How impressive was Madison Bumgarner in postseason? Of 32 total playoff games, he was top player in five

How impressive was Madison Bumgarner’s postseason performance?

The ace starting pitcher earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times in the Giants’ World Series-winning playoff run. That means he was top player in 15 percent of the 32 postseason games played. He was top player in 29 percent of the 17 postseason games the Giants played. He was top player in 42 percent of the 12 postseason games the Giants won. And he was top player in 71 percent of the seven games in which he appeared.

By comparison, Bumgarner earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 15 times in his 33 regular season starts. Bumgarner ranked third among all players in regular season Box-Toppers points with 22.6 (see Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings), so his regular season was pretty impressive. But if he were to maintain his pace this October throughout a regular season, he would have something like 45.0 Box-Toppers points for a season. That would shatter the all-time record for Box-Toppers points in a single season of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).

See a recap of who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in all 32 of the 2014 postseason games in the chart below. Bumgarner’s five top player honors are highlighted in red text.

Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors were far and away the most by any player in the 2014 postseason. Four other players were each Player of the Game twice during the postseason:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

Nineteen players each earned Player of the Game honors once during the 2014 postseason.

Bumgarner also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in all 32 postseason games. On Oct. 1, in the NL Wild Card Game, Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0—he pitched a complete game 8-0 shutout over the Pirates, striking out 10.

Bumgarner also had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the postseason’s 32 Players of the Game (+13.0 in his World Series Game 5 shutout of the Royals, 5-0). In fact, Bumgarner had five of the 10 highest Box-Toppers game scores of all 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees (see the chart of the top 10 at the bottom of the post).

Three of Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors came during the World Series as the Giants defeated the Royals four games to three.

Wade Davis had the highest Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game honoree among Royals players in the postseason. His game score of +6.0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ranks as 10th-highest in the 2014 postseason among Player of the Game honorees.

Pitchers monopolized the top 10 chart for highest Box-Toppers game score among Player of the Game honorees. The highest game score among batters was +3.0 by Hunter Pence of the Giants when he was Player of the Game in World Series Game 4.

The lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +1.0 by Travis Ishikawa in Game 3 of the NLCS. The second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +2.0 by Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who hit a pinch-hit home run in Game 2 of the NLCS. Taveras was killed in a car accident Oct. 26, 12 days after the game.

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 Player of the Game for each 2014 postseason game

Listings below are chronological, starting from the first Wild Card Game on Sept. 30 to the final World Series Game on Oct. 29—32 games in all (out of a total of 43 possible games if all series went the distance). On days where more than one game was played, players are listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. There is a different background color for each postseason round—Wild Card round in yellow, League Division Series round in green, League Championship Series round in blue and World Series in red. Madison Bumgarner’s name is highlighted in red text in his five Player of the Game postseason honors.

Date	Round	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
9/30	ALWC	2.0	Royals	Eric Hosmer 1B	4	2	3	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/1	NLWC	14.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	10
10/2	ALDS	3.0	Orioles	Nelson Cruz DH	4	2	2	3	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/2	ALDS	3.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/3	ALDS	4.0	`Royals	Yordano Ventura	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	5
10/3	NLDS	3.2	Giants	Jake Peavy (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	2	0	0	3	3
10/3	NLDS	3.0	Cardinals	Matt Carpenter 3B	5	2	2	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/3	ALDS	3.0	Orioles	Delmon Young PH	1	0	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/4	NLDS	10.0	`Dodgers	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	7
10/4	NLDS	9.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	3	7
10/5	ALDS	8.1	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	0	0	2	6
10/5	ALDS	3.0	Royals	Norichika Aoki RF	3	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/6	NLDS	7.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	8
10/6	NLDS	3.0	Nationals	Doug Fister (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	3	3
10/7	NLDS	3.2	`Giants	Ryan Vogelsong	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	2	1	1	2	4
10/7	NLDS	2.0	Cardinals	Matt Adams 1B	3	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/10	ALCS	6.0	Royals	Wade Davis (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4
10/11	NLCS	9.2	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	1	7
10/11	ALCS	2.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/12	NLCS	2.0	Cardinals	Oscar Taveras PH	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/14	ALCS	3.0	`Royals	Kelvin Herrera (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/14	NLCS	1.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	0	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/15	NLCS	5.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	1	4
10/15	ALCS	4.1	Royals	Jason Vargas (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	2	1	1	3	6
10/16	NLCS	2.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	1	1	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/21	WS	6.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	5
10/22	WS	3.0	Royals	Omar Infante 2B	3	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/24	WS	3.0	`Royals	Wade Davis (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/25	WS	3.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	5	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/26	WS	13.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	8
10/28	WS	3.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	3	1	2	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/29	WS	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Most dominating Players of the Game in 2014 postseason

