Indians pitcher Danny Salazar is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 4:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Salazar struck out 11 over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, six hits and two walks, in the 6-5 win over the Marlins. Salazar did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the Indians trailing, 1-0.
Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.5 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Julio Teheran pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Abreu of the White Sox hit a pair of three-run homers in the 13-11, 12-inning win over the Twins. Abreu went 3-for-7, driving in seven total runs.
Abreu earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, his first points of the 2016 season. Abreu led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in his rookie year of 2014 with 15.5 and had 3.0 points in 2015.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Padres.
Puig earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day and has 2.5 points for the season. It is his first Player of the Game honor since being called back up after spending a month in the minors. Puig, despite his star status, has only 8.5 career Box-Toppers points over four seasons—1.5 in 2013, 1.0 in 2014, 3.5 in 2015 and 2.5 in 2016.
Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Lackey (5IP H 2R BB 4K ND in the 3-2, 13-inning win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks 11th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers. He is the third Cubs starting pitcher among Box-Toppers top 10 NL pitchers—Jon Lester (17.1) ranks fourth and Jake Arrieta (13.7) ranks eighth.
Lackey now has 121.1 career Box-Toppers points, 39th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 38th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).
Also notable—Albert Pujols of the Angels extends his lead in career Box-Toppers points among active batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Pujols (HR 3-4 R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 182.3 career points. It is the first point Pujols has earned since becoming the active career leader in points after the Yankees released previous leader Alex Rodriguez (187.0) on Aug. 13. Pujols ranks sixth among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began and trails fifth-ranked player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (183.0) by only 0.7 points. Sabathia is the active career leader in points. (See the updated list of top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points on the home page.)
Pujols has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, his best year since 2011 when he had 12.5 points with the Cardinals. Pujols ranks 11th among AL batters this season.
Debut—Mets pitcher Seth Lugo made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Lugo (7IP 6H R 0BB 4K W in the 5-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut July 1 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,729th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Teheran earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Abreu and Puig each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/4 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.2 | `CLE 6, MIA 5 | Danny Salazar | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| NL | 6.0 | ATL 2, PHI 0 | Julio Teheran (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 5.1 | `OAK 1, BOS 0 | Kendall Graveman | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | CHW 13, MIN 11 (12) | Jose Abreu, 1B | 7 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 7, SD 4 | Yasiel Puig, RF | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | MIL 10, PIT 0 | Jonathan Villar, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `CHC 3, SF 2 (13) | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.1 | NYY 5, BAL 2 | Dellin Betances (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 5, WSH 1 | Seth Lugo (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 5, TB 3 | Joaquin Benoit (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | HOU 7, TEX 6 | Chris Devenski (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 4, SEA 2 | Albert Pujols, DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | DET 6, KC 5 | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | STL 5, CIN 2 | Seung Hwan Oh (S,15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | ARI 8, COL 5 | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the 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 Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 | 23.1 | 42.8 | 121.2 | 3.7 |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 | 25.9 | 35.3 | 35.3 | -0.9 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.7 | 16.4 | 44.5 | 44.5 | 1.0 |
| Pujols, Albert 1438 | dh 1b | ana al | 8.0 | 15.0 | 45.0 | 182.3 | 1.0 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 6.7 | 15.7 | 42.6 | 51.1 | -2.3 |
| Graveman, Kendall 3444 | pi sp | oak al | 6.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 1.3 |
| Oh, Seung Hwan 3693 | pi cp | stl nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | 2b | ari nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.0 |
| Villar, Jonathan 3233 | ss ph | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi sp | hou nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 2.5 | 6.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -1.0 |
| Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 20.0 | 20.0 | -1.5 |
| Benoit, Joaquin 1663 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 29.5 | -1.0 |
| Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |