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.
Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, regaining the lead in season player rankings, passing Astros pitcher Justin Verlander.
Also Thursday, Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Ohtani struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Athletics.
2022 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/7 | Framber Valdez | hou al | 2.0 |
| 4/8 | Sean Manaea | sd nl | 2.0 |
| 4/12 | Tylor Megill | nym nl | 3.7 |
| 4/19 | Joe Musgrove | sd nl | 4.0 |
| 4/20 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 5.0 |
| 4/29 | Tylor Megill | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 5/5 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 7.0 |
| 6/2 | Nestor Cortes | nyy al | 8.4 |
| 6/3 | Joe Musgrove | sd nl | 8.7 |
| 6/4 | Pete Alonso | nym nl | 9.2 |
| 6/9 | Shane McClanahan | tb al | 10.7 |
| 6/16 | Joe Musgrove | sd nl | 11.4 |
| 6/22 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 13.0 |
| 8/4 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 19.0 |
| 9/29 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 24.7 |
Ohtani did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the eighth inning.
Ohtani earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 24.7 for the season, rising from second to first in season player rankings, passing Astros pitcher Justin Verlander (24.0 points) for the overall lead and the lead among American League pitchers.
Verlander took the lead from Ohtani Aug. 4 and held it for nearly two months, seemingly poised to win Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors 10 years after he first did it in 2012 with the Tigers, when he had 24.8 points.
This is the fourth time Ohtani has taken the season Box-Toppers points lead in 2022. He led from April 20 to April 28, from May 5 to June 1 and from June 22 to Aug. 3.
This is the 17th time that Ohtani has earned Player of the Game honors and 13th time he’s done it as a starting pitcher. The other four times, he won Player of the Game honors as a designated hitter. Ohtani is ranked as a pitcher and not a batter in Box-Toppers points. To be ranked at a certain position, a player must win more than 25 percent of their Player of the Game honors at that position. Currently, Ohtani has won 23.5 percent of his Player of the Game honors as a batter, so does not currently rank as a batter. If he did, he would also lead AL batters, ahead of current leader Aaron Judge of the Yankees, who has 13.2 points in 2022. However, if Ohtani wins his next Player of the Game honor as a batter, he will again qualify to rank among batters with five of 18 (or 27.8 percent) of his Player of the Game honors coming as a batter.
Ohtani has qualified to rank among batters at times this season and led AL batters in Box-Toppers points at times when he did.
Ohtani earned 16.1 Box-Toppers points in 2021, third among AL pitchers. While Ohtani also played as both a designated hitter and a starting pitcher in 2021, he was ranked only as a pitcher that season because he earned such an overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors as a pitcher (nine of 12).
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 6-4 win over the Rockies.
Rodon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 19.8 for the season, rising from eighth to sixth place in season player rankings.
Rodon ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins (21.1) and Brandon Woodruff of the Brewers (19.8). Though Woodruff and Rodon both have 19.8 points on the season, Woodruff ranks ahead because he has more 2021 Box-Toppers points—17.1 vs. 11.7.
American League Batter of the Day—Mitch Haniger of the Mariners hit two home runs and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-9, 11-inning win over the Rangers.
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, Sept. 29.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 24.7 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 24.0 |
| 3 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 21.1 |
| 4 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 20.4 |
| 5 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 19.8 |
| 6 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 19.8 |
| 7 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.4 |
| 8 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 18.7 |
| 9 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.8 |
| 10 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.4 |
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National League Batter of the Day—Avisail Garcia of the Marlins hit a grand slam and went 1-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 4-2 win over the Brewers.
Scoring—Ohtani 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. Haniger and Garcia 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
| 9/29 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +15.0 | LAA 4, OAK 2 | Shohei Ohtani, (W 15‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | +14.0 | SF 6, COL 4 | Carlos Rodón, (W 14‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| +6.0 | LAD 5, SD 2 | Andrew Heaney, (W 4‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | `CLE 2, TB 1 | Cal Quantrill | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | SEA 10, TEX 9 (F/11) | Mitch Haniger, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | DET 10, KC 3 | Tucker Barnhart, C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 2, PHI 0 | Keegan Thompson, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 5, BAL 3 | J.D. Martinez, DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | MIA 4, MIL 2 | Avisail García, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | CHW 4, MIN 3 | Liam Hendriks, (S 34) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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.
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 24.7 | 40.8 | 55.3 | 55.3 | +8.6 |
| Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 19.8 | 31.5 | 40.5 | 56.6 | +8.1 |
| Thompson, Keegan 4579 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +9.0 |
| Heaney, Andrew 3515 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 | 13.0 | 32.1 | 36.1 | +3.0 |
| Quantrill, Cal 4195 | pi sp | cle al | 5.0 | 10.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | -0.7 |
| Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi cp | chi al | 4.0 | 11.0 | 22.0 | 25.0 | -3.0 |
| Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh | bos al | 3.5 | 14.2 | 40.7 | 57.9 | -7.2 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | fla nl | 2.5 | 7.7 | 19.9 | 30.9 | -2.7 |
| Haniger, Mitch 3772 | rf | sea al | 1.5 | 9.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 | -6.0 |
| Barnhart, Tucker 3519 | ca | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 7.5 | +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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| WSH | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 3.4 | 13.8 | 18.5 | 18.5 |
| CIN | Ashcraft, Graham 4645 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| CHC | Sampson, Adrian 4147 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| BAL | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 21.7 | 29.4 |
| NYY | German, Domingo 3957 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| PHI | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 51.5 |
| WSH | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 7.7 | 12.7 | 35.4 | 35.4 |
| TOR | Manoah, Alek 4424 | 12.1 | 22.8 | 22.8 | 22.8 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 11.7 | 14.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| CLE | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 3.0 | 14.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 13.7 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| DET | Alexander, Tyler 4196 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| NYM | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 9.4 | 26.1 | 86.4 | 131.5 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 16.0 | 27.8 | 44.5 | 44.5 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 21.1 | 30.8 | 40.2 | 40.2 |
| MIL | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 13.4 | 31.5 | 42.2 | 42.2 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 11.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 14.0 | 19.0 | 29.4 | 29.4 |
| PIT | Oviedo, Johan 4442 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 40.3 | 40.3 |
| TEX | Otto, Glenn 4584 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 16.8 | 29.9 | 68.4 | 124.0 |
| OAK | Waldichuk, Ken* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 13.1 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 20.1 |
| COL | Kuhl, Chad 3687 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 13.7 | 15.7 |
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 9.0 | 22.4 | 73.9 | 257.6 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 25.0 | 25.0 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 6.7 | 14.1 | 26.5 | 57.9 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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