12)	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	1	1	0	4
	3.0	LAD 5, COL 2	Ross Stripling (W,5-8)	-	-	-	-		3.0	2	0	0	2	4
	3.0	`BAL 3, ARI 2 (12)	Mychal Givens	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	ATL 3, MIA 2	Brandon Cunniff (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	1.0	MIL 5, CIN 4	Chris Carter, 1B	4	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	PIT 6, WSH 5 (11)	Alen Hanson, 2B	3	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8	33.2	84.8	144.0	2.4
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7	44.8	72.5	75.5	-13.4
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	bos al	12.4	15.4	23.4	23.4	9.4
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	9.7	12.7	18.2	18.2	6.7
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	9.5	10.5	28.4	29.4	8.5
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	tor al	8.0	22.9	63.4	103.2	-6.9
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	4.4	5.4	11.1	11.1	3.4
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	bal al	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Cunniff, Brandon 3698	pi mr	atl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	cle al	1.5	4.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Robles, Hansel 3580	pi cp	nym nl	1.0	3.7	3.7	3.7	-1.7
Hanson, Alen 3747	2b	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Ortega, Rafael 3746	ph	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Friday, Sept. 9, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester maintained his spot in fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Mark Teixeira of the Yankees reached 100 career Box-Toppers points after earning American League Batter of the Day honors Friday.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 9:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	14.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 14 and allowing three hits and three walks, in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.4 for the season and rising to second place in season player rankings.

Fernandez passed Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0) in the rankings, who just happened to be making his return from more than two months on the disabled list in the same game. Kershaw (3IP 5H 2R 0BB 5K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0 in his return. Kershaw, who led Box-Toppers season rankings from May 7 to Aug. 24, now falls to third place.

Fernandez becomes the third player with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and now trails overall season leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (22.7). This is now Fernandez’s best season; his previous best year was his rookie year of 2013, when he had 19.0 Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Angels. Darvish did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-5 win over the Rays.

Teixeira earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 100.3 points over his 14-year career. Teixeira, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season, becomes the 74th player and 27th batter with 100 or more career points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Teixeira now ranks 73rd on the “all-time” list, just ahead of Larry Walker (100.1) and just behind Jeff Bagwell (100.4).

Teixeira earned his first points in 2003 with the Rangers. His best season was 2009 with the Yankees when he had 11.5 points, ranked sixth among AL batters. He had 7.5 points in 2015 with the Yankees, 17th among AL batters. He has 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.

National League Batter of the Day—Curtis Granderson of the Mets homered and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Braves.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his fifth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Lester (7IP 7H 0R 0BB 7K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Lester now has 139.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Friday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list and now trails 26th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).

Notable—Two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points for the season earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark (6IP 6H R 2BB 8K ND in the 5-4 win over the Phillies) now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 24th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.
• Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer (7IP 3H 2R BB 5K ND in the 4-3 win over the Orioles) now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

Also notable—Tim Adleman of the Reds (2B 2-2 R BI in the 4-3 win over the Pirates) became the sixth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Pitchers have earned Player of the Game honors seven times in 2016—Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals did it twice.

Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Darvish earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Teixeira and Granderson 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/9	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.0	MIA 4, LAD 1	Jose Fernandez (W,14-8)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	3	14
AL	9.2	`TEX 2, LAA 1	Yu Darvish	-	-	-	-		6.2	3	1	1	1	9
	7.0	CHC 2, HOU 0	Jon Lester (W,16-4)	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	0	0	0	7
BAT	5.0	NYY 7, TB 5	Mark Teixeira, 1B	3	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	NYM 6, ATL 4	Curtis Granderson, CF	2	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	BOS 13, TOR 3	Dustin Pedroia, 2B	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	`DET 4, BAL 3	Michael Fulmer	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	2	1	5
	4.0	CHW 7, KC 2	Carlos Rodon (W,7-8)	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	2	1	2	9
	4.0	`WSH 5, PHI 4	Tanner Roark	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	1	1	2	8
	3.0	SF 7, ARI 6 (12)	Hunter Pence, RF	5	4	4	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	CLE 5, MIN 4	Cody Allen (S,27)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	`STL 4, MIL 3	Kevin Siegrist (H,15)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	`SEA 3, OAK 2	Steve Cishek (H,4)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	COL 4, SD 1	Adam Ottavino (S,3)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	CIN 4, PIT 3	Tim Adleman, P	2	1	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4	25.1	51.1	51.1	15.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1	30.1	76.3	139.2	6.1
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	11.7	12.7	27.7	27.7	10.7
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7
Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	cle al	7.0	11.0	16.0	16.0	3.0
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	6.4	6.4	51.6	51.6	6.4
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	5.0	13.1	13.1	13.1	-3.1
Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	sea al	5.0	6.0	25.0	25.0	4.0
Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf cf ph	nym nl	4.5	8.5	33.4	65.8	0.5
Siegrist, Kevin 3260	pi mr cp	stl nl	4.0	8.0	10.0	10.0	0.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	bos al	4.0	4.0	24.4	36.5	4.0
Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	3.0	10.5	31.2	100.3	-4.5
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	2.0	4.0	23.0	50.7	0.0
Ottavino, Adam 3054	pi cp	col nl	2.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Adleman, Tim 3625	pi sp	cin nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Michael Fulmer tops players for Sunday, Aug. 14; Mets' Matz tops NL players

