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Miguel Tejada has the most Box-Toppers points of any shortstop since tracking began in 1995.
Tejada, who played from 1997 to 2013 primarily for the Athletics and Orioles, but also for the Astros, Giants, Padres and Royals, earned 102.3 career Box-Toppers points. That is 25.9 Box-Toppers points ahead of the second-place shortstop in career Box-Toppers points, Derek Jeter (76.4), who played for the Yankees from 1995 to 2014.
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Jacob deGrom struck out seven over seven innings, allowing two runs and four hits to lead the Mets to a win Tuesday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.
deGrom is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, while Alcides Escobar was Player of the Game in the Royals Game 4 win over the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series.
deGrom had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 to lead all Mets players, as the Mets took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Yoenis Cespedes had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets batters of +1.0 (2B 3-5 R 2BI).
During the regular season, deGrom had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players and third among NL pitchers.
It is the second time this postseason deGrom has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game in the NL Division Series Game 1 win over the Dodgers.
The series resumes Wednesday with Game 4 in Chicago (more details below).
Alcides Escobar went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs, as the Royals took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Escobar had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, highest among Royals players. Lorenzo Cain had the second-highest score of +3.0 (2-3 R 3BI).
During the regular season, Escobar had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 283rd among all players, 60th among AL batters and fifth among AL shortstops.
The series resumes Wednesday with Game 5 in Toronto (more details below).
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/20 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 5.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| POG | 4.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Wednesday:
The pitching match-up Wednesday:
Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers. Volquez was Player of the Game in the ALCS Game 1 win over the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 85th among all players, 34th among AL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
The pitching match-up Wednesday:
Mets—Steven Matz, 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 298th among all players, 76th among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Jason Hammel, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 52nd among all players, 22nd among NL pitchers.
Oct. 21, 2015 is the day in the “Back to the Future” movies in which the Cubs are predicted to win the World Series in a sweep over Miami, a city without a Major League team in the 1980s when the movies were made. It could actually be the day in which the Cubs are swept in the NLCS.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, to win Game 1 of the American League Championship Series and earn Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0. Alcides Escobar, who hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a run, had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters, +2.0.
Volquez, during the regular season had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/16 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 5.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
Coming Saturday:
The pitching match-up Saturday:
Blue Jays—David Price, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, second among AL pitchers.
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
The pitching match-up Saturday:
Cubs—Jon Lester, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Looking at Box-Toppers points leaders over three time spans (2015, 2014-15 and 2010-15) and selecting AL & NL All-Star teams.
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Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez is Thursday’s Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, Phillies pitcher Aaron Harang rises to fourth in Box-Toppers player rankings and Shane Victorino of the Red Sox scores a Box-Toppers point for the 10th season in a row.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Harang, Aaron 1599 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.1 |
| 5 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 5.0 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
Player of the Day—Sanchez struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 13-1 win over the Twins.
National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Aaron Harang pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out six, in the 4-2 win over the Pirates.
Harang rises to fourth in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 5.1 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Gerrit Cole of the Pirates (6.0).
National League Batter of the Day—Derek Norris of the Padres hit a three-run homer and a two-run triple in the 8-3 win over the Nationals.
American League Batter of the Day—Alcides Escobar of the Royals went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Streak—Shane Victorino of the Red Sox has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons.
Victorino was Player of the Game in Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Mariners (HR 2-3) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Victorino earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Phillies. His best season was 2009 with the Phillies, when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, 10th among NL batters. In 2014, he had 2.5 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox.
Victorino has 48.2 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 24th among active batters currently in the AL.
Scoring—Sanchez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Harang earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Norris and Escobar each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/14 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Tigers | Anibal Sanchez (W, 3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| NL | 8.0 | Phillies | Aaron Harang (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6.0 | Rays | Erasmo Ramirez (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Padres | Derek Norris C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Reds | Marlon Byrd LF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.1 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S, 12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | Cubs | Pedro Strop (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez RF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Astros | Chad Qualls (S, 4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Red Sox | Shane Victorino RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Reliever Wade Davis held the lead for the Royals, shutting down the Giants in the eighth inning and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors for Friday in Game 3 of the World Series.
