Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
McCullers struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 11-0 win over the Athletics.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2018 season through the games of April 27:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.7 |
| 2 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.7 |
| 4 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
| 6 | Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 5.7 |
| 7 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 5.4 |
| 8 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 9 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 10 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
McCullers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings, sixth among American League pitchers.
With McCullers’ rise, Astros pitchers now make up four of the top 10 spots in Box-Toppers season player rankings. The others are:
Gerrit Cole, fifth place with 6.0 points.
Justin Verlander, eighth place with 4.7 points. (Verlander ranks ahead of McCullers because though they have the same 2018 point total, Verlander had more 2017 points—14.7 vs. 9.4.)
Charlie Morton, 10th place with 4.4 points.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Daniel Palka of the White Sox hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-0 win over the Royals.
This was Palka’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Palka made his Major League debut April 25 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,949th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Chase Utley of the Dodgers hit three doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 15-6 win over the Giants.
Box-Toppers season streaks
Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. Miguel Cabrera Saturday extended his streak earning Box-Toppers points to 16 straight seasons, tied for the 15th-longest since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. It is now the third-longest active streak. Players are listed by length of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.Streak |
Player |
Pos |
Duration |
Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995‑2013 | 133.4 |
| 1 | 19 | Carlos Beltran | rf | 1999‑2017 | 108.6 |
| 3 | 18 | Jim Thome | 1b dh | 1995‑2012 | 146.7 |
| 3 | 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | 1995‑2012 | 149.0 |
| 3 | 18 | Johnny Damon | lf | 1995‑2012 | 63.0 |
| 3 | 18 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | 1996‑2013 | 187.0 |
| 3 | 18 | CC Sabathia* | pi sp | 2001‑2018 | 193.7 |
| 8 | 17 | Mariano Rivera | pi cp | 1995‑2011 | 126.4 |
| 8 | 17 | Derek Jeter | ss | 1996‑2012 | 76.4 |
| 8 | 17 | Paul Konerko | 1b | 1998‑2014 | 100.7 |
| 8 | 17 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | 1999‑2015 | 157.0 |
| 8 | 17 | Torii Hunter | cf | 1999‑2015 | 115.9 |
| 8 | 17 | David Ortiz | dh | 2000‑2016 | 145.9 |
| 8 | 17 | Albert Pujols* | dh 1b | 2001‑2017 | 187.8 |
| 15 | 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf | 1995‑2010 | 167.2 |
| 15 | 16 | Andy Pettitte | pi sp | 1995‑2010 | 138.5 |
| 15 | 16 | Jamie Moyer | pi sp | 1995‑2010 | 104.0 |
| 15 | 16 | Scott Rolen | 3b | 1996‑2011 | 97.6 |
| 15 | 16 | Kevin Millwood | pi sp | 1997‑2012 | 108.3 |
| 15 | 16 | Derek Lowe | pi sp | 1998‑2013 | 91.5 |
| 15 | 16 | Aramis Ramirez | 3b | 2000‑2015 | 105.8 |
| 15 | 16 | Mark Buehrle | pi sp | 2000‑2015 | 116.7 |
| 15 | 16 | Ichiro Suzuki | rf | 2001‑2016 | 53.7 |
| 15 | 16 | Miguel Cabrera* | 1b | 2003‑2018 | 147.9 |
| 25 | 15 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | 1995‑2009 | 278.8 |
| 25 | 15 | Garret Anderson | lf | 1995‑2009 | 86.5 |
| 25 | 15 | Ivan Rodriguez | ca | 1995‑2009 | 79.0 |
| 25 | 15 | Tony Clark | 1b | 1995‑2009 | 63.8 |
| 25 | 15 | Gary Sheffield | lf | 1995‑2009 | 124.1 |
| 25 | 15 | Jason Kendall | ca | 1996‑2010 | 40.9 |
| 25 | 15 | Vladimir Guerrero | rf | 1997‑2011 | 128.3 |
| 25 | 15 | Bobby Abreu | rf | 1997‑2011 | 95.5 |
| 25 | 15 | Mike Cameron | cf | 1997‑2011 | 70.3 |
| 25 | 15 | Miguel Tejada | ss | 1997‑2011 | 102.3 |
| 25 | 15 | Jorge Posada | ca | 1997‑2011 | 79.5 |
| 25 | 15 | Livan Hernandez | pi sp | 1997‑2011 | 76.7 |
| 25 | 15 | Kyle Lohse | pi sp | 2001‑2015 | 89.0 |
| 25 | 15 | Jake Peavy | pi sp | 2002‑2016 | 141.8 |
| 25 | 15 | Joe Mauer* | 1b | 2004‑2018 | 78.1 |
* Active streak of a player active in 2018.
