Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2022 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Pivetta pitched a complete-game two-hitter, allowing one run and no walks, and striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Astros.
Pivetta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 54th among all players and 17th among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Padres.
Wheeler earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 25th among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Luis Arraez of the Twins hit two doubles and went 3-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 14-4 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Pete Alonso of the Mets hit a three-run home run and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-4 win over the Cardinals.
Alonso earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 for the season, rising to second place among NL batters. While he has the same 4.5 point total as NL batting leader Mookie Betts of the Dodgers, Alonso ranks second because he has fewer 2020 Box-Toppers points—1.5 vs. 2.5.
Notable—Ty France of the Mariners has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points among the 14 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
France (HR 3-5 R 2BI in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, 13th among all players and second among AL batters, behind overall leader Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (8.0). It should be noted that Ohtani has earned 4.0 of his points as a batter and 4.0 as a pitcher, meaning France has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points among players who’ve earned them solely as an AL batter.
Also notable—Dodgers pitcher David Price now has 134.0 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Price, pitching in middle relief (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks), rises to 34th place among all players in career points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Wednesday, Price passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jason Giambi (133.4) and Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (133.8). Price now trails 33rd-ranked player, Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner (136.4). Passing Strasburg, Price now ranks 10th among active players in career points. He ranks fifth among active NL pitchers.
This was also Price’s first Player of the Game honor and first Box-Toppers point of 2022. He earned 2.0 points in 2021 with the Dodgers as a middle relief and closing pitcher. Of his 134.0 career points, only his most recent 3.0 have come as a relief pitcher, the other 131.0 (earned from 2009 to 2019) were as a starting pitcher.
Also notable—Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole now has 127.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Cole (7IP 6H 2R 0BB 5K W in the 3-2 win over the Orioles) rises to 41st place among all players in career points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Roy Oswalt (127.2) and John Lackey (127.2). Cole now trails 40th-ranked player Jered Weaver (127.8). Cole ranks 12th among active players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
Cole now has 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 18th overall and ninth among AL pitchers.
Cole now has the most Box-Toppers points of all players over the past two seasons. While he has the same 27.1 Box-Toppers point total over 2021-22 as Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, Cole ranks ahead because he has more 2022 points than Scherzer—4.7 vs. 2.0.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2022. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Wednesday, May 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh pi sp | ana al | 8.0 |
| 2 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 5.7 |
| 6 | Lauer, Eric 4017 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.7 |
| 7 | Megill, Tylor 4464 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 8 | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.7 |
| 9 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 5.7 |
| 10 | Ryan, Joe 4539 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Also notable—Kole Calhoun of the Rangers earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Wednesday.
Calhoun (HR 2B 2-3 2R BI in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Angels) was also Player of the Game in Tuesday’s 10-5 win over the Angels (HR 2-3 2R 2BI). Calhoun now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points, all earned in the past two days, 18th among AL batters.
Debut—Four players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Pirates pitcher Duane Underwood Jr. (2.1IP 0H 0R BB 2K ND in the 3-2 win over the Cubs) made his Major League debut June 25, 2018, and was playing in his 76th career game.
MJ Melendez of the Royals (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut May 3 and was playing in his 12th career game.
Keibert Ruiz of the Nationals (2-2B 3-3 R BI in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Aug. 16, 2020, and was playing in his 61st career game.
Rockies pitcher Tyler Kinley (1IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 5-3 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut April 7, 2018, and was playing in his 175th career game.
Scoring—Pivetta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wheeler earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Arraez and Alonso 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).Back to top
| 5/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | BOS 5, HOU 1 | Nick Pivetta, (W 2‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | +12.0 | PHI 3, SD 0 | Zack Wheeler, (W 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| +8.0 | TB 6, DET 1 | Drew Rasmussen, (W 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +4.1 | `LAD 5, ARI 3 | David Price, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | MIN 14, OAK 4 | Luis Arraez, 1B‑2B | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +4.0 | NYM 11, STL 4 | Pete Alonso, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.1 | `PIT 3, CHC 2 | Duane Underwood Jr. | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | KC 6, CHW 2 | MJ Melendez, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | WSH 5, MIA 4 (F/10) | Keibert Ruiz, C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TEX 6, LAA 5 (F/10) | Kole Calhoun, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYY 3, BAL 2 | Gerrit Cole, (W 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +2.0 | COL 5, SF 3 | Tyler Kinley, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | SEA 5, TOR 1 | Ty France, 1B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | MIL 7, ATL 6 (F/11) | Hunter Renfroe, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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.
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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 (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France, Ty 4243 | 1b | sea al | 5.0 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | -2.5 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.7 | 27.1 | 91.7 | 127.6 | -17.7 |
| Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b dh | nym nl | 4.5 | 7.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | +1.5 |
| Pivetta, Nick 3825 | pi sp | bos al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 30.7 | 30.7 | -2.0 |
| Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.7 | 23.8 | 45.5 | 57.2 | -18.4 |
| Renfroe, Hunter 3749 | rf | mil nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 22.4 | 24.9 | -4.0 |
| Calhoun, Kole 3279 | rf | tex al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 13.5 | 29.2 | +2.0 |
| Arraez, Luis 4219 | 1b 2b lf 3b | min al | 1.5 | 5.7 | 8.2 | 8.2 | -2.7 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi mr cp | lad nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 27.8 | 134.0 | -1.0 |
| Kinley, Tyler 4617 | pi mr | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Melendez, MJ 4615 | ca | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Ruiz, Keibert 4616 | ca | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Underwood, Duane Jr. 4614 | pi mr | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21-22 | ’17-22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| BAL | Zimmermann, Bruce 4410 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 2.0 | 15.1 | 53.6 | 109.2 |
| PHI | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 29.5 | 46.5 |
| STL | Hudson, Dakota 4035 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| NYM | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 3.0 | 16.7 | 31.8 | 35.8 |
| CIN | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 |
| CLE | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| CHW | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 20.1 | 28.1 |
| KC | Hernandez, Carlos 4466 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| BOS | Hill, Rich 2215 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 34.4 | 72.5 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| CHC | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 1.7 | 11.7 | 27.4 | 50.5 |
| TEX | Otto, Glenn 4584 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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