Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka, Cubs' Jake Arrieta top players in Wednesday's LCS games

Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Wednesday’s League Championship Series games.

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Yankees' Todd Frazier tops players in AL Championship Series Game 3

Todd Frazier of the Yankees is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 3.

The Astros lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

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NLCS preview: Dodgers enter rematch against Cubs with more favorable stats, but L.A. declining since midseason, while Chicago is rising

The 2017 National League Championship Series is a rematch of the 2016 series between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. But this year, the tables are turned.

Last year, the Cubs were kings, leading Box-Toppers team rankings in 2016 almost wire-to-wire, and coming into their NLCS matchup against the Dodgers holding practically every advantage. This year, they’ve scraped together their success with a pitching staff that is little more than half as good as it was when it led them to a World Series title in 2016.

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Dallas Keuchel tops players in Friday's ALCS opener, as Astros take Game 1 over Yankees

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

Keuchel struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Yankees. The Indians take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

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Addison Russell tops players in Thursday's NL Division Series Game 5, as Cubs eliminate Nationals

Addison Russell of the Cubs is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game in National League Division Series Game 5, as the Cubs eliminate the Nationals.

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Jake Arrieta tops players in World Series Game 6 as Cubs tie series with Indians, 3-3

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 6 Tuesday.

The Chicago Cubs win 9-3 and even the best-of-seven game series with the Cleveland Indians at three games apiece, setting up a decisive Game 7 Wednesday.

Arrieta struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, three hits and three walks, earning the win. Arrieta had the highest Box-Toppers game score of all Cubs players, +4.2.

This is the second time this postseason (and second time in the World Series) Arrieta has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game. He was also top player in the Game 2 win against the Indians.

Arrieta had 15.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. In 2015, he led all players in Box-Toppers points with 29.1.

Shortstop Addison Russell had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+4.0) among Cubs batters (GS 2B 2-5 R 6BI). Russell was the leading candidate for Box-Toppers Player of the Game during much of Game 6 after his third-inning grand slam homer, but his game score fell just below Arrieta’s after hitless at-bats later in the game.

Indians starting pitcher Josh Tomlin had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of −10.9 (2.1IP 6H 6R BB 0K L).

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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top Cubs in World Series Game 6: Cubs 9, Indians 3

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 6 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
4.2 * Jake Arrieta (W,2-1) - - - - - - 5.2 3 2 2 3 9
4.0 Addison Russell, SS 5 1 2 6 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 5 3 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.1 Travis Wood - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 4 2 2 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Mike Montgomery - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 1 0
-1.8 Pedro Strop - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 1 0
-1.9 Aroldis Chapman - - - - - - 1.1 1 1 1 1 1
-2.0 Kyle Schwarber, DH 4 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Javier Baez, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-3.0 Willson Contreras, C 3 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-4.0 Jason Heyward, RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-5.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 5 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Wednesday in Cleveland:

World Series Game 7, Cubs at Indians, series tied, 3-3

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among National League pitchers. Hendricks was Player of the Game in the National League Championship Series Game 6 vs. the Dodgers.

Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among American League pitchers. Kluber was Player of the Game in AL Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox, in AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays, in World Series Game 1 vs. the Cubs and World Series Game 4 vs. the Cubs.

Kluber has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game four times during the postseason, more than any other player and twice during the World Series, tied with Arrieta of the Cubs.

Kluber is Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked AL pitcher in 2016 with 21.2 Box-Toppers points.

Given that, the Indians should be favored in Game 7. But Kluber is pitching on short rest. But again, he’s done that before in Game 4 and earned Player of the Game honors.

Hendricks has only been Player of the Game once this postseason. In his previous World Series start in Game 3, which the Cubs lost, he didn’t do badly. He had a positive Box-Toppers game score, +2.1 (4.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 6K ND). Unlike Kluber, he is pitching on full rest and making just his second appearance in the World Series. And though he has fewer regular season Box-Toppers points than Kluber, Hendricks is among the top 10 NL pitchers in 2016.

Given how both managers have put starters on a short leash and relied on middle relievers and closers to carry the load, it would be odd to see both pitchers go deep in a Jack Morris-John Smoltz style Game 7 1991 World Series pitching duel.

