Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale 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 8.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.7 |
| 4 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.2 |
| 6 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | lad nl | 6.2 |
| 7 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 5.5 |
| 9 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Sale struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Orioles. Sale did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 45th among all players and 17th among American League pitchers.
Sale also now has 134.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 31st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 30th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Sale ranks 11th among active players in career points.
National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray struck out 11 over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and three walks, in the 3-2, 13-inning win over the Rays.
Ray did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Rays tied the game after he exited.
American League Batter of the Day—Hunter Pence of the Rangers hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the 9-6 win over the Pirates.
Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2019.
Pence earned his first points in 2007 with the Astros and has 59.2 career points, 13th among active AL batters. His best season was 2008 with the Astros when he had 8.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL outfielders. In 2018, he had 2.0 points with the Giants.
National League Batter of the Day—Max Muncy of the Dodgers homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-4 win over the Braves.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks ranks highest in Box-Toppers season player rankings among the 14 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Hendricks (8IP 5H R 0BB 7K ND in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season, 13th among all players and sixth among NL pitchers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (7.2IP 3H R BB 3K W in the 10-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut March 21 and was playing in his ninth career game.
Padres pitcher Gerardo Reyes (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 3-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut April 12 and was playing in his third career game.
Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ray earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Pence and Muncy 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)| 5/8 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | +17.0 | `BOS 2, BAL 1 (F/12) | Chris Sale | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | |
| +15.0 | HOU 9, KC 0 | Brad Peacock (W, 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| +12.0 | MIN 9, TOR 1 | Kyle Gibson (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| NL | +9.2 | `ARI 3, TB 2 (F/13) | Robbie Ray | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | |
| +9.0 | MIL 7, WSH 3 | Brandon Woodruff (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| +9.0 | `CHC 3, MIA 2 (F/11) | Kyle Hendricks | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | DET 10, LAA 3 | Matthew Boyd (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | PHI 5, STL 0 | Jerad Eickhoff (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | TEX 9, PIT 6 | Hunter Pence PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.2 | SEA 10, NYY 1 | Yusei Kikuchi (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +4.2 | SD 3, NYM 2 | Gerardo Reyes (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `OAK 5, CIN 4 (F/13) | Blake Treinen | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | LAD 9, ATL 4 | Max Muncy 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +1.0 | CLE 5, CHW 3 | Tyler Naquin RF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.7 | 13.4 | 45.2 | 45.2 | -4.0 |
| Eickhoff, Jerad 3566 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.7 | 4.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 | +4.7 |
| Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | det al | 4.0 | 13.7 | 23.8 | 23.8 | -5.7 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 19.1 | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 3.0 | 23.1 | 97.8 | 134.6 | -17.1 |
| Treinen, Blake 3495 | pi cp mr | oak al | 3.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | -7.0 |
| Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 10.4 | 29.4 | 29.4 | -4.4 |
| Muncy, Max 3969 | 1b 3b lf 2b | lad nl | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -2.0 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.7 | 9.4 | 36.1 | 36.1 | -6.0 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf ph | tex al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 15.0 | 59.2 | -0.5 |
| Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp mr | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Naquin, Tyler 3662 | rf | cle al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Reyes, Gerardo 4137 | pi mr | sd 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.