Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in Box-Toppers’ “all-time” rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2021. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Friday, April 16.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 |
| 2 | Barnes, Matt 3466 | pi mr cp | bos al | 4.0 |
| 3 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 4 | Civale, Aaron 4173 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 5 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh rf | bos al | 3.2 |
| 6 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 |
| 7 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 8 | Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 |
| 9 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 |
| 10 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Scherzer struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Scherzer did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 22nd among all players, 11th among National League pitchers.
His 2.0 Box-Toppers points Friday gives him 203.2 career points, lifting him to seventh place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Albert Pujols of the Angels (202.8) and now trails sixth-place CC Sabathia (203.4) by just 0.2 points. Scherzer now ranks fourth among active players in career points, trailing third-place player, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander (206.6) by 3.4 points.
Scherzer has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2021 Friday. He earned his first points in 2009 with the Diamondbacks. His best season was 2016 with the Nationals when he had 25.7 Box-Toppers points to lead all players. In 2020, Scherzer had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened season, 18th among NL pitchers. Scherzer had 15.4 points in 2019, ninth among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Michael Wacha struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 8-2 win over the Yankees.
Wacha earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season.
American League Batter of the Day—Justin Upton of the Angels hit a grand slam, doubled, and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-3 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Nicholas Castellanos of the Reds homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-3 win over the Indians.
Notable—Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin has the most 2021 Box-Toppers points among the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday.
Eflin (7IP 6H 2R 0BB 6K W in the 9-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season, rising to 12th in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers.
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 | 282.5 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 237.9 |
| 4 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | hou al | 210.1 |
| 5 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 206.6 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | retired | 203.4 |
| 7 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 203.2 |
| 8 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 202.8 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Jon Lester | pi sp | dc nl | 176.3 |
| 12 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | released | 175.1 |
| 13 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | free agent | 174.2 |
| 14 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 15 | Johan Santana | pi sp | retired | 166.6 |
| 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 166.2 |
| 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 |
Note: We are in the process of auditing results for the 1995 season, which has resulted in minor changes in career Box-Toppers point totals for a few players. For example, Randy Johnson has gained 3.7 points and Manny Ramirez has lost 1.0 point.
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2020 season.
Also notable—Dodgers pitcher David Price now has 132.0 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Price (2IP 0H 0R BB 4K W in the 11-6, 12-inning win over the Padres) ranks 34th among all players in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 33rd-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (132.8). Price ranks 10th among active, signed players in career points.
This is Price’s first Player of the Game honor with the Dodgers after signing with the team prior to the 2020 season but voluntarily sitting out that season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons (2009-2019) prior to missing 2020. This is also Price’s first Player of the Game as a closing pitcher. Price earned Player of the Game honors once as a middle reliever when he was with the Red Sox on Sept. 22, 2017, but otherwise has earned his other 130.0 career points as a starter.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Pirates pitcher JT Brubaker (6IP 4H R 0BB 8K W in the 6-1 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut July 26, 2020, and was playing in his 14th career game.
Mariners pitcher Anthony Misiewicz (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 6-5 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut July 24, 2020, and was playing in his 26th career game.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wacha earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Upton and Castellanos 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)| 4/16 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | `WSH 1, ARI 0 | Max Scherzer | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| AL | +12.0 | TB 8, NYY 2 | Michael Wacha, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| +10.0 | OAK 3, DET 0 | Frankie Montas, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +8.0 | PIT 6, MIL 1 | JT Brubaker, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| +6.0 | BAL 5, TEX 2 | Jorge López, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +5.0 | LAD 11, SD 6 (F/12) | David Price, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | LAA 10, MIN 3 | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | PHI 9, STL 2 | Zach Eflin, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | SEA 6, HOU 5 | Anthony Misiewicz, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | CIN 10, CLE 3 | Nick Castellanos, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | MIA 4, SF 1 | Anthony Bass, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | ATL 5, CHC 2 | Will Smith, (S 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
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 (’21). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’20-21), the period 2016-2021 (’16-21) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2021 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2020 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’21 | ’20‑21 | ’16‑21 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.7 | 5.4 | 26.8 | 26.8 | +0.0 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 97.2 | 203.2 | ‑2.0 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 18.7 | 36.4 | +1.7 |
| Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | rf | cin nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 24.0 | 32.2 | +0.5 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | ana al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 20.7 | 65.1 | +1.5 |
| Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 19.4 | 19.4 | ‑5.0 |
| Bass, Anthony 2974 | pi mr cp | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | +0.0 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi cp sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 38.2 | 132.0 | +1.0 |
| Smith, Will 3073 | pi cp | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 19.7 | +1.0 |
| Lopez, Jorge 4060 | pi sp mr | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| Brubaker, JT 4382 | pi sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Misiewicz, Anthony 4383 | pi cp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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.