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.
▪️ Most consecutive seasons earning B-T points (active streaks).
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Plus, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers earns Box-Toppers points in his 20th consecutive season—the second-longest such streak since 1995—after earning his first Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Player of the Day—Nola struck out 10 over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Braves.
Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 113th among all players and 36th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes struck out five over eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 7-2 win over the Rays.
Cortes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.4 for the season, second among all players and second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (8.0).
National League Batter of the Day—Kyle Farmer of the Reds hit two home runs and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 20-5 win over the Cubs.
American League Batter of the Day—Trevor Story of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 16-7 win over the White Sox.
Story earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season, ninth among AL batters.
Active season streaks
Here are the 12 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 14 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.Back to top
| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Cardinals | 2001‑2022 | 205.8 |
| 20 | Miguel Cabrera | dh 1b | Tigers | 2003‑2022 | 159.4 |
| 17 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Nationals | 2006‑2022 | 85.9 |
| 16 | Kurt Suzuki | ca | Angels | 2007‑2022 | 47.5 |
| 15 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2022 | 251.6 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 2007‑2021 | 217.8 |
| 15 | Johnny Cueto | pi sp | White Sox | 2008‑2022 | 113.5 |
| 15 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 3b 1b | Reds | 2007‑2021 | 63.7 |
| 15 | Evan Longoria | 3b | Giants | 2008‑2022 | 57.5 |
| 14 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Mets | 2009‑2022 | 228.3 |
| 14 | J.A. Happ | pi sp | Free agent | 2008‑2021 | 91.0 |
| 14 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Brewers | 2009‑2022 | 77.4 |
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Streak—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 20 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2022 Thursday.
Cabrera’s streak now stands alone as the second-longest such streak in Box-Toppers tracking history, going back to 1995, moving ahead of three other players who recorded 19-season streaks. He trails only the 22-season streak that Albert Pujols of the Cardinals extended on Sunday.
Cabrera (3-4 0R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Guardians) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2003 with the Marlins. His 159.4 career Box-Toppers points ranks 19th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, trailing 18th-ranked player John Smoltz (160.9). (It should be noted that Smoltz began his career prior to the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995. Box-Toppers projects he would have about 255 career points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked.)
Cabrera’s ranks fourth among all batters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. He ranks sixth among active players in career points, second among active batters, behind Pujols (205.8) and first among active AL batters, ahead of second-place Mike Trout of the Angels (77.7), with more than twice as many points as Trout.
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 Thursday, May 26.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh pi sp | ana al | 8.0 |
| 2 | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.4 |
| 3 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Lauer, Eric 4017 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.7 |
| 6 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 7 | Wright, Kyle 4349 | pi sp | atl nl | 6.7 |
| 8 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | lad nl | 6.5 |
| 9 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 6.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Cabrera’s best season was 2013 with the Tigers when he had 16.9 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and first among AL batters. He also led AL batters in 2009 with the Tigers with 16.5 points. In 2021, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers, 32nd among AL batters and seventh among AL first basemen.
Cabrera’s 20-season streak is the second-longest active streak behind Pujols’ 22-season streak. It also now stands alone in second place among all such streaks since 1995, moving ahead of these 19-season streaks Cabrera tied in 2021:
Jason Giambi, who earned points each season from 1995 to 2013.
Carlos Beltran, from 1999 to 2017.
CC Sabathia, from 2001 to 2019.
Debut—Brewers pitcher Trevor Kelley made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Kelley (1IP 0H 0R BB K ND in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut July 2, 2019, and was playing in his 16th career game.
Scoring—Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cortes earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Farmer and Story each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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
| 5/26 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.1 | PHI 4, ATL 1 | Aaron Nola, (W 2‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| BAT | +8.0 | CIN 20, CHC 5 | Kyle Farmer, SS | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | LAD 14, ARI 1 | Freddie Freeman, 1B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| AL | +6.0 | NYY 7, TB 2 | Nestor Cortes, (W 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| +5.0 | `TEX 4, OAK 1 | Martin Pérez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | BOS 16, CHW 7 | Trevor Story, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | KC 3, MIN 2 | Josh Staumont, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | DET 4, CLE 3 | Miguel Cabrera, DH | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | WSH 7, COL 3 | Cesar Hernández, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | TOR 6, LAA 3 | George Springer, CF‑RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | `MIL 4, STL 3 | Trevor Kelley, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.4 | 12.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | +2.4 |
| Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | tex al | 5.4 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 26.1 | +4.4 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss 2b | bos al | 3.5 | 10.2 | 26.7 | 33.2 | -3.2 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 2.5 | 7.0 | 31.2 | 69.9 | -2.0 |
| Farmer, Kyle 4003 | ss | cin nl | 2.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 | 12.7 | 67.0 | 75.7 | -8.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | dh cf rf | tor al | 2.0 | 6.2 | 23.4 | 33.9 | -2.2 |
| Staumont, Josh 4354 | pi cp mr | kc al | 2.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -0.7 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | dh 1b | det al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 14.5 | 159.4 | -4.0 |
| Hernandez, Cesar 3770 | 2b | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 0.0 |
| Kelley, Trevor 4631 | pi mr | mil 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 Friday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 5.0 | 16.7 | 25.7 | 41.8 |
| CIN | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| WSH | Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 21.4 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BOS | Whitlock, Garrett 4431 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 44.6 | 44.6 |
| DET | Faedo, Alex 4612 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| NYY | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 31.4 | 36.4 |
| TB | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| PHI | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 26.5 | 30.5 |
| NYM | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 56.6 | 103.1 |
| MIA | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| ATL | Anderson, Ian 4312 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| KC | Keller, Brad 4008 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 5.7 | 22.8 | 39.5 | 39.5 |
| STL | Hudson, Dakota 4035 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| TOR | Manoah, Alek 4424 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| LAA | Silseth, Chase 4605 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| HOU | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 74.3 | 213.6 |
| SEA | Flexen, Chris 4368 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| LAD | Pepiot, Ryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 30.7 | 136.4 |
| PIT | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 38.5 | 73.7 |
| SD | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 3.0 | 18.7 | 40.5 | 47.2 |
| TEX | Gray, Jon 3634 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 32.4 | 39.4 |
| OAK | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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