Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his second-place spot in season player rankings in his final start of 2018.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2018 season through the games of Sept. 25:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 26.2 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.1 |
| 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
Meanwhile, Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to first place among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning NL Batter of the Day honors, passing previous leader Javier Baez of the Cubs.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 9-4 win over the Marlins.
Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. When Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer reached 25.1 points Tuesday, it marked the 27th time a player reached 25 points in a season. Scherzer's 25.1 points for 2018 now ranks tied for 25th-best for a single season.| Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2000 | 33.7 |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 33.7 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2000 | 33.5 |
| 4 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 31.5 |
| 6 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 7 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 8 | Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 9 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 10 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 11 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 13 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 13 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 15 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 16 | * Blake Snell | Rays | pi sp | 2018 | 26.2 |
| 17 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 17 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 19 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 21 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 21 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2015 | 25.7 |
| 21 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2016 | 25.7 |
| 24 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| 25 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | pi sp | 2017 | 25.1 |
| 25 | * Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2018 | 25.1 |
| 27 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2017 | 25.0 |
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 25.1 for the season. He solidifies his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after his final start, with no chance to catch overall leader, Rays pitcher Blake Snell (26.2).
Scherzer is now 3.0 points clear of third-place player, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander (22.1), meaning he has second place locked up. It will be the second straight season Scherzer has finished second in player rankings and the third straight season he has been among the overall top two—he led player rankings in 2016 with 25.7.
Scherzer will lead all NL players in Box-Toppers points for 2018 for the third straight season. He currently has a 5.0-point lead over second-place NL player, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (20.1).
Scherzer became the second player this season to reach 25 Box-Toppers points, reaching the milestone for the third straight season. Only Randy Johnson has a longer streak with 25 or more Box-Toppers points per season—Johnson did it five times from 1998 to 2002 (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995). Scherzer had 25.7 points in 2016 (first among all players) and 25.0 points in 2017 (second among all players).
This is the 27th time in Box-Toppers’ 24 seasons of player tracking that a player has reached 25 points in a season. Scherzer’s 25.1 points in 2018 now ranks tied for 25th for the highest single-season point total in a season (Chris Sale of the Red Sox led all players in 2017 with 25.1 points.)
Scherzer also now has 181.8 career Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails eighth-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Scherzer ranks fifth among active players in career points.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker struck out seven over five innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Rangers. Shoemaker did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Angels trailed when he exited.
National League Batter of the Day—Christian Yelich of the Brewers homered, tripled and went 2-for-6, scoring once and driving in six runs, in the 12-4 win over the Cardinals.
Yelich earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season, rising to lead NL batters, passing previous leader Javier Baez of the Cubs (10.0).
Yelich becomes the 49th player with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season, but just the fourth batter. The fewest batters to reach 10 points in a season is five in 2014.
Though Yelich now leads all NL batters, his current point total would still set the record for the lowest Box-Toppers point to lead a category for a season in Box-Toppers’ 24-year tracking history. His 10.5 points is below the record-low 10.7 points Nolan Arenado of the Rockies had in 2016 to lead NL batters.
This is Yelich’s first season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. His previous high was 2014 with the Marlins when he had 7.5 points, ninth among NL batters.
This is the second time in three days Yelich has earned NL Batter of the Day honors. He also did it Sunday. That means Yelich has earned 3.0 of his 10.5 Box-Toppers points in the past three days. Additionally, he has earned 4.0 points in the past nine days and 5.5 points—more than half his season total—in the past month.
American League Batter of the Day—Gary Sanchez of the Yankees homered and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 9-2 win over the Rays.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
White Sox pitcher Caleb Frare (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 5-4 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Sept. 2 and was playing in his 10th career game.
Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull (6IP 6H R BB 5K ND in the 4-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Sept. 14 and was playing in his third career game.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shoemaker earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Yelich and Sanchez 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)| 9/25 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +10.0 | WSH 9, MIA 4 | Max Scherzer (W, 18‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| +9.0 | PIT 6, CHC 0 | Chris Archer (W, 6‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| AL | +6.0 | `LAA 4, TEX 1 | Matt Shoemaker | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| +3.2 | `CHW 5, CLE 4 | Caleb Frare | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | MIL 12, STL 4 | Christian Yelich RF‑LF | 6 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | COL 10, PHI 3 | David Dahl RF‑CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | NYY 9, TB 2 | Gary Sanchez C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | SEA 10, OAK 8 (F/11) | Chris Herrmann PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 7, NYM 3 | Kurt Suzuki C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 4, LAD 3 | Eduardo Escobar PH‑3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | `DET 4, MIN 2 | Spencer Turnbull | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +1.0 | SF 5, SD 4 (F/12) | Hunter Pence RF | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | KC 4, CIN 3 | Ryan O'Hearn 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | HOU 4, TOR 1 | Josh James (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.1 | 50.1 | 137.0 | 181.8 | +0.1 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf lf | mil nl | 10.5 | 15.5 | 31.0 | 31.0 | +5.5 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.7 | 13.7 | 62.8 | 62.8 | -2.3 |
| Sanchez, Gary 3701 | ca | nyy al | 5.5 | 9.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | +2.0 |
| Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b | ari nl | 4.5 | 8.2 | 19.9 | 19.9 | +0.8 |
| Dahl, David 3714 | rf cf | col nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +3.5 |
| James, Josh 4059 | pi sp | hou al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 2.7 | 5.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 | -0.3 |
| Suzuki, Kurt 2344 | ca | atl nl | 2.0 | 7.5 | 18.0 | 39.5 | -3.5 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf ph | sf nl | 2.0 | 5.5 | 20.0 | 57.7 | -1.5 |
| O’Hearn, Ryan 4043 | dh 1b | kc al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Herrmann, Chris 3196 | ca ph | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -1.0 |
| Frare, Caleb 4085 | pi mr | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Turnbull, Spencer 4086 | pi sp | det 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.