Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole, Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extends his lead in season player rankings and now has the 11th-best single-season Box-Toppers point total in 25 seasons.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2019 season through the games of Sept. 13.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 28.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 24.8 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 4 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 17.1 |
| 5 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 16.7 |
| 7 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.4 |
| 8 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.8 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 15.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Cole struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Royals.
Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 28.2 for the season, extending his lead over teammate Justin Verlander (24.8) both among all players and among American League pitchers.
Cole now leads Verlander by 3.4 Box-Toppers points and both pitchers likely have two starts remaining in the season. To catch Cole, Verlander would need to earn at least AL Player of the Day honors (worth 1.7 points each) in both starts with Cole earning none. With third-place player, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (18.7) now out of reach of catching them, the race for Box-Toppers Player of the Year comes down to Cole and Verlander.
Best seasons
Randy Johnson holds the record for most Box-Toppers points in a single season with 33.7, which he achieved twice—in 2000 and 2002. 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.| 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 | *Gerrit Cole | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 28.2 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 13 | Blake Snell | Rays | pi sp | 2018 | 27.2 |
| 14 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 15 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 15 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 17 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 18 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 18 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 20 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 20 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 22 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 22 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2015 | 25.7 |
| 22 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2016 | 25.7 |
| 25 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| 26 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | pi sp | 2017 | 25.1 |
| 26 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2018 | 25.1 |
| 28 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2017 | 25.0 |
Cole rises on the list of Box-Toppers’ best single-season point totals with his Player of the Day honor Friday, from 17th to 11th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. In 25 seasons, there are now only 10 times when a player has had more points in a single season than Cole. Only five different players have had more points in a single season than Cole has now—Randy Johnson (four times), Pedro Martinez (three times), Clayton Kershaw, Jake Arrieta and Curt Schilling.
With two probable starts remaining, Cole likely won’t break the all-time single-season record of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in 2000 and 2002, but could have as many as 32.2 points if he earns Player of the Day honors in both starts. That would rank as the fourth-most points in a single-season.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks, in the 10-0 win over the Brewers.
Wainwright earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 126.6 career points, rising to 41st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.7 points Friday, he passes Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 40th-ranked player Roy Oswalt (127.2). Wainwright ranks 14th among active players in career points.
Wainwright has 7.4 Box-Toppers points for the season, 37th among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 17-8 win over the Pirates.
American League Batter of the Day—Yoan Moncada of the White Sox tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 9-7 win over the Mariners.
Notable—Braves pitcher Mike Soroka now has 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Soroka (6IP H 0R 3BB 4K W in the 5-0 win over the Nationals) now ranks 31st in Box-Toppers season player rankings, 16th among NL pitchers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Gavin Lux of the Dodgers (HR 2-4 2R 3BI in the 9-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut Sept. 2 and was playing in his 10th career game.
Josh VanMeter of the Reds (HR 1-2 2R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut May 5 and was playing in his 84th career game.
Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wainwright earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Rizzo and Moncada each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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)| 9/13 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | HOU 4, KC 1 | Gerrit Cole (W, 17‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| NL | +8.0 | STL 10, MIL 0 | Adam Wainwright (W, 12‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| +7.1 | SF 1, MIA 0 | Tyler Beede (W, 5‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | ATL 5, WSH 0 | Mike Soroka (W, 12‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | OAK 14, TEX 9 | J.B. Wendelken (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +5.0 | TOR 6, NYY 5 (F/12) | Wilmer Font (W, 4‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | CHC 17, PIT 8 | Anthony Rizzo 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | COL 10, SD 8 | Trevor Story SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | CHW 9, SEA 7 | Yoan Moncada 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | LAD 9, NYM 2 | Gavin Lux 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TB 11, LAA 4 | Willy Adames SS | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 4, ARI 3 | Josh VanMeter LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | BAL 6, DET 2 | Trey Mancini 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 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 (’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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 28.2 | 46.2 | 84.4 | 89.1 | +10.2 |
| Soroka, Mike 3956 | pi sp | atl nl | 11.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | +8.4 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.4 | 9.1 | 46.5 | 126.6 | +5.7 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 7.0 | 13.0 | 22.0 | 22.0 | +1.0 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 5.5 | 15.5 | 49.0 | 58.0 | -4.5 |
| Beede, Tyler 4166 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | +4.7 |
| Moncada, Yoan 3878 | 2b 3b | chi al | 4.0 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +1.5 |
| Font, Wilmer 4007 | pi mr cp | tor al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Mancini, Trey 3766 | rf 1b | bal al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 10.2 | 10.2 | +1.0 |
| Adames, Willy 4041 | ss | tb al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Wendelken, J.B. 4089 | pi mr | oak al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Lux, Gavin 4247 | 3b | lad nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| VanMeter, Josh 4248 | lf | cin 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.