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David Ortiz is the only player inducted into internet baseball writers’ Hall of Fame for 2022.
None of the nine candidates Box-Toppers voted for Hall induction received the necessary 75 percent support. And Box-Toppers also did not vote for Ortiz.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is voting for nine players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2022 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Of the nine players, three are in their first year on the ballot—Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy and Mark Teixeira. The other six all return after not receiving the necessary votes to make the hall last year, including Curt Schilling, who is on the ballot for his 10th and final year.
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Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is Tuesday’s Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer extends his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.
Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 11 in the 5-2 win over the Phillies. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season. He is the 31st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 23rd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.
Scherzer bolstered his top spot among AL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Scherzer (7IP 9K ND in the 8-6 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season. He ranks second among all players, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 22.1 Box-Toppers points. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Scherzer ranks first among AL pitchers, ahead of the current second-place AL pitcher, Corey Kluber of the Indians (17.4 Box-Toppers points).
Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers is National League Player of the Day. Fiers struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Carl Crawford of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. Crawford homered and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-6 win over the Padres.
Omar Infante of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Infante hit three doubles, going 4-for-5, scoring a run and driving in four more, in the 7-4 win over the Rockies.
Notables: Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir rose to 12th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Kazmir (6IP R 6K W in the 6-2 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Strasburg (8IP R W in the 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Iwakuma receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Fiers receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Crawford and Infante each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Tuesday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 819 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 15.0 | Mariners | Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 12-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W, 10-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | Brewers | Mike Fiers (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Dodgers | Carl Crawford LF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Royals | Omar Infante 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Braves | Justin Upton LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Marlins | Sam Dyson (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Indians | Yan Gomes C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | *Cubs | Anthony Rizzo 1B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Scott Kazmir (W, 14-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2.2 | `Astros | Tony Sipp | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Jon Jay CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Angels | Chris Iannetta C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | `Tigers | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
* UPDATE: Thursday, August 21, 2014: Rizzo was named Player of the Game in the game that was initially ruled a final, rain-shortened game. However, the Giants protested the game and Major League Baseball upheld the protest. The now-suspended game is to resume in the bottom of the fifth inning on Aug. 21. Rizzo's 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned Aug. 19 will be removed and the game's top player will now be included among Aug. 21's games. Rizzo has 5.5 Box-Toppers points for the season and ranks 15th among NL batters. Before the point was removed, his 6.5 Box-Toppers points put him at seventh place among NL batters.
The National League Championship Series beginning Friday features the top two NL teams in Box-Toppers Team Rankings and the top three players in overall Box-Toppers points.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers begins in St. Louis. The Dodgers just edged out the Cardinals as top NL team in Box-Toppers points for the season with 122.7 (second place overall, behind the Detroit Tigers). The Cardinals were in second in the NL (third overall) with 122.4.
The Cardinals had the best actual winning percentage in the NL (.599). The Dodgers were in fourth (.568), behind the Cardinals, Braves and Pirates.
The Cardinals prevailed over the Pirates in the National League Division Series. The Pirates had 115.6 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked seventh overall. The Dodgers beat the Braves in their NLDS. The Braves had 111.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th overall.
The NLCS between the Cardinals and Dodgers features the top three players in Box-Toppers Player Rankings for the season:
In addition, Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller are both in the top 10 in Box-Toppers points among NL pitchers. Lynn ranks seventh with 16.1 points and Miller ranks ninth with 15.4.
Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams, along with the four most likely starting pitchers, the team's top closer and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player's Box-Toppers points earned in 2013, along with their overall rank among players for the season.
If you simply add together the Box-Toppers points of these 14 key players from each team, the Cardinals have 103.7 points and the Dodgers 98.7.
If you compare them position-by-position, the Cardinals have more players with higher Box-Toppers points totals. The Cardinals have the edge in seven positions, the Dodgers in six and they tie in one position (both first basemen Matt Adams and Adrian Gonzalez have 5.0 Box-Toppers points).
In general, the Cardinals edge the Dodgers among batters, with more offensive players with higher Box-Toppers points—in fact, Hanley Ramirez is the only Dodger batter with a higher Box-Toppers point total (5.0) than his Cardinals shortstop counterpart Pete Kozma (2.5).
All three likely starting outfielders for the Dodgers have Box-Toppers point totals of 2.0 or less, meaning they were very rarely the key contributor to Dodgers wins. Carl Crawford was Player of the Game twice during the season earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig was NL Batter of the Day in his second career game June 4, earning 1.5 points, his only points of the season. And Skip Schumaker, though he appeared in 125 games, did not earn Player of the Game honors during the season, earning 0.0 Box-Toppers points.
To be fair, Dodgers pitchers were often the key contributor to the team's wins, with higher Box-Toppers game scores and earning Player of the Game honors. In fact, Dodgers pitchers have a slight edge over the Cardinals, with two of the three top overall players in Box-Toppers points (Kershaw and Greinke). The Dodgers' closer, Kenley Jansen has more Box-Toppers points than Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal (9.7 to 6.0).
So: The Dodgers have the overall higher Box-Toppers Team Ranking. The Cardinals have a better winning percentage. The Dodgers have a slight edge in pitching. The Cardinals have a seeming clear edge among batters. The Dodgers have the edge in the pitching match-up in Game 1. The Cardinals have home-field advantage. Baseball's best three players this season (by Box-Toppers measures) will be in action. It promises to be a great series.
Coming Friday: Here is the pitching match-up for Game 1 of the NL Championship Series:
Dodgers: Zack Greinke, 19.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked third overall (see the Top 10 Player ranking list on the home page)
Cardinals: Joe Kelly, 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 264th overall
In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.
Likely starting players for the Cardinals and Dodgers listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2013 regular season and their overall player rank among all players
| Cardinals | BTP | Rank | Dodgers | BTP | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Matt Adams | 5.0 | 198 | Adrian Gonzalez | 5.0 | 175 | |
| 2B | Matt Carpenter | 7.5 | 100 | Mark Ellis | 3.5 | 295 | |
| SS | Pete Kozma | 2.5 | 408 | Hanley Ramirez | 5.0 | 177 | |
| 3B | David Freese | 5.5 | 154 | Juan Uribe | 3.0 | 323 | |
| CA | Yadier Molina | 4.0 | 253 | A.J. Ellis | 2.5 | 387 | |
| CF | Jon Jay | 5.5 | 162 | Skip Schumaker | 0.0 | 920 | |
| LF | Matt Holliday | 6.5 | 121 | Carl Crawford | 2.0 | 450 | |
| RF | Carlos Beltran | 2.5 | 378 | Yasiel Puig | 1.5 | 542 | |
| SP | Adam Wainwright | 20.2 | 2 | Clayton Kershaw | 21.7 | 1 | |
| SP | Lance Lynn | 16.1 | 11 | Zack Greinke | 19.4 | 3 | |
| SP | Joe Kelly | 4.0 | 264 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | 9.7 | 61 | |
| SP | Michael Wacha | 3.0 | 361 | Ricky Nolasco | 9.7 | 60 | |
| CP | Trevor Rosenthal | 6.0 | 147 | Kenley Jansen | 9.7 | 59 | |
| PI | Shelby Miller | 15.4 | 17 | Chris Capuano | 6.0 | 134 |
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.