Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to lead season player rankings, passing previous leader, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole.
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 Sunday, Sept. 12.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 23.1 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 22.4 |
| 3 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 19.1 |
| 4 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 17.4 |
| 5 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.4 |
| 6 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.1 |
| 7 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.1 |
| 8 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 9 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 16.1 |
| 10 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.1 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Scherzer struck out nine over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 8-0 win over the Padres.
Scherzer took a perfect game into the eighth inning before giving up the Padres’ first and only hit of the day with one out.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 23.1 for the season, rising from second to first among all players, passing Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (22.4), who had held the overall lead since Aug. 16. Scherzer extends his lead among National League pitchers ahead of second-place Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (19.1).
This is the first time Scherzer has held the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead this season and the first time he has held the lead since 2018 with the Nationals, when he last led from July 27 until losing the lead Sept. 18 to Rays pitcher Blake Snell, who finished the 2018 season in first (27.2). Scherzer finished second with 25.1.
Scherzer previously led all players for a full season in 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points. He’s led all league pitchers four times:
Box-Toppers lead changes 2021
Max Scherzer of the Dodgers rose to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings on Sept. 12 with 23.1 Box-Toppers points. Here are the lead changes in Box-Toppers season player rankings through the entire 2021 season, listed chronologically by the date the player took the overall lead, followed by their Box-Toppers point total on the day they took the lead.| Took lead | Player | Team | B-T points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/1 | Tyler Glasnow | tb al | 2.0 |
| 4/8 | Craig Kimbrel | chi nl | 2.7 |
| 4/9 | Joe Musgrove | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 4/11 | J.D. Martinez | bos al | 3.2 |
| 4/12 | Tyler Glasnow | tb al | 4.0 |
| 5/12 | Gerrit Cole | nyy al | 9.0 |
| 5/26 | Tyler Glasnow | tb al | 10.7 |
| 6/16 | Gerrit Cole | nyy al | 13.4 |
| 6/21 | Jacob deGrom | nym nl | 13.7 |
| 8/8 | Zack Wheeler | phi nl | 17.1 |
| 8/16 | Gerrit Cole | nyy al | 18.4 |
| 9/12 | Max Scherzer | lad nl | 23.1 |
2013—He led American League pitchers with the Tigers (18.1).
2016—He led NL pitchers with the Nationals (25.7).
2017—He led NL pitchers with the Nationals (25.0).
2018—He led NL pitchers with the Nationals (25.1).
Scherzer also now has 224.3 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails third-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Scherzer ranks second among active players in career points, behind teammate, pitcher Clayton Kershaw (246.6).
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn struck out nine over five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox. Lynn did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game in a scoreless tie.
Lynn earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, 18th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
Lynn also now has 104.1 career Box-Toppers points, 76th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.7 points earned Sunday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 75th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1). Lynn ranks 21st among active players in career points, seventh among active AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Blue Jays hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 22-7 win over the Orioles. Gurriel went 2-for-3, scoring five times and driving in seven runs.
Gurriel had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +11.0, which is the highest for a batter earning Player of the Game honors so far this season. The previous high was +10.0 by Ozzie Albies of the Braves on June 30 (2HR 5-6 4R 7BI in the 20-2 win over the Mets).
While Gurriel’s +11.0 game score is the highest for a batter earning Player of the Game honors this season, it ranks as the 122nd highest-ranking score for all of 2021’s Player of the Game winners—pitchers have the top 121 game scores in the 2,146 games completed so far, led by +22.0 by Jacob deGrom of the Mets on April 23 (CG 2H 0R 0BB 14K W in the 6-0 win over the Nationals). (Scherzer’s +16.0 game score Sunday ranks 22nd among Player of the Game winners in 2021 and Lynn’s +12.0 game score Sunday ranks 118th.)
In 2020, two batters earning Player of the Game honors had game scores higher than +11.0:
On Sept. 9, Adam Duvall of the Braves had a game score of +13.0 (3HR 3-4 5R 9BI in the 29-9 win over the Marlins).
On Sept. 12, Jose Abreu of the White Sox had a game score of +12.0 (2HR 4-4 5R 7BI in the 14-0 win over the Tigers).
National League Batter of the Day—Francisco Lindor of the Mets hit three home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 7-6 win over the Yankees. Lindor went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
Debut—Royals pitcher Jake Brentz made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Brentz (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 5-3 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut April 3 and was playing in his 65th career game.
Scoring—Scherzer 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. Gurriel and Lindor each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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).| 9/12 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +16.0 | LAD 8, SD 0 | Max Scherzer, (W 14‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | +12.0 | `CHW 2, BOS 1 | Lance Lynn | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| BAT | +11.0 | TOR 22, BAL 7 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF‑1B | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.1 | MIL 11, CLE 1 | Eric Lauer, (W 6‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | +7.0 | NYM 7, NYY 6 | Francisco Lindor, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | `DET 8, TB 7 (F/11) | Tarik Skubal | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +6.1 | STL 2, CIN 0 | J.A. Happ, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +6.0 | COL 5, PHI 4 | Garrett Hampson, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +6.0 | HOU 3, LAA 1 | Lance McCullers Jr., (W 12‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | SF 6, CHC 5 | Wilmer Flores, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | KC 5, MIN 3 | Jake Brentz, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.2 | WSH 6, PIT 2 | Kyle Finnegan, (S 9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 5, MIA 3 | Jacob Webb, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | TEX 4, OAK 3 | Isiah Kiner‑Falefa, SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.1 | ARI 5, SEA 4 | Tyler Gilbert, (W 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 2 | 2 | 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 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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 23.1 | 27.1 | 118.3 | 224.3 | +19.1 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 | 21.5 | 48.2 | 104.1 | +3.3 |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 8.7 | 11.4 | 37.6 | 44.3 | +6.0 |
| Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | +8.7 |
| Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | nym nl | 7.0 | 7.0 | 28.1 | 29.1 | +7.0 |
| Lauer, Eric 4017 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 18.4 | 18.4 | +5.0 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.7 | 8.7 | 53.5 | 90.0 | +0.7 |
| Flores, Wilmer 3345 | 3b 1b | sf nl | 4.5 | 6.0 | 16.5 | 21.5 | +3.0 |
| Gurriel, Lourdes Jr. 4148 | lf 1b | tor al | 4.2 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | +4.2 |
| Hampson, Garrett 4252 | cf | col nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +3.5 |
| Kiner‑Falefa, Isiah 4130 | ss 3b ca | tex al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +1.0 |
| Finnegan, Kyle 4535 | pi cp | dc nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Gilbert, Tyler 4509 | pi sp | ari nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Webb, Jacob 4530 | pi mr | atl nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Brentz, Jake 4545 | pi mr | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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