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the 22nd player this season with 10.0 Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 14:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fulmer pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out nine and walking none, in the 7-0 win over the Rangers.

Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising to 17th place in season player rankings, fifth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Steven Matz pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.

Matz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, most of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Matz rises to 12th place in season player rankings, eighth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox hit three home runs and went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in eight runs, in the 16-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Betts had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +10.0, tied with two others for the highest score for any batter earning Player of the Game honors this season. Betts’ performance Sunday ranks second for the season, just behind C.J. Cron of the Angels, who on July 2 also had a score of +10. Cron’s score ranks higher because he had more hits than Betts—six vs. four. Betts’ performance ranks ahead of Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who on June 27 also had a score of +10, because Betts had more at bats—six vs. five.

Last season, the highest Box-Toppers game score earned by a batter was +11.0, done by four players.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers hit two homers and a double, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.

Braun earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to second among NL batters, behind leader Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (8.5).

Scoring—Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Matz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Betts and Braun 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/14	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	DET 7, TEX 0	Michael Fulmer (W,10-3)	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	9
NL	12.1	NYM 5, SD 1	Steven Matz (W,9-8)	-	-	-	-		7.1	1	0	0	2	8
BAT	10.0	BOS 16, ARI 2	Mookie Betts, RF	6	4	4	8		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	8.0	MIL 7, CIN 3	Ryan Braun, LF	4	3	3	6		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.1	TOR 9, HOU 2	Marcus Stroman (W,9-5)	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	2	1	0	8
	5.0	KC 11, MIN 4	Paulo Orlando, CF	5	3	4	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	STL 6, CHC 4	Seung Hwan Oh (S,11)	-	-	-	-		1.2	1	0	0	0	4
	4.0	TB 12, NYY 3	Evan Longoria, 3B	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	PIT 11, LAD 3	Sean Rodriguez, RF	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	PHI 7, COL 6	Jimmy Paredes, LF	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	WSH 9, ATL 1	Anthony Rendon, 3B	3	1	1	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	CLE 5, LAA 4	Cody Allen (S,22)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	BAL 8, SF 7	Matt Wieters, C	5	2	5	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	SEA 8, OAK 4	Kyle Seager, 3B	5	1	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	MIA 5, CHW 4	Mike Dunn (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	12.1	15.6	15.6	15.6	8.6
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	8.0	13.0	44.0	85.7	3.0
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	8.0	9.0	27.0	32.7	7.0
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	7.0	12.0	26.0	26.0	2.0
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	bos al	6.2	9.2	11.2	11.2	3.2
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	5.7	8.4	22.1	22.1	3.0
Allen, Cody 3265	pi mr cp	cle al	5.0	9.0	14.0	14.0	1.0
Orlando, Paulo 3526	rf cf	kc al	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	2.0
Longoria, Evan 2423	3b	tb al	2.5	5.5	22.0	43.0	-0.5
Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	dc nl	2.0	3.0	8.5	8.5	1.0
Dunn, Michael 2867	pi mr cp	fla nl	2.0	2.0	10.0	10.0	2.0
Rodriguez, Sean 2729	rf1b 2b	pit nl	2.0	2.0	13.5	18.5	2.0
Oh, Seung Hwan 3693	pi cp	stl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Paredes, Jimmy 3278	lf	phi nl	1.0	3.5	6.0	6.0	-1.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Fulmer tops players for Friday, July 1; Dodgers' Norris is ‘Kershavian,' topping NL players

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 1:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fulmer pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits and one walk, in the 10-2 win over the Rays.

Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, most of any of Friday’s 15 Players of the Games. Fulmer ranks 17th among all players and fifth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Bud Norris of the Dodgers performed in a very “Kershavian” manner, pitching six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Rockies. 

This was Norris’ first start with the Dodgers after being traded from the Braves to fill in for the injured ace Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points and leader in player rankings). Norris now has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season.

National League Batter of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-6 win over the Yankees.

Myers earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.2 for the season, rising to second place among NL batters, behind Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (7.5).

American League Batter of the Day—David Ortiz of the Red Sox homered and went 3-for-4, in the 5-4 win over the Angels. His homer was his 522nd for his career, putting him in 19th place on the all-time list.

