(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, pitching a complete-game one-hit shutout, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Aug. 26.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 26.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 5 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 16.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
Verlander now has 122.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 34th place among all players since 1995.
In addition Wednesday:
- Blue Jays pitcher David Price maintained his lead among American League pitchers and his second-place overall rank in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to seventh place in player rankings.
- Two other players besides Verlander who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday have more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Hernandez and Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon.
Player of the Day—Verlander allowed one hit in the ninth inning, striking out nine and walking two, in the 5-0 shutout of the Angels.
Verlander earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 122.9 for his career, rising to 34th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes Jered Weaver (122.1) on the “all-time” list and trails 33rd-ranked player, Gary Sheffield (124.1). Verlander has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 9-4 win over the Phillies.
Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 138.1 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 23rd among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Colon trails 22nd-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.1). Colon has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Barnes of the Rockies homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Escobar of the Twins hit two solo home runs, going 2-for-4, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.
Rankings—Two players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:
- Blue Jays pitcher David Price (6IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 12-4 win over the Rangers) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.1 for the season. He maintains his lead among AL pitchers and is second to overall leader Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (8IP 3H 2R 7K W in the 8-2 win over the Athletics) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.4 for the season, rising to seventh among all players and fourth among AL pitchers. Hernandez, who led all players in Box-Toppers points for much of the season, was in danger in recent days of falling out of Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, falling to 10th place before Wednesday’s Player of the Game honor.
Hernandez also now has 159.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Hernandez trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Hernandez ranks fourth among active players in Box-Toppers points and second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (187.0).
Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to second place in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. McCutchen (HR 2-5 R 4BI in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. He trails NL batting leader Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9 Box-Toppers points).
Debut—Indians pitcher Jeff Manship made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Manship (1IP 0H 0R K W in the 6-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 15, 2009, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,571st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Barnes and Escobar each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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
| 8/26 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Tigers | Justin Verlander (W,2-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| NL | 8.0 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W,11-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 7.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Red Sox | Rick Porcello (W,6-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | David Price (W,13-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Brandon Barnes, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Padres | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Giants | Santiago Casilla (S,31) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | Indians | Jeff Manship (MR) (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Orioles | Ryan Flaherty, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S,40) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.2 | Dodgers | Brett Anderson (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |