Dodgers pitcher Mitch White is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2021. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Wednesday, Aug. 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 18.4 |
| 2 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 17.1 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 4 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 16.4 |
| 5 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 15.1 |
| 6 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 14.4 |
| 7 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 13.7 |
| 9 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 13.1 |
| 10 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 12.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Also Wednesday, Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—White struck out six over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 9-0 win over the Pirates.
White was technically the closing pitcher, taking over in the second inning after the opener Justin Bruihl started the game and pitched 1 2/3 innings.
White earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first career points and ranks 416th among all players for the season, 112th among National League pitchers.
This was White’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. White made his Major League debut Aug. 28, 2020, and was playing in his 19th career game.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Tigers.
Ohtani earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.1 for the season, rising from eighth to fifth in season player rankings, second among AL pitchers behind only Gerrit Cole of the Yankees (18.4 Box-Toppers points).
Interestingly, Ohtani also extends his lead in 2021 Box-Toppers points among AL batters with his 15.1 point total, ahead of second-place J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (9.7). However, Ohtani now barely qualifies to be listed and ranked among batters. Ohtani has earned Player of the Game honors 11 times in 2021, eight as a pitcher and three as a designated hitter. In order for players to be listed at a certain position, they need to have more than 25 percent of their Player of the Game honors at that position. Currently, Ohtani has won Player of the Game as a designated hitter in 27 percent of his 11 such honors. If his next Player of the Game honor comes as a pitcher, that will fall to 25 percent and he will no longer be listed as a designated hitter, only a starting pitcher and will be entirely removed from the list of AL batting leaders.
While it is odd that the player who could be leading in home runs (Ohtani currently leads all players with 40) would not be listed among batters in Box-Toppers points, it does make sense in another way. Ohtani has been far more valuable to his team as a pitcher than a batter this season. As a pitcher, he has been the player who most helped his team win the game eight times this season. As a designated hitter, he hasn’t been the player who has most often led the Angels to wins. Angels first baseman Jared Walsh has more 2021 Box-Toppers points as a batter (5.0) than Ohtani (4.0). Also, in games in which Ohtani has hit a home run, the Angels are 18-19. In games he’s pitched, the Angels are 12-6.
Taken separately, Ohtani has 11.1 Box-Toppers points as a pitcher and 4.0 as a designated hitter. His 11.1 points alone would rank fifth among AL pitchers. His 4.0 points alone as a designated hitter would rank 29th among AL batters, just ahead of Joey Gallo of the Yankees (4.0).
National League Batter of the Day—Juan Soto of the Nationals hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-5 win over the Blue Jays.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-7, 11-inning win over the Indians.
Notable—Braves pitcher Charlie Morton becomes the 22nd player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Morton (6IP 3H 2R BB 9K W in the 11-9 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 19th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
It is Morton’s third season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He did it in 2018 with the Astros (14.8 points, 11th among AL pitchers) and 2019 with the Rays (18.8 points, fifth overall and third among AL pitchers).
Freddie Freeman of the Braves hit for the cycle in the game (HR 3B 2B 4-5 4R 2BI), but had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 compared to Morton’s +7.0 and so did not earn Player of the Game honors—even though his game score was higher than NL Batter of the Day Soto (+4.0).
But hitting for the cycle is a novelty and should be considered as such. A player with two home runs, a double and a single has done more to help their team win, but since they didn’t check the “triples” box, their greater achievement is overshadowed because they “just missed” hitting for the cycle.
Debut—In addition to White, Cubs pitcher Manuel Rodriguez also made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Rodriguez (2IP 0H 0R BB 3K W in the 7-1 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut July 30 and was playing in his ninth career game.
Scoring—White earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ohtani earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Soto and Sano each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Player of the Game winners (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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Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG).| 8/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.1 | LAD 9, PIT 0 | Mitch White, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| AL | +8.0 | LAA 3, DET 1 | Shohei Ohtani, (W 8‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| +7.0 | ATL 11, MIA 9 | Charlie Morton, (W 12‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +7.0 | TB 8, BAL 4 | Ryan Yarbrough, (W 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +5.0 | NYY 5, BOS 2 | Andrew Heaney, (W 8‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +4.2 | CHW 3, OAK 2 | Liam Hendriks, (S 28) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | WSH 8, TOR 5 | Juan Soto, RF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | CHC 7, CIN 1 | Manuel Rodríguez, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | MIN 8, CLE 7 (F/11) | Miguel Sanó, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | NYM 6, SF 2 (F/12) | Kevin Pillar, LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | COL 7, SD 5 | C.J. Cron, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 6, STL 4 (F/10) | Avisail García, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | SEA 3, TEX 1 | Marco Gonzales, (W 5‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +1.0 | ARI 4, PHI 2 | Christian Walker, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | KC 3, HOU 2 | Hunter Dozier, 3B | 3 | 1 | 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 Player of the Game winners
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 (’21). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’20-21), the period 2016-2021 (’16-21) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2021 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2020 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’21 | ’20‑21 | ’16‑21 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 15.1 | 15.1 | 29.6 | 29.6 | +15.1 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | atl nl | 10.7 | 12.7 | 57.0 | 81.7 | +8.7 |
| Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi sp mr | tb al | 8.7 | 11.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 | +5.7 |
| Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi cp | chi al | 6.0 | 10.0 | 17.0 | 20.0 | +2.0 |
| Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | col nl | 5.5 | 5.5 | 17.2 | 24.2 | +5.5 |
| Sano, Miguel 3527 | 1b | min al | 5.5 | 5.5 | 25.0 | 31.0 | +5.5 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | mil nl | 5.2 | 6.2 | 19.9 | 28.4 | +4.2 |
| Heaney, Andrew 3515 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.0 | 8.4 | 24.1 | 28.1 | +1.6 |
| Soto, Juan 3994 | rf | dc nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 20.5 | 20.5 | +3.0 |
| Gonzales, Marco 3408 | pi sp | sea al | 3.0 | 8.7 | 29.5 | 32.5 | ‑2.7 |
| Pillar, Kevin 3486 | lf ph | nym nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 13.0 | 16.5 | +2.5 |
| Dozier, Hunter 4114 | 3b | kc al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +1.0 |
| White, Mitch 4519 | pi cp | lad nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Walker, Christian 3958 | 1b | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +1.0 |
| Rodriguez, Manuel 4520 | pi mr | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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