Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2022 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kershaw struck out six over eighth scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 9-1 win over the Angels.
Kershaw had a perfect game through seven innings, before giving up a double as he started the eighth inning.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 45th among all players and 17th among National League pitchers.
Kershaw now has 254.6 career Box-Toppers points, second-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers player tracking began. He trails top-ranked Randy Johnson (282.5). (It should be noted Johnson would have an estimated 380 points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked.) Kershaw leads active players in career points, ahead of second-place player, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (230.3).
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 8-1 win over the Royals
Manoah earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, 36th among all players and 18th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Christian Bethancourt of the Rays hit a pinch-hit home run and went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Orioles.
This was Bethancourt’s first Player of the Game honor in nearly six years. He last earned Player of the Game honors July 17, 2016, with the Padres, when he was NL Batter of the Day. He has 6.5 career Box-Toppers points, earning his first in 2014. Bethancourt did not play in the Major Leagues from 2018 to 2021, but played elsewhere, including the minor leagues and Korea during that time.
National League Batter of the Day—Dylan Carlson of the Cardinals doubled and went 1-for-1, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.
Notable—Mariners pitcher Robbie Ray has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points among the 14 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday.
Ray (6.2IP 6H 3R 0BB 12K W in the 8-3 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.4 for the season, 13th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2022. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Friday, July 15.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 17.0 |
| 2 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 14.4 |
| 3 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 13.0 |
| 4 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 13.0 |
| 5 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 12.7 |
| 6 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 12.4 |
| 7 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.7 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 10.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Back to top
Also notable—Padres pitcher Yu Darvish now has 116.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Darvish (7IP 5H 3R 2BB 9K W in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks) ranks 54th among all players in career points since tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Friday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Torii Hunter (115.9) and White Sox pitcher Johnny Cueto (116.2). He now trails 53rd-ranked player Todd Helton (116.4). Passing Cueto, Darvish now ranks 15th among active players in career points, eighth among active NL pitchers.
Darvish also now has 9.1 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 16th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Manoah earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bethancourt and Carlson each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Player of the Game winners (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.
Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).Back to top
| 7/15 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | LAD 9, LAA 1 | Clayton Kershaw, (W 7‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | +7.0 | TOR 8, KC 1 | Alek Manoah, (W 10‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| +6.2 | SEA 8, TEX 3 | Robbie Ray, (W 8‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | ||
| +5.0 | `BOS 5, NYY 4 (F/11) | Garrett Whitlock, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.2 | `SF 8, MIL 5 | Alex Wood | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +4.0 | PHI 2, MIA 1 | Kyle Gibson, (W 5‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | OAK 5, HOU 1 | Cole Irvin, (W 4‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | TB 5, BAL 4 | Christian Bethancourt, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +3.0 | STL 7, CIN 3 | Dylan Carlson, CF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | SD 5, ARI 3 | Yu Darvish, (W 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | ||
| +3.0 | CLE 6, DET 5 | Trevor Stephan, (S 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 8, WSH 4 | Matt Olson, 1B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | COL 13, PIT 2 | Brendan Rodgers, 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CHW 6, MIN 2 | Adam Engel, CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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.
Back to top
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’21-22), the period 2017-2022 (’17-22) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2022 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2021 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | sea al | 9.4 | 27.1 | 60.5 | 71.2 | -8.3 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 9.1 | 22.2 | 60.7 | 116.3 | -4.0 |
| Manoah, Alek 4424 | pi sp | tor al | 6.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 | -4.0 |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 | 19.4 | 70.9 | 254.6 | -7.4 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 | 18.0 | 38.7 | 58.1 | -8.0 |
| Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 | 12.7 | 32.5 | 49.5 | -2.7 |
| Rodgers, Brendan 4529 | 2b | col nl | 4.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | +2.5 |
| Irvin, Cole 4140 | pi sp | oak al | 3.0 | 7.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | -1.7 |
| Carlson, Dylan 4359 | cr rf | stl nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| Stephan, Trevor 4446 | pi mr cp | cle al | 2.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -1.7 |
| Whitlock, Garrett 4431 | pi cp mr | bos al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Bethancourt, Christian 3407 | ca ph | tb al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 6.5 | +1.5 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | atl nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 20.7 | 20.7 | -7.0 |
| Engel, Adam 3912 | cf | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top
A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2022 (’22), over a two-year period (’21-22), over a six-year period (’17-22) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21-22 | ’17-22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHW | Lynn, Lance 2992 | 1.0 | 13.4 | 49.2 | 105.1 |
| MIN | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 35.5 | 41.5 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 20.4 | 23.1 |
| NYM | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 4.0 | 13.4 | 24.4 | 45.8 |
| CHC | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 1.7 | 11.7 | 27.4 | 50.5 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 3.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| TOR | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| COL | Urena, Jose 3492 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.7 | 22.4 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 12.0 | 23.8 | 40.5 | 40.5 |
| WSH | Espino, Paolo 4443 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 7.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| TEX | Howard, Spencer 4386 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| TB | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
| DET | Pineda, Michael 2841 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 18.7 | 52.8 |
| CLE | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| OAK | Koenig, Jared* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 80.3 | 219.6 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| MIA | Meyer, Max* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 34.4 | 34.4 |
| NYY | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 5.7 | 14.7 | 36.1 | 41.1 |
| MIL | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 8.4 | 14.4 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 3.0 | 10.4 | 22.8 | 54.2 |
| NYM | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 4.0 | 29.1 | 98.6 | 230.3 |
| CHC | Smyly, Drew 3009 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 49.5 |
| ARI | Gilbert, Tyler 4509 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SD | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 3.0 | 18.7 | 40.5 | 47.2 |
| LAD | Urias, Julio 3652 | 8.0 | 27.1 | 35.1 | 40.8 |
| LAA | Suarez, Jose 4425 | 2.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top