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.
Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Alcantara struck out eight over three scoreless and hitless innings, allowing no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Astros. Alcantara did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Astros took the lead after he exited.
Alcantara 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.
Alcantara earned 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2022, third overall and first among National League pitchers. He had the most 2022 Box-Toppers points among Friday’s Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Game winners.
This is his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2023 spring training. He also did it March 18.
American League Player of the Day—Royals pitcher Brad Keller struck out nine over five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.
Keller would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Keller earned 6.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 44th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Jose Barrero of the Reds hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
Barrero earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2022.
American League Batter of the Day—Cal Raleigh of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 15-3 win over the Athletics.
Raleigh earned 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2022, seventh among AL batters.
Notable—In addition to Alcantara, four other players also earned their second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2023 spring training Friday:
Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (7IP 4H 2R 2BB 12K W in the 11-2 win over the Rays) also earned Player of the Game honors March 18 when he was Player of the Day. Scherzer earned 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 24th among NL pitchers.
Rockies pitcher German Marquez (6IP 3H R 0BB 7K W in the 9-4 win over the Brewers) also earned Player of the Game honors March 14 when he was Player of the Day. Marquez earned 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 66th among NL pitchers.
White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease (6IP 4H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 12-0 win over the Athletics) also earned Player of the Game honors March 19. Cease earned 20.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, fourth overall and third among AL pitchers.
Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman (5.2IP 5H R 0ER BB 5K W in the 5-3 win over the Rangers) also earned Player of the Game honors March 2. Stroman earned 5.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 51st among NL pitchers.
In Friday’s 17 spring training games, two ended in a tie in which no Player of the Game honor was awarded (see chart below for game details). In the remaining 15, 12 who earned Player of the Game honors have earned Box-Toppers points in the past (see those players here); the remaining three 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, Alcantara would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keller would have earned 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Barrero and Raleigh would have each earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter 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
| 3/24 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | `MIA 3, HOU 2 | Sandy Alcantara | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| +9.0 | NYM 11, TB 2 | Max Scherzer, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| +8.0 | COL 9, MIL 4 | German Márquez, (W 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +8.0 | SD 3, LAA 0 | Blake Snell, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| AL | +8.0 | KC 3, SF 0 | Brad Keller, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | CIN 7, ARI 4 | Jose Barrero, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | TOR 6, PHI 3 | Alek Manoah, (W 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SEA 15, OAK 3 | Cal Raleigh, C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | CHW 12, OAK 0 | Dylan Cease, (W 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| +3.2 | CHC 5, TEX 3 | Marcus Stroman, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +3.0 | MIN 6, NYY 4 | Emmanuel Rodriguez, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BOS 9, ATL 8 | Rob Refsnyder, PH‑RF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BAL 7, NYY 6 | Kyle Stowers, LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CLE 5, CHC 3 | Eli Morgan, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | STL 7, WSH 1 | Justin Toerner, PR‑RF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | MIL 6, LAD 6 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | PIT 6, DET 6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 0.0 | 21.1 | 40.2 | 40.2 |
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 0.0 | 20.4 | 36.8 | 36.8 |
| Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | sd nl | 0.0 | 13.1 | 65.4 | 74.4 |
| Manoah, Alek 4424 | pi sp | tor al | 0.0 | 13.1 | 23.8 | 23.8 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | nym nl | 0.0 | 10.0 | 79.6 | 236.3 |
| Raleigh, Cal 4481 | ca ph | sea al | 0.0 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| Keller, Brad 4008 | pi sp | kc al | 0.0 | 6.4 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | chi nl | 0.0 | 5.7 | 26.7 | 54.5 |
| Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 0.0 | 4.7 | 47.5 | 52.2 |
| Morgan, Eli 4497 | pi mr sp | cle al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Refsnyder, Rob 4422 | rf | bos al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Barrero, Jose 4703 | ss | cin nl | 0.0 | 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | Kluber, Corey 3200 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 37.7 | 125.1 |
| TB | Chirinos, Yonny 4039 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| ATL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 22.4 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| ATL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| STL | Cabrera, Genesis 4348 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYY | Vasquez, Randy* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 65.2 | 89.7 |
| KC | Greinke, Zack 1871 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 46.3 | 222.5 |
| LAD | May, Dustin 4214 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| SD | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 11.7 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 70.7 | 131.5 |
| MIL | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| OAK | Fujinami, Shintaro* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Elias, Roenis 3309 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 19.4 |
| LAA | Bachman, Sam* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 27.9 | 27.9 |
| ARI | Solomon, Peter* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 0.0 | 14.4 | 49.5 | 76.2 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 15.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 43.1 | 85.3 |
| BAL | Wells, Tyler 4428 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| PIT | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 19.1 | 28.1 |
| DET | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.7 | 28.8 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 0.0 | 12.7 | 34.1 | 69.4 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| NYM | Megill, Tylor 4464 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| CHW | Lynn, Lance 2992 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 49.2 | 113.8 |
| CIN | Overton, Connor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 56.3 | 56.3 |
| COL | Kauffmann, Karl* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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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