It would be far more likely to see the bullpens handle the load, as has happened most of the series. That would give the Indians the edge with strong relievers Cody Allen (7.0 Box-Toppers points) and Andrew Miller (8.0 Box-Toppers points), neither of whom pitched Tuesday. The Cubs counter with their closer Aroldis Chapman (7.4 Box-Toppers points), but Chapman pitched Tuesday and had a long 2 2/3-inning outing to secure Game 5 on Sunday.

But on the other hand, the Cubs have the best starting pitching line-up in baseball and have the luxury of bringing in two of their starting aces in relief in Game 7. Both Jon Lester (22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth, third among NL pitchers) and John Lackey (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers) would be available as relievers for the season’s final game. 

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 6 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 6 progressed:

Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Sunday, Sept. 11, rising to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings and extending his lead among American League pitchers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 11:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 23.7
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 20.4
3 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 20.2
4 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
5 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp chi nl 18.1
6 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 16.8
7 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 15.1
8 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 14.4
9 Hill, Rich 2215 pi sp lad nl 14.4
10 Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 pi sp nyy al 14.1
What are those numbers after players' names?

Kluber struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 7-1 win over the Twins.

Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.2 for the season. He rises from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0). He extends his lead among AL pitchers, trailed by Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8).

Kluber becomes the fourth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the second time in his career Kluber has earned 20 or more points. In 2014, he had 25.8 points to lead AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers.

National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Astros.

American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 11-8 win over the Blue Jays.

Notable—Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy becomes the 38th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Kennedy (6IP H 0R 4BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 38th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.

It is Kennedy’s second season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2011, he had 19.4 points with the Diamondbacks, fifth among NL pitchers.

Also notable—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 126.1 career Box-Toppers points—37th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Weaver (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rangers) now trails 36th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time" list. Weaver has 3.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urena earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Russell and Bradley each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/11 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 CLE 7, MIN 1 Corey Kluber (W,16-9) - - - - 7.0 4 1 0 2 10
NL 8.2 MIA 3, LAD 0 Jose Urena (W,4-6) - - - - 8.2 4 0 0 0 4
7.0 KC 2, CHW 0 Ian Kennedy (W,11-9) - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 4 6
6.1 `MIL 2, STL 1 Zach Davies - - - - 7.1 5 1 1 1 7
5.0 SF 5, ARI 3 Matt Moore (W,10-11) - - - - 7.0 8 2 2 1 11
5.0 WSH 3, PHI 2 Gio Gonzalez (W,11-9) - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 5
4.2 LAA 3, TEX 2 Jered Weaver (W,11-11) - - - - 6.2 4 2 2 2 8
BAT 4.0 CHC 9, HOU 5 Addison Russell, SS 4 3 3 2 - - - - - -
3.0 CIN 8, PIT 0 Brandon Phillips, 2B 4 3 3 1 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 BOS 11, TOR 8 Jackie Bradley, CF 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 NYM 10, ATL 3 Yoenis Cespedes, LF 4 1 1 5 - - - - - -
3.0 `COL 3, SD 2 (10) Chad Bettis - - - - 7.0 4 2 2 1 5
3.0 BAL 3, DET 1 Chris Tillman (W,16-5) - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 1 4
3.0 TB 4, NYY 2 Alex Colome (S,32) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 SEA 3, OAK 2 Edwin Diaz (S,15) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game Pos Team 16 15-16 11-16 Career +/-
Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 20.2 33.6 64.4 64.4 6.8
Kennedy, Ian 2723 pi sp kc al 10.0 16.7 60.5 66.5 3.3
Moore, Matt 2975 pi sp sf nl 9.7 9.7 35.2 35.2 9.7
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 cf lf nym nl 8.0 18.9 39.9 39.9 -2.9
Colome, Alex 3189 pi cp tb al 8.0 13.0 16.7 16.7 3.0
Tillman, Chris 2754 pi sp bal al 8.0 12.7 41.8 43.8 3.3
Bettis, Chad 3481 pi sp col nl 6.7 12.1 12.1 12.1 1.3
Gonzalez, Gio 2626 pi sp dc nl 6.0 15.7 72.8 86.5 -3.7
Davies, Zach 3581 pi sp mil nl 6.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 3.0
Diaz, Edwin 3690 pi cp sea al 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 cf bos al 5.5 15.0 16.0 16.0 -4.0
Russell, Addison 3559 ss chi nl 3.5 6.0 6.0 6.0 1.0
Weaver, Jered 2178 pi sp ana al 3.0 10.7 65.3 126.1 -4.7
Urena, Jose 3492 pi sp fla nl 2.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 1.7
Phillips, Brandon 1691 2b cin nl 2.0 4.7 30.2 64.1 -0.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer ‘most worthy but unchosen' player for 2016 All-Star Game

