Diamondbacks’ Zack Godley tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 29; Red Sox’ Betts tops AL players

Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the 30th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points.

Godley struck out six over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Giants.

Read More

Diamondbacks’ Godley tops players for Tuesday, July 31; Astros’ Morton rises to 9th in player rankings

Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Astros pitcher Charlie Morton rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Read More

Blue Jays’ Pillar tops players for Friday, July 13; Diamondbacks’ Godley tops NL players

Kevin Pillar of the Blue Jays is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Pillar hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 13-7 win over the Red Sox.

Read More

Box-Toppers’ top single game performances by batters for 2017

Anthony Rendon of the Nationals had the best single-game performance by a batter in the 2017 season as measured by Box-Toppers game score.

It also appears to be the highest game score for a batter in Box-Toppers’ 23 seasons of record keeping.

Read More

Yankees' pitcher Luis Severino is Box-Toppers' Most Improved Player in 2017

Yankees pitcher Luis Severino had the biggest improvement in Box-Toppers point totals from 2016 to 2017, and is this season’s Box-Toppers’ Most Improved Player.

Severino had 19.1 more Box-Toppers points in 2017 than he did in 2016. In 2016, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points and in 2017, he had 21.1 points, seventh among all players, fourth among American League pitchers.

Read More

Dbacks' Zack Godley tops players for Thursday, Sept. 14; Cubs' Rizzo rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings

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

Also Thursday, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, extending his dominating lead among National League batters. Rizzo becomes the first batter since June 27 to be ranked among the season’s top 10 players.

Read More

Dbacks' Zack Godley tops players for Thursday, July 27; 2nd-ranked Scherzer edges closer to leader Kershaw

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

Also Thursday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, ranked second in Box-Toppers season player rankings, earns Player of the Game honors. He becomes the second player this season with 20 Box-Toppers points, his fourth straight season with 20 points. Also, he rises to 19th place onBox-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list.

Read More

Dbacks' Zack Godley tops players for Monday, May 15; Astros' Gurriel tops AL players

Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Monday’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 15:  


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
What are those numbers after players' names?

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.

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 

5/15ScoreGamePlayer of the GameABRHBIIPHRERBBK
MLB5.2`ARI 7, NYM 3Zack Godley----6.211157
BAT4.0SD 6, MIL 5 (F/10)Hunter Renfroe, RF4224------
3.0ATL 10, TOR 6Matt Kemp, LF4340------
AL3.0HOU 7, MIA 2Yuli Gurriel, 1B4124------
3.0CLE 8, TB 7Lonnie Chisenhall, CF2113------
2.1LAA 5, CHW 3Bud Norris (S,8)----1.100012
2.0SF 8, LAD 4Eduardo Nunez, LF4123------
1.0SEA 6, OAK 5Nelson Cruz, DH3112------
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 +/-
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
What are those numbers after players' names?

Blue Jays' David Price tops players for Monday, Aug. 3, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Blue Jays pitcher David Price is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth in player rankings.

Price struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Twins in his debut with the Blue Jays. Price, previously with the Tigers, was Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked player traded prior to the July trade deadline.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 2.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 16.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
3 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
4 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 15.1
5 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 15.0
6 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
7 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 14.1
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 13.7
9 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 13.0
10 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among all players and second among American League pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing three hits, in the 6-4 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit for the cycle (home run, triple, double, single), going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-9 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-7 win over the Marlins.

Cespedes earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season, rising to second place among NL batters, behind Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5).

Scoring—Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Godley earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Cespedes each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/3 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Blue Jays David Price (W,10-4) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 2 11
NL 7.0 Dbacks Zack Godley (W,3-0) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 2 6
BAT 4.0 Rangers Adrian Beltre, 3B 5 2 4 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Mets Yoenis Cespedes, CF 5 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Padres Yangervis Solarte, 3B 4 2 2 4 1 1 - - - - - -
3.1 Angels Garrett Richards (W,11-8) - - - - - - 7.1 4 4 4 3 11
3.1 `Rays Nathan Karns - - - - - - 5.1 3 2 2 2 7
3.0 Braves Jace Peterson, 2B 5 2 3 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Mariners Kyle Seager, 3B 4 3 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Orioles Caleb Joseph, C 4 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Thursday, July 23, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth in season player rankings.

Also Thursday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana earned a Box-Toppers point in his 11th straight season.

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out 11, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 23.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 14.4
3 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 14.4
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 13.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
7 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
8 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 12.0
9 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
10 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season and rising to sixth in player rankings, third among NL pitchers.

Kershaw now has 146.6 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 19th-place player on the “all-time” list, Jim Thome (146.7).

Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011, 2013 and 2014, has far and away the most Box-Toppers points of all players since 2010. Since the start of the 2010 season, Kershaw has 129.2 Box-Toppers points. In second place is Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (100.8), 28.4 points behind.

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.

Thursday marked the first time Santana earned Player of the Game honors this season, giving him a streak of 11 straight seasons with Box-Toppers points. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Angels. His best year was 2008 with the Angels, when he had 16.7, most among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points with the Braves.

Santana has 89.6 career Box-Toppers points, 93rd among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks ninth in career Box-Toppers points among active AL pitchers.

Santana was suspended for the first 80 games of the season under baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros hit a walk-off homer in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox. Altuve also hit a double and went 4-for-5, scoring twice.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Royals.

Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Godley (6IP 4H 0R 7K W in the 8-3 win over the Brewers) was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,538th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Altuve and Grichuk each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/23 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 17.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,8-6) - - - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 0 11
AL 11.0 Twins Ervin Santana (W,2-0) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 0 7
9.0 Pirates Francisco Liriano (W,6-6) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 3 11
9.0 Dbacks Zack Godley (W,1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 0 7
7.0 Marlins Tom Koehler (W,8-6) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 4 7
5.0 White Sox Jeff Samardzija (W,7-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 0 3
4.2 Yankees Masahiro Tanaka (W,7-3) - - - - - - 7.2 4 3 3 0 7
4.1 Blue Jays R.A. Dickey (W,4-10) - - - - - - 8.1 5 2 2 1 6
BAT 2.0 Astros Jose Altuve, 2B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 `Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 2 2 7
BAT 1.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk, LF 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.