Cubs pitcher Alec Mills is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching a no-hitter.
Also Sunday, Rangers pitcher Lance Lynn rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2020. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Sunday, Sept. 13.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 9.7 |
| 2 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 9.1 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.7 |
| 6 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 7.4 |
| 7 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 7.0 |
| 8 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 7.0 |
| 9 | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 |
| 10 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Player of the Day—Mills pitched a no-hitter, striking out five over nine scoreless innings, allowing three walks, in the 12-0 win over the Brewers.
Mills earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 32nd among all players and 15th among National League pitchers.
Mills threw the second no-hitter of the season. Lucas Giolito of the White Sox, who threw the first on Aug. 25, had a much larger Box-Toppers game score in his no-hitter than Mills. Giolito had a game score of +21.0, the largest by any Player of the Game this season (CG 0H 0R BB 13K W in the 4-0 win over the Pirates). Mills had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0, which is just the 38th-best game score by a Player of the Game so far this season. In fact, Mills had the same Box-Toppers game score as another Player of the Game winner Sunday—Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger (7IP 2H 0R BB 7K W in the 6-0, seven-inning win over the Giants). But Mills beat Clevinger on a tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day honors because he had more innings pitched—nine vs. seven.
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Lance Lynn struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 6-3 win over the Athletics.
Lynn earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 9.1 for the season, rising from fifth to second place in season player rankings, behind only Indians pitcher Shane Bieber (9.7). Lynn also ranks second among AL pitchers behind Bieber.
National League Batter of the Day—Chris Taylor of the Dodgers hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-1 win over the Astros.
American League Batter of the Day—Marwin Gonzalez of the Twins homered and went 1-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Indians.
This was the second straight day Gonzalez earned Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game Saturday in the 8-4 win over the Indians (HR 2-3 R 2BI). Gonzalez has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, all earned in the past two days.
Streak—Yankees closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2019 Sunday.
Chapman (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 3-1 win over the Orioles) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2010 with the Reds and has 56.1 career points, second among active AL closing pitchers, behind Ian Kennedy of the Royals (79.5). However, Kennedy is listed as a closer because he earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019 as a closing pitcher after earning the rest of his points from 2010 to 2018 as a starter.
Chapman’s best season was 2012 with the Reds when he had 14.0 Box-Toppers points, second among NL closers, behind Craig Kimbrel of the Braves (15.0). Chapman led NL closers with the Reds in 2015 with 8.0 points. He ranked among the top five NL closers in points for five straight seasons from 2012 to 2016 (he was with the Reds from 2012 to 2015 and finished the 2016 season with the Cubs). In 2019, he had 3.0 points with the Yankees.
Debut—Marlins pitcher Braxton Garrett made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Garrett (5IP 3H R 2BB 6K W in the 8-1, seven-inning win over the Phillies) was also making his Major League debut.
Scoring—Mills earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lynn earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Aquino and Gonzalez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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 | +11.0 | CHC 12, MIL 0 | Alec Mills, (W 5‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
| +11.0 | SD 6, SF 0 (F/7) | Mike Clevinger, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| AL | +10.0 | TEX 6, OAK 3 | Lance Lynn, (W 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| +6.0 | LAA 5, COL 3 | Matt Andriese, (S 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | KC 11, PIT 0 | Brad Keller, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +4.1 | `BOS 6, TB 3 | Ryan Brasier, (Hld 8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | LAD 8, HOU 1 | Chris Taylor, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | CIN 10, STL 5 | Aristides Aquino, PH‑LF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | MIA 8, PHI 1 (F/7) | Braxton Garrett, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 7, ARI 3 | Casey Sadler, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 2, PHI 1 (F/7) | Sixto Sánchez, (W 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 7, NYM 3 | Hyun Jin Ryu, (W 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 3, BAL 1 | Aroldis Chapman, (S 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | SD 3, SF 1 (F/7) | Trevor Rosenthal, (S 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | CHW 5, DET 2 | Jimmy Cordero, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | MIN 7, CLE 5 | Marwin Gonzalez, 2B‑1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | ATL 8, WSH 4 | Ozzie Albies, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 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 (’20). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’19-20), the period 2015-2020 (’15-20) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2020 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2019 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’20 | ’19‑20 | ’15‑20 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 9.1 | 24.1 | 47.2 | 91.7 | ‑5.9 |
| Ryu, Hyun Jin 3139 | pi sp | tor al | 5.0 | 22.4 | 37.5 | 58.6 | ‑12.4 |
| Keller, Brad 4008 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | +0.0 |
| Mills, Alec 4052 | pi sp mr | chi nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +2.0 |
| Taylor, Chris 3684 | ss 2b lf | lad nl | 3.0 | 5.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | +0.5 |
| Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | sd nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 15.0 | 27.0 | +3.0 |
| Sanchez, Sixto 4335 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Gonzalez, Marwin 3078 | 2b 1b rf dh | min al | 2.5 | 5.5 | 15.2 | 19.7 | ‑0.5 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 19.4 | 47.5 | 47.5 | ‑15.4 |
| Andriese, Matt 3505 | pi cp mr | ana al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | +2.0 |
| Cordero, Jimmy 4278 | pi mr | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Albies, Ozzie 3953 | 2b | atl nl | 1.0 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | ‑5.5 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | nyy al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 25.1 | 56.1 | ‑2.0 |
| Sadler, Casey 4205 | pi mr cp | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Aquino, Aristides 4223 | lf ph | cin nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +0.0 |
| Brasier, Ryan 4122 | pi mr | bos al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +0.0 |
| Garrett, Braxton 4341 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations