A look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2014

Clayton Kershaw dominated all players to top Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players of 2014.

The Dodgers pitcher had 31.5 Box-Toppers points during the season, nearly 6.0 more than any other player, the most by any player since 2002 and the fourth-highest single-season total since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

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A Box-Toppers look at Dodgers’ winter meeting moves

The Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most active shoppers for players at this week’s winter meetings, picked up 10 players with a combined 21.0 Box-Toppers points in 2014 and dealt seven players with a total of 18.0 Box-Toppers points.

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How did baseball's statistical leaders for 2014 do in Box-Toppers points?

How did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points?

The leaders in pitching statistical categories in general did better than leaders in batting statistical categories.

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RBI leaders for 2014 tend to be Box-Toppers points leaders—but not always (such as NL RBI leader Adrian Gonzalez)

Leaders in runs batted in generally did well in Box-Toppers points, especially RBI leaders in the American League.

However, the overall leader in RBIs, Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers, who drove in 116 runs, had one of the lower Box-Toppers point totals among RBI leaders.

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Wins leaders Kershaw, Kluber also lead in Box-Toppers points and in 'sincere, deserved' wins

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw led the Majors in wins in 2014 and also led all players in Box-Toppers points.

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber was co-leader in wins in the American League and also led all AL players in Box-Toppers points.

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Earned run average leaders for 2014 among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers

Clayton Kershaw had the lowest earned run average by far of any pitcher in 2014. He also had the highest Box-Toppers point total by far of any player in 2014.

In fact, Box-Toppers point totals tend to correlate well with ERA leaders—the top three ERA leaders in both leagues are among the top 10 overall players and the top 10 ERA leaders in both leagues are among the top 100 overall players.

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Postseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders won 5 of 6 major honors

In baseball’s major 2014 postseason awards, the winners chosen by baseball writers were the same as leaders in Box-Toppers points in five of six cases—the only exception was American League Most Valuable Player. Writers unanimously chose Mike Trout of the Angels, while Box-Toppers points leader among AL batters was Jose Abreu of the White Sox.

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Box-Toppers' top player Clayton Kershaw wins NL MVP; top-ranked AL batter Jose Abreu finishes behind Mike Trout for AL MVP

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014, was voted National League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

Center fielder Mike Trout of the Angels was the unanimous choice for American League Most Valuable Player, though Trout ranked seventh among AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014.

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Box-Toppers' top-ranked pitchers—Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber—win Cy Young Awards

Box-Toppers’ two top-ranked pitchers won each league’s Cy Young Award Wednesday.

Overall Box-Toppers points leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers easily won the National League Cy Young Award for top pitcher in a unanimous vote. The race in the American League was tighter, but Corey Kluber of the Indians, who led all AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, edged out Felix Hernandez of the Mariners to win the AL Cy Young Award.

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Box-Toppers' top batters—Jose Abreu, Troy Tulowitzki—missing from MVP finalists; pitcher Kershaw likely to win NL MVP

Baseball’s Most Valuable Player Awards generally go to the top batter in each league.

But this year, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked batters—Jose Abreu of the White Sox and Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies—won’t win the awards; they weren’t even named as finalists. And in the National League, the award will likely go to a pitcher.

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Box-Toppers' top rookies—Jose Abreu, Jacob deGrom—easily win 2014 Rookie of the Year Awards

Box-Toppers’ leading rookies easily won each league’s Rookie of the Year Award Monday.

First baseman Jose Abreu of the White Sox won the American League award unanimously and Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom won the National League award with 26 out of 30 first place votes.

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Kershaw, Kluber, Box-Toppers pitching leaders, among Cy Young Award finalists

The Box-Toppers pitching points leaders in both leagues are among the finalists for baseball’s Cy Young Awards to be announced this week. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers leads the National League with 31.5 Box-Toppers points. And Corey Kluber of the Indians leads the American League with 25.8 Box-Toppers points.

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If Box-Toppers points measured Silver Sluggers, most winners would be different

Only four of this year’s 18 Silver Slugger-award winners announced this week would receive the honor if it were measured by Box-Toppers points.

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Batting average leaders did not make big impact in Box-Toppers points or team wins in 2014

Batters with the most Box-Toppers points tend to hit for power and play on teams that win a lot of games. The 2014 batting average leaders in both the American and National leagues did neither. Both batting average leaders were largely singles hitters and played on teams that finished well below .500. And as a consequence, neither batting average leader scored many Box-Toppers points in 2014.

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How impressive was Madison Bumgarner in postseason? Of 32 total playoff games, he was top player in five

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How impressive was Madison Bumgarner’s postseason performance?

The ace starting pitcher earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times in the Giants’ World Series-winning playoff run. That means he was top player in 15 percent of the 32 postseason games played. He was top player in 29 percent of the 17 postseason games the Giants played. He was top player in 42 percent of the 12 postseason games the Giants won. And he was top player in 71 percent of the seven games in which he appeared.

