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.
Michael Massey of the Royals is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
Massey hit a grand slam and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-5 win over the White Sox.
Massey 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.
Massey earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2022.
National League Player of the Day—Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees.
Donovan would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Donovan earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 42nd among NL batters.
AL and NL Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Wednesday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Michael Massey and the NL Player of the Day is batter Brendan Donovan.
Notable—Ryan Mountcastle of the Orioles has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points among Wednesday’s spring training Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
Mountcastle (GS 2B 2-3 2R 4BI in the 7-4 win over the Pirates) earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 27th among AL batters and fourth among AL first basemen.
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 Wednesday’s nine spring training games, one ended in a tie in which no Player of the Game honors were awarded (see chart below for game details). In the remaining eight, five 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, Massey would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Donovan would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Wednesday’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
| 3/8 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +7.0 | KC 14, CHW 5 | Michael Massey, 2B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | BAL 7, PIT 4 | Ryan Mountcastle, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.1 | `DET 2, WSH 1 | Eduardo Rodriguez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| NL | +4.0 | STL 4, NYY 0 | Brendan Donovan, 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | `LAA 4, COL 3 | Chase Silseth | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | `ARI 2, TEX 0 | Tommy Henry | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 10, SD 9 | Austin Hendrick, RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIN 7, TOR 0 | Kala’i Rosario, PH‑RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | SEA 2, LAD 2 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountcastle, Ryan 4325 | 1b | bal al | 0.0 | 5.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Donovan, Brendan 4603 | ss 3b lf 2b | stl nl | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Silseth, Chase 4605 | pi sp | ana al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Massey, Michael 4749 | 2b | kc al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | det al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 34.8 | 54.2 |
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.
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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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 14.5 |
| PIT | Hill, Rich 2215 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 28.4 | 79.2 |
| TOR | Hutchison, Drew 3038 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 26.0 |
| TB | Molina, Anthony* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Wells, Tyler 4428 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| PHI | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 27.4 | 35.4 |
| NYY | Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 0.0 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 0.0 | 12.7 | 34.1 | 69.4 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 32.1 | 46.1 |
| LAD | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| OAK | Rucinski, Drew 4001 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SD | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 23.5 | 50.2 |
| CLE | Gaddis, Hunter* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 38.8 | 38.8 |
| SF | Hjelle, Sean* | 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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