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Braves pitcher Spencer Strider had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2023 to 2024.
Strider led all players in 2023 with 21.1 Box-Toppers points but earned just 1.0 point in 2024, a 20.1-point decline, which is also the fifth-largest decline (in regular-length seasons) since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Ryan Weathers is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.
Weathers struck out seven over five scoreless innings, allowing three runs hits, walking none, in the 3-0 win over the Astros.
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The Atlanta Braves are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2024, with a roster mostly intact from 2023 when they had baseball’s best record.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are Box-Toppers’ top two American League teams, with the Mariners having one of the best offseason improvements of any team so far. And also, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have made big offseason splashes adding Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez, their offseason ranking has actually fallen from third place last season to fourth place now.
Read MoreThe World Series champion Texas Rangers, leaders among all teams in Box-Toppers points in 2023, also led all teams in points earned by pitchers. The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, which finished third overall among all teams, had the most points won by batters in 2023.
Read MoreSix of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards in 2023 were also among the leaders at their positions in 2023 Box-Toppers point totals.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers, analyzing traditional box scores, tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2023 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider.
The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to nine batters in each league are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
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Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Braves were voted 2023 Most Valuable Player award winners. While Ohtani was also Box-Toppers’ choice as AL MVP, Pete Alonso of the Mets was Box-Toppers’ NL MVP leader over Acuña.
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels was voted 2023 American League Most Valuable Player Wednesday. He was also Box-Toppers’ choice as AL MVP.
However, in the National League, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves was voted MVP—he finished second in Box-Toppers’ NL MVP ballot behind Pete Alonso of the Mets.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Gausman struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks, in the 6-1 win over the Yankees.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is the clear-cut choice for Comeback Player of the Year in the American League, but three different National League players have won 2022 comeback awards, none of whom were among Box-Toppers’ top NL resurgent players.
Read MoreSeven of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards Thursday were also among the leaders at their positions in 2022 Box-Toppers point totals.
Read MoreThe San Diego Padres hold the advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies in the upcoming 2022 National League Championship Series.
Going into the postseason, both teams would have been voted Least Likely to Succeed, as they are the two-lowest seeded NL playoff teams and both rank lowest in Box-Toppers rankings among NL postseason teams.
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Trade deadline deals helped both the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres rise closer to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings this week.
But the top two spots in Box-Toppers team rankings remain the same with the New York Yankees in first place and the top National League team, the Los Angeles Dodgers in second.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Nestor Cortes is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
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Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 10.1 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 9.4 |
| 7 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
| 8 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 |
| 9 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
Carrasco struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Orioles.
Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season, rising to sixth place among all players and third among American League pitchers, behind Ervin Santana of the Twins (11.4) and Chris Sale of the Red Sox (10.1).
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Dan Straily struck out six over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Nationals. Straily picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the Marlins trailed, 1-0, when he exited.
Straily earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to sixth place among NL pitchers, 12th overall.
Opposing pitcher Max Scherzer of the Nationals had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning, but gave up two hits and two unearned runs that inning, picking up the loss. Had the Nationals won, Scherzer (8IP 2H 2R 0ER BB 11K L) would have been overall Player of the Day with a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0, beating out Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco’s Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. But Scherzer picks up no Box-Toppers points in the loss.
Scherzer ranks second in Box-Toppers points on the season with 13.0, behind overall leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.4).
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Drury of the Diamondbacks doubled and went 4-for-6, scoring once and driving in six runs, in the 16-5 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning grand slam in the 6-4 win over the Red Sox. Perez also went 3-for-3.
Notable—Craig Stammen of the Padres (2B 1-1 R in the 3-2 win over the Cubs) became the fourth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting.
Debuts—Four players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with their first career Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Straily earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Drury and Perez each earn 1.5 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.
