Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in Box-Toppers 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. 5:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.1 |
| 2 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 19.8 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 19.1 |
| 4 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 19.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.7 |
| 6 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 16.4 |
| 8 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 16.4 |
| 9 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 |
| 10 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 16.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Kluber struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Royals.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.7 for the season, rising from sixth to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, third place among American League pitchers.
Kluber now has 106.1 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 66th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Scott Kazmir (105.1), Tigers pitcher Francisco Liriano (105.2), White Sox pitcher James Shields (105.4) and Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Kluber now trails 65th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2). Kluber ranks 19th among active players in career points.
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 2-1 win over the Phillies.
This was Alcantara’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Alcantara made his Major League debut Sept. 3, 2017, and was playing in his 10th career game.
American League Batter of the Day—Shohei Ohtani of the Angels hit two home runs and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Rangers.
Ohtani earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season. That puts him fifth among AL batters, despite the fact that he’s earned half of his points (4.0) as a starting pitcher.
Ohtani has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors six times in 2018, three times for pitching, earning 4.0 total points, and three times for batting as a designated hitter, earning 4.0 total points.
His 8.0 points in 2018 ranks 28th among AL pitchers, 31st among all AL players and 60th among all players.
News came Wednesday that Ohtani has been recommended to have Tommy John surgery to fix damage to a ligament in his right elbow. Such procedures usually require a year or more of recovery before players return to the diamond. Yet Wednesday, he was able to play with the damaged elbow as a designated hitter and do well enough to earn AL Batter of the Day honors.
National League Batter of the Day—Trevor Story of the Rockies hit three solo home runs, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Giants.
It is the second time in three days Story has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game Monday in the 9-8 win over the Giants.
Story has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season (2.5 earned in the past three days) and ranks 30th among NL batters, fifth among NL shortstops.
Notable—Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon became the 33rd player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Taillon (5IP 8H R 0BB 6K W in the 3-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, 32nd among all players and 14th among NL pitchers.
It is his first season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. In 2017, he had 9.0 points with the Pirates, 23rd among NL pitchers.
In 2017, there were 38 players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. On this date in 2017, there were 24 players with 10 or more points.
Streak—Brandon Phillips of the Red Sox has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2018 Wednesday.
Phillips (HR 1-3 3H 2BI in the 9-8 win over the Braves) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians. However, he earned no points in either 2004 or 2005, so the 13-season streak he continued Wednesday began in 2006 with the Reds.
He has 67.6 career Box-Toppers points, third among active AL second basemen. His best year was 2012 with the Reds when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL batters. In 2017, he had 2.5 points with the Braves and the Angels.
Phillips was signed by the Red Sox June 27 and played in the minors until his call-up Tuesday. Wednesday was his first Major League game of the season and therefore, his first chance to extend his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Alcantara earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Ohtani and Story each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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)| 9/5 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +11.2 | CLE 3, KC 1 | Corey Kluber (W, 18‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | +8.0 | MIA 2, PHI 1 | Sandy Alcantara (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | LAA 9, TEX 3 | Shohei Ohtani DH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +5.0 | COL 5, SF 3 | Trevor Story SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | HOU 9, MIN 1 | Alex Bregman SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | NYM 7, LAD 3 | Zack Wheeler (W, 10‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | ||
| +5.0 | DET 10, CHW 2 | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 7‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | STL 7, WSH 6 | Matt Adams 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 5, BAL 2 | Denard Span LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 10, TB 3 | Aledmys Diaz 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BOS 9, ATL 8 | Brandon Phillips 2B‑3B | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CHC 6, MIL 4 | Ben Zobrist RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | OAK 8, NYY 2 | Jed Lowrie 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | PIT 3, CIN 2 | Jameson Taillon (W, 12‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
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 | 18.7 | 40.7 | 106.1 | 106.1 | -3.3 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | 10.4 | 19.4 | 24.4 | 24.4 | +1.4 |
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 | 9.7 | 21.4 | 21.4 | +7.7 |
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +8.0 |
| Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 6.2 | 9.2 | 11.2 | 11.2 | +3.2 |
| Adams, Matt 3220 | 1b | stl nl | 5.0 | 11.5 | 21.0 | 21.0 | -1.5 |
| Span, Denard 2502 | lf | sea al | 5.0 | 8.0 | 15.0 | 33.7 | +2.0 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 5.0 | 7.5 | 14.0 | 14.0 | +2.5 |
| Zimmermann, Jordan 2612 | pi sp | det al | 5.0 | 7.0 | 46.7 | 67.4 | +3.0 |
| Lowrie, Jed 2437 | 2b | oak al | 4.0 | 9.7 | 23.2 | 36.7 | -1.7 |
| Diaz, Aledmys 3612 | ss | tor al | 4.0 | 5.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | +3.0 |
| Zobrist, Ben 2216 | lf 2b rf 1b | chi nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 36.0 | +4.0 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b 3b | bos al | 1.0 | 3.5 | 17.7 | 67.6 | -1.5 |
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.