Ortiz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 142.9 for his career, 23rd-most of any player since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (143.8). Ortiz ranks eighth in career points among all active players and third among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0) and Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3).

Ortiz has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 15th among AL batters.

Debut—Rangers pitcher Matt Bush made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Bush (2IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 3-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut May 13 and was playing in his 23rd career game. He is the 3,673rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Norris earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Myers and Ortiz 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/1	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	DET 10/TB 2	Michael Fulmer (W,8-2)	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	10
NL	11.0	LAD 5/COL 0	Bud Norris (W,4-7)	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	1	8
	6.0	NYM 10/CHC 2	Jacob deGrom (W,4-4)	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	1	1	1	7
	5.0	`DC 3/CIN 2	Sammy Solis	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	STL 7/MIL 1	Jaime Garcia (W,6-6)	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	4	6
	4.0	PHI 4/KC 3	Jeremy Hellickson (W,6-6)	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	1	6
	4.0	HOU 5/CHW 0	Mike Fiers (W,6-3)	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	2	4
BAT	3.0	SD 7/NYY 6	Wil Myers, 1B	3	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	SEA 5/BAL 2	Wade LeBlanc (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	2	2	1	5
	3.0	CLE 2/TOR 1	Trevor Bauer (W,7-2)	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	3	3
	3.0	TEX 3/MIN 2	Matt Bush (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	2
	2.0	MIA 7/ATL 5	Marcell Ozuna, CF	6	1	4	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	SF 6/ARI 4	Conor Gillaspie, 3B	4	2	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	1.0	BOS 5/LAA 4	David Ortiz, DH	4	1	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	PIT 7/OAK 3	Jordy Mercer, SS	4	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.7
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	7.7	17.1	25.8	25.8	-1.7
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	7.2	10.2	15.7	15.7	4.2
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	stl nl	6.0	15.4	33.1	41.8	-3.4
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	5.4	10.4	34.1	37.1	0.4
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	5.0	9.5	40.9	142.9	0.5
Norris, Bud 2638	pi sp	lad nl	4.7	5.7	36.1	45.1	3.7
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	4.0	26.4	39.4	39.4	-18.4
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	cf	fla nl	4.0	7.0	17.5	17.5	1.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	3.0	10.0	24.1	24.1	-4.0
Mercer, Jordy 3206	ss	pit nl	2.0	2.0	8.0	8.0	2.0
LeBlanc, Wade 2669	pi sp	sea al	2.0	2.0	2.0	9.0	2.0
Solis, Sammy 3651	pi mr	dc nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Gillaspie, Conor 3218	3b	sf nl	1.0	1.0	7.5	7.5	1.0
Bush, Matt 3673	pi mr	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Brewers' Davies tops players for Wednesday, June 1; Nationals' Scherzer rises to 9th in Box-Toppers rankings

Brewers pitcher Zach Davies is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 1:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	9.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc al	7.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	7.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Davies pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Alexei Ramirez of the Padres hit two homers and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 14-6 win over the Mariners.

American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-3 win over the Rays. Cain earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season ranking second among AL batters, behind Manny Machado of the Orioles (8.7).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Scherzer (8IP 5H 2R 11K W in the 7-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Scherzer also now has 113.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 50th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Kevin Brown (112.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 49th-ranked player Sammy Sosa (113.2).

Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 126.1 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Lester (CG 4H R 10K W in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers) maintains his rank of 35th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 34th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4). Lester has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Also notable—Matt Albers of the White Sox became the fourth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. He is the first AL pitcher to earn Player of the Game honors for batting in nearly seven years.

Albers (2B 1-1 R in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Mets) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 for batting and a score of 0.0 for pitching (2IPH 0R 2BB K W).

The last time an AL pitcher won Player of the Game honors for batting was June 12, 2009, by Rick Porcello of the Tigers.