A look at the All-Star rosters based on Box-Toppers points. Which players were worthy but unchosen? Which players made it but probably shouldn't have?

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Cardinals' Lackey tops players for Thursday, Sept. 17; Angels' Trout rises to 2nd among AL batters

Cardinals pitcher John Lackey is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits, in the 6-3 win over the Brewers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 17.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 23.1
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 22.7
3 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 20.4
4 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 20.1
5 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 19.7
6 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 19.4
7 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 19.4
8 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 17.1
9 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 17.0
10 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 17.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Lackey rises to 55th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 106.8 for his career. With his points Thursday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Aramis Ramirez (105.8) and Frank Thomas (106.2). (Thomas began his career in 1990, five years before Box-Toppers record keeping began. If his entire career were tracked, based on rough projections, Thomas would likely have about 145 career Box-Toppers points.) Lackey now trails 54th-place player Lance Berkman (108.1).

Lackey has 8.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 52nd among all players, 20th among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Omar Infante of the Royals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in seven runs, in the 8-4 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-6 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Omar Infante.

Notable—Mike Trout of the Angels rose to second place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Trout (2HR 2-3 3R 5BI in the 11-8 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to 29th place among all players.

Trout had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0 Thursday, the same as Omar Infante. But Infante won AL Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had more at bats than Trout—four vs. three. Had Trout earned AL Player of the Day honors instead of Infante and earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points, Trout would have had 11.7 points for the season, enough to pass AL batting leader Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5). But he didn’t.

Trout led AL batters in Box-Toppers points much of July and all of August, but was passed by other players in September. This was Trout’s first Box-Toppers point since July 26.

Debut—Orioles pitcher Chaz Roe made his Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Roe (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 4-3 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 1, 2013, and was playing in his 58th career game. He is the 3,597th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Infante earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Russell earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/17 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Cardinals John Lackey (W,12-9) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 2 8
AL 7.0 Royals Omar Infante, 2B 4 1 3 7 0 0 - - - - - -
7.0 Angels Mike Trout, CF 3 3 2 5 3 1 - - - - - -
7.0 Blue Jays Marco Estrada (W,13-8) - - - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 2 4
3.1 Orioles Chaz Roe (MR) (W,4-2) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 2
3.1 Marlins A.J. Ramos (S,28) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 Rangers Shin-Soo Choo, RF 5 2 4 2 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Athletics Sean Doolittle (W,1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 2
BAT 2.0 Cubs Addison Russell, SS 4 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -

Catching up on baseball with Box-Toppers, after falling behind by a ‘fair’ amount

Baseball proceeds whether we are ready or not.

In the past few weeks, other duties put me behind staying up-to-date with the Box-Toppers daily blog and I have been scrambling to catch up. I fell behind three weeks and three days ago, on Aug. 13 and only caught up today (Monday, Sept. 7) with yesterday’s games.

Usually when a person falls behind doing something, it’s best to just move ahead and ignore most of what was missed. But when you’re trying to keep comprehensive track of the baseball season, to assess and evaluate teams and players across an entire season, it is a mistake to simply ignore a chunk of the season, simply due to lack of convenience or lack of attention. So I’ve gone back and picked up the days I’ve missed, posting each day’s summary in the blog, even if was sometimes more than a week late.

During my catch-up phase, I did not post daily highlights to Box-Toppers’ Twitter and Facebook feeds. Instead, I’ve opted to post a summary of highlights of what was missed in the interim while I wasn’t posting to social media here in this post, with links to the relevant posts in the Box-Toppers blog:

New Box-Toppers leaders—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta took over the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings on Saturday, Sept. 5. Arrieta has 21.1 Box-Toppers points and passed previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who took the lead Wednesday, Sept. 2. (Kershaw has 20.7 Box-Toppers points.) Previously, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom led from July 26 to Sept. 1. He currently ranks third with 19.4 points.

