Blog
Indians pitcher Aaron Civale is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in his Major League debut.
Also Saturday, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader maintains his second-place rank in Box-Toppers season player rankings, increasing his lead among National League pitchers, after earning NL Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is the most deserving player not selected to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Paxton has 14.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, fifth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the seventh week in a row.
Meanwhile, American League batters have a new Box-Toppers points leader this week—J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox moves ahead of last week’s leader, Nomar Mazara of the Rangers.
Read MoreRangers pitcher Mike Minor is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox rises to lead American League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.
Read More
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the sixth week in a row.
Meanwhile, American League batters have a new Box-Toppers points leader this week—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers (7.0) passed last week’s leader, Mitch Haniger of the Mariners (6.5).
Read MoreBraves pitcher Julio Teheran is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Teheran struck out 11 over six scoreless and no-hit innings, allowing three walks, in the 4-1 win over the Padres. Teheran was pitching a no-hitter when he was pulled after 95 pitches, experiencing cramping. The bullpen gave up seven hits and a run in the final three innings.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the fourth week in a row.
Meanwhile, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino continues to lead American League players for the seventh straight week, Mookie Betts of the Red Sox continues to lead AL batters for the seventh straight week and Eugenio Suarez of the Reds leads National League batters for the third week.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the third week in a row.
Meanwhile, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino continues to lead American League players for the sixth straight week, Mookie Betts of the Red Sox continues to lead AL batters for the sixth straight week and Eugenio Suarez of the Reds leads National League batters for the second week.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Luis Severino leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the second straight week.
Meanwhile, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer continues to lead National League pitchers, Mookie Betts of the Red Sox maintains his lead among American League batters and Eugenio Suarez of the Reds rises to lead NL batters.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Fernando Romero is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Nomar Mazara of the Rangers rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, becoming only the second batter currently in the top 10.
Read MoreOrioles pitcher Chris Tillman is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino reclaims first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea rises to sixth place in player rankings after he earns Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Scherzer struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Reds.
Read More
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 |
Only 6 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points in 2016.
Read More
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in third place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 |
| 4 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 10 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 |
Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Nationals.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 22.4 for the season. He moves to within 0.3 points of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) and within 1.3 points of season Box-Toppers points leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7). That means with one or two more starts remaining this season, Fernandez has a chance to rise to the overall lead for the first time this year.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 8-1 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Odubel Herrera of the Phillies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-6 win over the White Sox.
American League Batter of the Day—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
Lester now also has 142.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 26th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0). Lester now ranks 10th among all active players in career points, seventh among active pitchers.
Debut—Giants pitcher Steven Okert made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Okert (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,745th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Herrera and Mazara each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/20 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 17.0 | MIA 1, WSH 0 | Jose Fernandez (W,16-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | 9.0 | DET 8, MIN 1 | Matt Boyd (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 7.2 | HOU 2, OAK 1 (10) | Chris Devenski (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 6.1 | `NYY 5, TB 3 | Michael Pineda | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 4.2 | CLE 2, KC 1 | Andrew Miller (W,9-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.1 | BOS 5, BAL 2 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W,3-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PHI 7, CHW 6 | Odubel Herrera, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | STL 10, COL 5 | Randal Grichuk, CF | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | SD 5, ARI 2 | Adam Rosales, 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 6, CIN 1 | Jon Lester (W,18-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.2 | `SF 2, LAD 0 | Steven Okert (H,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 5, NYM 4 | Adonis Garcia, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | PIT 6, MIL 3 | Tony Watson (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TEX 5, LAA 4 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | TOR 10, SEA 2 | J.A. Happ (W,20-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 | 27.1 | 53.1 | 53.1 | 17.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 | 33.1 | 79.3 | 142.2 | 9.1 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 | 27.8 | 43.2 | 51.2 | 1.6 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | tex al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 6.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 5.1 |
| Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 16.7 | 34.1 | 34.1 | -4.7 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp | cle al | 6.0 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 21.0 | 2.0 |
| Garcia, Adonis 3613 | 3b | atl nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Watson, Tony 3215 | pi cp | pit nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -2.3 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi mr sp | hou nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Herrera, Odubel 3449 | cf | phi nl | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -0.5 |
| Grichuk, Randal 3474 | cf | stl nl | 1.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -8.5 |
| Rosales, Adam 2647 | 2b | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 11.7 | -1.0 |
| Okert, Steven 3745 | pi mr | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 6-4 win over the Phillies.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 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 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.0 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 7.8 |
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 128.1 for his career, rising to 31st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes four players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Mariano Rivera (126.4), Roy Oswalt (127.2), Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (127.6) and A.J. Burnett (127.8). Lester now trails 30th-ranked player Vladimir Guerrero (128.3).
