Rockies pitcher Ty Blach is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Nelson Cruz of the Nationals has now has earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2022. It’s the third-longest active streak.
Player of the Day—Blach struck out four over four scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and picking up the save, in the 9-4 win over the Dodgers.
Blach earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, fourth among all players. While he has the same Box-Toppers point total as three other players, he has the lowest 2021 points among those four (0.0), behind first-place Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea (15.7 in 2021), Phillies pitcher Kyle Gibson (7.7 in 2021) and Astros pitcher Framber Valdez (5.0 in 2021).
American League Player of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Guardians homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 17-3 win over the Royals.
Ramirez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. He led AL batters in 2021 with 13.0 Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Michael Chavis of the Pirates hit a grand slam, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the AL Player of the Day is batter Jose Ramirez.
Box-Toppers season streaks
Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. Albert Pujols holds the record for the longest such streak at 21 seasons. Players are listed by length of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.)| Streak | Player | Pos | Duration | Career BTP |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Albert Pujols* | 1b | 2001‑2021 | 204.8 |
| 2 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995‑2013 | 133.4 |
| 2 | 19 | Carlos Beltran | rf | 1999‑2017 | 108.6 |
| 2 | 19 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | 2001‑2019 | 203.4 |
| 2 | 19 | Miguel Cabrera* | 1b dh | 2003‑2021 | 158.4 |
| 6 | 18 | Jim Thome | 1b dh | 1995‑2012 | 146.7 |
| 6 | 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | 1995‑2012 | 149.0 |
| 6 | 18 | Johnny Damon | lf | 1995‑2012 | 63.0 |
| 6 | 18 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | 1996‑2013 | 187.0 |
| 10 | 17 | Mariano Rivera | pi cp | 1995‑2011 | 126.4 |
| 10 | 17 | Derek Jeter | ss | 1996‑2012 | 76.4 |
| 10 | 17 | Paul Konerko | 1b | 1998‑2014 | 100.7 |
| 10 | 17 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | 1999‑2015 | 157.0 |
| 10 | 17 | Torii Hunter | cf | 1999‑2015 | 115.9 |
| 10 | 17 | David Ortiz | dh | 2000‑2016 | 145.9 |
| 10 | 17 | Nelson Cruz* | dh | 2006‑2022 | 83.9 |
* Active streak.
Streak—Nelson Cruz of the Nationals has now earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons—the third-longest active streak—after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2022 Sunday.
Cruz (HR 2-4 R 3BI in the 4-2 win over the Mets) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and now has 83.9 career Box-Toppers points, 49th among all batters since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, and fourth among active batters, behind Albert Pujols of the Cardinals (204.8), Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (158.4) and Robinson Cano of the Mets (85.4). His best season was 2019 with the Twins when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, first among AL batters. In 2021, he had 5.7 points with the Twins and Rays, 24th among AL batters.
Cruz’s 17-season streak earning Box-Toppers points is the third-longest active streak with free agent, behind Pujols (21 seasons) and Cabrera (19 seasons). Neither Pujols nor Cabrera has earned Box-Toppers points in 2022, so both have the opportunity to extend their streaks.
Cruz’s 17-season streak is tied for the 10th-longest in Box-Toppers tracking history, which began in 1995.
Debut—Athletics pitcher Daulton Jefferies made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Jefferies (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 2K W in the 4-1 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Sept. 12, 2020, and was playing in his seventh career game.
Scoring—Blach earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ramirez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Chavis earns 1.5 points for being NL 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).| 4/10 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +6.0 | COL 9, LAD 4 | Ty Blach, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| AL | +5.0 | CLE 17, KC 3 | Jose Ramírez, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | TEX 12, TOR 6 | Brad Miller, PH‑RF‑LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | PIT 9, STL 4 | Michael Chavis, 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | MIN 10, SEA 4 | Gary Sánchez, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | SF 3, MIA 2 | Jarlin García, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | BOS 4, NYY 3 | Jake Diekman, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 10, DET 1 | Andrew Vaughn, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | OAK 4, PHI 1 | Daulton Jefferies, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `SD 10, ARI 5 | Nabil Crismatt | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | MIL 5, CHC 4 | Josh Hader, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.2 | `TB 8, BAL 0 | Corey Kluber | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| +2.0 | WSH 4, NYM 2 | Nelson Cruz, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | HOU 4, LAA 1 | Ryan Pressly, (S 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | CIN 6, ATL 3 | Kyle Farmer, SS | 3 | 0 | 2 | 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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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 in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’21-22), the period 2017-2022 (’17-22) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2022 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2021 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blach, Ty 3754 | pi sp mr | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | +2.0 |
| Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 1.7 | 14.7 | 35.7 | 40.7 | ‑11.3 |
| Chavis, Michael 4127 | 1b lf | pit nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | +1.5 |
| Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | dc nl | 1.0 | 6.7 | 30.2 | 83.9 | ‑4.7 |
| Miller, Brad 3227 | rf lf 1b ph | tex al | 1.0 | 6.5 | 10.5 | 14.5 | ‑4.5 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | tb al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 49.7 | 115.1 | ‑4.0 |
| Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 37.4 | 37.4 | ‑3.0 |
| Pressly, Ryan 3186 | pi cp | hou al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 14.0 | ‑2.0 |
| Sanchez, Gary 3701 | ca | min al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 17.5 | 22.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Garcia, Jarlin 3927 | pi mr | sf nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Diekman, Jake 3266 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Vaughn, Andrew 4445 | dh lf 1b | chi al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Farmer, Kyle 4003 | ss | cin nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | ‑0.5 |
| Crismatt, Nabil 4449 | pi sp mr | sd nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Jefferies, Daulton 4571 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at Monday’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2022 (’22), over a two-year period (’21-22), over a six-year period (’17-22) and their career point total.| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| KC | Hernandez, Carlos 4466 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| PIT | Thompson, Zach 4437 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| STL | Hudson, Dakota 4035 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| MIL | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| BAL | Zimmerman, Bruce 4410 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| TEX | Hearn, Taylor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 22.1 | 41.8 |
| DET | Manning, Matt 4550 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| OAK | Blackburn, Paul 3869 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| TB | Patino, Luis 4308 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| NYM | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 20.4 | 41.8 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| TOR | Manoah, Alek 4424 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| NYY | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 30.4 | 35.4 |
| WSH | Rogers, Josh 4055 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ATL | Ynoa, Huascar 4343 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| SEA | Flexen, Chris 4368 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| MIN | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 30.8 | 36.8 |
| MIA | Hernandez, Elieser 4181 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| LAA | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 10.5 |
| SD | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 6.7 |
| LAD | Hudson, Daniel 2776 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 30.0 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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.