Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of Sept. 19:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 24.0 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 23.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 23.1 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.8 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 20.1 |
| 7 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 20.1 |
| 8 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 19.8 |
| 9 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 16.0 |
Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer retakes the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, passing previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Anderson struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Pirates.
American League Player of the Day—Jed Lowrie of the Athletics hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning grand slam in the 9-8 win over the Tigers. Lowrie also doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Dexter Fowler of the Cardinals hit a game-tying, eighth-inning home run and a go-ahead, 10th-inning double in the 8-7, 10-inning win over the Reds. Fowler went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Jed Lowrie.
2017 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
| 4/2 | Carlos Martinez | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4/3 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 4/9 | Noah Syndergaard | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 4/14 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 4/15 | Ervin Santana | min al | 4.7 |
| 4/19 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 5.0 |
| 5/2 | Chris Sale | bos al | 6.7 |
| 5/6 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 5/12 | Ervin Santana | min al | 7.7 |
| 5/13 | Chris Sale | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5/17 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 8/28 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 23.0 |
| 9/1 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 23.1 |
| 9/19 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 24.0 |
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to retake the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Scherzer (7IP 5H 2R 2BB 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 24.0 for the season. He rises from third to first in player rankings, moving ahead of previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (23.1).
Scherzer previously led in Box-Toppers points this season from Aug. 28 to 31. At the time, he passed Kershaw on Aug. 28 with 23.0 points and was passed on Sept. 1, when Kershaw reached 23.1 points. Since then, Scherzer has had three chances to pass Kershaw, making starts on Sept. 2, Sept. 8 and Sept. 13. But Scherzer did not earn Player of the Game honors in any of those three games. The Nationals won two of those games and Scherzer earned the win both times.
Scherzer led players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 25.7.
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 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 206.8 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 191.0 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 187.8 |
| 7 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 8 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 176.2 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 171.4 |
| 10 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 155.7 |
| 17 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 18 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | min al | 152.2 |
| 20 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 152.0 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 as of July 30, 2017.
Scherzer’s 2017 lead could be short-lived. Third-place player, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (23.1 Box-Toppers points) has the chance to take the lead in his start Wednesday against the Orioles. If Sale earns at least Player of the Game honors (worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point), he would pass Scherzer to take the lead.
Scherzer now has 155.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 16th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Tuesday, he passes Mike Mussina (155.6) and now trails 15th-ranked player Tim Hudson (157.0). (It should be noted that if Mussina’s entire career from 1991 were tracked, rough projections put his career point total at about 193.)
Team rankings—The Cleveland Indians maintain their Box-Toppers team rankings lead with a win Tuesday. The Washington Nationals rise to a tie for second after they won and the Los Angeles Dodgers lost. Here are the updated rankings:
- Cleveland Indians 130.7 Box-Toppers points
- Washington Nationals 127.9
- Los Angeles Dodgers 127.9
Notable—Two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points on the season earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
- Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (7IP 5H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 6-2 win over the Braves) now has 15.8 Box-Toppers points on the season, rising to 11th place among all players and sixth place among NL pitchers.
- Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger (6IP 3H R 2BB 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Angels) now has 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks 21st among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lowrie earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Fowler earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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| 9/19 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | MIL 1, PIT 0 | Chase Anderson W (11-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | CHC 2, TB 1 | Mike Montgomery W (7-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | OAK 9, DET 8 | Jed Lowrie 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | CLE 6, LAA 3 | Mike Clevinger W (11-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | `BOS 1, BAL 0 (F/11) | Drew Pomeranz | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | STL 8, CIN 7 (F/10) | Dexter Fowler CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | PHI 6, LAD 2 | Aaron Nola W (12-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | WSH 4, ATL 2 | Max Scherzer (W, 15-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | TOR 5, KC 2 | Marcus Stroman W (12-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.1 | `TEX 3, SEA 1 | Martin Pérez | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 3, CHW 1 | Ken Giles S (32) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | MIA 5, NYM 4 (F/10) | J.T. Realmuto C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | NYY 5, MIN 2 | Starlin Castro 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SF 4, COL 3 | Hunter Pence RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SD 6, ARI 2 | Manuel Margot CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 24.0 | 49.7 | 127.9 | 155.7 | -1.7 |
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 15.8 | 22.5 | 24.5 | 24.5 | 9.1 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 8.4 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 9.4 | 16.4 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 2.4 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 | 20.8 | 31.8 | 31.8 | -4.0 |
| Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf | stl nl | 7.5 | 9.0 | 23.0 | 25.5 | 6.0 |
| Montgomery, Mike 3513 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 | 11.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 |
| Lowrie, Jed 2437 | 2b | oak al | 5.7 | 6.7 | 21.2 | 32.7 | 4.7 |
| Giles, Ken 3402 | pi cp | hou al | 5.0 | 8.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 2.0 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | tor al | 4.7 | 11.4 | 27.8 | 27.8 | -2.0 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | 2b | nyy al | 4.0 | 11.0 | 19.5 | 29.5 | -3.0 |
| Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | fla nl | 4.0 | 9.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | -1.5 |
| Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | tex al | 4.0 | 6.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 2.0 |
| Margot, Manuel 3861 | cf | sd nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 3.5 | 7.0 | 23.0 | 55.7 | 0.0 |