Here are the top 10 Box-Toppers game scores for 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees, representing the most dominating performances in the 32 playoff games. Madison Bumgarner of the Giants had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in the 2014 postseason (+14.0) and also had five of the top 10 game scores among 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees.

Date	Round	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
10/1	NLWC	14.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	10
10/26	WS	13.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	8
10/4	NLDS	10.0	`Dodgers	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	7
10/11	NLCS	9.2	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	1	7
10/4	NLDS	9.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	3	7
10/5	ALDS	8.1	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	0	0	2	6
10/6	NLDS	7.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	8
10/29	WS	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4
10/21	WS	6.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	5
10/10	ALCS	6.0	Royals	Wade Davis (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Kershaw earns win, but chances diminish to break Box-Toppers single-season points record

SPECIAL REPORT

Kershaw's 2014 starts

Here are Clayton Kershaw's starts for 2014. BTP/gm indicates how many Box-Toppers points he earned in each game (2.0 for overall Player of the Day, 1.7 for NL Player of the Day, 1.0 for top Player of the Game and 0.0 if he did not earn Player of the Game honors.

	Start	BTP /gm	Result
1	Mar 22, 2014	2.0	W
2	May 6, 2014	1.0	W
3	May 11, 2014	0.0	ND
4	May 17, 2014	0.0	L
5	May 23, 2014	2.0	W
6	May 28, 2014	0.0	L
7	Jun 2, 2014	1.7	W
8	Jun 8, 2014	1.0	W
9	Jun 13, 2014	1.0	W
10	Jun 18, 2014	2.0	W*
11	Jun 24, 2014	2.0	W
12	Jun 29, 2014	1.7	W
13	Jul 4, 2014	1.7	W
14	Jul 10, 2014	2.0	W
15	Jul 20, 2014	0.0	ND
16	Jul 26, 2014	2.0	W
17	Jul 31, 2014	1.0	W
18	Aug 5, 2014	0.0	ND
19	Aug 10, 2014	1.0	W
20	Aug 16, 2014	0.0	L
21	Aug 21, 2014	1.7	W
22	Aug 27, 2014	2.0	W
23	Sep 2, 2014	2.0	W
24	Sep 8, 2014	1.0	W
25	Sep 14, 2014	1.7	W
26	Sep 19, 2014	0.0	W

* No-hitter BTP: Box-Toppers points

Clayton Kershaw’s chance to break the single-season Box-Toppers point record took a hit Friday, even though his team won the game and he earned his 20th win of the season.

Most BTP single season

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now has the sixth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 30.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014. The single-season record of 33.7 was set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
5	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
6	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	30.5
7	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
8	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
9	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
10	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Kershaw failed to earn Player of the Game honors in the Dodgers’ 14-5 win over the Cubs. While he leads the Majors in Box-Toppers points with 30.5, his chances to break Randy Johnson’s all-time single-season record of 33.7 (set with the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002) seem greatly diminished. With likely only one start remaining this season, the most he can earn is 2.0 more Box-Toppers points (for being Player of the Day in his next start), which would give him 32.5 for the season.

There is an outside chance Kershaw could squeeze two more starts into the Dodgers’ final eight games of the season, pitching one of the starts on short rest. If so, Kershaw may still have a chance to pass Johnson’s single-season record, but only if he earns at least National League Player of the Day honors (worth 1.7 Box-Toppers points each) in both starts. 

While Kershaw earned the win—his 20th of the season—it was the first time this season in which he failed to earn at least Player of the Game honors when he earned the win. He pitched five innings and gave up seven hits and three runs (all earned), walked three and struck out nine. His Box-Toppers game score Friday was −2.

Player of the Game was catcher A.J. Ellis, who homered twice and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs. He had the high Box-Toppers game score among Dodgers players of +5. It is the first time this season Ellis has earned Player of the Game honors. Ellis earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. More on Friday's games.

