Indians pitcher Triston McKenzie is Saturday’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 Saturday, Aug. 21.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 19.4 |
| 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 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.4 |
| 6 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 15.1 |
| 7 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 13.7 |
| 9 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 13.1 |
| 10 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | tb al | 13.1 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Also Saturday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10—Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer rises to fifth place and Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to 10th place.
Player of the Day—McKenzie struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Angels.
McKenzie earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, 54th among all players and 21st among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Phillies. Musgrove did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Padres trailed when he exited.
Musgrove earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season, 10th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers.
With his rise into the Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list, Musgrove pushes Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow (12.7 points) out of the top 10 into 11th place. Glasnow led Box-Toppers season player rankings three different times in 2021, most recently from May 26 to June 15, before losing the lead June 16 and subsequently sitting out the season with an elbow injury that led to season-ending Tommy John surgery that will likely also sideline him through the 2022 season.
National League Batter of the Day—Christian Yelich of the Brewers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-6 win over the Nationals. Yelich went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Taylor Jones of the Astros homered, tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 15-1 win over the Mariners.
This was Jones’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Jones made his Major League debut July 26, 2020, and was playing in his 38th career game.
Leader—Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Cole (6IP 5H 0R BB 6K W in the 7-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 19.4 for the season, extending his lead over second-place player, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (17.1).
Cole now has 119.9 career Box-Toppers points, 48th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Saturday, he passes Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 47th-ranked player, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (122.1). Cole ranks 15th among active players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer rises from seventh to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Scherzer (5IP 5H R BB 8K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season, fourth among NL pitchers.
Scherzer now has 216.6 career Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails fourth-ranked player, Astros pitcher Zack Greinke (217.8) by 1.2 points. Scherzer ranks third among active players in career points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (246.6) and Greinke. He ranks second among active NL pitchers in career points behind Kershaw.
Debut—In addition to Jones, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
LaMonte Wade Jr. of the Giants (HR 1-1 R 2BI in the 6-5 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut June 28, 2019, and was playing in his 113th career game.
Pirates pitcher Dillon Peters (5IP 3H R BB 3K ND in the 5-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2017, and was playing in his 33rd career game.
Scoring—McKenzie earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Musgrove earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Yelich and Jones each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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).| 8/21 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | CLE 5, LAA 1 | Triston McKenzie, (W 3‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| +8.1 | KC 4, CHC 2 | Kris Bubic, (W 4‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| NL | +8.0 | `SD 4, PHI 3 (F/10) | Joe Musgrove | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | MIL 9, WSH 6 | Christian Yelich, LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | `COL 5, ARI 2 | Kyle Freeland | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| +6.0 | TOR 3, DET 0 | Hyun Jin Ryu, (W 12‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | NYY 7, MIN 1 | Gerrit Cole, (W 12‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | HOU 15, SEA 1 | Taylor Jones, LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | LAD 4, NYM 3 | Max Scherzer, (W 11‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 7, MIA 4 | Nick Castellanos, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | SF 6, OAK 5 | LaMonte Wade Jr., PH‑LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TEX 10, BOS 1 | Jordan Lyles, (W 6‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +2.2 | TB 8, CHW 4 | Collin McHugh, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 5, BAL 4 | Drew Smyly, (W 9‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| +2.0 | `PIT 5, STL 4 | Dillon Peters | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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 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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 19.4 | 26.8 | 90.5 | 119.9 | +12.0 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.4 | 19.4 | 110.6 | 216.6 | +11.4 |
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 13.1 | 15.1 | 32.8 | 32.8 | +11.1 |
| Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | rf | cin nl | 9.0 | 10.0 | 31.5 | 39.7 | +8.0 |
| Ryu, Hyun Jin 3139 | pi sp | tor al | 8.0 | 14.0 | 46.5 | 67.6 | +2.0 |
| McKenzie, Triston 4303 | pi sp | cle al | 7.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | +3.7 |
| Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | atl nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 17.4 | 45.5 | +6.0 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | mil nl | 5.5 | 7.0 | 40.7 | 50.7 | +4.0 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 5.0 | 6.0 | 25.4 | 25.4 | +4.0 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi mr cp sp | tb al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 26.4 | 47.9 | +4.0 |
| Lyles, Jordan 3100 | pi sp | tex al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 16.7 | 23.4 | +3.0 |
| Bubic, Kris 4413 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Jones, Taylor 4522 | lf | hou al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Peters, Dillon 4524 | pi sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Wade, Lamonte Jr. 4523 | lf ph | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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