Athletics pitcher Homer Bailey 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 Sept. 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 29.2 |
| 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 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Also Wednesday, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole increased his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Cole now has 29.2 Box-Toppers points for the season, the eighth-highest single-season total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Player of the Day—Bailey struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0, 11-inning win over the Royals. Bailey did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Bailey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, 39th among all players and 16th among American League pitchers.
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 | *Gerrit Cole | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 29.2 |
| 9 | Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 10 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 11 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 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 |
Bailey becomes the 47th player this season to reach 10 points. It is his second season with 10 points. In 2013, he had 13.0 points with the Reds, 15th among National League pitchers. In 2018 with the Reds, he had 0.0 points.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Dinelson Lamet struck out 14 over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and three walks, in the 2-1 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Tommy Pham of the Rays hit two doubles and went 5-for-6, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-7, 11-inning win over the Dodgers.
National League Batter of the Day—Stephen Vogt of the Giants homered and went 1-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-3 win over the Red Sox.
Rankings—Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Cole (8IP 6H 2R BB 10K W in the 3-2 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 29.2 for the season, ahead of second-place player and teammate Justin Verlander (26.5). Cole also leads Verlander among AL pitchers.
Cole leads Verlander by 2.7 Box-Toppers points and Verlander has perhaps two starts remaining in the season. To maintain a chance of catching Cole, Verlander must earn at least Player of the Game honors (worth 1.0 point) in his next start, slated for Sunday.
Cole’s 29.2 Box-Toppers points is now the eight-highest single-season point total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Only three players have earned more points in a season—Randy Johnson did it four times, Pedro Martinez did it twice and Clayton Kershaw did it once. Those three are the top three players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995—Johnson (278.8), Martinez (244.8) and Kershaw (226.5). Cole ranks 107th in career points since 1995 with 90.1.
Cole’s 29.2 Box-Toppers points is the second-highest single-season total since 2003. In the past 17 seasons, only Kershaw has had more points in a single season when he had 31.5 in 2014 with the Dodgers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Angels pitcher Luke Bard (3IP 0H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 3-2 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut March 31, 2018, and was playing in his 28th career game.
Tommy Edman of the Cardinals (HR 2-3 2R 2BI in the 5-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 8 and was playing in his 82nd career game.
Scoring—Bailey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lamet earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Pham and Vogt 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)| 9/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +14.0 | `OAK 1, KC 0 (F/11) | Homer Bailey | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| NL | +12.0 | SD 2, MIL 1 | Dinelson Lamet (W, 3‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 | |
| +8.0 | LAA 3, NYY 2 | Luke Bard (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +7.0 | HOU 3, TEX 2 | Gerrit Cole (W, 18‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| +4.2 | `CLE 2, DET 1 (F/10) | Aaron Civale | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | TB 8, LAD 7 (F/11) | Tommy Pham LF | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +4.0 | SF 11, BOS 3 | Stephen Vogt DH | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | SEA 4, PIT 1 | Tommy Milone (W, 4‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +4.0 | NYM 7, COL 4 | Seth Lugo (W, 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `CIN 3, CHC 2 (F/10) | Tyler Mahle | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +3.2 | CHW 3, MIN 1 | Jace Fry (W, 3‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | STL 5, WSH 1 | Tommy Edman RF‑3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 4, ATL 1 | Zach Eflin (W, 9‑12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 11, BAL 10 | Rowdy Tellez 1B | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | ARI 5, MIA 4 | Archie Bradley (S, 15) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 | 29.2 | 47.2 | 85.4 | 90.1 | +11.2 |
| Bailey, Homer 2324 | pi sp | oak al | 10.4 | 10.4 | 21.1 | 59.5 | +10.4 |
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 8.7 | 16.4 | 21.4 | 21.4 | +1.0 |
| Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi cp | nym nl | 4.0 | 8.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| Bradley, Archie 3438 | pi cp | ari nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +4.0 |
| Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 10.4 | 10.4 | +3.7 |
| Pham, Thomas 3596 | lf | tb al | 3.5 | 6.5 | 15.0 | 15.0 | +0.5 |
| Vogt, Stephen 3503 | ca dh | sf nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | +3.5 |
| Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -3.0 |
| Civale, Aaron 4173 | pi sp | cle al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Tellez, Rowdy 4078 | dh 1b | tor al | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | -0.5 |
| Fry, Jace 4044 | pi mr | chi al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Milone, Tommy 2954 | pi sp mr | sea al | 2.0 | 3.7 | 14.4 | 28.8 | +0.3 |
| Bard, Luke 4254 | pi mr | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Edman, Tommy 4255 | rf 3b | stl 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.