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.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Bieber struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 4-2 win over the Rockies.
Bieber would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Bieber earned 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 13th among American League pitchers. This is his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2023 spring training. He also did it March 19.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley struck out three over 1 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings of middle relief, walking none, in the 3-2 win over the Marlins. Helsley did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Marlins tied the game after he exited.
Helsley would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Helsley earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, fifth among NL closing pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Zach Remillard of the White Sox hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 9-2 win over the Reds.
Remillard has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Joshua Fuentes of the Braves hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-4 win over the Twins.
Fuentes earned 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Blue Jays, but has 3.0 career Box-Toppers points, all earned with the Rockies, 2.0 in 2020 and 1.0 in 2021.
Notable—Braves pitcher Max Fried has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Fried (3IP 2H 2R 0BB 5K W in the 9-4 win over the Twins) earned 16.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, eighth among NL pitchers.
This is also the fourth time during 2023 spring training that Fried has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He also did it Feb. 27, March 4 and March 19.
Also notable—In addition to Bieber and Fried, two other players earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors again during 2023 spring training:
Astros pitcher Cristian Javier (5.2IP 4H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 6-1 win over the Nationals) was also Player of the Game March 2.
Padres pitcher Nick Martinez (4.2IP 6H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 5-3 win over the Rangers) was also Player of the Game March 1, when he was overall Player of the Day.
In Saturday’s 17 spring training games, one ended in a tie in which no Player of the Game honor was awarded (see chart below for game details). In the remaining 16, 13 who earned Player of the Game honors have earned Box-Toppers points in the past (see those players here); the remaining three players have yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a regular season game.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Bieber would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Helsley would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Remillard and Fuentes would have each earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would have earned 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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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
| 3/25 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.2 | CLE 4, COL 2 | Shane Bieber, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| BAT | +6.0 | CHW 9, CIN 2 | Zach Remillard, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| NL | +4.1 | `STL 3, MIA 2 | Ryan Helsley | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| +4.0 | ATL 9, MIN 4 | Max Fried, (W 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | DET 4, TOR 1 | Tyler Alexander, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +4.0 | ARI 4, SEA 1 | Ryan Hendrix, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `BAL 6, PIT 4 | Tyler Wells | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.2 | HOU 6, WSH 1 | Cristian Javier, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 8, PHI 3 | Gleyber Torres, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | KC 6, LAD 3 | Bobby Witt Jr., SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAA 8, CHC 7 | Osmy Gregorio, SS | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | ATL 9, MIN 4 | Joshua Fuentes, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | SF 7, SEA 4 | LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TB 4, BOS 2 | Pete Fairbanks, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | MIL 6, OAK 5 | Eduarqui Fernandez, PR‑RF | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.2 | SD 5, TEX 3 | Nick Martinez, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 0.0 | STL 4, NYM 4 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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 would 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.
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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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2023. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for the period 2018-2022 (’18-22) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22 | ’18‑22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 0.0 | 16.0 | 44.5 | 44.5 |
| Javier, Cristian 4290 | pi sp | hou al | 0.0 | 15.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 0.0 | 13.7 | 56.3 | 56.3 |
| Helsley, Ryan 4589 | pi cp | stl nl | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi sp | sd nl | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 11.7 |
| Wells, Tyler 4428 | pi sp | bal al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Torres, Gleyber 3972 | 2b | nyy al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 17.5 | 17.5 |
| Alexander, Tyler 4196 | pi sp mr | det al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| Witt, Bobby Jr. 4592 | 3b ss | kc al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Wade, LaMonte Jr. 4523 | dh lf rf | sf nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Fairbanks, Pete 4273 | pi cp mr sp | tb al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Fuentes, Joshua 4329 | 3b 1b | atl nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Hendrix, Ryan 4476 | pi mr | ari nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 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.
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 41.3 | 41.3 |
| HOU | Urquidy, Jose 4194 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 21.1 | 21.1 |
| TB | Criswell, Cooper* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Uceta, Edwin* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 0.0 | 12.1 | 46.3 | 87.5 |
| BOS | Sale, Chris 2806 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 33.1 | 144.6 |
| PHI | Strahm, Matt 3724 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| PIT | Hill, Rich 2215 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 28.4 | 79.2 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 0.0 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| TOR | Francis, Bowden* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYY | Brito, Jhony* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 16.1 | 16.1 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| CLE | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | 0.0 | 15.7 | 30.1 | 30.1 |
| KC | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 34.1 | 34.1 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| CHW | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 40.1 | 43.1 |
| SF | Wood, Alex 3246 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 25.0 | 60.1 |
| OAK | Waldichuk, Ken 4757 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CIN | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 27.4 | 33.4 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 0.0 | 14.1 | 21.1 | 21.1 |
| SD | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 23.5 | 50.2 |
| MIA | Garrett, Braxton 4341 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| NYM | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 0.0 | 20.8 | 53.6 | 54.6 |
| LAA | Davidson, Tucker 4429 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 52.5 | 259.3 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include World Baseball Classic or games vs. non-MLB teams.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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