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The Los Angeles Dodgers are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2025 but with player injuries factored in, the New York Mets hold the overall edge.
The current 2025 roster of last year’s World Series champion Dodgers accumulated 118.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, most of any team. However, with several players injured and expected to miss time in 2025, their injury-adjusted Box-Toppers point total drops to 106.7, fifth among all teams.
Read MoreMariners pitcher George Kirby is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to 10th place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Aaron Judge of the Yankees increases his 2024 Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters after earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, National League Most Valuable Player favorite Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, but only ranks 14th among NL batters in 2024 Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreMariners pitcher Bryce Miller is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
Miller struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the White Sox. Miller did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the White Sox tied the game after he exited.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Skubal struck out nine over five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Giants.
Read More
The New York Mets are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2023 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the World Series champion Houston Astros saw the biggest decline.
Read More
The New York Yankees and New York Mets lead Box-Toppers offseason rankings after landing the winter’s two biggest free agents.
The Yankees rank first after Carlos Rodon Thursday agreed to a free agent deal. Rodon earned 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth overall and third among National League pitchers. He ranked second among all free agents going into the 2023 season.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Alex Wood is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara rises to fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. He also rises to first place among National League pitchers.
Read MoreWhite Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth in season player rankings.
Cease struck out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 7-6, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays. Cease did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Blue Jays took the lead after he exited.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Frankie Montas is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day on the final day of the regular season.
Montas struck out 13 over six innings, allowing two runs (none earned), four hits and two walks, in the 6-2 win over the Mariners. Montas did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied, 2-2, when he exited.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Kenta Maeda is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Maeda struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing one run, one hit and two walks, in the 4-3, 12-inning win over the Brewers. Maeda took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up a hit. He did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Brewers tied the game after he exited.
Read MoreTen of the 17 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards this week also were among the leaders at their positions in 2019 Box-Toppers point totals.
Read MoreGleyber Torres of the Yankees is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place among American League batters in season player rankings.
Torres hit two three-run home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 11-8 win over the Orioles.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Anibal Sanchez is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2019 preseason rankings, rising from second place at the end of the 2018 season.
The 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox fall from first at the end of last season to second place in the 2019 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Arizona Diamondbacks had the biggest decline.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Tanner Roark is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
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Miguel Montero of the Cubs is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Saturday in the National League Championship Series Game 1 win over the Dodgers.
And Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Saturday in the American League Championship Series Game 2 win over the Blue Jays.
Montero hit an eighth-inning, pinch-hit, grand slam homer to earn Player of the Game honors as the Cubs take a 1-0 lead over the Dodgers in the best-of-seven game series.
Montero had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.
He had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +5.0, highest among all Cubs players. Starting pitcher Jon Lester (22.1 Box-Toppers points in 2016, ranked fourth) had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (6IP 4H R BB 3K ND).
The series resumes Sunday with Game 2 in Chicago.
Tomlin allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, two walks, striking out six and earning the win, as the Indians take a 2-0 lead over the Blue Jays in the best-of-seven game series.
Tomlin had 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 202nd among all players and 63rd among AL pitchers.
Tomlin had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +4.2. Middle reliever Andrew Miller had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+7.0) but did not qualify to earn Player of the Game because he did not earn the win or save and did not pitch the requisite three innings to earn the honor. However, he struck out five over two perfect innings. Designated hitter Carlos Santana had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Indians batters (HR 1-2 R BI).
Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ (14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th, third among AL pitchers) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 in the loss (5IP 4H 2R BB 4K L).
The series resumes Monday with Game 3 in Toronto.
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
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 5.0 | CHC 8, LAD 4 | Miguel Montero, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | CLE 2, TOR 1 | Josh Tomlin (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Sunday:
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 24.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 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 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 |
Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Padres.
Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He becomes the 47th player this season with 10 Box-Toppers points and ranks 35th among all players, 18th among National League pitchers. This is the second season Samardzija has reached 10 Box-Toppers points. In 2012, he had 12.7 points with the Cubs.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 11 over six innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Twins.
Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, most among the 11 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. He ranks 21st among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.
Verlander also now has 137.3 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 7-4 win over the Rockies. Grandal also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3 and driving in four runs, in the 5-2 win over the Royals.
Notable—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco became the 48th player with 10 Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Nolasco (7IP 5H 0R BB 5K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.
This is Nolasco’s fourth season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and his first since 2010. In both 2008 and 2009, he had 16.7 points each season with the Marlins. In 2010, he had 11.7 points, also with the Marlins.
Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Grandal and Santana each earn 1.5 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.
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
| 9/22 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | SF 2, SD 1 | Jeff Samardzija (W,12-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | LAD 7, COL 4 | Yasmani Grandal, C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 7.0 | DET 4, MIN 2 | Justin Verlander (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | |
| 6.0 | LAA 2, HOU 0 | Ricky Nolasco (W,7-14) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | MIL 3, PIT 1 | Chase Anderson (W,9-11) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CLE 5, KC 2 | Carlos Santana, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | DET 9, MIN 2 | Victor Martinez, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 6, MIA 3 | Matt Kemp, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TB 2, NYY 0 | Blake Snell (W,6-8) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 5, BAL 3 | Craig Kimbrel (S,29) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 9, PHI 8 (11) | Jose Reyes, 3B | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 12.7 | 19.1 | 82.3 | 137.3 | 6.3 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.7 | 20.1 | 48.8 | 49.8 | 1.3 |
| Nolasco, Ricky 2125 | pi sp | ana al | 10.4 | 12.4 | 33.1 | 86.2 | 8.4 |
| Martinez, Victor 1695 | dh | det al | 8.5 | 12.0 | 31.9 | 72.1 | 5.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 8.0 | 14.0 | 57.7 | 58.7 | 2.0 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | rf lf | atl nl | 7.5 | 13.0 | 37.5 | 59.1 | 2.0 |
| Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca | lad nl | 7.2 | 9.2 | 17.2 | 17.2 | 5.2 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.0 | 11.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 |
| Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Santana, Carlos 2757 | dh 1b | cle al | 2.5 | 7.0 | 21.7 | 22.7 | -2.0 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | 3b ss | nym nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 30.0 | 2.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, officially and mathematically securing Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors.
