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Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Jonathan India of the Royals, Giants pitcher Justin Verlander and Yuli Gurriel of the Padres.
Read MoreA belated note: Mets pitcher David Peterson was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the uncompleted, rain-suspended Sept. 28 game between the Marlins and Mets.
Major League Baseball ruled in early October that the Mets were winners in the game, even though the Marlins led 2-1 when it was suspended in the top of the ninth inning.
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The Houston Astros hold significant Box-Toppers points advantages over the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 World Series.
The Astros were Box-Toppers’ second-ranked team in the regular season while the Phillies were 13th overall, just barely above the middle of the pack of all 30 teams. The Astros are the highest-ranked American League team in Box-Toppers rankings, while the Phillies are the lowest-ranking National League postseason team.
Read MoreBox-Toppers numbers favor the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees in the upcoming American League Championship Series.
Both teams were the two top seeds among AL postseason teams (Astros in first, Yankees in second) and both teams dominated the AL all season, with one or the other leading Box-Toppers team rankings nearly every week of the season.
Read MoreOnly one of the top 10 batting average leaders for 2021 is among Box-Toppers’ top 100 ranked players for the season.
Nick Castellanos of the Reds, whose .309 batting average ranked ninth among all players, ranked 35th among all players with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. That also led all NL batters.
Read MoreMarwin Gonzalez of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s World Series Game 5.
The Houston Astros win 9-5, holding off the Atlanta Braves, who still lead the best-of-seven game series, 3-2.
Read MoreBraves relief pitcher A.J. Minter is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s World Series Game 1.
The Atlanta Braves win 6-2 to take a 1-0 lead over the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven games series.
Read MoreRafael Devers of the Red Sox and Austin Riley of the Braves are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreReds pitcher Wade Miley, pitching a no-hitter, is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Max Fried and Rays pitcher Charlie Morton are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Monday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreJose Altuve of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s American League Championship Series Game 6 win over the Yankees.
Altuve hit a walk-off, two-run homer to give the Astros a 6-4 victory, also winning the best-of-seven game series, 4-2. Altuve also doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Patrick Corbin is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Rays pitcher Charlie Morton rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Wei-Yin Chen is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Chen struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Reds. Chen did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read MoreThree of the four players who won Cy Young or Most Valuable Player awards in 2017 also led their teams in Box-Toppers points for the season.
The only exception: American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve did not lead Astros batters in Box-Toppers points. In fact, with only 2.5 Box-Toppers points, he finished 11th among Astros batters and 21st among all Astros players.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top-ranked rookies, Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers, were unanimously named 2017 Rookies of the Year Monday.
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Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 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 |
Godley allowed one run and one hit over 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven, in the 7-3 win over the Mets. Godley did not earn the win, picking up a no decision because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
Godley also has the most Box-Toppers points among the eight who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Godley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season. He ranks 56th among all players for 2017, 15th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Yuli Gurriel of the Astros hit a grand slam, doubled and went 2-for-4, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.
This was Gurriel’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Gurriel made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2016, and was playing in his 70th career game. He is the 3,796th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres hit a walk-off, two-run, 10th-inning homer in the 6-5 win over the Brewers. Renfroe also doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Yuli Gurriel.
Streak—Nelson Cruz of the Mariners has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season.
Cruz (HR 1-3 R 2BI in the 6-5 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Rangers and has 54.7 career points, seventh among active AL designated hitters. His best year was 2014 with the Orioles when he had 8.5 points, sixth among AL batters. In 2016, he had 6.5 points with the Mariners, seventh among AL designated hitters.
Scoring—Godley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gurriel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Renfroe earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
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| 5/15 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 5.2 | `ARI 7, NYM 3 | Zack Godley | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | SD 6, MIL 5 (F/10) | Hunter Renfroe, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | ATL 10, TOR 6 | Matt Kemp, LF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| AL | 3.0 | HOU 7, MIA 2 | Yuli Gurriel, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CLE 8, TB 7 | Lonnie Chisenhall, CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | LAA 5, CHW 3 | Bud Norris (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | SF 8, LAD 4 | Eduardo Nunez, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SEA 6, OAK 5 | Nelson Cruz, DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 2.0 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | lf | atl nl | 2.5 | 10.0 | 33.0 | 61.6 | -5.0 |
| Norris, Bud 2638 | pi cp sp | ana al | 2.0 | 7.7 | 32.4 | 48.1 | -3.7 |
| Gurriel, Yuli 3796 | 1b | hou al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Renfroe, Hunter 3749 | rf | sd nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
| Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | sea al | 1.0 | 7.5 | 28.5 | 54.7 | -5.5 |
| Nunez, Eduardo 2795 | lf 3b | sf nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 13.5 | 16.0 | -4.5 |
| Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959 | cf | cle al | 1.0 | 4.5 | 12.5 | 14.5 | -2.5 |
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.