Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2019 season through the games of May 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
| 2 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.2 |
| 3 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | lad nl | 6.2 |
| 4 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 5.5 |
| 5 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 6 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.7 |
| 9 | Castillo, Luis 3840 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.7 |
| 10 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 4.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Also Wednesday, Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Lester struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 11-0 win over the Mariners.
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season and ranks 23rd among NL pitchers for 2019.
Lester also has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2019. Lester earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox and now has 166.6 career points, rising to 15th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Roger Clemens (164.8) and Johan Santana (166.6). (It should be noted that Clemens would have an estimated 320 Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1984 were tracked.) Lester now trails 14th-ranked player Manny Ramirez (167.2). Lester ranks ninth in career points among active players.
Lester’s best season was 2010 with the Red Sox when he had 23.4 points, first among all players. He’s had 20 or more points in one other season (2016 with the Cubs, 22.1, fourth among all players). In 2018, Lester had 10.7 points with the Cubs, 21st among NL pitchers.
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 | 217.5 |
| 4 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 201.4 |
| 5 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 195.4 |
| 6 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 190.8 |
| 8 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 9 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 184.5 |
| 10 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 181.8 |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 174.1 |
| 12 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 13 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | chi nl | 168.2 |
| 14 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 15 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 166.6 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 18 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 19 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | free agent | 155.9 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the end of the 2018 season.
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Martin Perez struck out seven over eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 6-2 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 11-4 win over the Brewers. Arenado went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
Arenado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season, fourth among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Abreu of the White Sox homered and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Orioles.
Abreu earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, second among AL batter, behind Joey Gallo of the Rangers (4.0) on a tiebreaker (Abreu has fewer 2017 Box-Toppers points than Gallo—1.0 vs. 6.5).
Rankings—Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Ozuna (2-2B 3-4 2R BI in the 5-1 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.5 for the season. He ranks second among NL batters, behind Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers (6.2).
Streak—Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2019 Wednesday.
Kennedy (2IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the Rays) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2010 with the Diamondbacks and has 76.5 career points, eighth among active AL pitchers. Wednesday was the first time Kennedy earned Player of the Game honors as a closing pitcher—all his previous points were earned as a starter.
Kennedy’s best season was 2011 with the Diamondbacks when he had 19.4 points, eighth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers. In 2018, he had 3.0 points with the Royals.
Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner now has 116.4 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Bumgarner (6IP 4H R 2BB 8K ND in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers) rises to 48th among all players in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Torii Hunter (115.9), Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (116.1) and Todd Helton (116.4). Bumgarner now trails 47th-ranked player Mark Buehrle (116.7). Passing Strasburg, Bumgarner now ranks 14th among active players in career points. Bumgarner has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Also notable—Angels pitcher Ty Buttrey earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Wednesday (2IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 6-2 win over the Blue Jays). Buttrey was also Player of the Game Tuesday in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays. That was his Box-Toppers debut. He now has 2.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Royals pitcher Glenn Sparkman (7IP 3H 0R BB 6K W in the 8-2 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut June 30, 2017, and was playing in his 21st career game.
Red Sox pitcher Marcus Walden (3IP H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 7-3 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut April 1, 2018, and was playing in his 19th career game.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Perez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Arenado and Abreu 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.
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)| 5/1 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +13.0 | CHC 11, SEA 0 | Jon Lester (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| +9.2 | `CIN 1, NYM 0 | Anthony DeSclafani | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | +9.0 | MIN 6, HOU 2 | Martin Perez (W, 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| +9.0 | KC 8, TB 2 | Glenn Sparkman (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +8.0 | ATL 5, SD 1 | Max Fried (W, 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | MIA 4, CLE 2 | Caleb Smith (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +6.0 | `SF 2, LAD 1 | Madison Bumgarner | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +5.0 | BOS 7, OAK 3 | Marcus Walden (W, 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | COL 11, MIL 4 | Nolan Arenado 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.1 | BAL 5, CHW 4 | Mychal Givens (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | CHW 7, BAL 6 | Jose Abreu DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | ARI 3, NYY 2 | Ketel Marte 2B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | STL 5, WSH 1 | Marcell Ozuna LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 7, DET 3 | Cesar Hernandez 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | KC 3, TB 2 | Ian Kennedy (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 6, TOR 3 | Ty Buttrey (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | PIT 7, TEX 5 | Melky Cabrera RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 (’19). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’18-19), the period 2014-2019 (’14-19) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2019 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2018 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’19 | ’18‑19 | ’14‑19 | Career | +/‑ |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 5.5 | 8.0 | 33.2 | 35.7 | +3.0 |
| Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b dh | chi al | 4.0 | 9.0 | 30.0 | 30.0 | -1.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 3.5 | 8.5 | 38.4 | 38.4 | -1.5 |
| Marte, Ketel 3630 | 2b ss cf | ari nl | 3.5 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -0.5 |
| Smith, Caleb 3952 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | -3.4 |
| DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 18.7 | 18.7 | -1.0 |
| Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +2.0 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 12.7 | 73.9 | 166.6 | -8.7 |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 8.7 | 63.3 | 116.4 | -4.7 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | rf | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 16.7 | 38.2 | +2.0 |
| Buttrey, Ty 4124 | pi mr cp | ana al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | min al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 13.7 | 18.7 | +1.7 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi cp sp | kc al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 36.4 | 76.5 | -2.0 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi cp mr | bal al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -2.0 |
| Hernandez, Cesar 3770 | 2b | phi nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Sparkman, Glenn 4125 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Walden, Marcus 4126 | pi mr | bos 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.