Blog
Box-Toppers is voting for four players for 2023 Hall of Fame induction on the internet writers’ ballot—Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Box-Toppers is voting for four players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2023 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players: Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreDodgers rise to top team rankings. Astros fall to 2nd but remain top AL team. New York Mets had hottest week thanks to winning streak and trade for Cespedes.
Read MoreAstros remain active buyers and stay atop team rankings. Dodgers pass Cardinals in NL. Blue Jays, picking up Price & Tulo, gain most points in past week.
Read More
Giants pitcher Chris Heston is Tuesday’s Player of the Day and is one of three players to rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season.
Heston rises to seventh place Tuesday, while Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to second place and Eric Hosmer of the Royals rises to fifth.
| 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 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
Player of the Day—Heston pitched a complete game, allowing one run, two hits and striking out 10, in the 8-1 win over the Astros. Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, putting him in seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings, third among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Brewers.
National League Batter of the Day—Andre Ethier of the Dodgers homered, went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs, in the 11-1 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics homered, went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Red Sox.
Rankings—In addition to Heston, two other players rose in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
Scoring—Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Ethier and Reddick each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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
| 5/12 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | 11.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 4.2 | `Tigers | Alfredo Simon | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Dodgers | Andre Ethier RF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Mike Zunino C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Mark Trumbo RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Josh Harrison 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Rays | Chris Archer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.
Wood pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 5-0 win over the Reds.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Collin McHugh struck out 11 over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 3.7 |
| 2 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 3.0 |
| 3 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.7 |
| 4 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 2.5 |
| 5 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 |
| 6 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Gonzalez, Miguel 3062 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Wood, Travis 2777 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
National League Batter of the Day—Adeiny Hechavarria of the Marlins went 3-for-3 with a homer, two runs and three RBIs in the 6-2 win over the Braves. This was Hechavarria’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he earned Player of the Game honors. Hechavarria made his Major League debut Aug. 4, 2012, and was playing in his 344th career game. He is the 3,445th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays went 3-for-5, drove in three and scored twice, in the 12-7 win over the Rays.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Bauer (6IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 4-2 win over the White Sox) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.
Streak—Andre Ethier of the Dodgers has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. Ethier (2-3 2R BI) was Player of the Game in the 5-2 win over the Mariners to earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He began his 10-season streak in 2006, when he earned his first Box-Toppers point with the Dodgers. His best year was 2009 when he earned 8.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth among NL outfielders. In 2014, he had 1.0 point. Ethier has 46.3 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks him ninth among active outfielders currently in the NL.
Notable—Yadier Molina of the Cardinals on Wednesday earned his first Box-Toppers point since Sept. 15, 2013. Molina (3-4 BI) was Player of the Game in the 4-2 win over the Brewers and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He earned no Box-Toppers points in the 2014 season. Molina has 30.7 career Box-Toppers points, ranking second among active catchers currently in the NL (behind A.J. Pierzynski of the Braves, who has 45.7 points).
Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McHugh earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Hechavarria and Donaldson each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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
| 4/15 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Cubs | Travis Wood (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| AL | 8.2 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| 8.0 | Tigers | Alfredo Simon (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Marlins | Adeiny Hechavarria SS | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Angels | Hector Santiago (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Orioles | Brad Brach (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Adam Ottavino (S, 2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Wilson Ramos C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Padres | Justin Upton LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dodgers | Andre Ethier RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Glen Perkins (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Mets | Travis d`Arnaud C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Cardinals | Yadier Molina C | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Royals pitcher Will Smith is Monday's Player of the Day. Smith pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in middle relief, striking out eight and giving up only one hit in the 3-1 win over the Mariners.
Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels is National League Player of the Day. Hamels struck out eight and gave up only one run and two hits over seven innings in the 3-2 win over the Nationals. Hamels exited the game with the score tied 1-1, so was not eligible for the win.
Andre Ethier of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. Ethier homered, drove in three runs and went 3-for-4 in the 10-8 win over the Rockies.
Chris Colabello of the Twins is American League Batter of the Day. Colabello hit two home runs including a ninth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 10-6 win over the Astros.
Notables: Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez earned Player of the Game honors in the 4-3 win over the Cubs, but he won for his performance at the plate rather than the mound. Alvarez went 2-for-2 and hit a three-run homer.
Also, Freddie Freeman of the Braves rises to 32nd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Freeman (three-run HR, 5RBI in 13-5 win vs. Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season.
Smith receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hamels receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ethier and Colabello each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Monday'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
| 902 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.1 | Royals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Will Smith (W, 2-1) | 4.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| NL | 11.0 | `Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cole Hamels | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 9.1 | Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Esmil Rogers (W, 4-7) | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 8.0 | Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bud Norris (W, 10-10) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |||
| BAT | 5.0 | Dodgers | Andre Ethier CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Twins | Chris Colabello 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Angels | Erick Aybar SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4.0 | Marlins | Henderson Alvarez P | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4.0 | Padres | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ian Kennedy (W, 6-9) | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||
| 3.0 | Braves | Freddie Freeman 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Doug Fister (W, 12-7) | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Jose Tabata LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Reds | Zack Cozart SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.2 | Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | David Huff (W, 2-0) | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 1.1 | `Athletics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brett Anderson (H, 1) | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
` 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.