Details
Streak—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2018 Saturday.
Cabrera (HR 2B 3-4 R 3BI in the 9-5 win over the Orioles) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Marlins and has 147.9 career points, 26th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 25th-ranked Javier Vazquez (148.3).
Cabrera ranks sixth in career points among all batters since 1995 and ranks second in career points among active batters, behind Albert Pujols of the Angels (187.8).
Cabrera’s best season was 2013 with the Tigers when he had 16.9 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and first among AL batters. He also led AL batters in 2009 with the Tigers with 16.5 points. In 2017, he had a career-low 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers.
Cabrera is now in a 10-way tie for the 15th-longest streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points (since 1995, when tracking began). His streak is the third-longest active streak behind:
Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, who has earned points for 18 straight seasons from 2001 through 2018.
Albert Pujols of the Angels, who has earned points for 17 straight seasons from 2001 to 2017 (he has yet to earn points in 2018, so could extend the streak to 18 this season).
Debut—In addition to Palka, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Mitch Garver of the Twins (HR 2B 2-4 R BI in the 3-1 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Aug. 19, 2017, and was playing in his 33rd career game. He is the 3,950th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—McCullers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Quintana earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Palka and Utley 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 (BTG)| 4/28 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | HOU 11, OAK 0 | Lance McCullers Jr. (W, 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 11.0 | KC 5, CHW 2 | Eric Skoglund (W, 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| NL | 11.0 | CHC 3, MIL 0 | Jose Quintana (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 9.0 | NYY 11, LAA 1 | Masahiro Tanaka (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | CHW 8, KC 0 | Daniel Palka (RF) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 15, SF 6 | Chase Utley (2B) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 5.0 | SEA 12, CLE 4 | Jean Segura (SS) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 5.0 | DET 9, BAL 5 | Miguel Cabrera (1B) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 5.0 | ATL 4, PHI 1 | Mike Foltynewicz (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | SD 12, NYM 2 | Austin Hedges (C) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 4.0 | TB 12, BOS 6 | Wilson Ramos (C) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 4.0 | MIA 4, COL 1 | Kyle Barraclough (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 4, WSH 3 (F/10) | David Peralta (LF) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | SF 8, LAD 3 | Austin Jackson (CF) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 7, TOR 4 | Robinson Chirinos (C) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 1.0 | PIT 6, STL 2 | Francisco Cervelli (C) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | MIN 3, CIN 1 | Mitch Garver (C) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 (’18). also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’17-18), the period 2013-2018 (’13-18) and each players’ career point total. also shown is how their 2018 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2017 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’18 | ’17‑18 | ’13‑18 | Career | +/‑ |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 | 14.1 | 26.9 | 26.9 | -4.7 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.7 | 17.7 | 47.5 | 52.9 | -12.3 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.7 | 14.1 | 48.9 | 48.9 | -8.7 |
| Cervelli, Francisco 3387 | ca | pit nl | 2.5 | 5.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | -0.5 |
| Foltynewicz, Mike 3455 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | -2.0 |
| Ramos, Wilson 2904 | ca | tb al | 2.0 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 21.5 | -1.5 |
| Peralta, David 3370 | lf | ari nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 15.9 | 15.9 | 0.0 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | ss 2b | sea al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 1.0 |
| Utley, Chase 1861 | 2b | lad nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 13.0 | 77.6 | -1.5 |
| Palka, Daniel 3949 | rf | chi al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Hedges, Austin 3790 | ca | sd nl | 1.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -3.5 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 49.1 | 147.9 | -1.0 |
| Skoglund, Eric 3811 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | -0.7 |
| Chirinos, Robinson 2924 | ca | tex al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| Jackson, Austin 2694 | cf | sf nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.5 | 16.0 | 0.0 |
| Barraclough, Kyle 3583 | pi cp | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Garvey, Mitch 3950 | ca | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Box-Toppers
Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.