Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman is Tuesday’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 Sept. 17.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 28.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 26.5 |
| 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 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 15.9 |
| 9 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.8 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.4 |
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Also Tuesday, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander rises to fifth place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list, passing Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, after earning AL Player of the Day honors. Verlander also becomes the second player this season to reach 25 Box-Toppers points (26.5), maintaining his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Player of the Day—Stroman struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Rockies.
Stroman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 102nd among all players and 42nd among National League 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 | 226.5 |
| 4 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | hou al | 205.1 |
| 5 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 204.6 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 203.4 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 201.8 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 197.2 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 175.1 |
| 12 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 172.6 |
| 13 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | chi nl | 172.2 |
| 14 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 15 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 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 as of the 2019 All-Star break.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Justin Verlander struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Rangers.
Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 26.5 for the season, maintaining his second-place ranking overall and among AL pitchers, 1.7 points behind teammate Gerrit Cole (28.2).
This is the first time Verlander has earned Player of the Game honors this season without also taking or holding the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings since April 19, when he earned AL Player of the Day honors and ranked third overall.
Verlander becomes the second player this season to reach 25 Box-Toppers points and it is his first season with 25 points in his 14 consecutive seasons earning points. His previous best season was 2012 with the Tigers when he had 24.8 points, leading all players. His 26.5 points now ranks as the 17th-best single-season point total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. This is the 29th time a player has reached 25 points in a single season in Box-Toppers’ 25th season of player tracking.
Verlander also now has 204.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to fifth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.7 points Tuesday, he passes Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (203.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails fourth-ranked player, teammate Zack Greinke (205.1) by 0.5 points. Passing Sabathia, Verlander now ranks third among active players in career points behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (226.5) and Greinke.
American League Batter of the Day—Cavan Biggio of the Blue Jays homered, tripled, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 8-5 win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—Miguel Rojas of the Marlins hit three doubles and went 4-for-6, driving in six runs, in the 12-6 win over the Diamondbacks.
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 | *Justin Verlander | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 26.5 |
| 18 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 19 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 19 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 21 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 21 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 23 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 23 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2015 | 25.7 |
| 24 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2016 | 25.7 |
| 26 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| 27 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | pi sp | 2017 | 25.1 |
| 27 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2018 | 25.1 |
| 29 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2017 | 25.0 |
Notable—Two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points in 2019 earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin (6IP 5H 2R 0ER 4BB 11K W in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals) now has 15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 12th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers. Corbin becomes the 14th player this season with 15 points. It is his third season—and second straight season—with 15 points. His best season was 2013 with the Diamondbacks, when he had 17.4 points, fifth among NL pitchers. In 2018, he had 16.0 points with the Diamondbacks, fourth among NL pitchers.
Reds pitcher Sonny Gray (6.2IP 4H 2R 3BB 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Cubs) now has 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.
Debut—Athletics pitcher A.J. Puk made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Puk (2IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 2-1 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut Aug. 21 and was playing in his eighth career game.
Scoring—Stroman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Biggio and Rojas 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)| 9/17 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.0 | NYM 6, COL 1 | Marcus Stroman (W, 9‑13) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| AL | +8.0 | HOU 4, TEX 1 | Justin Verlander (W, 19‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| BAT | +6.0 | TOR 8, BAL 5 | Cavan Biggio 2B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | WSH 6, STL 2 | Patrick Corbin (W, 13‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | ||
| +6.0 | MIL 3, SD 1 | Drew Pomeranz (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | SEA 6, PIT 0 | Marco Gonzales (W, 16‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.2 | CIN 4, CHC 2 | Sonny Gray (W, 11‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | MIA 12, ARI 6 | Miguel Rojas SS | 6 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | NYY 8, LAA 0 | Jonathan Loaisiga (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | LAD 7, TB 5 | Kenley Jansen (S, 30) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | CLE 7, DET 2 | Adam Plutko (W, 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | OAK 2, KC 1 | A.J. Puk (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | MIN 9, CHW 8 (F/12) | Ryan LaMarre CF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 5, ATL 4 | Jose Pirela LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | SF 7, BOS 6 (F/15) | Alex Dickerson PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 26.5 | 50.6 | 90.4 | 204.6 | +2.4 |
| Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.4 | 31.4 | 50.2 | 73.6 | -0.6 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | cin nl | 14.4 | 23.1 | 60.3 | 64.3 | +5.7 |
| Gonzales, Marco 3408 | pi sp | sea al | 9.4 | 19.8 | 23.8 | 23.8 | -1.0 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 37.8 | 37.8 | +4.0 |
| Plutko, Adam 3975 | pi sp | cle al | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +5.7 |
| Biggio, Cavan 4183 | 2b | tor al | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | +5.2 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | lad nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 30.0 | 50.4 | +3.0 |
| Dickerson, Alex 4172 | lf | sf nl | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +4.5 |
| Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss | fla nl | 3.5 | 4.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +2.5 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp cp | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 30.8 | 34.8 | +3.0 |
| Loaisiga, Jonathan 3998 | pi mr sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| LaMarre, Ryan 4057 | cf | min al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Pirela, Jose 3874 | lf | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
| Puk, A.J. 4253 | pi mr | oak 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.