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.
| 6/21 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | CLE 5, BAL 1 | Carlos Carrasco (W,8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| 7.0 | MIN 4, CHW 2 | Jose Berrios (W,7-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | 6.0 | `MIA 2, WSH 1 | Dan Straily | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | ARI 16, COL 5 | Brandon Drury, 2B | 6 | 1 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | KC 6, BOS 4 | Salvador Perez, C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | LAD 8, NYM 2 | Rich Hill (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | STL 7, PHI 6 (F/10) | Jose Martinez, PH-RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 5, OAK 1 | Mike Fiers (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | `ATL 5, SF 3 (F/11) | Sean Newcomb | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | TB 8, CIN 3 | Chase Whitley (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 8, LAA 4 | Austin Romine, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 4, PIT 3 | Domingo Santana, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 7, TEX 5 | Steve Pearce, LF | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | SEA 7, DET 5 | Tony Zych (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | SD 3, CHC 2 | Craig Stammen, P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 9.4 | 21.8 | 50.5 | 55.9 | -3.0 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.7 | 14.7 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 0.7 |
| Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 3.5 | 7.5 | 22.7 | 25.2 | -0.5 |
| Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b | ari nl | 3.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 | 17.4 | 21.4 | 41.1 | -11.4 |
| Whitley, Chase 3352 | pi cp mr | tb al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 3.0 |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | hou al | 2.7 | 7.7 | 28.8 | 28.8 | -2.3 |
| Pearce, Steve 2371 | lf | tor al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| Santana, Domingo 3507 | rf | mil nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| Stammen, Craig 2506 | pi mr | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 1.0 |
| Martinez, Jose 3830 | rf ph | stl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Newcomb, Sean 3831 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Romine, Austin 3832 | ca | nyy al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Zych, Tony 3833 | pi mr | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Seth Smith of the Mariners is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Smith hit two homers—a solo homer and a three-run shot—and went 2-for-2, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Astros.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 20.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 10 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, two walks and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Drury of the Diamondbacks hit a game-winning, 12th-inning single in the 10-9 win over the Dodgers. Drury also homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs.
This was Drury’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Drury made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2015, and was playing in his 141st career game. He is the 3,744th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall Player of the Day was AL batter Seth Smith.
Notable—Hanley Ramirez of the Red Sox has the highest season Box-Toppers point total among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Ramirez (2HR 3-4 2R 4BI in the 5-4 win over the Yankees) has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 107th among all players and 22nd among AL batters.
Debuts—In addition to Drury, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut with their first career Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Smith earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Reyes earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Drury earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/18 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | SEA 7, HOU 3 | Seth Smith, RF | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 7.0 | STL 3, SF 0 | Alex Reyes (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 7.0 | LAA 4, TOR 0 | Alex Meyer (W,1-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 5.2 | `NYM 3, MIN 2 | Gabriel Ynoa | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | BOS 5, NYY 4 | Hanley Ramirez, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | `BAL 2, TB 1 | Wade Miley | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | ARI 10, LAD 9 (12) | Brandon Drury, LF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CIN 7, PIT 4 | Tucker Barnhart, C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | KC 10, CHW 3 | Kendrys Morales, DH | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 9, CLE 5 | J.D. Martinez, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 6, WSH 2 (7) | Adonis Garcia, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 5, TEX 2 | Khris Davis, DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | COL 6, SD 3 | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 3, CHC 1 | Tyler Thornburg (S,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | MIA 5, PHI 4 | Derek Dietrich, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Ramirez, Hanley 2119 | 1b | bos al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 29.7 | 57.6 | 7.0 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf dh | oak al | 6.7 | 10.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 2.7 |
| Morales, Kendrys 2142 | dh | kc al | 6.5 | 11.2 | 21.2 | 37.2 | 1.8 |
| Thornburg, Tyler 3195 | pi cp | mil nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 6.0 |
| Martinez, J.D. 2922 | rf | det al | 5.5 | 7.2 | 17.2 | 17.2 | 3.8 |
| Miley, Wade 3006 | pi sp | bal al | 5.0 | 12.0 | 35.4 | 35.4 | -2.0 |
| Smith, Seth 2489 | rf lf | sea al | 5.0 | 6.0 | 24.0 | 38.2 | 4.0 |
| Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | col nl | 4.0 | 8.0 | 28.2 | 51.4 | 0.0 |
| Garcia, Adonis 3613 | 3b | atl nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Reyes, Alex 3706 | pi mr sp | stl nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Dietrich, Derek 3199 | 2b 3b | fla nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| Barnhart, Tucker 3519 | ca | cin nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Drury, Brandon 3744 | lf | ari nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Meyer, Alex 3742 | pi sp | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Ynoa, Gabriel 3743 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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.