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.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
Kevin Smith of the Athletics is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Smith hit a walk-off grand slam, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-11 win over the Rangers.
Smith would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Smith made his Major League debut Aug. 18, 2021, and has played in 65 games over the past two seasons, but has yet to earn his first regular season Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
National League Player of the Day—Mike Brosseau of the Brewers homered, hit two doubles and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 12-3 win over the Guardians.
Brosseau would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Brosseau earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2022.
Brosseau had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +5.0, the same as another NL batter who won Player of the Game honors, Darick Hall of the Phillies (2HR 3-3 2R 3BI in the 10-4 win over the Pirates). But Brosseau beat Hall for NL Player of the Day honors because he had more runs batted in—four vs. three.
AL and NL Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Friday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Kevin Smith and the NL Player of the Day is batter Mike Brosseau.
Notable—Mets pitcher Justin Verlander has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points among Friday’s spring training Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
Verlander (3.1IP 3H R 0BB 5K W in the 7-2 win over the Astros) led all players in 2022 with 26.0 Box-Toppers points when he was with the Astros. Verlander has earned 232.6 career Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began and third among active players.
Box-Toppers tracks spring training games between two Major League teams and does not track World Baseball Classic games or other games that involve non-Major League teams. In Friday’s 16 spring training games, one ended in a tie in which no Player of the Game honor was awarded (see chart below for game details). In the remaining 15, 11 who earned Player of the Game honors have earned Box-Toppers points in the past (see those players here); the remaining four players have yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a regular season game.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Smith would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Brosseau would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would have earned 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
| 3/10 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +6.0 | OAK 12, TEX 11 | Kevin Smith, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| NL | +5.0 | MIL 12, CLE 3 | Mike Brosseau, 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | PHI 10, PIT 4 | Darick Hall, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | TOR 2, BOS 0 | Zach Thompson, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | CIN 6, ARI 5 | Christian Encarnacion‑Strand, 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | COL 8, SF 1 | C.J. Cron, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | STL 7, NYM 5 | Juan Yepez, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.1 | NYM 7, HOU 2 | Justin Verlander, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +3.0 | SEA 11, CIN 3 | Tom Murphy, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 7, WSH 2 | Austin Allen, C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 3, TB 2 | Nick Anderson, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 4, DET 3 | James Norwood, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `CHW 4, CHC 3 | Lucas Giolito | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | `LAD 6, LAA 5 | Andre Jackson | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `KC 1, SD 0 | Jordan Lyles | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | MIN 5, BAL 5 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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 would 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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2023. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for the period 2018-2022 (’18-22) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22 | ’18‑22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | nym nl | 0.0 | 26.0 | 78.6 | 232.6 |
| Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | col nl | 0.0 | 7.0 | 20.5 | 32.2 |
| Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 40.1 | 43.1 |
| Lyles, Jordan 3100 | pi sp | kc al | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| Thompson, Zach 4437 | pi sp | tor al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Hall, Darick 4674 | dh | phi nl | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Brosseau, Mike 4185 | 1b 2b ph | mil nl | 0.0 | 1.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Jackson, Andre 4748 | pi cp | lad nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Norwood, James 4587 | pi mr | nyy al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Murphy, Tom 4030 | ca | sea al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Anderson, Nick 4145 | pi cp mr | atl nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
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 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 41.3 | 41.3 |
| HOU | Whitley, Forrest* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Sale, Chris 2806 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 33.1 | 144.6 |
| MIN | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 29.7 | 29.7 |
| DET | Manning, Matt 4550 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 58.7 | 94.1 |
| NYY | Weber, Ryan 3598 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| PIT | Oviedo, Johan 4442 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| PHI | Plassmeyer, Michael* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYY | German, Domingo 3957 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| BAL | Voth, Austin 4082 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 39.8 | 43.8 |
| CHC | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| LAD | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 22.4 | 52.5 |
| OAK | Waldichuk, Ken 4757 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CLE | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| LAD | Covey, Dylan 3974 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 18.1 | 57.9 |
| CIN | Anderson, Chase 3328 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 16.4 | 42.8 |
| TEX | Ragans, Cole* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ari nl | Davies, Zach 3581 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 14.0 | 29.7 |
| LAA | Suarez, Jose 4425 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| SEA | Flexen, Chris 4368 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| COL | Urena, Jose 3492 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 23.4 |
| CHW | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 39.5 | 53.9 |
| SD | Snell, Blake 3688 | 0.0 | 13.1 | 65.4 | 74.4 |
| TB | Fleming, Josh 4316 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| MIA | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| KC | Bubic, Kris 4413 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| MIL | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 28.8 | 28.8 |
| NYM | Senga, Kodai* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include World Baseball Classic or games vs. non-MLB teams.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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