Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander extended his consecutive streak of seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 15, tied for the third-longest active streak.
Active season streaks
Here are the 10 active players who have earned Box-Toppers points for 14 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Angels | 2001‑2019 | 201.8 |
| 17 | Miguel Cabrera | 1b | Tigers | 2003‑2019 | 150.9 |
| 15 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 2006‑2020 | 206.6 |
| 15 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Braves | 2005‑2019 | 175.1 |
| 15 | Edwin Encarnacion | dh | White Sox | 2005‑2019 | 87.2 |
| 15 | Robinson Cano | 2b | Mets | 2005‑2019 | 85.4 |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Braves | 2006‑2019 | 174.2 |
| 14 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Cubs | 2006‑2019 | 172.6 |
| 14 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Twins | 2006‑2019 | 74.2 |
| 14 | Ryan Zimmerman | 1b | Nationals | 2006‑2019 | 67.2 |
Player of the Day—Hendricks pitched a complete-game shutout in the team’s season-opening game, striking out nine and allowing three hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Brewers.
Hendricks earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and takes the early lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Thursday’s Player of the Day winner, Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers. Both players have 2.0 Box-Toppers points but Hendricks ranks higher because he had more 2019 points—13.4 vs. 3.5.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Shane Bieber struck out 14 over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Royals.
Bieber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers point for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season.
Both Hendricks and Bieber had Box-Toppers game scores Friday of +15.0, but Hendricks held the tiebreaking advantage to win overall Player of the Day because he pitched more innings—nine vs. six.
National League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Padres hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, driving in six runs, in the 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, his first points of the season. This is the 10th straight season Hosmer has earned Box-Toppers points. He earned his first points in 2011 with the Royals and now has 46.0 career points, sixth among active NL first basemen. His best season was 2017 with the Royals when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 13-2 win over the Orioles.
Streak—Astros pitcher Justin Verlander has now earned Box-Toppers points for 15 straight seasons—tied for the third-longest active streak—after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season.
Verlander (6IP 3H 2R BB 7K W in the 8-2 win over the Mariners) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Tigers and now has 206.6 career points, fifth among all players since 1995 and third among active players. He trails the fourth-ranked player, Astros pitcher Zack Greinke (207.1) on the all-time list by just 0.5 points. Verlander’s best season was 2019 with the Astros when he had 27.5 Box-Toppers points, second among all players. Verlander led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2012, when he had 24.8 points with the Tigers.
Verlander’s 15-season streak earning Box-Toppers points is now tied with three other players for the third-longest active streak. Felix Hernandez, Edwin Encarnacion and Robinson Cano all reached 15 consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points during the 2019 season. Only two players have longer streaks—Albert Pujols of the Angels (19 seasons) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (17 seasons). Neither has earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2020. Verlander’s 15-season streak is tied for the 25th longest such streak since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Scoring—Hendricks earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bieber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hosmer and Bradley each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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)| 7/24 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +15.0 | CHC 3, MIL 0 | Kyle Hendricks, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | +15.0 | CLE 2, KC 0 | Shane Bieber, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | |
| +11.0 | `NYM 1, ATL 0 | Jacob deGrom | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +9.0 | TEX 1, COL 0 | Lance Lynn, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||
| +8.0 | LAD 9, SF 1 | Ross Stripling, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +8.0 | CIN 7, DET 1 | Sonny Gray (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| +5.2 | MIA 5, PHI 2 | Sandy Alcantara (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | SD 7, ARI 2 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | HOU 8, SEA 2 | Justin Verlander, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | BOS 13, BAL 2 | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | OAK 7, LAA 3 (F/10) | Ramon Laureano, CF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | STL 5, PIT 4 | Jack Flaherty, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 6, TB 4 | Cavan Biggio 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | MIN 10, CHW 5 | Max Kepler, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 (’20). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’19-20), the period 2015-2020 (’15-20) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2020 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2019 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’20 | ’19‑20 | ’15‑20 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 15.4 | 50.9 | 55.9 | -11.4 |
| Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 1.7 | 19.8 | 26.2 | 26.2 | -16.4 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 1.5 | 5.5 | 26.0 | 27.0 | -2.5 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | sc nl | 1.5 | 3.0 | 32.5 | 46.0 | 0.0 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 28.5 | 88.4 | 206.6 | -26.5 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 20.1 | 84.7 | 97.7 | -18.1 |
| Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.0 | 17.5 | 30.6 | 30.6 | -15.5 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 16.0 | 39.1 | 83.6 | -14.0 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 15.4 | 51.3 | 65.3 | -13.4 |
| Kepler, Max 3664 | rf cf | min al | 1.0 | 7.7 | 19.2 | 19.2 | -5.7 |
| Biggio, Cavan 4183 | 2b | tor al | 1.0 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 | -5.2 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 | -3.7 |
| Stripling, Ross 3629 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 19.4 | 19.4 | -3.0 |
| Laureano, Ramon 4054 | cf | oak al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -2.7 |
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.