Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of Sept. 16:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 23.1 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 23.1 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.0 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 20.1 |
| 5 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 20.1 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.8 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 19.8 |
| 8 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 19.0 |
| 9 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 16.0 |
Meanwhile Saturday, the Los Angeles Dodgers maintained their narrow lead in Box-Toppers season team rankings, just 0.2 Box-Toppers points ahead of the Cleveland Indians. Both teams won Saturday. The Dodgers beat the third-ranked Washington Nationals, who are now 2.0 points behind.
Player of the Day—Greinke struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season, rising from eighth to fourth place in season player rankings. He ranks third among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (23.1) and Max Scherzer of the Nationals (23.0).
Greinke is the fifth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the third season in which Greinke has earned 20 or more points. In 2009, he had 21.5 points with the Royals, most among all players. In 2015, he had 20.7 points with the Dodgers, seventh among all players.
Greinke now has 176.2 career Box-Toppers points, eighth-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails seventh-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0).
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Parker Bridwell struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Rangers.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays homered twice and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Pat Valaika of the Rockies hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the 16-0 win over the Padres.
Team rankings—The Los Angeles Dodgers held their narrow lead atop Box-Toppers season team rankings after beating the third-ranked Washington Nationals Saturday, 3-2.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians kept pace and remained in second place, 0.2 Box-Toppers points behind, as they beat the Royals, 6-4.
Both the Dodgers and Indians gained 1.0 Box-Toppers point in their wins Saturday. Here are the rankings for the top three teams:
- Dodgers 127.9 Box-Toppers points
- Indians 127.7
- Nationals 125.9
Rich Hill (5IP H R 2BB 7K W) was Player of the Game for the Dodgers in their win over the Nationals. He now has 9.7 Box-Toppers points on the season Francisco Lindor (2B 3-4 2R 2BI) was Player of the Game for the Indians in their win over the Royals. He now has 2.5 points for the season.
Top 10 watch—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (19.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh) did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 6-4 win Saturday over the Royals.
Carrasco (6.2IP 8H 4R 2BB 5K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of -6.8. Player of the Game was Francisco Lindor with a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0.
Notable—Carlos Beltran of the Astros now has 108.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Beltran (2B 3-4 R 2BI in the 8-6 win over the Mariners) rises to 60th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Saturday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1) and Kevin Millwood (108.3). He trails 59th-ranked player Billy Wagner (108.7). Beltran now ranks 18th among all batters since 1995 and fourth among active batters in career points. Beltran has 3.7 points in 2017.
Also notable—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to 11th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
deGrom (7IP 5H R 2BB 7K W in the 7-3 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.7 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Debut—Phillies pitcher Victor Arano made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Arano (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 5-3 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Sept. 12 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,915th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bridwell earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Valaika each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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| 9/16 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | ARI 2, SF 0 | Zack Greinke (W, 17-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | CIN 2, PIT 1 | Sal Romano (W, 5-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | LAA 2, TEX 0 | Parker Bridwell (W, 8-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 7.0 | NYY 9, BAL 3 | Jordan Montgomery (W, 8-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | LAD 3, WSH 2 | Rich Hill (W, 10-8) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TOR 7, MIN 2 | Josh Donaldson 3B | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | COL 16, SD 0 | Pat Valaika PH-3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | NYM 7, ATL 3 | Jacob deGrom (W, 15-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | CHW 10, DET 4 | Alen Hanson CF | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | PHI 5, OAK 3 | Victor Arano (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.2 | CHC 4, STL 1 | Kyle Hendricks (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.1 | BOS 3, TB 1 | Rick Porcello (W, 10-17) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 8, KC 4 | Francisco Lindor SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 8, SEA 6 | Carlos Beltrán DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 7, MIL 4 | Justin Bour 1B | 3 | 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 | +/- |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 20.1 | 29.8 | 99.1 | 176.2 | 10.4 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.7 | 25.4 | 60.8 | 60.8 | 6.0 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.7 | 24.1 | 28.1 | 47.8 | -4.7 |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 7.0 | 16.7 | 46.6 | 46.6 | -2.7 |
| Bridwell, Parker 3844 | pi sp | ana al | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b | fla nl | 5.5 | 8.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | 3.0 |
| Valaika, Patrick 3793 | ss 2b 3b ph | col nl | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Beltran, Carlos 1194 | dh | hou al | 3.7 | 9.7 | 21.9 | 108.6 | -2.3 |
| Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | bos al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 33.7 | 45.7 | -5.0 |
| Romano, Sal 3854 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | cle al | 2.5 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -4.5 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 15.4 | 30.1 | 30.1 | -11.4 |
| Hanson, Alen 3747 | cf | chi al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Arano, Victor 3915 | pi mr | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |