Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon 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 2018 season through the games of Sept. 18:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 24.2 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.1 |
| 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 | 19.7 |
| 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
Also Tuesday, Rays pitcher Blake Snell rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning AL Player of the Day honors, passing previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. In addition, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber maintains his sixth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after he earns Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Player of the Day—Taillon struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 11-inning win over the Royals. Taillon did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because the Royals tied the game after he exited.
Taillon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, 26th in Box-Toppers season player rankings and 10th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Blake Snell struck out five over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 4-0 win over the Rangers.
2018 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 | Leader | Team | BTP |
| 3/29 | Luis Severino | nyy al | 2.0 |
| 3/30 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 2.0 |
| 4/02 | Paul DeJong | stl nl | 2.5 |
| 4/04 | Luis Severino | nyy al | 3.0 |
| 4/09 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 3.7 |
| 4/12 | Jose Berrios | min al | 4.0 |
| 4/13 | Gerrit Cole | hou al | 5.0 |
| 4/14 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 5.7 |
| 4/18 | Jose Berrios | min al | 6.0 |
| 4/20 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 6.7 |
| 4/22 | Patrick Corbin | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 4/27 | Luis Severino | nyy al | 7.7 |
| 5/1 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 7.7 |
| 5/2 | Luis Severino | nyy al | 9.7 |
| 5/11 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 6/4 | Luis Severino | nyy al | 13.7 |
| 6/5 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 15.4 |
| 7/1 | Luis Severino | nyy al | 16.7 |
| 7/27 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 18.4 |
| 9/18 | Blake Snell | tb al | 24.2 |
Snell earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 24.2 for the season, rising from second to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.1). Snell leads second-place AL pitcher Chris Sale of the Red Sox (20.1), by 4.1 points.
This is also the 20th time in 2018 there has been a new Box-Toppers season player rankings leader and the first time since April 27 that the leader has not been Scherzer or Yankees pitcher Luis Severino. Those two exchanged the lead four times since Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks led all players on April 26 with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.
This is Snell’s first time leading Box-Toppers season player rankings this season or in his career. Scherzer led 53 days since July 27—the longest continuous lead this season in terms of days—and has led eight different times this season, most of any player. Scherzer has led all players in Box-Toppers points for a total of 117 days this season.
American League Batter of the Day—Kaleb Cowart of the Angels hit a go-ahead grand slam and tripled, going 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 9-7 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Jorge Alfaro of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 5-2 win over the Mets.
Alfaro had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +3.0 to earn Player of the Game honors over teammate and pitcher Aaron Nola (5.2IP 6H 2R 2BB 9K ND), who had a game score of +2.2. Nola is fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 20.1, second among NL pitchers.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber maintains his sixth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kluber (8IP 8H 3R 2BB 11K W in the 5-3 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 19.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Kluber also now has 107.1 career Box-Toppers points, 65th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Tuesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Frank Thomas (106.2) and White Sox pitcher James Shields (106.4). Kluber now trails 64th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1). Kluber ranks 19th among active players in career points.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg now has 112.1 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Strasburg (6IP 5H 2R 2BB 11K W in the 4-2 win over the Marlins) ranks 58th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 57th-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8). He ranks 18th among active players in career points.
Strasburg also has 6.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 44th among NL pitchers. However, with his 1.0 point earned Tuesday, he loses the distinction of being the player whose Box-Toppers point total has declined most since 2017. Strasburg’s 6.7 points in 2018 is a decline of 15.8 from the 22.5 points he had in 2017 (fourth among all players). The biggest point decline among players is now the 16.1-point drop by Ervin Santana of the Twins, who had 16.1 points in 2017 and has 0.0 points in 2018.
Also notable—Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ becomes the 13th player this season to reach 15 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Happ (6IP 4H R 0ER 3BB 6K ND in the 3-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.7 for the season, 13th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.
This is Happ’s first season with 15 or more points. His previous high was 14.7 in 2016 with the Blue Jays, third among AL pitchers.
