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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2022 preseason rankings. They also ended 2021 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Oakland Athletics saw the biggest decline.
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Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players of 2021.
Scherzer had 25.1 Box-Toppers points during the regular season. It is his fourth season with 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Only two other players have as many or more seasons with 25.0 or more points.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2021 preseason rankings. They also ended 2020 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team and World Series champions.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Chicago Cubs saw the biggest decline.
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The two pitchers with the most wins in 2020 were also among the top three in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Shane Bieber of the Indians and Yu Darvish of the Cubs both had eight wins in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, most among all pitchers. Bieber had 11.4 Box-Toppers points, most of all players and Darvish had 9.7 points, third-most and second among National League pitchers.
Read MoreThe two pitchers with the lowest earned run averages in 2020—Shane Bieber and Trevor Bauer—were also Box-Toppers’ two top-ranked players for the season.
In fact, six of the seven ERA leaders for 2020 rank among the top 10 overall players in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Read MoreIn four league division series playoff games Tuesday these are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners:
Travis d'Arnaud of the Braves is top player in Tuesday’s 9-5 win over the Marlins.
Dodgers pitcher Dustin May is top player in Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Padres.
George Springer of the Astros is top player in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Athletics.
Manuel Margot of the Rays is top player in Tuesday’s 7-5 win over the Yankees.
Three of the four pitchers who led the Major Leagues in wins in 2017 are among Box-Toppers’ top 10 players for the season.
And seven of the top 12 pitchers in wins in 2017 are among Box-Toppers’ top 10-ranked players.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Zach Davies is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after earning National League Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Charlie Morton is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Morton struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Phillies.
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Brewers pitcher Zach Davies is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 |
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.
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. | ||||||||||||||
| 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 |
Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Bradley hit two homers and went 4-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 11-4 win over the Blue Jays.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 19.1 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 17.4 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
Bradley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks sixth among AL batters and 52nd among all players.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Hansel Robles pitched two scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits and striking out four, in the 8-5 win over the Nationals. Robles earned a no decision in the game, as he held the Mets’ lead in the seventh and eighth innings.
This was Robles’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Robles made his Major League debut April 24 and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,580th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Scott Van Slyke of the Dodgers hit a two-run double and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Angels.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was AL batter Jackie Bradley Jr.
Notable—Rockies pitcher Justin Miller earned his first Box-Toppers point in more than six years, earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Miller (1.1IP 0H 0R 4K ND in the 6-4 win over the Padres) last earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors July 11, 2009 with the Giants. Before that, it was nearly five years between Box-Toppers points for Miller—he was Player of the Game Sept. 8, 2004, with the Blue Jays. Miller first earned Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Blue Jays and has 6.0 career points.
Debut—Brewers pitcher Zach Davies also made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Davies (7IP 4H R 4K W in the 9-1 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Sept. 2 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,581st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Bradley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Robles earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Van Slyke earns 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., RF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 6.0 | `Mets | Hansel Robles (MR) (H,9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5.1 | `Rockies | Justin Miller (MR) (H,3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Brewers | Zach Davies (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Dbacks | Patrick Corbin (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.1 | Reds | Anthony DeSclafani (W,8-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Dodgers | Scott Van Slyke, 1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Indians | Ryan Raburn, RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Braves | Williams Perez (W,5-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Rajai Davis, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cubs | Dexter Fowler, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | Greg Bird, 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | Rangers | Yovani Gallardo (W,12-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Coco Crisp, PH-LF | 2 | 1 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
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.