Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Kluber struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the White Sox.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2018 season through the games of Sept. 24:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 26.2 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.1 |
| 3 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 22.1 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.7 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 20.1 |
| 6 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 20.1 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 18.1 |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 18.0 |
| 9 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 17.7 |
| 10 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.7 for the season, rising from sixth to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, third among American League pitchers, behind Blake Snell of the Rays (26.2) and Justin Verlander of the Astros (22.1).
Kluber becomes the sixth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. It is his fourth season with 20 or more points, tied with Curt Schilling for the fifth-most seasons with 20 or more points (since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995).
Kluber’s best season was 2014 when he had 25.8 Box-Toppers points with the Indians, first among AL pitchers and second among all players. He has also now earned 20 or more points in three straight seasons:
Most seasons with 20+ Box-Toppers points
Randy Johnson and Clayton Kershaw lead all players in the most seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points with seven each (Kershaw has earned his seven in consecutive seasons). Here are all the players who have earned 20 or more points in two or more seasons.(Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.)| Player | 20‑pt seasons | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | 7 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 7 | |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | 6 |
| 4 | Max Scherzer | 5 |
| 5 | Curt Schilling | 4 |
| Corey Kluber | 4 | |
| 7 | Johan Santana | 3 |
| Zack Greinke | 3 | |
| Justin Verlander | 3 | |
| 10 | Roger Clemens | 2 |
| Jon Lester | 2 | |
| Felix Hernandez | 2 | |
| Stephen Strasburg | 2 | |
| Chris Sale | 2 |
In 2016, he had 21.2 points with the Indians, first among AL pitchers and fifth among all players.
In 2017, he had 22.0 points with the Indians, second among AL pitchers and fifth among all players.
Kluber also now has 109.1 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 61st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3), Carlos Beltran (108.6) and Billy Wagner (108.7). He trails 60th-ranked player Jeff Kent (109.7). He ranks 19th among active players in career points.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Bryan Mitchell struck out seven over 8 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and three walks, in the 5-0 win over the Giants.
This was Mitchell’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Mitchell made his Major League debut Aug. 10, 2014, and was playing in his 64th career game.
National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rendon of the Nationals homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Jonathan Lucroy of the Athletics homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 7-3 win over the Mariners.
Notable—Rockies pitcher Jon Gray now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Gray (7IP 4H R 3BB 7K W in the 10-1 win over the Phillies) ranks 30th among all players in 2018 Box-Toppers points, 14th among NL 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 |
Also notable—Clayton Kershaw did not earn Player of the Game honors Monday despite the Dodgers win. He has just one start remaining to extend his streak of earning 10 Box-Toppers points to 10 straight seasons.
Kershaw (6IP 6H 3R BB 6K W in the 7-4 win over the Diamondbacks) had a Box-Toppers game score of -1.0. Player of the Game was teammate David Freese (HR 3-4 R 2BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.
Kershaw has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 33rd among NL pitchers. However, he has earned at least 10 Box-Toppers points for nine straight seasons (2009 to 2017). He has one scheduled start remaining this season on Sunday but would need to earn Player of the Day honors (worth 2.0 points) to reach 10 points and extend his streak to 10 seasons. That would be tied for the second-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history with Pedro Martinez (1996-2005) and one behind the record 11 straight seasons with 10 points by Cole Hamels (2006-2016).
Kershaw holds the record for most consecutive seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points—seven, from 2011 to 2017, which he now has no chance of extending in 2018.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Mitchell earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Rendon and Lucroy each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| 9/24 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +13.0 | CLE 4, CHW 0 | Corey Kluber (W, 20‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| +9.0 | BOS 6, BAL 2 | Nathan Eovaldi (W, 6‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| NL | +5.2 | SD 5, SF 0 | Bryan Mitchell (W, 2‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| +5.0 | COL 10, PHI 1 | Jon Gray (W, 12‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +4.0 | NYY 4, TB 1 | Zach Britton (S, 7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | MIL 6, STL 4 | Corey Knebel (S, 16) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | WSH 7, MIA 3 | Anthony Rendon 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | PIT 5, CHC 1 | Francisco Cervelli C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAA 5, TEX 4 (F/11) | Tayor Cole (W, 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | LAD 7, ARI 4 | David Freese 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | OAK 7, SEA 3 | Jonathan Lucroy C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +1.0 | HOU 5, TOR 3 | Jake Marisnick CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.7 | 43.7 | 109.1 | 109.1 | -0.3 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | col nl | 11.7 | 16.4 | 23.4 | 23.4 | +7.0 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | bos al | 8.7 | 8.7 | 30.8 | 34.5 | +8.7 |
| Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 6.5 | 14.5 | 26.5 | 26.5 | -1.5 |
| Knebel, Corey 3757 | pi cp | mil nl | 5.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -1.0 |
| Freese, David 2710 | 3b 1b | lad nl | 4.5 | 6.5 | 15.0 | 30.7 | +2.5 |
| Cervelli, Francisco 3387 | ca | pit nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | +0.5 |
| Lucroy, Jonathan 2744 | ca | oak al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 21.6 | 31.3 | +2.0 |
| Mitchell, Bryan 4084 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Marisnick, Jake 3428 | cf | hou al | 1.0 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -1.7 |
| Britton, Zach 2835 | pi cp | nyy al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 21.7 | 35.1 | 0.0 |
| Cole, Taylor 4067 | pi mr cp | ana 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.