Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Nelson Cruz of the Twins rises to lead American League batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2019 season through the games of Aug. 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 18.8 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 15.8 |
| 4 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 15.7 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.7 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.4 |
| 7 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 14.1 |
| 8 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.7 |
| 9 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | sp pi | dc nl | 13.4 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 13.2 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Plus, four Houston Astros pitchers combined to pitch a no-hitter against the Mariners, earning starter Aaron Sanchez AL Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Buehler pitched a complete-game, striking out 15 and allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Padres.
Buehler earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 15th among all players and eighth among National League pitchers.
Buehler becomes the 19th player with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season. It is his second straight season with 10 or more points. In 2018, his first season, he had 15.1 points with the Dodgers, fifth among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Aaron Sanchez struck out six over six scoreless and hitless innings, allowing two walks, in the 9-0 win over the Mariners.
Sanchez was one of four Astros pitchers Saturday to pitch a combined no-hitter. Will Harris, Joe Biagini and Chris Devenski pitched an inning each to complete the no-hitter.
This was Sanchez’s debut with the Astros since being traded from the Blue Jays at the July 31 trade deadline. He earned 2.0 points in 2019 prior to the trade and now has 3.7 points on the season. His best year was 2016 with the Blue Jays when he had 10.7 points, 19th among AL pitchers. He had no points in 2017 and 2.0 points in 2018.
National League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Escobar of the Diamondbacks hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, while going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in seven runs, in the 18-7 win over the Nationals.
Escobar earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, fifth among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Nelson Cruz of the Twins hit three home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Royals.
Cruz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season, rising to first place among AL batters, passing previous leader Alex Bregman of the Astros (8.0).
This is the second straight day Cruz has earned AL Batter of the Day honors. He was also AL Batter of the Day Friday in the 11-9 win over the Royals (HR 2-2B 3-4 2R 5BI). He has earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points over the past two days.
With 9.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, this is also Cruz’s best season, passing his previous best 8.5 points in 2014 with the Orioles. Cruz ranked sixth among AL batters that season. Cruz, 39, has earned Box-Toppers points for 14 straight seasons and now has 71.2 career points, fourth among active AL batters.
This is also the second time in 10 days Cruz has hit three home runs in a game. He hit three against the White Sox on July 25, earning him Player of the Game honors and 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 223.5 |
| 4 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 203.4 |
| 5 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | hou al | 202.4 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 198.8 |
| 7 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 196.9 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 196.2 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 174.1 |
| 12 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | chi nl | 172.2 |
| 13 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 171.6 |
| 14 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 15 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 18 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 19 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | free agent | 155.9 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
List of top 100 players since 1995 as of the 2019 All-Star break.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels now has 172.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 12th-most since 1995, after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Hamels (5IP 4H 0R 0BB 6K ND in the 4-1 win over the Brewers) passes teammate Jon Lester (171.6) on the “all-time” list and now trails 11th-ranked player, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (174.1) by 1.9 points. Passing Lester, Hamels now ranks seventh among active players in career points.
Hamels now has 7.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 18th among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Gleyber Torres of the Yankees earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Saturday.
Torres (2HR 2B 3-5 3R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Red Sox) was also Player of the Game Friday in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox (HR 1-3 R 4BI). He has 2.0 Box-Toppers points over the past two days and 7.5 for the season, fifth among AL batters.
Debut—Rangers pitcher Brett Martin made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Martin (2IP 0H 0R BB 2K ND in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 34th career game.
Scoring—Buehler earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sanchez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Escobar and Cruz 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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| 8/3 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +17.0 | LAD 4, SD 1 | Walker Buehler (W, 10‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | |
| +10.0 | PHI 3, CHW 2 | Aaron Nola (W, 10‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| AL | +10.0 | HOU 9, SEA 0 | Aaron Sanchez (W, 4‑14) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | ARI 18, WSH 7 | Eduardo Escobar 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +7.0 | MIN 11, KC 3 | Nelson Cruz DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | `CHC 4, MIL 1 | Cole Hamels | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | NYM 7, PIT 5 | Wilson Ramos C | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +6.0 | TB 8, MIA 6 | Eric Sogard 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | NYY 9, BOS 2 | Domingo German (W, 14‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +4.0 | OAK 8, STL 3 | Chad Pinder PH‑LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | ATL 5, CIN 4 (F/10) | Luke Jackson (W, 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | BAL 6, TOR 4 | Mychal Givens (W, 2‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 6, BOS 4 | Gleyber Torres SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `TEX 5, DET 4 (F/10) | Brett Martin | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | SF 6, COL 5 | Buster Posey PH‑C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | CLE 7, LAA 2 | Adam Plutko (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
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 Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’19). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’18-19), the period 2014-2019 (’14-19) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2019 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2018 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’19 | ’18‑19 | ’14‑19 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 | 25.8 | 25.8 | 25.8 | -4.4 |
| Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | min al | 9.5 | 12.0 | 34.5 | 71.2 | +7.0 |
| German, Domingo 3957 | pi sp | nyy al | 8.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 0.0 |
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.7 | 28.8 | 53.3 | 53.3 | -13.4 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.7 | 18.8 | 73.8 | 172.2 | -3.4 |
| Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss | nyy al | 7.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +6.0 |
| Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b | ari nl | 7.0 | 11.5 | 25.9 | 26.9 | +2.5 |
| Jackson, Luke 4139 | pi cp | atl nl | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +7.0 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca | sf nl | 5.0 | 6.5 | 32.0 | 49.0 | +3.5 |
| Plutko, Adam 3975 | pi sp | cle al | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | +3.7 |
| Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | hou al | 3.7 | 5.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 | +1.7 |
| Ramos, Wilson 2904 | ca | nym nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 16.0 | 27.5 | -4.0 |
| Pinder, Chad 3871 | rf lf ph | oak al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -2.0 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi cp mr | bal al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -1.0 |
| Sogard, Eric 3174 | dh 2b | tb al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | +2.0 |
| Martin, Brett 4210 | pi mr | tex al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Box-Toppers
Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.
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.