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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day.
Box-Toppers is tracking several days of the 2018 spring training season to demonstrate the Box-Toppers player tracking metric and to prepare for the upcoming 2,430-game season.
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Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 14.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
Scherzer struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 6-1 win over the Mets.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.0 for the season, rising from fifth to third in player rankings, behind two other National League pitchers, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (14.4).
Scherzer also now has 120.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 38th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 37th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).
In addition, Scherzer ranks third among all players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2015 with 35.0, trailing Kershaw (45.7) and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (39.8). He ranks second among all players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2011 with 99.6, behind only Kershaw (145.8).
American League Player of the Day—Yankees closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no runs or hits and striking out four, in the 7-6, 11-inning win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Josh E. Bell of the Pirates hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the 12-6 win over the Cubs.
This was Bell’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Bell made his Major League debut July 8 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,682nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Vogt of the Athletics homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 3-2 win over the Astros.
Debut—Cheslor Cuthbert of the Royals made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Cuthbert (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut July 7, 2015, and was playing in his 74th career game. He is the 3,683rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chapman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bell and Vogt each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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
| 7/9 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | DC 6/NYM 1 | Max Scherzer (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 6.0 | STL 8/MIL 1 | Carlos Martinez (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | ||
| AL | 5.1 | NYY 7/CLE 6 | Aroldis Chapman (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | PIT 12/CHC 6 | Josh Bell, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIN 8/TEX 6 | Eddie Rosario, LF | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | BOS 4/TB 1 | Rick Porcello (W,11-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.2 | MIA 4/CIN 2 | Adam Conley (W,6-5) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | OAK 3/HOU 2 | Stephen Vogt, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | COL 8/PHI 3 | Tony Wolters, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `DET 3/TOR 2 | Matt Boyd | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 4/SD 3 | Kenley Jansen (S,26) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | SF 4/ARI 2 | George Kontos (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 5/ATL 4 | Todd Frazier, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | KC 5/SEA 3 | Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 3/LAA 2 | Brad Brach (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 | 35.0 | 99.6 | 120.0 | -7.0 |
| Conley, Adam 3594 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 3.7 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.7 | 18.4 | 19.4 | 19.4 | -9.0 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | nyy al | 4.7 | 12.7 | 42.7 | 43.7 | -3.3 |
| Frazier, Todd 2929 | 3b | chi al | 4.2 | 13.1 | 27.1 | 27.1 | -4.7 |
| Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | bos al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 29.7 | 38.7 | 0.0 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | lad nl | 4.0 | 8.0 | 34.4 | 34.4 | 0.0 |
| Vogt, Stephen 3503 | ca 1b | oak al | 2.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Wolters, Tony 3668 | ca | col nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Brach, Brad 3374 | pi mr | bal al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Kontos, George 3106 | pi cp mr | sf nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.0 |
| Bell, Josh E. 2789 | ph | pit nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | min al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Cuthbert, Cheslor 3683 | 3b | kc al | 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.