Arrieta picked up 6.7 Box-Toppers points during the catch-up period (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6), including earning Player of the Day honors twice—on Sunday, Aug. 30 (when he pitched a no-hitter) and on Sept. 5.

New American League pitching leader—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel took the lead among AL pitchers on Sunday, Sept. 6 with 19.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Blue Jays pitcher David Price led AL pitchers. He currently ranks second among AL pitchers with 19.1 points.

New American League batting leader—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays took the lead among AL batters on Saturday, Aug. 29 with 10.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Mike Trout of the Angels led AL batters. Trout currently has 10.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks second among AL batters.

New National League batting leader—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies took the lead among NL batters on Thursday, Sept. 3 with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets took the lead among NL batters on Friday, Aug. 21 with 9.9 points. Before that, Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals led NL batters. He currently ranks fourth with 9.5 points.

New Box-Toppers team rankings leader—The Kansas City Royals took over the lead among teams at the last Box-Toppers team ranking report, as of Thursday, Sept. 3. The St. Louis Cardinals rose to top NL teams. For three weeks previously (Aug. 13, 20 and 27), the Pittsburgh Pirates were the top-ranked team. The Pirates ranked third as of Sept. 3.

Notable—Here are some notable achievements by players that happened during the catch-up phase (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6):

  • Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was the first player with 20.0 or more points this season, earning it on Wednesday, Sept. 2, the same day he took the Box-Toppers points lead. Kershaw, who led players in Box-Toppers points in three of the past four seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014) and led National League pitchers the past four seasons, has now exceeded 20.0 Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons. Kershaw also rose to 15th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He has 154.3 career Box-Toppers points.
  • Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon rose to 22nd place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995. He earned Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31, giving him 138.5 Box-Toppers points.
  • Michael Cuddyer of the Mets extended to 12 the number of consecutive seasons in which he’s earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point on Sunday, Aug. 30.
  • Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the catch-up period and is currently ranked sixth among all players with 18.0 points. In addition, with his point earned Tuesday, Sept. 1, Greinke has 143.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.
  • Astros pitcher Mike Fiers pitched a no-hitter on Friday, Aug. 21, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
  • Carlos Beltran of the Yankees earned Box-Toppers points in his 17th straight season, tying the record for the longest-active season streak on Friday, Aug. 14. 

Debuts—Twenty-three players made their Box-Toppers debut during the catch-up phase. Here is the list with links to the blog post for the day they made their debut with more information:

•

So what was I doing that was keeping me from Box-Toppers? I served as a volunteer coordinator for our local high school band’s major fundraiser. Over the course of the 11-day Iowa State Fair, I helped wrangle nearly 300 student and parent volunteers to fill 550 volunteer spots to serve ice cream and shakes at the fair’s Dairy Barn.

It’s a task that requires a few months of preparation to set up—to get volunteers signed up, to comply with various red-tape regulations and to develop and implement logistics to make it all work. But when the fair starts, the task can sometimes become even more time-consuming. As soon as the fair started on Aug. 13, Box-Toppers fell to the wayside. 

My last “on-time” post was Thursday, Aug. 13, covering the games of Wednesday, Aug. 12. The very next post was more than a week later on Friday, Aug. 21, covering the games of Thursday, Aug. 13. After the fair ended on Aug. 23, I kept plugging away, finally catching up two more weeks later.

The fundraiser went well, by the way. All our volunteers made it, worked hard, had a little fun (and a little ice cream) and raised a lot of money for our high school band program. It was my fifth and final year of coordinating volunteers for the fundraiser. And though it put me a little behind updating the Box-Toppers blog, it was a lot of fun and now that it’s over, tremendously satisfying.

And now, with my attention returned more fully to baseball, onto the homestretch of the season …

Red Sox' Jackie Bradley (2HR 5-6 5R 7BI) tops players for Saturday, Aug. 15

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Saturday, Aug. 15.