Kershaw has made 26 starts this season and earned Player of the Game honors in 19 of them—all his previous wins. Of the 19 times he earned Player of the Game, he was NL Player of the Day five times and overall Player of the Day eight times. 

Kershaw’s 30.5 Box-Toppers points ranks sixth among the highest Box-Toppers points recorded in a single season (going back to 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Only two other players have earned at least 30 Box-Toppers points in a single season—Johnson (who did it three times—in 1999, 2000 and 2002) and Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox (who did it twice—1999 and 2000).

Kershaw, top NL player for Sunday, Sept. 14, becomes only 3rd player in 20 seasons with 30 Box-Toppers points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Sunday’s National League Player of the Day, becomes only the third player in the past 20 years to earn 30 Box-Toppers points in a single season.

Most BTP single season

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now has the sixth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 30.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014 and has a chance to break the single-season record of 33.7 set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
5	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
6	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	30.5
7	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
8	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
9	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
10	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Kershaw, who earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points, now has 30.5 for the season and with possibly two starts remaining, still has a chance to break the single-season record for Box-Toppers points of 33.7, set twice by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in 2000 and 2002. 

If Kershaw has two starts remaining, he would need to earn at least NL Player of the Day in both starts—worth 1.7 points each—to pass Johnson’s record. He could have as many as 34.5 total points if he is Player of the Day (earning 2.0 points each) in both starts.

Kershaw joins Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only players who have earned 30 or more Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Johnson scored 30 three times (1999, 2000 and 2002) and Martinez did it twice with the Red Sox (1999 and 2000). So Sunday marked only the sixth time in 20 seasons that a player has passed the 30-point threshold.

Kershaw earned his 1.7 points Sunday by striking out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Giants. Kershaw extends his overall lead in Box-Toppers points for the season (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page), with 7.9 points more than the second-place player, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (22.6 Box-Toppers points).

With points earned Sunday, Kershaw moves from seventh to sixth place on the Box-Toppers “all-time” single-season points list, passing the 29.4 Randy Johnson earned in 2001 with the Diamondbacks.

Meanwhile, Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Archer struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays. Archer earned no decision because after he left, the Blue Jays tied the game before the Rays went ahead in the top of the 10th inning.

Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 32nd among all players and 18th among American League pitchers.

Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Bogaerts homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Royals.

Neil Walker of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. Walker homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Cubs.

Notables: Athletics pitcher Jon Lester rose to 13th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Lester (6IP 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.

Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann rose to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Zimmermann (6.2IP 0R 5K W in the 3-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks ninth among NL pitchers.

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to 43rd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Keuchel (7IP R W in the 6-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 21st among AL pitchers.

Archer and Keuchel on Sunday both passed 10.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. They are the 47th and 48th players this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Archer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts and Walker each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

914	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	`Rays	Chris Archer	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	3	9
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Xander Bogaerts SS	4	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	5.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W, 19-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	7	2	2	1	9
	5.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W, 11-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	4
	5.0	Twins	Trevor May (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	3	3	0	10
	5.0	Athletics	Jon Lester (W, 15-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	4	7
	4.2	Nationals	Jordan Zimmermann (W, 12-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	6	0	0	1	5
	4.2	Cardinals	Marco Gonzales (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	4	1	1	4	9
	4.2	`Orioles	Chris Tillman	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	1	1	1	6
	4.0	Rangers	Luis Sardinas 2B	5	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Pirates	Neil Walker 2B	4	2	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Brewers	Matt Garza (W, 8-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	3	6
	2.0	Tigers	J.D. Martinez LF	3	1	2	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Zeke Spruill (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	1	1
	2.0	Marlins	Steve Cishek (S, 35)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	1	3

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Clayton Kershaw has chance to pass Randy Johnson's record for most Box-Toppers points in a season

