Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth 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 Sept. 16:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.1 |
| 2 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 22.5 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 20.1 |
| 4 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 20.1 |
| 5 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 20.1 |
| 6 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.7 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 18.0 |
| 8 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 17.7 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 16.4 |
| 10 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Verlander also rises into the top 10 in Box-Toppers career points list (tracked since 1995) and becomes the fourth player with 20 or more points this season, reaching that milestone for the first time in six years.
Also Sunday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, becoming the fifth player with 20 or more points this season.
Player of the Day—Verlander struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
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 | 214.8 |
| 4 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 198.7 |
| 5 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 190.8 |
| 7 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 189.2 |
| 8 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 9 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 179.8 |
| 10 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 174.1 |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 174.1 |
| 12 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 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 | 164.5 |
| 17 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 163.6 |
| 18 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 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.
Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season, rising from seventh to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, third among AL pitchers.
Verlander becomes the fourth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. This is Verlander’s third season with 20 points, but his first in six years. In 2011, he had 24.4 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers, third overall and first among AL pitchers. In 2012, he had 24.8 points with the Tigers to lead all players.
Verlander also rises to 10th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began. With his points Sunday, Verlander now has 174.1 career points and passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez in “all-time” rankings. Though Hernandez also has 174.1 career points, Verlander ranks ahead on a tiebreaker because he has more Box-Toppers points this season—20.1 vs. 2.7.
Hernandez spent just over two years on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 10 list. He rose into the top 10 on Aug. 15, 2016. He was one of six active players on the list.
Verlander now trails ninth-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (179.8). Passing Hernandez, Verlander rises to sixth place among active players in career points.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks, in the 5-0 win over the Dodgers.
Wainwright earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the 2018 season and his first Player of the Game honor in more than a year. He last earned Player of the Game honors July 8, 2017.
Wainwright now has 119.2 career Box-Toppers points, 42nd-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Carlos Delgado (118.7) and Cliff Lee (119.1). He trails 41st-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1)
National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Braves.
Harper earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.5 for the season, rising to seventh place among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Johnny Field of the Twins homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-6 win over the Royals.
Rankings—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Sale (3IP H 0R 0BB K ND in the 4-3 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.1 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers behind Blake Snell of the Rays (22.5).
This is Sale’s second season and second straight season with 20 or more points after earning 25.1 in 2017. While Sale has the same Box-Toppers point total as Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (fourth place) and Verlander (fifth place), Sale ranks ahead because he has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the three. Sale had 25.1 points in 2017, Nola had 15.8 and Verlander had 14.7.
This was Sale’s first Player of the Game honor since Aug. 12.
Sale now has 131.6 career points, 32nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 31st-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Sale ranks 12th among active players in career points.
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Angels pitcher Taylor Cole (2IP 0R 0H 0BB 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut Aug. 9, 2017, and was playing in his 16th career game.
Orioles pitcher Paul Fry (1.2IP 0H 0R BB 4K Sv in the 8-4 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut June 29 and was playing in his 30th career game.
Francisco Mejia of the Padres (GS 1-4 R 4BI in the 7-3 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2017, and was playing in his 22nd career game.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wainwright earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Harper and Field each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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)| 9/16 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +12.0 | HOU 5, ARI 4 | Justin Verlander (W, 16‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| NL | +10.0 | STL 5, LAD 0 | Adam Wainwright (W, 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| +9.0 | PIT 3, MIL 2 | Trevor Williams (W, 13‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | LAA 4, SEA 3 | Taylor Cole (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.2 | BAL 8, CHW 4 | Paul Fry (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | WSH 6, ATL 4 | Bryce Harper RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.2 | `COL 3, SF 2 | Scott Oberg (H, 13) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | MIN 9, KC 6 | Johnny Field RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | DET 6, CLE 4 | Jim Adduci 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 3, NYY 2 | Thomas Pannone (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 6, PHI 4 | Jose Urena (W, 7‑12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | `BOS 4, NYM 3 | Chris Sale | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | SD 7, TEX 3 | Francisco Mejia C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TB 5, OAK 4 | C.J. Cron 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | CIN 2, CHC 1 | Raisel Iglesias (S, 27) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 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 | 20.1 | 45.2 | 110.9 | 131.6 | -5.0 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 20.1 | 34.8 | 69.9 | 174.1 | +5.4 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | fla nl | 9.7 | 15.7 | 19.4 | 19.4 | +3.7 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 7.5 | 14.5 | 35.9 | 41.9 | +0.5 |
| Williams, Trevor 3792 | pi sp | pit nl | 7.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | +2.0 |
| Oberg, Scott 4024 | pi mr | col nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Field, Johnny 3966 | rf | min al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Iglesias, Raisel 3467 | pi cp | cin nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -4.0 |
| Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | tb al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | +1.0 |
| Adduci, Jim 3303 | 1b | det al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| Pannone, Thomas 4051 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.7 | 7.2 | 59.3 | 119.2 | -3.8 |
| Cole, Taylor 4067 | pi mr | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Fry, Paul 4068 | pi cp | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Mejia, Francisco 4069 | ca | sd 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.