Scoring—Davies earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fulmer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Cain each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/1	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	MIL 3/STL 1	Zach Davies (W,3-3)	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	0	9
	13.0	CHC 2/LAD 1	Jon Lester (W,6-3)	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	1	1	0	10
AL	11.2	DET 3/LAA 0	Michael Fulmer (W,5-1)	-	-	-	-		7.2	2	0	0	2	8
	10.0	`MIA 3/PIT 2	Adam Conley	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	3	9
	8.0	DC 7/PHI 2	Max Scherzer (W,6-4)	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	2	2	2	11
BAT	6.0	SD 14/SEA 6	Alexei Ramirez, SS	5	3	3	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	HOU 5/ARI 4	Michael Feliz (W,4-1)	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4
	4.0	OAK 5/MIN 1	Sean Manaea (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	3	8
	3.2	TOR 7/NYY 0	Aaron Sanchez (W,5-1)	-	-	-	-		6.2	7	0	0	2	6
	3.0	ATL 5/SF 4	Chris Withrow (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	KC 6/TB 3	Lorenzo Cain, CF	4	2	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	BAL 13/BOS 9	Matt Wieters, C	3	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`CLE 5/TEX 4	Dan Otero	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	CIN 7/COL 2	Billy Hamilton, CF	5	1	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	CHW 2/NYM 1	Matt Albers, P	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	7.0	28.0	92.6	113.0	-14.0
Cain, Lorenzo 3171	cf	kc al	6.5	14.7	20.7	20.7	-1.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	5.0	17.0	63.2	126.1	-7.0
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	tor al	4.7	6.7	8.7	8.7	2.7
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	3.5	4.5	22.5	28.2	2.5
Conley, Adam 3594	pi sp	fla nl	3.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Davies, Zach 3581	pi sp	mil nl	3.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Feliz, Michael 3632	pi cp	hou al	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Manaea, Sean 3637	pi sp	oak al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Ramirez, Alexei 2537	ss	sd nl	1.5	3.5	22.0	34.0	-0.5
Hamilton, Billy 3287	cf	cin nl	1.0	3.0	7.5	7.5	-1.0
Otero, Dan 3365	pi mr	cle al	1.0	2.7	3.7	3.7	-0.7
Albers, Matt 2274	pi cp	chi al	1.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	0.0
Withrow, Chris 3273	pi cp	atl nl	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Fulmer tops players for Saturday, May 21; Marlins' Fernandez rises to 6th in player rankings

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 21:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	10.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	8.0
5	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	7.7
6	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	6.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	6.4
9	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	6.1
10	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf	nym nl	6.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rose to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets rose to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Fulmer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 5-4 win over the Rays.

This was Fulmer’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut April 29 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,640th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 3-2 win over the Mets.

Fernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season and rising to sixth place in season player rankings. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Nunez of the Twins hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Nunez had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +2.0, tied with Matt Wieters of the Orioles, who was Player of the Game in the 3-1 win over the Angels. Both Nunez and Wieters also had similar batting lines and Nunez won AL Batter of the Day honors on a low-level tiebreaker—he left fewer runners on base—0 vs. 1.

National League Batter of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 5-4 win over the Brewers. Cespedes earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to 10th place in player rankings. He also extends his lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season.

Notable—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez now has 164.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday, moving closer to 11th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list.

Hernandez (6IP 4H 0R 5K in the 4-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since player tracking began in 1995. He trails 11th-place player Roger Clemens (164.8) by only 0.1 point. It should be noted that Clemens’s career began in 1984, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, and so he would likely have more Box-Toppers points (rough estimates based on projections would put his career total at about 320 Box-Toppers points).

Hernandez has 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Debut—Rockies pitcher Carlos Estevez made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Estevez (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 5-1 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut April 23 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,641st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fernandez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Nunez and Cespedes each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/20	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Tigers	Michael Fulmer (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	1	11
	9.2	Red Sox	Joe Kelly (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	1	0	0	3	7
NL	8.0	Marlins	Jose Fernandez (W,6-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	1	9
	7.1	Braves	Williams Perez (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	0	0	1	4
	6.0	Cardinals	Mike Leake (W,3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	3
	5.0	Rangers	Cesar Ramos (W,1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	1	4
	5.0	`Padres	Cesar Vargas	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	1	7
	4.0	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W,4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	3	5
	3.1	`Royals	Danny Duffy	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.1	4	0	0	0	3
	2.1	Rockies	Carlos Estevez (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	1	2
BAT	2.0	Twins	Eduardo Nunez, SS	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Orioles	Matt Wieters, C	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, CF	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Yankees	Masahiro Tanaka (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	2	4
	1.0	Giants	Buster Posey, 1B	4	1	2	2	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 point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	6.7	11.4	37.4	37.4	2.0
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf	nym nl	6.0	16.9	37.9	37.9	-4.9
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	2b ss lf	min al	2.5	4.5	10.5	12.0	0.5
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	2.5	3.5	21.5	27.2	1.5
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	2.0	21.4	87.4	164.7	-17.4
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	2.0	12.0	37.1	41.6	-8.0
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	10.0	22.7	22.7	-6.0
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	2.0	6.0	21.0	21.0	-2.0
Perez, Williams 3476	pi sp	atl nl	2.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	-2.0
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Vargas, Cesar 3624	pi sp	sd nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Posey, Buster 2745	1b ca	sf nl	1.0	5.0	26.0	30.5	-3.0
Kelly, Joe 3066	pi sp	bos al	1.0	3.0	10.0	10.0	-1.0
Ramos, Cesar 3168	pi sp	tex al	1.0	1.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Estevez, Carlos 3641	pi mr	col nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?