Davis pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two, as the Royals beat the Giants 3-2 to take a 2-1 game lead in the best-of-seven series.
Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the highest of any Royals player in Friday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1 win over the Orioles. In the Royals’ 10 postseason wins this year, Davis is the first player from the team to earn Player of the Game honors more than once.
Davis did not earn a win or a save in the game and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a roundabout, but not uncommon fashion. Davis earned the honor because:
• He had a higher Box-Toppers game score than the winning or saving pitcher who otherwise would have been Player of the Game.
• He had the same or more innings pitched as that player.
In Game 3, Royals closer Greg Holland—who earned the save—would have been Player of the Day, pitching a scoreless ninth inning and striking out one. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. However, two other Royals pitchers (see the chart below) had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Holland:
• Brandon Finnegan (0.2IP 0R K, Box-Toppers game score +1.2). However, Finnegan would not qualify for Player of the Game because though his game score was higher than Holland’s, he had fewer innings pitched.
• Davis, who beat Holland for the honor because he had the same number of innings pitched (one) and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0 vs. +1.0).
During the regular season, Davis had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 117th among all players, 42nd among AL pitchers and first among AL middle relievers.
In close, low-scoring games, such as Game 3, Player of the Game honors often goes to relief pitchers who can hold the lead. In fact, only one Royals batter had a Box-Toppers game score of 0 or better—Alcides Escobar (2B 2-4 2R) had a game score of 0. Only five Royals (including four relief pitchers) had game scores of 0 or better.
Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, who earned the win, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3 (5IP 4H 2R 0K). Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson, who earned the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.8 (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K).
Coming Saturday:
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.
Vargas has started twice this postseason (ALDS Game 1 and ALCS Game 4) and Vogelsong has started twice (NLDS Game 4 and NLCS Game 4). Both have earned Player of the Game honors once:
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top five Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Wade Davis, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Only five Royals players had game scores of 0 or better. Alcides Escobar was the Royals' highest-scoring batter, with a game score of 0.
| 1024 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1.2 | Royals | Brandon Finnegan (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.1 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright takes the lead Wednesday among players in Box-Toppers points for the season—but he does it with his bat.
Wainwright is Wednesday's National League Batter of the Day, earning 1.5 Box-Toppers points, giving him 19.2 for the season. He passes previous Box-Toppers leader, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (19.0), who had led since Sept. 6. Wainwright, who rises from fourth to first place in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the updated top 10 list on the home page), leads for the first time this season.
Wainwright went 3-for-3 and drove in two runs in the 4-3 win over the Rockies. He is the sixth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting.
Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is Wednesday's Player of the Day. Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings in the 8-0 win over the Tigers. Iwakuma earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, putting him in 17th place in player rankings.
Padres pitcher Tyson Ross is National League Player of the Day. Ross struck out seven over seven innings in the 3-2 win over the Pirates. Ross picked up a no-decision because he exited with the Padres trailing, but the team came back to take the lead in the top of the ninth.
Alcides Escobar of the Royals is American League Batter of the Day. Escobar went 2-for-4, drove in two runs and stole home in the 7-2 win over the Indians.
Notables: Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday are among the top 40 in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season:
Iwakuma receives 2.0 Box-Toppers
points for being Player of the Day. Ross receives 1.7 for NL Player
of the Day. Wainwright and Escobar each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Wednesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 918 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 13-6) | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | `Padres | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tyson Ross | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Brewers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tyler Thornburg (W, 3-1) | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 3.2 | Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | David Huff (W, 3-1) | 3.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |||
| BAT | 3.0 | Cardinals | Adam Wainwright P | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | `Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Archer | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 3.0 | `Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cory Rasmus | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3.0 | Twins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Glen Perkins (S, 36) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2.0 | Reds | Billy Hamilton CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Mets | Zach Lutz PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Diamondbacks | Martin Prado 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Craig Kimbrel (S, 48) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| BAT | 1.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Orioles | Matt Wieters C | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0.0 | Marlins | Giancarlo Stanton RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.