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Ivan Brethowr of the Cubs is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Thursday’s first spring training game of 2025.
Brethowr hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the 12-4 win over the Dodgers. Brethowr went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in three runs.
Brethowr would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day if this were a regular season game—1.0 for being Player of the Game and 1.0 bonus point for being overall Player of the Day. (There was only one game played Thursday.) However, because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Brethowr had a +4.0 Box-Toppers game score, highest among Cubs players Thursday, to win Player of the Game honors.
Brethowr has no career Box-Toppers points. In fact, Thursday was his first Major League game of any kind. He was drafted by the Cubs in the seventh round of the June 2024 Major League amateur draft and played 23 games for the Cubs’ minor league Class A team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Brethowr would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
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).| 2/20 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +4.0 | CHC 12, LAD 4 | Ivan BrethowrPH‑DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 2025 (’25)†, last year (’24), over a five-year period (’20-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25† | ’24 | ’20‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Krehbiel, Joey 4562 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| NYY | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 26.4 | 65.2 |
| LAD | Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 25.5 | 28.5 |
| CHC | Wicks, Jordan 4912 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 46.8 | 82.3 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| COL | Blalock, Bradley* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 64.6 | 67.6 |
| SEA | Diaz, Jhonathan 4594 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SD | Bergert, Ryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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 2025.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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, game-by-game view.
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