Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Monday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Musgrove struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.
Musgrove earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 82nd among all players and 32nd among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run, one hit and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Royals.
Williams earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 71st among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers hit two home runs, a sacrifice fly and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-6 win over the Diamondbacks.
Freeman earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season, 15th among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day
Austin Slater of the Orioles doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-3 win over the White Sox.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 272.4 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Rangers | 253.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 247.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Retired | 179.3 |
| 12 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Retired | 175.1 |
| 13 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Retired | 174.2 |
| 14 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 15 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 168.7 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 18 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 19 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 161.3 |
| 20 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Retired | 160.9 |
Notable
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to 19th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Cole (6IP 4H R BB 9K W in the 8-4 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 161.3 career points, 19th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Monday, he passes John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” career points list. (It should be noted that Smoltz began his career before the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995. Box-Toppers projects he would have about 255 career points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked.)
Cole now trails 18th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8). (It should be noted that Clemens also began his career before the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995. Box-Toppers estimates he would have about 320 points if his entire career from 1984 were tracked.)
Cole ranks fifth among active, signed players in career points, third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Rangers (253.7) and Justin Verlander of the Astros (247.0).
Cole now has 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 42nd among AL pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Monday, Sept. 2:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 18.4 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 18.1 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 17.4 |
| 4 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 16.7 |
| 5 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 15.4 |
| 6 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 15.4 |
| 7 | Aaron Nola | pi sp | Phillies | 13.4 |
| 8 | Framber Valdez | pi sp | Astros | 13.4 |
| 9 | Bailey Ober | pi sp | Twins | 13.4 |
| 10 | Tanner Bibee | pi sp | Guardians | 13.0 |
Scoring
Musgrove earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Williams earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Freeman and Slater each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Monday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) 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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Monday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Brayan Bello, Red Sox7.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 72nd
▪️Luis Severino, Mets
6.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 94th
Result—NYM 4, BOS 1
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Bello had -7.0 B-T game score in loss (5IP 7H 4R BB 4K L).
Severino had +2.0 B-T game score (7IP 6H R 2BB 5K W).
Player of the Game—Phil Maton, Mets (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv) with +3.0 B-T game score.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+6.0—Jameson Taillon, Cubs (7IP 3H 0R BB 3K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. PIT.
Player of the Game—Dennis Santana, Pirates (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K Sv) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Josh Winckowski, Red Sox (3IP H 0R BB 4K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. NYM.
Player of the Game—Phil Maton, Mets (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv) with +3.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Mookie Betts, Dodgers (2B 2-4 3R 3BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. ARI.
Player of the Game—Teammate Freddie Freeman (2HR SF 2-3 2R 5BI) with +6.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 308 total players Monday, 82 pitchers-17.0—Slade Cecconi, Diamondbacks (IP 7H 5R BB 0K ND vs. LAD)
-14.8—Justin Verlander, Astros
-13.0—Zack Littell, Rays
-12.0—Andre Pallante, Cardinals
-11.9—Chad Kuhl, White Sox
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 226 total batters Monday-5.0—Yandy Diaz, Rays 0-5 K
-5.0—Enrique Hernández, Dodgers 0-5
-4.0—Adrian Del Castillo, Diamondbacks 0-4 3K
-4.0—Adolis García, Rangers 0-4 2K
-4.0—Jordan Walker, Cardinals 0-4 2K
-4.0—Jeremy Peña, Astros 0-4 2K
-4.0—Spencer Torkelson, Tigers 0-4 2K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Career Box-Toppers points—Active players
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) September 3, 2024
1—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 272.4
2—Max Scherzer #Rangers 253.7
3—Justin Verlander #Astros 247.0
4—Chris Sale #Braves 168.7
5—Gerrit Cole #Yankees 161.3*
6—Jacob deGrom #Rangers 139.2
*Earns 1.0 B-T point as Player of the Game Monday
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).| 9/2 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.0 | SD 3, DET 0 | Joe Musgrove (W, 5‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| AL | +8.0 | CLE 4, KC 2 | Gavin Williams (W, 3‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| +8.0 | NYY 8, TEX 4 | Gerrit Cole (W, 6‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | LAD 11, ARI 6 | Freddie Freeman 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | MIL 9, STL 3 | Jackson Chourio LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | BAL 13, CHW 3 | Austin Slater RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | OAK 5, SEA 4 | Shea Langeliers C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIN 5, TB 4 | Trevor Larnach LF‑RF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | NYM 4, BOS 1 | Phil Maton (S, 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | CIN 5, HOU 3 | Ty France 1B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PIT 5, CHC 3 | Dennis Santana (S, 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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 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 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’23-24), the period 2019-2024 (’19-24) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2024 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2023 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 7.0 | 14.0 | 57.5 | 67.2 | 0.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 23.0 | 100.4 | 161.3 | -11.0 |
| Chourio, Jackson 4970 | rf lf | mil nl | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | +5.7 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 5.5 | 15.5 | 42.2 | 91.4 | -4.5 |
| Langeliers, Shea 4715 | ca | oak al | 5.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +4.5 |
| Santana, Dennis 4275 | pi mr cp | pit nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +4.0 |
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -0.3 |
| Slater, Austin 3818 | rf | bal al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 13.0 | 16.0 | -1.5 |
| France, Ty 4243 | 1b | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 19.5 | 19.5 | -1.0 |
| Larnach, Trevor 4421 | lf rf | min al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Maton, Phil 4287 | pi cp mr | nym nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHW | Nastrini, Nick* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Povich, Cade 5029 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 4.0 | 11.1 | 38.2 | 96.4 |
| MIA | Meyer, Max 4965 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIN | Festa, David 5067 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| TB | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 4.0 | 7.7 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| PHI | Phillips, Tyler 5064 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 6.7 | 26.8 | 64.6 | 70.6 |
| BOS | Crawford, Kutter 4660 | 5.7 | 11.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 21.7 | 40.1 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 15.4 | 24.1 | 37.1 | 168.7 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 13.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | 21.7 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 10.0 | 15.0 | 33.7 | 33.7 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| CHC | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 36.1 | 76.6 |
| STL | Matz, Steven 3516 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 27.1 | 49.4 |
| MIL | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 5.4 | 11.4 | 33.8 | 33.8 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 46.2 | 69.3 |
| TEX | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 7.0 | 18.4 | 39.8 | 54.5 |
| LAD | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 44.5 | 59.6 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 3.7 | 10.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 10.7 | 26.8 | 65.2 | 81.6 |
| OAK | Ginn, J.T.* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 7.4 | 14.1 | 15.8 | 15.8 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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