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 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
Padres pitcher Michael Wacha is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Monday, May 15.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 2 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 3 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 7.4 |
| 4 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 |
| 5 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 6 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 7 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.1 |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 9 | Keller, Mitch 4230 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 10 | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | det al | 6.0 |
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Also Monday, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors for his batting performance. He also rises to first place among AL batters after qualifying Monday to rank among batters for the first time in 2023.
Player of the Day—Wacha struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Royals.
Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, 15th among all players and sixth among National League pitchers.
Wacha no-hit the Royals for seven innings before giving up a lead-off single to Michael Massey to open the eighth inning.
American League Player of the Day—Shohei Ohtani of the Angels hit a three-run homer, tripled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Orioles.
Ohtani earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.4 for the season, rising from 10th to third place in season player rankings, behind Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (7.7) and Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom (7.7).
Ohtani also ranks second among AL pitchers behind deGrom and now ranks first among AL batters after qualifying Monday to rank among batters for the first time in 2023. To rank in a certain category, a player must have more than 25 percent of their Player of the Game honors in that category. This is Ohtani’s second Player of the Game honor of 2023 as a designated hitter and his sixth overall (the other four came as a starting pitcher). Since Ohtani now has one-third (33.3 percent) of his Player of the Game honors as a batter, he qualifies to rank among batters and now leads second-place AL batter Aaron Judge of the Yankees (4.5 points), who also earned Player of the Game honors Monday.
During the past two seasons, there were periods in which Ohtani qualified to rank among both batters and pitchers, but he finished both 2021 and 2022 ranked solely among pitchers because he earned such an overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors as a pitcher. This, even though he played far more games at designated hitter than pitcher. In only his 2018 rookie season did Ohtani qualify to rank among both pitchers and batters, winning Player of the Game honors six total times—three as a pitcher and three as a designated hitter. He qualified only as a designated hitter in 2019, as he recovered from Tommy John surgery and did not pitch that season.
This is the first time Ohtani won Player of the Game honors as a designated hitter in a game in which he also served as starting pitcher. Rules changes in 2022 allowed Ohtani to play both positions in a game, allowing him to continue batting even after he was pulled as a pitcher. This was the 24th time since the start of 2022 that Ohtani has earned Player of the Game honors and the seventh time he has done it as a designated hitter. The other six times he did it, he did not also serve as starting pitcher in those games.
However, prior to rules changes allowing him to play two positions in a game, Ohtani did win Player of the Game honors for batting when serving as a starting pitcher on April 26, 2021.
Ohtani had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +5.0 for batting and -4.0 for his pitching performance (7IP 4H 5R 2BB 5K W). His +5.0 game score was the same as three other batters who won Player of the Game honors Monday, but Ohtani ranked ahead of them on tiebreakers because he either had more at bats or more hits.
Notably, Ohtani ranked ahead of two Player of the Game-winning AL batters with +5.0 game scores:
Aaron Judge of the Yankees (2HR 2-2 2R 3BI in the 7-4 win over the Blue Jays).
Cal Raleigh of the Mariners (2HR 3-5 3R 4BI in the 10-1 win over the Red Sox).
National League Batter of the Day—Brenton Doyle of the Rockies hit two homers, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-8 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Shohei Ohtani.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ohtani earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Doyle earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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
| 5/15 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +16.0 | SD 4, KC 0 | Michael Wacha, (W 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| +12.0 | STL 18, MIL 1 | Jack Flaherty, (W 3‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| +8.2 | ATL 12, TEX 0 | Charlie Morton, (W 5‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| +8.0 | ARI 5, OAK 2 | Merrill Kelly, (W 4‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| AL | +5.0 | LAA 9, BAL 5 | Shohei Ohtani, DH | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | SEA 10, BOS 1 | Cal Raleigh, C | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | COL 9, CIN 8 | Brenton Doyle, CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | NYY 7, TOR 4 | Aaron Judge, RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | `HOU 6, CHC 4 | Ryne Stanek, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | WSH 10, NYM 3 | Joey Meneses, DH | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAD 9, MIN 8 (F/12) | Max Muncy, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | SF 6, PHI 3 | Michael Conforto, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 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. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 7.4 | 32.1 | 62.7 | 62.7 | -17.3 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.0 | 13.4 | 28.5 | 55.2 | -3.4 |
| Judge, Aaron 3767 | cf rf dh | nyy al | 4.5 | 17.7 | 36.7 | 47.9 | -8.7 |
| Muncy, Max 3969 | 3b | lad nl | 4.0 | 11.2 | 28.7 | 28.7 | -3.2 |
| Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 | 14.0 | 29.0 | 29.0 | -8.0 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | rf | sf nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 19.7 | 30.7 | +2.5 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 12.4 | 60.7 | 96.1 | -8.4 |
| Raleigh, Cal 4481 | ca | sea al | 2.0 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -5.5 |
| Meneses, Joey 4725 | dh rf 1b | dc nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -2.0 |
| Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 43.3 | 43.3 | +1.0 |
| Doyle, Brenton 4803 | cf | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Stanek, Ryne 4014 | pi mr | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’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 |
| LAA | Silseth, Chase 4605 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| PIT | Ortiz, Luis 4738 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| DET | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 14.5 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 2.7 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 20.8 | 20.8 |
| NYY | German, Domingo 3957 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 26.4 | 26.4 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 7.0 | 19.7 | 41.1 | 76.4 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 3.7 | 13.7 | 50.1 | 58.5 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 27.4 | 35.4 |
| TB | Beeks, Jalen 4047 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| NYM | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 1.0 | 27.0 | 79.6 | 233.6 |
| MIL | Miley, Wade 3006 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 64.5 |
| STL | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 1.0 | 10.4 | 21.1 | 27.1 |
| ATL | Shuster, Jared* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Dunning, Dane 4317 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 4.0 | 19.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 1.0 | 14.7 | 57.3 | 57.3 |
| CHW | Lynn, Lance 2992 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 49.2 | 113.8 |
| CIN | Williamson, Brandon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Anderson, Chase 3328 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 16.4 | 42.8 |
| ARI | Henry, Tommy* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| OAK | Muller, Kyle 4454 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| SD | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 14.7 | 19.7 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 3.0 | 17.4 | 59.2 | 71.9 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 21.1 | 60.9 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 6.1 | 16.8 | 58.6 | 265.4 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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