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.
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Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Bibee struck out five over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
Bibee 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.
Bibee earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 37th among American League pitchers.
This is Bibee’s second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2024 spring training season. He also did it March 8 (3IP 0H 0R 2BB 3K W in the 2-1 win over the White Sox).
National League Player of the Day
Brewers pitcher Joe Ross struck out eight over five innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 7-4 win over the Cubs.
Ross would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Ross earned 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023. He appeared in eight minor league games after recovery from 2022 elbow surgery. He last earned Box-Toppers points in 2021 with the Nationals. He earned 7.0 points, all in the first half of the season, finishing the year 42nd among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Alex Bregman of the Astros hit a pair of three-run homers, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 13-5 win over the Mets.
Bregman would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Bregman earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 23rd among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day
Edward Olivares of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 4-1 win over the Red Sox.
Olivares would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Olivares earned 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Royals, playing in 107 games. He earned 2.0 points in 2022 with the Royals, playing in 53 games that season.
Saturday’s games
In Saturday’s 18 completed spring training games featuring matchups between two Major League teams, there were 12 Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games.
Most notably, Mariners pitcher George Kirby (6IP 3H R BB 7K W in the 8-2 win over the White Sox) had the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners. Kirby earned 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, eighth among AL pitchers.
In three of Saturday’s games, the Player of the Game winner was a player who has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in the regular season and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Three games ended in a tie (Phillies vs. Yankees, Nationals vs. Cardinals and Rangers vs. Royals) and so no Player of the Game honors were awarded in any of those.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Bibee would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ross would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Bregman and Olivares would have each earned 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart) 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).| 3/23 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | CLE 5, ARI 0 | Tanner Bibee (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| NL | +8.0 | MIL 7, CHC 4 | Joe Ross (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | HOU 13, NYM 5 | Alex Bregman 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | SEA 8, CHW 2 | George Kirby (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | BOS 8, MIN 6 | Reese McGuire C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +6.0 | TB 5, ATL 2 | Aaron Civale (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | DET 10, TOR 7 | Andy Ibáñez DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | PIT 4, BOS 1 | Edward Olivares LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | BAL 6, TB 4 | Julio Teheran (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 11, SF 5 | Blaze Alexander 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | OAK 11, LAA 5 | Colby Thomas RF | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 6, COL 2 | Jeimer Candelario 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | DET 11, NYY 6 | Carson Kelly C | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.2 | BAL 3, TOR 2 | Tyler Wells (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +1.0 | MIA 5, WSH 3 | Tim Anderson SS | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | PHI 6, NYY 6 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | WSH 2, STL 2 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | TEX 1, KC 1 | 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 2024. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for the period 2019-2023 (’19-23) 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 | ’24 | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby, George 4595 | pi sp | sea al | 0.0 | 13.7 | 25.1 | 25.1 |
| Bibee, Tanner 4792 | pi sp | cle al | 0.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 0.0 | 6.0 | 29.2 | 40.4 |
| Civale, Aaron 4173 | pi sp | tb al | 0.0 | 6.0 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| Wells, Tyler 4428 | pi sp | bal al | 0.0 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| Ibanez, Andy 4496 | 2b | det al | 0.0 | 5.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 3b | cin nl | 0.0 | 4.0 | 17.0 | 19.0 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp mr | bal al | 0.0 | 2.7 | 10.7 | 74.9 |
| Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | fla nl | 0.0 | 1.5 | 18.5 | 27.5 |
| Olivares, Edward 4676 | dh lf | pit nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Kelly, Carson 4098 | ca | det al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Ross, Joe 3499 | pi sp | mil nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 24.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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 2024 (’24)†, last year (’23), over a five-year period (’19-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24† | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 35.8 | 62.2 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| TB | Littell, Zack 4533 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 32.2 | 45.3 |
| BAL | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 26.1 | 26.1 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 0.0 | 20.1 | 57.9 | 63.9 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 56.1 | 101.7 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 52.5 | 53.5 |
| BOS | Crawford, Kutter 4660 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| NYY | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 31.4 | 62.2 |
| PIT | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 17.5 | 34.5 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 34.2 | 92.4 |
| NYM | Severino, Luis 3567 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 14.4 | 58.2 |
| NYM | Megill, Tylor 4464 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| MIA | McCaughan, Darren* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| CHC | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 33.1 | 73.6 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 0.0 | 13.4 | 34.5 | 34.5 |
| CHW | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16.8 | 18.5 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 14.0 | 18.7 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 |
| MIL | Hall, DL* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAA | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| LAD | Miller, Bobby 4820 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2024.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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