Most consecutive seasons earning 10 or more Box-Toppers points
Cole Hamels earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons (from 2006-2016), most of any player. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, with 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, has a chance to extend his streak earning 10 or more points to 10 seasons this year. Max Scherzer and Chris Sale have each extended such streaks to seven seasons this year. Here are the 10 longest streaks of players earning 10 or more points per season since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.| Player | Seasons | Duration | |
| 1 | Cole Hamels | 11 | 2006‑2016 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | 10 | 1996‑2005 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | 9 | 1996‑2004 |
| 3 | Johan Santana | 9 | 2002‑2010 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | 9 | 2009‑2017 |
| 6 | Barry Bonds | 8 | 1995‑2002 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | 8 | 2005‑2012 |
| 8 | Felix Hernandez | 7 | 2009‑2015 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | 7 | 2012‑2018 |
| 8 | Chris Sale | 7 | 2012‑2018 |
One more notable thing—Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda becomes the 40th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Maeda (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 35th among all players and 17th among NL pitchers.
This is Maeda’s third straight season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points in the three seasons he’s earned points. In both 2016 and 2017, he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points each season with the Dodgers.
Maeda had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +4.0, most among Dodgers players. Teammate Clayton Kershaw, who started the game, had a Box-Toppers game score of -1.0 (7IP 3H 2R ER 5BB 3K ND).
Kershaw has a chance to extend his streak of earning 10 Box-Toppers points per season to 10, but he has 8.0 points currently with less than two weeks to go. Kershaw’s current streak of nine straight seasons (2009-2017) with 10 or more points is tied for the third-longest in Box-Toppers tracking history. Cole Hamels had 10 points for 11 straight seasons from 2006-2016, most of any player.
Kershaw will see a more notable streak end this year. He earned 20 or more Box-Toppers points for seven straight seasons from 2011 to 2017, most of any player in Box-Toppers tracking history.
Debut—Tyler O'Neill of the Cardinals made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
O’Neill (2B 1-1 2R BI in the 8-1 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 52nd career game.
Scoring—Taillon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Snell earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cowart and Alfaro each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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 (BTG)| 9/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +13.0 | `PIT 2, KC 1 (F/11) | Jameson Taillon | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| +7.0 | CHC 9, ARI 1 | Mike Montgomery (W, 5‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | +7.0 | TB 4, TEX 0 | Blake Snell (W, 20‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| +6.1 | HOU 7, SEA 0 | Josh James (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | WSH 4, MIA 2 | Stephen Strasburg (W, 9‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| +4.1 | CIN 3, MIL 1 | Sal Romano (W, 8‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | LAA 9, OAK 7 | Kaleb Cowart 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | TOR 6, BAL 4 | Jake Petricka (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `NYY 3, BOS 2 | J.A. Happ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +4.0 | `LAD 3, COL 2 (F/10) | Kenta Maeda | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | MIN 5, DET 3 | Jake Odorizzi (W, 7‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | PHI 5, NYM 2 | Jorge Alfaro C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | STL 8, ATL 1 | Tyler O'Neill PR‑RF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CLE 5, CHW 3 | Corey Kluber (W, 19‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | ||
| +3.0 | SF 5, SD 4 | Will Smith (S, 14) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | +/‑ |
| Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 24.2 | 29.2 | 33.2 | 33.2 | +19.2 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 19.7 | 41.7 | 107.1 | 107.1 | -2.3 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.7 | 21.4 | 56.6 | 72.6 | +10.0 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.4 | 21.4 | 26.4 | 26.4 | +3.4 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp mr | lad nl | 10.7 | 20.7 | 30.7 | 30.7 | +0.7 |
| Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | min al | 7.0 | 18.1 | 44.2 | 44.2 | -4.1 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.7 | 29.2 | 83.0 | 112.1 | -15.8 |
| Smith, Will 3073 | pi cp | sf nl | 5.7 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 13.7 | +5.7 |
| Romano, Sal 3854 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | +1.3 |
| Montgomery, Mike 3513 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -3.0 |
| Alfaro, Jorge 3920 | ca | phi nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| James, Josh 4059 | pi sp | hou al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Cowart, Kaleb 3837 | 2b | ana al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +0.5 |
| Petricka, Jake 3388 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -0.7 |
| O’Neill, Tyler 4074 | rf pr | 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.