SPECIAL REPORT

Most BTP single season

Randy Johnson is the all-time leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season—he scored 33.7 twice, in 2000 and 2002. In 20 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping, players have scored 25.0 or more points in a season only 19 times. They are listed below. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers reached the 25.0 point threshold in 2014 on Wednesday (he now has 25.8), the second time in his career he has had 25.0 or more points. And with a month to go in the season, he has a chance to break Randy Johnson's record for most Box-Toppers points in a season.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
5	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
6	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
7	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
8	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
9	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4
10	Johan Santana	Twins	pi sp	2004	26.8
11	Pedro Martinez	Expos	pi sp	1997	26.7
11	CC Sabathia	Indians/Brewers	pi sp	2008	26.7
13	Randy Johnson	Mariners/Astros	pi sp	1998	26.4
14	John Smoltz	Braves	pi sp	1996	26.1
14	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2011	26.1
16	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1998	25.8
16	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	25.8
18	Johan Santana	Twins	pi sp	2006	25.7
19	Cliff Lee	Phillies	pi sp	2011	25.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has a chance to become the “all-time” leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season.

Kershaw, Wednesday’s Player of the Day, now has 25.8 Box-Toppers points this season and has an outside chance of catching the “all-time” single season leader, Randy Johnson, who scored 33.7 points in a season twice when he was pitching for the Diamondbacks—in 2000 and 2002.

Kershaw's 2014 starts

Here are Clayton Kershaw's starts for 2014. BTP/gm indicates how many Box-Toppers points he earned in each game (2.0 for overall Player of the Day, 1.7 for NL Player of the Day, 1.0 for top Player of the Game and 0.0 if he did not earn Player of the Game honors.

	Start	BTP /gm	Result
1	Mar 22, 2014	2.0	W
2	May 6, 2014	1.0	W
3	May 11, 2014	0.0	ND
4	May 17, 2014	0.0	L
5	May 23, 2014	2.0	W
6	May 28, 2014	0.0	L
7	Jun 2, 2014	1.7	W
8	Jun 8, 2014	1.0	W
9	Jun 13, 2014	1.0	W
10	Jun 18, 2014	2.0	W*
11	Jun 24, 2014	2.0	W
12	Jun 29, 2014	1.7	W
13	Jul 4, 2014	1.7	W
14	Jul 10, 2014	2.0	W
15	Jul 20, 2014	0.0	ND
16	Jul 26, 2014	2.0	W
17	Jul 31, 2014	1.0	W
18	Aug 5, 2014	0.0	ND
19	Aug 10, 2014	1.0	W
20	Aug 16, 2014	0.0	L
21	Aug 21, 2014	1.7	W
22	Aug 27, 2014	2.0	W

* No-hitter
BTP: Box-Toppers points

With a month to go in the season, Kershaw likely has four or five more starts remaining. He would need to earn 8.0 Box-Toppers points—equivalent to earning Player of the Day honors four times—to pass Johnson’s 33.7. While that seems unlikely, he did have a stretch of five starts this season (from his June 18 no-hitter through July 10) in which he scored 9.4 Box-Toppers points, earning Player of the Day three times (2.0 Box-Toppers points each) and NL Player of the Day twice (1.7 Box-Toppers points each).

Kershaw’s accomplishment this season is all the more remarkable because he missed six weeks on the disabled list from late March through early May. In his 22 starts this season, he has been Player of the Day seven times (earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each time), NL Player of the Day four times (earning 1.7 points each time) and Player of the Game five times (earning 1.0 each time). In only six of his 22 starts has he failed to earn at least Player of the Game honors.

Johnson has the most Box-Toppers points in a single season, however, record keeping began in 1995, so his “all-time” record covers only the past 20 seasons. Only 19 times in the past 20 seasons has a player earned more than 25.0 Box-Toppers points in a season. And this season is the second time Kershaw has achieved that. In 2011, Kershaw had his best season when he earned 26.1 Box-Toppers points.

While Kershaw’s current 25.8 Box-Toppers points is currently tied for 16th place in Box-Toppers highest points for a season, it is only one of five times in the past 10 seasons that a player has reached 25.0 points. The other four times:

• In 2008, CC Sabathia, pitching for the Indians and Brewers, had 26.7 Box-Toppers points.

• In 2011, Kershaw had 26.1.

• In 2006, Johan Santana of the Twins had 25.7 Box-Toppers points.

• In 2011, Cliff Lee of the Phillies had 25.4 Box-Toppers points.

All 14 other instances in which a player had 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points happened from 1995 to 2004. The top eight times happened from 1999 to 2002. Johnson earned four of those top eight top spots in four consecutive seasons, leading all players in Box-Toppers points in each of those seasons. All 19 players on the list are starting pitchers.