Also Friday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to 10th in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 29.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 24.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 21.4 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 21.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 19.0 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 18.8 |
Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 6-1 win over the Brewers.
Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 29.1 for the season. He now leads second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.7), by 4.4 Box-Toppers points. So even in the off-chance that Kershaw plays and earns Player of the Day honors in both of the final two games of the season, he would only earn 4.0 Box-Toppers points, not enough to catch Arrieta. While there hasn’t been much doubt since his last start (in which he earned Player of the Day) on Sunday that Arrieta would end the season leading in Box-Toppers points, his Friday start removed all doubt.
Arrieta’s 29.1 Box-Toppers points this season is the eighth-highest single-season total since record keeping began in 1995. Only three pitchers have earned more points in a single season than Arrieta in 21 seasons—Randy Johnson (who did it four times), Pedro Martinez (who did it twice) and Clayton Kershaw (who earned 31.5 points last season, tied for the fourth-most points in a single season). (See the Best seasons chart.)
| 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 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 31.5 |
| 6 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 7 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 8 | *Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 9 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 10 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 11 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 13 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 13 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 15 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 16 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 18 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 18 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 20 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 21 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| * Current season | |||||
Arrieta nearly doubled his Box-Toppers point total from 2014, when he had 14.7 points with the Cubs and ranked eighth among National League pitchers. In Arrieta’s previous seasons, he had fewer than 10 points each season
Arrieta has 59.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 217th among all players since 1995. He ranks 25th among active NL pitchers in career Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Tigers.
Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 18.8 for the season. He rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings and fourth among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in four runs, in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.
Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to third place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
McCutchen (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He becomes the 45th player—and ninth batter—this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 38th among all players. He trails two NL batters—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5) and Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (10.9).
Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel started Friday but did not earn Player of the Game honors and so did not extend his Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers. However, with only two days left in the season and neither of the pitchers contending for the lead among AL pitchers scheduled to start, Keuchel appears to have wrapped up Box-Toppers AL Player of the Year honors.
Keuchel (6IP 6H 2R 3K W in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Carlos Correa (HR 3B 3-4 4R 4BI), who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.
Keuchel has 21.4 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. The only two pitchers who could catch him are not scheduled to start in the final two days of the season:
Scoring—Arrieta 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. Correa and Santana each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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
| 10/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,22-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Astros | Carlos Correa, SS | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 6.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,13-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | Braves | Julio Teheran (W,11-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Kyle Kendrick (W,7-13) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.1 | `Royals | Chris Young | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Danny Valencia, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Russell Martin, C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Joe Smith (S,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dodgers | Justin Turner, 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Starlin Castro of the Cubs is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also, despite four top 10 pitchers from Box-Toppers player rankings starting Friday, none of them earned Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 23.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 20.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 6 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
Player of the Day—Castro hit a three-run homer and a two-run homer, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 8-3 win over the Cardinals.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out seven over 8 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Royals. Verlander did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision because the Royals tied the game after he exited with a 3-2 lead.
Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 124.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 33rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Friday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jered Weaver (123.1) and Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield, who started his career in 1988, seven years prior to the start of Box-Toppers record keeping, would likely have about 150 career Box-Toppers points based on rough projections, if his entire career were tracked.) Verlander now trails 32nd-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).
Among Friday’s 14 Players of the Game, Verlander has the most Box-Toppers points this season—6.4, ranking 111th among all players and 43rd among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Athletics hit two homers and went 3-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day Friday because the overall Player of the Day was batter Starlin Castro.
Notable—Four pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Friday but none of them earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Castro earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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
| 9/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Cubs | Starlin Castro, 2B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.2 | Dbacks | Rubby De La Rosa (W,13-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| AL | 5.2 | `Tigers | Justin Verlander | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Athletics | Danny Valencia, 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Chad Bettis (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Juan Uribe, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Arodys Vizcaino (S,5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Mariners | Tom Wilhelmsen (S,12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Grady Sizemore, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | Nationals | Casey Janssen (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Blue Jays | Justin Smoak, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dodgers | Justin Ruggiano, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Reds | Brandon Finnegan (W,4-0) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Nationals pitcher Doug Fister is Sunday’s Player of the Day, while Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Fister pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and struck out five in the 4-2 win over the Reds.
Wainwright rose from fifth to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Wainwright (7IP 0R W in the 1-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He ranks third among National League pitchers.
Carlos Santana of the Indians is American League Player of the Day. Santana homered twice, went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs, in the 10-3 win over the Royals.
Travis Snider of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. Snider hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the 7-5 win over the Rockies.
Fister receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Santana receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Snider receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.
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 Sunday, 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
| 727 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | Nationals | Doug Fister (W, 10-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| AL | 6.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.1 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Orioles | Zach Britton (S, 20) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Kenley Jansen (S, 30) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | `Angels | Hector Santiago | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Pirates | Travis Snider PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `Twins | Yohan Pino | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Koji Uehara (S, 21) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Ryan Howard 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Tommy La Stella 2B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Adam Wainwright (W, 13-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Casey Janssen (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Athletics | John Jaso C | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 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.