Lester ranks 12th among all active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Lester has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked 14th among all players and 10th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Padres doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers went 4-for-4, scoring twice, in the 6-5 win over the Astros.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bauer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kemp and Mazara each earn 1.5 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/6 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CHC 6/PHI 4 | Jon Lester (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | 9.2 | CLE 3/SEA 1 | Trevor Bauer (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 6.0 | COL 6/LAD 1 | Tyler Chatwood (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | DET 11/TOR 0 | Michael Fulmer (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | TB 6/ARI 4 | Chris Archer (W,4-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 4.0 | NYY 5/LAA 2 | Andrew Miller (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SD 7/ATL 2 | Matt Kemp, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | BAL 4/KC 1 | Mike Wright (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TEX 6/HOU 5 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.0 | 19.0 | 65.2 | 128.1 | -5.0 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | col nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 5.0 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 20.0 | 44.1 | 44.1 | -12.0 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 | 13.1 | 21.8 | 21.8 | -5.7 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | rf | sd nl | 3.0 | 8.5 | 33.0 | 54.6 | -2.5 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp mr | nyy al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 18.0 | -1.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Wright, Mike 3471 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | -0.7 |
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 6 | Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 2.7 |
| 7 | Ross, Joe 3499 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.7 |
| 8 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | chi al | 2.7 |
| 9 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 10 | Brown, Trevor 3610 | ca | sf nl | 2.5 |
Arrieta struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, in the 6-2 win over the Rockies. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rising to third place in season player rankings. Arrieta led all players in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 7-2 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Nick Markakis of the Braves doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins.
With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned for being NL Batter of the Day Saturday, Markakis has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Orioles and has 43.6 career points, which ranks 14th among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2009 with the Orioles when he had 7.7 points, sixth among AL outfielders. In 2015, he had 4.5 points with the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Trevor Plouffe of the Twins homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Angels.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 55th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings list after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Scherzer (7IP 5H R 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 108.0 career points. He passes Cubs pitcher John Lackey (107.8) to move into 55th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began). He trails 54th-place player Lance Berkman (108.1). Scherzer now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the 2016 season. He had 21.0 points in 2015, fourth among NL pitchers.
Debut—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Mazara (3-4 2R BI in the 8-4 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut April 10 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,614th 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 Ramirez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Markakis and Plouffe 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/17 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 7.1 | Giants | Johnny Cueto (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 6.2 | Rays | Erasmo Ramirez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 6.0 | Red Sox | David Price (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Indians | Josh Tomlin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Pirates | Jonathon Niese (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | `Padres | Andrew Cashner | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Braves | Nick Markakis, RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 2.0 | Twins | Trevor Plouffe, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Reds | Zack Cozart, SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Nomar Mazara, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Tigers | Mark Lowe (H,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 3 | 1 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Rangers rookie Nomar Mazara is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Wednesday.
Mazara hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-3, driving in four runs and scoring twice, in the 6-2 win over the Royals.
National League Player of the Day—Braves prospect Ozhaino Albies homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in three and scoring three times, in the 11-4 win over the Orioles.
Neither Mazara nor Albies have any Box-Toppers points and neither has made their regular season Major League debut.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Mazara would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Albies would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Thirteen spring training games were scheduled for Wednesday—nine are listed below. Four games are not included—two because they ended in ties (Phillies vs. Blue Jays and Indians vs. Reds) and two because teams played against non-Major League opponents.
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
| 3/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Rangers | Nomar Mazara, RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | Braves | Ozhaino Albies 2B-SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Nationals | Scott Sizemore 3B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Mariners | Chris Iannetta, C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.1 | Giants | Michael Broadway, (W 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Jorge Polanco 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Jarrod Saltalamacchia DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Austin Romine PR-C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | Archie Bradley, (W 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.