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.
Astros pitcher Cristian Javier is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon rises to lead National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points for 2022, passing Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins. Rodon rises to fourth place in overall Box-Toppers rankings after earning NL Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Javier struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Tigers.
Javier earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season, 30th among all players and 15th among American League pitchers.
Javier becomes the 44th player this season to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points. It is his first season with 10.0 or more points. His best previous season was 2021 with the Astros, when he had 6.0 points, 47th among AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon struck out eight over five innings, allowing one run (none earned), two hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Braves.
Rodon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 18.1 for the season, rising from seventh to fourth in season player rankings and first among NL pitchers.
Rodon passes Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins for the lead among NL pitchers. Though both players have 18.1 Box-Toppers points in 2022, Rodon ranks higher because he has more 2021 Box-Toppers points—11.7 vs. 9.7. Alcantara had led NL pitchers since July 10.
National League Batter of the Day—Sergio Alcantara of the Diamondbacks hit a walk-off, three-run homer and went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 5-3, 10-inning win over the Dodgers.
Alcantara earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season, 20th among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles tripled, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 6-2 win over the Nationals.
This was Henderson’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Henderson made his Major League debut Aug. 31 and was playing in his 14th career game.
Notable—In addition to Javier and Rodon, three other players with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:
• Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes (5IP 3H R 2BB 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season, 24th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.
• Twins pitcher Sonny Gray (7IP 3H 0R BB 8K W in the 4-0 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.1 for the season, 26th among all players and 12th among AL pitchers.
• Blue Jays pitcher Ross Stripling (6.1IP 3H R BB 4K W in the 5-1 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season, 27th among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.
Debut—In addition to Henderson, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, both with their first career Player of the Game honor:
P.J. Higgins of the Cubs (2B 2-3 R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut May 19, 2021, and was playing in his 74th career game.
Athletics pitcher Tyler Cyr (1.2IP 0H 0R BB K W in the 8-7 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Aug. 21 and was playing in his fifth career game.
Dylan Cease @WhiteSox, 3rd in 2022 Box-Toppers points (20.4), fails to win B-T Player of the Game honors in CHW loss to COL, with -1.0 B-T game score (5IP 6H 3R 2BB 8K L).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) September 15, 2022
Player of the Game—Daniel Bard @Rockies +4.0 game score (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv).https://t.co/2bwXH4yZe6 https://t.co/wPStdbnhli pic.twitter.com/HORN6tYwrz
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, Sept. 14.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 22.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 21.0 |
| 3 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 20.4 |
| 4 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 18.1 |
| 5 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 17.7 |
| 7 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.4 |
| 8 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 16.0 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.4 |
| 10 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Back to top
Scoring—Javier earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodon earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Alcantara and Henderson 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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
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
| 9/14 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | HOU 2, DET 1 | Cristian Javier, (W 9‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| +11.0 | MIN 4, KC 0 | Sonny Gray, (W 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +10.0 | SEA 6, SD 1 | Luis Castillo, (W 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| NL | +9.0 | SF 4, ATL 1 | Carlos Rodón, (W 13‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| +5.0 | PHI 6, MIA 1 | Kyle Gibson, (W 10‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | NYY 5, BOS 3 | Nestor Cortes, (W 10‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +4.1 | TOR 5, TB 1 | Ross Stripling, (W 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | ARI 5, LAD 3 (F/10) | Sergio Alcántara, SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | COL 3, CHW 0 | Daniel Bard, (S 30) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | PIT 10, CIN 4 | Rodolfo Castro, DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | BAL 6, WSH 2 | Gunnar Henderson, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | STL 4, MIL 1 | Giovanny Gallegos, (Hld 10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | CHC 6, NYM 3 | P.J. Higgins, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.2 | OAK 8, TEX 7 | Tyler Cyr, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | CLE 5, LAA 3 | Oscar González, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 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.
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.
Back to top
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 18.1 | 29.8 | 38.8 | 54.9 | +6.4 |
| Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 12.4 | 17.4 | 19.4 | 19.4 | +7.4 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | min al | 12.1 | 18.5 | 54.7 | 87.5 | +5.7 |
| Stripling, Ross 3629 | pi sp | tor al | 12.0 | 18.7 | 33.4 | 38.1 | +5.3 |
| Javier, Cristian 4290 | pi sp | hou al | 11.7 | 17.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 | +5.7 |
| Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 9.0 | 18.0 | 53.8 | 53.8 | 0.0 |
| Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | phi nl | 9.0 | 16.7 | 36.5 | 53.5 | +1.3 |
| Bard, Daniel 2657 | pi cp | col nl | 7.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 17.7 | +6.0 |
| Alcantara, Sergio 4593 | 3b ss | ari nl | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | +5.5 |
| Gonzalez, Oscar 4734 | rf | cle al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Gallegos, Giovanny 4104 | pi cp mr | stl nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.0 |
| Castro Rodolfo 4475 | 3b dh | pit nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Henderson, Gunnar 4739 | 3b | bal al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Cyr, Tyler 4741 | pi mr | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Higgins, P.J. 4720 | 1b | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top
A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHW | Lynn, Lance 2992 | 8.7 | 21.1 | 56.9 | 112.8 |
| CLE | Gaddis, Hunter* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TB | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | 15.4 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 20.1 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 11.7 | 25.4 | 44.2 | 68.4 |
| PHI | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 51.5 |
| MIA | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | 9.7 | 19.1 | 32.8 | 32.8 |
| OAK | Kaprielian, James 4416 | 2.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| HOU | McCullers, Lance 3488 | 2.7 | 11.4 | 34.2 | 47.0 |
| PIT | Brubaker, JT 4382 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| NYM | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 62.3 | 108.8 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 4.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| MIN | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | 6.7 | 8.7 | 37.5 | 43.5 |
| CIN | Anderson, Chase 3328 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 24.8 | 40.8 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 10.4 | 10.4 | 25.1 | 27.8 |
| SD | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 5.0 | 20.7 | 42.5 | 49.2 |
| ARI | Jameson, Drey* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top