By comparison, Bumgarner earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 15 times in his 33 regular season starts. Bumgarner ranked third among all players in regular season Box-Toppers points with 22.6 (see Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings), so his regular season was pretty impressive. But if he were to maintain his pace this October throughout a regular season, he would have something like 45.0 Box-Toppers points for a season. That would shatter the all-time record for Box-Toppers points in a single season of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).

See a recap of who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in all 32 of the 2014 postseason games in the chart below. Bumgarner’s five top player honors are highlighted in red text.

Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors were far and away the most by any player in the 2014 postseason. Four other players were each Player of the Game twice during the postseason:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

Nineteen players each earned Player of the Game honors once during the 2014 postseason.

Bumgarner also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in all 32 postseason games. On Oct. 1, in the NL Wild Card Game, Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0—he pitched a complete game 8-0 shutout over the Pirates, striking out 10.

Bumgarner also had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the postseason’s 32 Players of the Game (+13.0 in his World Series Game 5 shutout of the Royals, 5-0). In fact, Bumgarner had five of the 10 highest Box-Toppers game scores of all 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees (see the chart of the top 10 at the bottom of the post).

Three of Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors came during the World Series as the Giants defeated the Royals four games to three.

Wade Davis had the highest Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game honoree among Royals players in the postseason. His game score of +6.0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ranks as 10th-highest in the 2014 postseason among Player of the Game honorees.

Pitchers monopolized the top 10 chart for highest Box-Toppers game score among Player of the Game honorees. The highest game score among batters was +3.0 by Hunter Pence of the Giants when he was Player of the Game in World Series Game 4.

The lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +1.0 by Travis Ishikawa in Game 3 of the NLCS. The second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +2.0 by Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who hit a pinch-hit home run in Game 2 of the NLCS. Taveras was killed in a car accident Oct. 26, 12 days after the game.

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 Player of the Game for each 2014 postseason game

Listings below are chronological, starting from the first Wild Card Game on Sept. 30 to the final World Series Game on Oct. 29—32 games in all (out of a total of 43 possible games if all series went the distance). On days where more than one game was played, players are listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. There is a different background color for each postseason round—Wild Card round in yellow, League Division Series round in green, League Championship Series round in blue and World Series in red. Madison Bumgarner’s name is highlighted in red text in his five Player of the Game postseason honors.

Date Round Score Team Player of the Game AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
9/30 ALWC 2.0 Royals Eric Hosmer 1B 4 2 3 1 2 0 - - - - - -
10/1 NLWC 14.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 9.0 4 0 0 1 10
10/2 ALDS 3.0 Orioles Nelson Cruz DH 4 2 2 3 0 2 - - - - - -
10/2 ALDS 3.0 Royals Greg Holland (S, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
10/3 ALDS 4.0 `Royals Yordano Ventura - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 5
10/3 NLDS 3.2 Giants Jake Peavy (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.2 2 0 0 3 3
10/3 NLDS 3.0 Cardinals Matt Carpenter 3B 5 2 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
10/3 ALDS 3.0 Orioles Delmon Young PH 1 0 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
10/4 NLDS 10.0 `Dodgers Zack Greinke - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 2 7
10/4 NLDS 9.0 Giants Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 3 7
10/5 ALDS 8.1 Orioles Bud Norris (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.1 2 0 0 2 6
10/5 ALDS 3.0 Royals Norichika Aoki RF 3 2 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
10/6 NLDS 7.0 Cardinals John Lackey (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 8
10/6 NLDS 3.0 Nationals Doug Fister (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 3 3
10/7 NLDS 3.2 `Giants Ryan Vogelsong - - - - - - 5.2 2 1 1 2 4
10/7 NLDS 2.0 Cardinals Matt Adams 1B 3 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
10/10 ALCS 6.0 Royals Wade Davis (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 4
10/11 NLCS 9.2 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 7.2 4 0 0 1 7
10/11 ALCS 2.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain CF, RF 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
10/12 NLCS 2.0 Cardinals Oscar Taveras PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
10/14 ALCS 3.0 `Royals Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
10/14 NLCS 1.0 Giants Travis Ishikawa LF 3 0 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
10/15 NLCS 5.0 Giants Yusmeiro Petit (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 1 4
10/15 ALCS 4.1 Royals Jason Vargas (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.1 2 1 1 3 6
10/16 NLCS 2.0 Giants Travis Ishikawa LF 3 1 1 3 1 1 - - - - - -
10/21 WS 6.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 1 5
10/22 WS 3.0 Royals Omar Infante 2B 3 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
10/24 WS 3.0 `Royals Wade Davis (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
10/25 WS 3.0 Giants Hunter Pence RF 5 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
10/26 WS 13.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 9.0 4 0 0 0 8
10/28 WS 3.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain CF, RF 3 1 2 3 2 0 - - - - - -
10/29 WS 7.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 0 4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Most dominating Players of the Game in 2014 postseason

Here are the top 10 Box-Toppers game scores for 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees, representing the most dominating performances in the 32 playoff games. Madison Bumgarner of the Giants had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in the 2014 postseason (+14.0) and also had five of the top 10 game scores among 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees.

