Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his rank of second place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2018 season through the games of Aug. 12:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.1 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 19.1 |
| 3 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 16.7 |
| 4 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 |
| 5 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 16.0 |
| 6 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 15.4 |
| 8 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 14.4 |
| 9 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 14.1 |
| 10 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | ari nl | 14.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Sale struck out 12 over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Orioles.
Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.1 for the season. He trails overall leader Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (20.1 points) by 1.0 point.
Sale extends his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers ahead of second-place Luis Severino of the Yankees (16.7 points).
Sale also now has 130.6 career Box-Toppers points, 32nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 31st-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4).
Scherzer Sunday was very close to extending his 2018 Box-Toppers points lead as he was on track to earn National League Player of the Day honors until the Nationals lost to the Cubs, 4-3, on a walk-off grand slam by David Bote. Scherzer had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0 (7IP 3H 0R BB 11K ND) and would have earned the win if the Nationals would have held on to defeat the Cubs. Instead, Scherzer received no Box-Toppers points and also lost the season player rankings lead.
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 | 211.8 |
| 4 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 198.7 |
| 5 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 189.3 |
| 7 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 188.2 |
| 8 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 9 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 176.8 |
| 10 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 174.1 |
| 11 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 12 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 169.4 |
| 13 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 14 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 15 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 16 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | chi nl | 162.5 |
| 17 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 18 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 160.6 |
| 19 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | tex al | 155.9 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the end of the 2017 season.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in that 4-3 win over the Nationals. Hamels did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the Cubs trailed, 1-0.
Bote, who hit the walk-off grand slam with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cubs their first and deciding runs of the game, had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 (GS 1-1 R 4BI). Hamels had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 162.5 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 16th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, he passes John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted Smoltz would have an estimated 255 career points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked.) Hamels now trails 15th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8). (It should be noted that Clemens would have an estimated 320 Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1984 were tracked.)
Hamels has 9.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, 10th among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 198.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Sabathia (6IP H 0R 3BB 7K W in the 7-2 win over the Rangers), ranks fourth among all players in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, second among active players, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (211.8).
Sabathia now has 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, 41st among AL pitchers.
Also notable—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco now has 12.7 Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday (7IP 3H R 0BB 9K W in the 9-7 win over the White Sox).
Debut—Patrick Wisdom of the Cardinals made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Wisdom (2-4 2R BI in the 8-2 win over the Royals) was also making his Major League debut.
Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hamels earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Goldschmidt earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| 8/12 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +16.0 | BOS 4, BAL 1 | Chris Sale (W, 12‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| NL | +12.0 | `CHC 4, WSH 3 | Cole Hamels | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| +11.0 | CLE 9, CHW 7 | Carlos Carrasco (W, 14‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| +9.0 | NYY 7, TEX 2 | CC Sabathia (W, 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | SD 9, PHI 3 | Joey Lucchesi (W, 6‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | SF 4, PIT 3 | Dereck Rodriguez (W, 6‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | `SEA 4, HOU 3 (F/10) | Erasmo Ramirez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | DET 4, MIN 2 | Matthew Boyd (W, 7‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | OAK 8, LAA 7 | Blake Treinen (S, 30) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | ARI 9, CIN 2 | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | TOR 2, TB 1 | Jaime Garcia (W, 3‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | NYM 4, MIA 3 | Jose Reyes 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 8, MIL 7 | A.J. Minter (S, 10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | STL 8, KC 2 | Patrick Wisdom 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.1 | `COL 4, LAD 3 | Chad Bettis | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
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 Player of the Game winners. 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 the Game | Pos | Team | ’18 | ’17‑18 | ’13‑18 | Career | +/‑ |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 19.1 | 44.2 | 109.9 | 130.6 | -6.0 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 12.7 | 34.5 | 75.6 | 81.0 | -9.1 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.1 | 18.5 | 74.5 | 162.5 | -0.3 |
| Rodriguez, Dereck 3986 | pi sp | sf nl | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +7.0 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 13.7 | 31.1 | 198.7 | -1.7 |
| Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 6.0 | 13.4 | 44.8 | 53.3 | -1.4 |
| Treinen, Blake 3495 | pi cp | oak al | 6.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +5.0 |
| Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | det al | 5.7 | 8.7 | 15.8 | 15.8 | +2.7 |
| Lucchesi, Joey 3936 | pi sp | sd nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Minter, A.J. 3946 | pi cp | atl nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 17.1 | 17.1 | +1.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp mr | tor al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 28.4 | 49.8 | -2.0 |
| Ramirez, Erasmo 1786 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 18.7 | 21.7 | -5.0 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | 2b ss | nym nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 10.5 | 34.5 | -2.5 |
| Wisdom, Patrick 4042 | 1b | stl nl | 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.