Also, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander rose to 34th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 15.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 18.4
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 16.7
3 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 16.1
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
5 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 15.8
6 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
7 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 15.4
8 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 15.0
9 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 14.7
10 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Bradley hit two homers and three doubles, going 5-for-6, scoring five times and driving in seven runs, in the 22-10 win over the Mariners.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 8-4 win over the Braves.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Duffy of the Giants doubled twice, scored twice and drove in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday, Aug. 15, because the overall Player of the Day was AL batter Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox.

Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander rose to 34th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Verlander (7IP 3H 0R 7K ND in the 4-2 win over the Astros) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 120.9 for his career. He passed two players on the “all-time” list (since record keeping began in 1995), Jered Weaver (120.4 Box-Toppers points) and Cole Hamels (120.8 points). Verlander trails 33rd-place player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

Verlander’s 120.9 Box-Toppers points ranks third among active AL pitchers, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (178.0 Box-Toppers points) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (158.7 points).

Verlander has 2.7 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Also notable—Chris Davis of the Orioles has the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of all 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Davis (2HR 2-4 2R 3BI in the 4-3 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and third among AL batters.

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors.

  • Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey (6IP H 0R 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Aug. 5 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,558th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Addison Russell of the Cubs (2B 2-3 2R in the 6-3 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut April 21 and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,559th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bradley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Corbin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Duffy earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/15 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Red Sox Jackie Bradley Jr., RF 6 5 5 7 0 1 - - - - - -
9.0 `Tigers Justin Verlander - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 2 7
NL 8.2 Dbacks Patrick Corbin (W,3-3) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 3 8
7.0 Yankees Masahiro Tanaka (W,9-5) - - - - - - 9.0 5 1 1 3 8
7.0 Twins Tyler Duffey (W,1-1) - - - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 5 7
7.0 Pirates Joe Blanton (W,4-2) - - - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 1 6
5.0 Rangers Shin-Soo Choo, RF 4 3 3 3 1 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Royals Jarrod Dyson, CF 4 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Giants Matt Duffy, 3B 5 2 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Brewers Scooter Gennett, 2B 4 1 4 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Orioles Chris Davis, 1B 4 2 2 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Cardinals Mark Reynolds, 1B 4 2 2 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Dodgers Yasiel Puig, RF 3 2 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Padres Kevin Quackenbush (W,2-2) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 1
1.0 Cubs Addison Russell, SS 3 2 2 0 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Trade lifts Athletics to top of Box-Toppers team rankings, pushes Cubs to bottom

The trade Friday sending Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Chicago Cubs to the Oakland Athletics sends the Athletics to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings and the Cubs to the bottom. 

These players were traded from the Cubs to the Athletics:

• Pitcher Jason Hammel, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, previously ranked ninth among National League pitchers, now ranked 10th among American League pitchers. (Hammel had been the Cubs leader in Box-Toppers points.)

• Pitcher Jeff Samardzija, 3.0 Box-Toppers points. 

These players were reported to have been traded from the Athletics to the Cubs:

• Shortstop prospect Addison Russell, who has yet to make his Major League debut.

• Outfield prospect Billy McKinney, who has yet to make his Major League debut.

• Pitcher Dan Straily, who has 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season.

In the short term, the Athletics have a net gain of 10.7 Box-Toppers points—picking up the 11.7 points from the Cubs and losing Straily’s 1.0 point.

For Box-Toppers rankings, each team inherits the total points of players acquired and loses the points of players traded away. This provides the Athletics a huge boost. At the July 3 team rankings report, the Athletics were the second-ranked team with 59.9 Box-Toppers points, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (61.6). The trade would boost that total to 70.6, giving them a 9.0-point lead over the Dodgers.

Conversely, the trade puts the Cubs at the bottom of Box-Toppers rankings. As of July 3, the Cubs rank 20th among all teams with 45.9 Box-Toppers points. Their net loss of 10.7 points (nearly a quarter of their season total) gives them 35.2 for the season, below the current lowest-ranked team, the Arizona Diamondbacks (41.1 Box-Toppers points).

But of course, the Cubs are playing for the long term, hoping the prospects pan out to be stars, racking up huge Box-Toppers points in the coming seasons.