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Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
Stanton hit three home runs, including a grand slam, a sacrifice fly and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in eight runs, in the 12-0 win over the Pirates.
Stanton 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.
Stanton earned 2.5 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 83rd among American League batters. Stanton has 75.9 career Box-Toppers points, third among active AL batters, behind Joey Votto of the Blue Jays (85.4) and Mike Trout of the Angels (84.2).
Stanton had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0 Wednesday, second-highest among all Player of the Game winners this spring behind Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow’s +12.1 game score on March 12. Stanton’s +11.0 score Wednesday is highest among all batters who have earned Player of the Game honors this spring, ahead of the +8.0 score by Jorge Polanco of the Mariners on March 10.
National League Player of the Day
Mets pitcher Christian Scott struck out seven over four innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 6-3 win over the Marlins.
Scott would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Scott, 24, 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
Cesar Prieto of the Cardinals went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-4 win over the Nationals.
Prieto would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Prieto, 24, has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
American League Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Giancarlo Stanton.
Notable
Two players Wednesday earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second time in the 2024 spring training season:
Diamondbacks pitcher Tommy Henry (3.1IP 0H 0R BB 3K W in the 5-1 win over the Rockies) also earned Player of the Game honors Feb. 28.
Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks (4.2IP 3H R 3BB 6K ND in the 5-2 win over the Angels) also earned overall Player of the Day honors March 9.
Wednesday’s games
In Wednesday’s 12 completed spring training games featuring matchups between two Major League teams, there were eight Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games.
Most notably, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves (2B SF 1-3 R 4BI in the 10-9 win over the Blue Jays) had the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Wednesday’s Player of the Game winners. Acuna earned 10.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, second among NL batters, behind Pete Alonso of the Mets (12.0).
In three of Wednesday’s games, the Player of the Game winner was a player who has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in the regular season and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
One game ended in a tie (Angels vs. Royals) and so no Player of the Game honor was awarded.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Stanton would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Scott would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Prieto would have earned 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart) 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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Related
Wednesday’s regular season opener results: Dodgers’ Evan Phillips tops players in Seoul Series opening game win over Padres
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).| 3/20 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | NYY 12, PIT 0 | Giancarlo Stanton DH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +8.0 | OAK 3, CHC 1 | Paul Blackburn (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +8.0 | TEX 8, CIN 1 | Dane Dunning (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | +7.0 | NYM 6, MIA 3 | Christian Scott (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| +5.1 | ARI 5, COL 1 | Tommy Henry (W, 1‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +5.0 | DET 12, MIN 3 | Matt Vierling 3B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | STL 13, WSH 4 | César Prieto 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | BAL 13, PHI 4 | Anthony Santander RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 10, TOR 9 | Ronald Acuña Jr. RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `CIN 3, CHW 1 | Lyon Richardson | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.2 | `SF 5, LAA 2 | Jordan Hicks | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 0.0 | LAA 8, KC 8 | 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 2024. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for the period 2019-2023 (’19-23) 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 | ’24† | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acuna, Ronald Jr. 3947 | rf | atl nl | 0.0 | 10.7 | 20.4 | 29.6 |
| Vierling, Matt 4652 | rf cf | det al | 0.0 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Blackburn, Paul 3869 | pi sp | oak al | 0.0 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 11.7 |
| Dunning, Dane 4317 | pi sp | tex al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| Henry, Tommy 4829 | pi sp | ari nl | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Santander, Anthony 3935 | rf | bal al | 0.0 | 3.0 | 15.0 | 16.5 |
| Hicks, Jordan 3991 | pi cp | sf nl | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf dh | nyy al | 0.0 | 2.5 | 16.0 | 75.9 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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 2024 (’24)†, last year (’23), over a five-year period (’19-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24† | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYM | Hamel, Dominic* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Manning, Matt 4550 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| HOU | France, J.P. 4811 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| STL | Thompson, Zack 4773 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIN | Sands, Cole* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Williams, Trevor 3792 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 16.4 | 29.4 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 53.9 | 104.1 |
| KC | Marsh, Alec* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 24.1 | 111.5 |
| CHW | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 21.4 | 33.1 |
| CHC | Smyly, Drew 3009 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 26.7 | 62.2 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| BAL | Suarez, Albert 3870 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| BOS | Criswell, Cooper 4840 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| TOR | Tiedmann, Ricky* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PIT | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| SF | Roupp, Landen* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Miley, Wade 3006 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 24.1 | 68.2 |
| CIN | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 12.4 | 19.1 |
| SEA | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2024.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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