Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises in three significant Box-Toppers player rankings:
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 14:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 |
| 4 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 |
| 6 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 7 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 8 | Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 2.5 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
- He takes the overall season Box-Toppers points lead (earning 2.0 points, giving him 4.0 for the season), passing previous leader Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (3.0).
- He takes the lead in career Box-Toppers points among active players with 187.7, passing previous leader Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (186.0).
- He rises to fourth place among all players in Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Kershaw’s 187.7 career points puts him past Alex Rodriguez (187.0).
Kershaw struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
It is the second time this season Kershaw has led players in season Box-Toppers points, also leading from April 3 to 8. It is also the second time this season Kershaw has led active players in career Box-Toppers points. He briefly passed Sabathia for the lead on April 3 before Sabathia regained the lead the next day.
Kershaw now trails the third-place player on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, Curt Schilling (194.1). With his 2.0 points Friday, he actually moved up two spots on the "all-time" list, passing both Sabathia and Rodriguez.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-2 win over the Athletics.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 187.7 |
| 5 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 186.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 157.1 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 149.5 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.
Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season and rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL players.
Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, tied with Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Angels (7IP 3H R 2BB 6K W). But Keuchel won the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts—seven vs. six.
National League Batter of the Day—Manny Pina of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.
This was Pina’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pina made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2011, and was playing in his 45th career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Rays hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Red Sox.
Morrison earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.
Streak—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after both earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez has now earned Box-Toppers points for 13 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 2-1 win over the Rangers (7.1IP 6H R 0BB 3K W). Hernandez earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Mariners and has 169.7 career points, ninth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails eighth-place player Roy Halladay (170.7). Hernandez’s best season was 2014 with the Mariners when he had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, third among AL pitchers. Hernandez is the highest-ranked player in Box-Toppers career points (ranked ninth) who has never led his league category (AL pitching) in Box-Toppers points during a season.
- Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 8-2 win over the Rockies (3-4 R 2BI). Pence earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 53.2 career points, eighth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 points, seventh among NL outfielders.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pina and Morrison each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 4/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.1 | LAD 7, ARI 1 | Clayton Kershaw (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 6.0 | HOU 7, OAK 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | KC 7, LAA 1 | Danny Duffy (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | DET 7, CLE 6 | Daniel Norris (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | `WSH 3, PHI 2 (F/10) | Stephen Strasburg | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 10, CIN 4 | Manny Pina, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | TB 10, BOS 5 | Logan Morrison, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | BAL 6, TOR 4 | Wade Miley (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 2, MIN 1 | David Robertson (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | SEA 2, TEX 1 | Felix Hernandez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, CHC 2 | David Freese, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 8, COL 2 | Hunter Pence, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 5, SD 2 | Ender Inciarte, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 3, NYM 2 | Miguel Rojas, SS-3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | NYY 4, STL 3 | Starlin Castro, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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.
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.
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 (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 28.4 | 128.1 | 187.7 | -20.4 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 | 10.4 | 46.2 | 46.2 | -3.6 |
| Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 | 5.2 | 15.2 | 20.7 | 1.2 |
| Inciarte, Ender 3360 | cf | atl nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| Pina, Manny 3769 | ca | mil nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 16.1 | 75.2 | 83.9 | -14.1 |
| Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 11.7 | 29.7 | 30.7 | -9.7 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | 2b | nyy al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 16.5 | 26.5 | -6.0 |
| Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 80.7 | 169.7 | -5.0 |
| Miley, Wade 3006 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 37.4 | 37.4 | -5.0 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | chi al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 23.0 | 27.0 | -4.0 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 20.5 | 53.2 | -2.5 |
| Norris, Daniel 3548 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -1.0 |
| Freese, David 2710 | 3b | pit nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 19.2 | 25.2 | -1.0 |
| Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss 3b | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |