Guardians pitcher Lucas Giolito is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Giolito struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 12-3 win over the Rangers.
Read MoreAthletics’ Mike Fiers tops players for Monday, Aug. 20; Brewers’ Anderson tops NL players
Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Fiers struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Rangers.
Read MoreYankees' Luis Severino tops players in Thursday, March 29's opening day games
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Thursday’s opening day Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Severino struck out seven over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Read MoreYankees' Masahiro Tanaka tops players for Friday, Sept. 29 with highest Box-Toppers game score of 2017
Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning the highest Box-Toppers game score of the season.
Also Friday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreYankees' Severino tops players for Saturday, Sept. 9, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers rankings; Sale rises to 2nd
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Meanwhile, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Read MoreIndians' Corey Kluber tops players for Thursday, June 1; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 1:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
Player of the Day—Kluber struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Athletics.
National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hicks of the Yankees hit three doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 6-3 win over the Mariners.
Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Greinke (7IP 4H 2R 1ER 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising from seventh to fifth place among players for 2017. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Greinke also now has 163.8 career Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Greinke trails 12th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8).
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 115.5 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Wainwright (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) rises to 46th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began. With his 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned Thursday, Wainwright passes two players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9) and Tim Lincecum (115.0). He trails 45th-ranked player Torii Hunter (115.9).
Wainwright has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Debut—Twins pitcher Adalberto Mejia made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Mejia (6IP 5H R 2BB 5K ND in the 4-2 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2016, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,812th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Anderson earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Hicks and Parra 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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 6/1 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CLE 8, OAK 0 | Corey Kluber (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | 10.0 | MIL 2, NYM 1 | Chase Anderson (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | NYY 12, TOR 2 | Aaron Hicks, CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | ARI 3, MIA 2 | Zack Greinke (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | STL 2, LAD 0 | Adam Wainwright (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | COL 6, SEA 3 | Gerardo Parra, LF | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | BAL 7, BOS 5 | Mark Trumbo, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `MIN 4, LAA 2 | Adalberto Mejia | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 | 17.4 | 86.7 | 163.8 | -2.0 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 4.0 | 25.2 | 69.4 | 69.4 | -17.2 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 4.0 | 6.5 | 18.5 | 25.0 | 1.5 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.7 | 10.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 | -3.3 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.5 | 13.7 | 64.8 | 115.5 | -6.7 |
| Hicks, Aaron 3170 | cf | nyy al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | dh rf | bal al | 2.0 | 10.2 | 29.9 | 35.9 | -6.2 |
| Mejia, Adalberto 3812 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
In 2016, pitchers had more Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors than batters
A comprehensive Box-Toppers analysis of all 2,428 games played in 2016 shows pitchers won Player of the Game honors more frequently than batters and won an overwhelming majority of overall Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreBrewers' Chase Anderson top players for Friday, April 8; Indians' Salazar tops AL players
Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Anderson pitched five scoreless innings, striking out five, in the 6-4 win over the Astros. Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and is in fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 8:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 2 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 3 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 1.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 1.7 |
| 9 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 |
| 10 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 1.7 |
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits, in the 7-1 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit an eighth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 6-5 win over the Reds. Marte also went 3-for-4.
American League Batter of the Day—Brock Holt of the Red Sox hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-4, driving in five total runs, in the 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.
Notable—Athletics closing pitcher Ryan Madson earned his first Player of the Game honors in nearly five years. Madson (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the Mariners) last earned a Box-Toppers point when he earned Player of the Game honors on May 30, 2011, with the Phillies. Madson now has 21.7 career Box-Toppers points.
Debut—Trevor Brown of the Giants made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Brown (HR 1-3 2BI in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Sept. 19, 2015, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,610th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Marte and Holt each earn 1.5 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/8 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Brewers | Chase Anderson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| AL | 5.1 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| 5.0 | Tigers | Jordan Zimmermann (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.2 | Padres | Robbie Erlin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Starling Marte, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Red Sox | Brock Holt, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Ryan Madson (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Trevor Brown, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Rangers | Delino DeShields, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Diamondbacks' Anderson tops players for Friday, Aug. 7; Mets' deGrom extends Box-Toppers player rankings lead
Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to third place—first place among American League pitchers—in Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 7.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 17.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 3 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 4 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 15.1 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 8 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 13.7 |
Player of the Day—Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Reds.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a complete game, allowing one run and five hits, striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Astros.
Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 15.8 for the season. He rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and first among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).
American League Batter of the Day—Torii Hunter of the Twins hit a go-ahead ninth-inning homer in the 10-9 win over the Indians. Hunter also doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs.
Hunter earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 115.9 for his career, rising to 43rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Friday, Hunter passes Tim Lincecum (115.0) on the “all-time” list. He trails 42nd-place player Todd Helton (116.4). Hunter’s 115.9 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among active AL batters.
Hunter also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks third among AL batters behind Mike Trout of the Angels (10.0) and Lorenzo Cain of the Royals (8.2).
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning grand slam in the 5-4 win over the Nationals. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 in the game.
Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and ranks fourth among NL batters.
Rankings—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
deGrom (6.1IP 6H 2R 7K ND in the 4-3 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season. He has led players in Box-Toppers points since July 26.
Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to second place among NL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. McCutchen (2B 2-3 2R BI in the 10-inning 5-4 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 32nd among all players. McCutchen trails overall NL batting leader Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5 Box-Toppers points).
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debuts Friday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Rusney Castillo of the Red Sox (3-5 3R BI in the 7-2 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Sept. 17, 2014, and was playing in his 47th career game. He is the 3,552nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Phillies pitcher Hector Neris (1IP H 0R 2K W in the 4-3, 12-inning win over the Padres) made his Major League debut Aug. 5, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,553rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Hunter and Gonzalez 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Dbacks | Chase Anderson (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| AL | 7.0 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W,12-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6.0 | Cardinals | Carlos Villanueva (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Twins | Torii Hunter, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.1 | `Mets | Jacob deGrom | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | C.J. Cron, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | Cubs | Hector Rondon (S,18) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Rusney Castillo, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Nick Markakis, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez (W,11-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Hector Neris (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Hisashi Iwakuma (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1.0 | Blue Jays | Roberto Osuna (S,9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||