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.
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to 10th place in season player rankings.
Cole struck out 11 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 3-2 win over the Athletics.
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 Friday, Aug. 26.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 21.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 18.0 |
| 3 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 17.1 |
| 4 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 16.7 |
| 5 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.4 |
| 6 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 15.4 |
| 8 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 15.0 |
| 9 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 13.4 |
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Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, rising to 10th place among all players and fifth place among American League pitchers.
With Cole’s rise into the top 10, he displaces the only batter from the list—Pete Alonso of the Mets falls from 10th to 11th place with 13.2 Box-Toppers points. Alonso joined the top 10 for the fourth time this season on Aug. 19. (Shohei Ohtani of the Angels ranks second and has earned 4.0 of his 18.0 points as a batter, but does not qualify to rank among batters since he’s earned the overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors as a pitcher.)
Cole also now has 136.3 career Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players since player tracking began in 1995. He trails 33rd-ranked player, Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner (138.1). Cole ranks 10th among active players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Dodgers hit two home runs, doubled and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-6, 10-inning win over the Marlins.
Betts earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 29th among all players and second among NL batters, behind Pete Alonso of the Mets (13.2).
Betts becomes the 33rd player and third batter this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. The fewest number of batters to reach 10 points in a full season (since 1995) is five in both 2018 and 2021. With about a month to go in the season, there are five batters who are within 2.0 points of 10.0.
This is Betts’ second season with 10.0 points. In 2018, he had 10.9 points with the Red Sox, second among AL batters. In 2021, he had 3.0 points with the Dodgers.
American League Batter of the Day—Jo Adell of the Angels hit two home runs and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-0 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Mookie Betts.
Notable—Twins pitcher Joe Ryan becomes the 32nd player this season to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Ryan (6IP 2H 0R 3BB 8K W in the 9-0 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 30th overall and 14th among AL pitchers.
This is his first season with 10.0 points. His previous best season was 2021 with the Twins, when he had 2.7 points.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
William Contreras of the Braves (2B 4-5 2R 3BI in the 11-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut July 24, 2020, and was playing in his 125th career game.
Mark Mathias of the Rangers (HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 7-6 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Aug. 4, 2020, and was playing in his 28th career game.
Joe Musgrove @Padres, 9th in 2022 Box-Toppers points (14.4), does not win Player of the Game honors in win vs. KC Friday, with -10.8 B-T game score (3.2IP 8H 5R 2ER BB 2K ND).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 27, 2022
Player of the Game—Ha-Seong Kim @Padres with +3.0 game score (HR 2B 3-6 R 3BI).https://t.co/poKK4PD1FI https://t.co/tA2QVm0yzm
Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Betts earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Adell earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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
| 8/26 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.1 | NYY 3, OAK 2 | Gerrit Cole, (W 10‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| +10.0 | BAL 2, HOU 0 | Kyle Bradish, (W 2‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +9.0 | MIN 9, SF 0 | Joe Ryan, (W 10‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| NL | +5.0 | LAD 10, MIA 6 (F/10) | Mookie Betts, RF | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +5.0 | LAA 12, TOR 0 | Jo Adell, LF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | ATL 11, STL 4 | William Contreras, DH | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | CHC 4, MIL 3 (F/10) | Ian Happ, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | CIN 7, WSH 3 | Mike Minor, (W 3‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +3.0 | SD 13, KC 5 | Ha‑Seong Kim, SS | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TEX 7, DET 6 | Mark Mathias, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | NYM 7, COL 6 | Mark Canha, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 9, TB 8 | Xander Bogaerts, SS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 7, CHW 2 | Daulton Varsho, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 7, PIT 4 | Brad Hand, (S 5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | SEA 3, CLE 2 (F/11) | J.P. Crawford, SS | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 13.4 | 35.8 | 100.4 | 136.3 | -9.0 |
| Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | lad nl | 10.7 | 13.7 | 41.8 | 53.0 | +7.7 |
| Ryan, Joe 4539 | pi sp | min al | 10.7 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | +8.0 |
| Canha, Mark 3454 | lf | nym nl | 7.7 | 9.7 | 15.7 | 18.2 | +5.7 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 5.5 | 14.0 | 34.2 | 40.7 | -3.0 |
| Kim, Ha-Seong 4373 | ss | sd nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +3.0 |
| Varsho, Daulton 4398 | cf rf | ari nl | 4.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 |
| Bradish, Kyle 4597 | pi sp | bal al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Happ, Ian 3798 | lf | chi nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | +1.5 |
| Adell, Jo 4527 | lf | ana al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| Crawford, J.P. 3937 | ss | sea al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -1.0 |
| Hand, Brad 2907 | pi cp | phi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 22.7 | 32.7 | +2.0 |
| Minor, Mike 2894 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 7.4 | 33.5 | 60.6 | -5.4 |
| Contreras, William 4717 | dh | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Mathias, Mark 4718 | dh | tex 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 Saturday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAA | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 18.0 | 34.1 | 48.6 | 48.6 |
| TOR | Manoah, Alek 4424 | 7.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| TB | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 7.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| BOS | Hill, Rich 2215 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 35.4 | 73.5 |
| PIT | Beede, Tyler 4166 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| PHI | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 7.0 | 14.7 | 34.5 | 51.5 |
| LAD | May, Dustin 4214 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 17.1 | 26.8 | 36.2 | 36.2 |
| CIN | Cessa, Luis 3703 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 |
| WSH | Espino, Paolo 4443 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 43.5 | 54.2 |
| TEX | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 24.8 | 67.6 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 23.0 | 23.0 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 3.7 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| HOU | Urquidy, Jose 4194 | 7.0 | 15.4 | 20.1 | 20.1 |
| CHC | Smyly, Drew 3009 | 6.7 | 14.7 | 18.7 | 54.2 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 12.4 | 29.5 | 46.2 | 46.2 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 32.4 | 32.4 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 10.1 | 23.2 | 61.7 | 117.3 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 4.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 8.7 | 21.4 | 64.7 | 92.4 |
| STL | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 8.4 | 18.1 | 25.1 | 25.1 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 4.0 | 11.4 | 23.8 | 55.2 |
| MIN | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 11.1 | 17.5 | 53.7 | 86.5 |
| NYY | German, Domingo 3957 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| OAK | Oller, Adam* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Plesac, Zach 4168 | 4.7 | 10.1 | 20.2 | 20.2 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 8.0 | 17.0 | 52.8 | 52.8 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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