Date Round Score Team Player of the Game AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
10/1 NLWC 14.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 9.0 4 0 0 1 10
10/26 WS 13.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 9.0 4 0 0 0 8
10/4 NLDS 10.0 `Dodgers Zack Greinke - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 2 7
10/11 NLCS 9.2 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 7.2 4 0 0 1 7
10/4 NLDS 9.0 Giants Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 3 7
10/5 ALDS 8.1 Orioles Bud Norris (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.1 2 0 0 2 6
10/6 NLDS 7.0 Cardinals John Lackey (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 8
10/29 WS 7.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 0 4
10/21 WS 6.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 1 5
10/10 ALCS 6.0 Royals Wade Davis (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Madison Bumgarner earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game for third time in World Series, leading Giants to title in Game 7, Wednesday, Oct. 29

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Madison Bumgarner won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the third time in this World Series and led the Giants to its third title in five years.

Bumgarner, who pitched five scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits, striking out four and earning the save, is top player in the decisive Game 7. The Giants beat the Royals in the game 3-2 and won the series 4-3. The Giants previously won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, highest of any Giants player. He had been Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 and Game 5—both games he started. In Game 7, pitching on two-days’ rest, the Giants ace entered the game in unfamiliar territory for him— in relief in the fifth inning with the Giants already leading 3-2.

In the Giants four wins in the World Series, Bumgarner—who won World Series Most Valuable Player—was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in three of them. The only game in which Bumgarner was not Player of the Game was in Game 4, the Giants’ second win of the series. The honor that game went to Hunter Pence.

Bumgarner also earned Player of the Game honors five times during the postseason. Previously, he was Player of the Game:

Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.

Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.

Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.

Oct. 26 in the World Series Game 5 win over the Royals.

Bumgarner was top player in nearly half the games the Giants won this postseason—five of 12. No other player earned Player of the Game honors more than twice during the postseason. The players who won it twice:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He was the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.

Bumgarner had originally been credited with a win in the game, even though he entered the game with the Giants already leading. That was corrected by official scorers within an hour after the game, giving the win to Jeremy Affeldt and the save to Bumgarner who was a five-inning closer. Affeldt, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, was the pitcher of record when the Giants took the lead.

Had Bumgarner been pulled in favor of a closer—possibly Santiago Casilla—in the ninth inning, he still likely would have won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, even though Casilla would have been credited with the save and Bumgarner would have earned a no decision (no win or save). Under Box-Toppers rules, non-decision-earning pitchers are eligible to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch three or more innings. After eight innings, Bumgarner pitched four innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 4 players in World Series Game 7 

Here are the top four Giants players in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Pablo Sandoval was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Only four Giants players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or above.

1029 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 7.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 0 4
2.0 Giants Pablo Sandoval 3B 3 2 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.1 Giants Jeremy Affeldt (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.1 1 0 0 0 0
0.0 Giants Michael Morse DH 3 0 1 2 0 2 - - - - - -

Lorenzo Cain tops players as Royals blow out Giants in World Series Game 6, Tuesday, Oct. 28

Lorenzo Cain led an offensive onslaught in World Series Game 6 as the Royals beat the Giants 10-0, pushing the series to a decisive seventh game Wednesday. Cain is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Cain doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs as the Royals evened the series 3-3. 

Cain had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Royals player in Tuesday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 2 win over the Orioles on Oct. 11.

During the regular season, Cain had 2.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 421st among all players, 107th among AL batters and 50th among AL outfielders.

Royals starting pitcher in Game 6, Yordano Ventura, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the same as Cain’s. But under Box-Toppers rules, in cases of game score ties, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers. Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked five and struck out four, earning the win.

Giants starting pitcher in Game 6, Jake Peavy, who picked up the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of −13.9. He gave up five runs and six hits over 1 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two.

The baseball season ends Wednesday:

World Series Game 7: Giants at Royals, series tied 3-3

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Royals: Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113rd among all players, 40th among AL pitchers.

Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.

This is a rematch of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the Royals 3-2. Guthrie picked up the win (5IP 4H 2R 0K) and Hudson picked up the loss (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K). Royals middle relief pitcher Wade Davis was Box-Toppers Player of the Game.

Guthrie has started twice this postseason and Hudson has started three times. Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this postseason.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 7 players in World Series Game 6 

Here are the top seven Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 6, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Lorenzo Cain, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Starting pitcher Yordano Ventura also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, but under Box-Toppers rules, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers in cases of game score ties.

1028 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 3.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain CF, RF 3 1 2 3 2 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Yordano Ventura (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 5 4
2.0 Royals Mike Moustakas 3B 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Royals Tim Collins - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
0.0 Royals Eric Hosmer 1B 5 1 2 2 0 2 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Omar Infante 2B 4 2 2 0 0 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Norichika Aoki RF 3 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - -