Mets' deGrom tops players for Friday, June 30; Dodgers' Wood, Royals' Vargas rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 30:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	12.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	10.0
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	9.4
8	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4
9	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4
10	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	9.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, two players rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to sixth place and Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to 10th.

Player of the Day—deGrom struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Phillies.

deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players and seventh among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Brett Gardner of the Yankees hit a grand slam, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 13-4 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Pence of the Giants went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 13-5 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Brett Gardner.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood (6IP 2H R 3BB 8K W in the 10-4 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the sixth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the first season he has earned 10.0 points, his previous high was 8.7 in 2014 with the Braves. Wood rises from ninth to sixth place in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers.
• Royals pitcher Jason Vargas (7IP 2H R 4BB 4K W in the 8-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings, fifth among AL pitchers.

Debut—Deven Marrero of the Red Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Marrero (2-4 R 3BI in the 7-4, 11-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut June 28, 2015, and was playing in his 80th career game. He is the 3,842nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gardner earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pence earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

6/30	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.0	NYM 2, PHI 1	Jacob deGrom, W (8-3)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	12
	10.0	CIN 5, CHC 0	Scott Feldman, W (7-5)	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	7
	9.0	ATL 3, OAK 1	Mike Foltynewicz (W, 6-5)	-	-	-	-		8.0	1	1	1	4	8
AL	7.0	NYY 13, HOU 4	Brett Gardner (LF)	5	3	3	6		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.0	SEA 10, LAA 0	Ariel Miranda (W, 7-4)	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	4
	7.0	LAD 10, SD 4	Alex Wood (W, 9-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	3	8
BAT	5.0	SF 13, PIT 5	Hunter Pence (RF)	4	1	3	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	MIL 3, MIA 2	Stephen Vogt (C)	3	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	COL 6, ARI 3	Jon Gray (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	7	2	2	1	10
	4.0	CHW 8, TEX 7	Anthony Swarzak (W, 4-2)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.2	`TB 6, BAL 4 (F/10)	Jacob Faria	-	-	-	-		6.2	4	3	2	0	6
	3.0	STL 8, WSH 1	Yadier Molina (C)	4	1	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	KC 8, MIN 1	Jason Vargas (W, 12-3)	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	4	4
	2.0	BOS 7, TOR 4 (F/11)	Deven Marrero (3B)	4	1	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
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	+/-
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	10.0	11.0	29.4	29.4	9.0
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	9.0	10.0	35.4	56.2	8.0
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	7.7	17.4	52.8	52.8	-2.0
Miranda, Ariel 3738	pi sp	sea al	6.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	4.0
Feldman, Scott 2632	pi sp	cin nl	6.0	6.0	22.7	30.7	6.0
Faria, Jacob 3816	pi sp	tb al	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7
Molina, Yadier 1967	ca	stl nl	3.0	7.0	16.5	37.7	-1.0
Swarzak, Anthony 2603	pi mr cp	chi al	3.0	3.0	7.0	10.7	3.0
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	2.5	6.0	22.0	54.7	-1.0
Foltynewicz, Mike 3455	pi sp	atl nl	2.0	6.0	8.7	8.7	-2.0
Gardner, Brett 2486	lf	nyy al	1.7	1.7	9.7	20.2	1.7
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	1.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	-6.0
Vogt, Stephen 3503	ca	mil nl	1.0	5.0	7.5	7.5	-3.0
Marrero, Deven 3842	3b	bos al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Friday, April 14, rising in 3 Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises in three significant Box-Toppers player rankings:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 14:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
2	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
3	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
4	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
5	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0
6	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
7	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
8	Garcia, Avisail 3256	rf	chi al	2.5
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
10	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

• He takes the overall season Box-Toppers points lead (earning 2.0 points, giving him 4.0 for the season), passing previous leader Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (3.0).
• He takes the lead in career Box-Toppers points among active players with 187.7, passing previous leader Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (186.0).
• He rises to fourth place among all players in Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Kershaw’s 187.7 career points puts him past Alex Rodriguez (187.0).

Kershaw struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

It is the second time this season Kershaw has led players in season Box-Toppers points, also leading from April 3 to 8. It is also the second time this season Kershaw has led active players in career Box-Toppers points. He briefly passed Sabathia for the lead on April 3 before Sabathia regained the lead the next day.

Kershaw now trails the third-place player on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, Curt Schilling (194.1). With his 2.0 points Friday, he actually moved up two spots on the "all-time" list, passing both Sabathia and Rodriguez.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-2 win over the Athletics.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	187.7
5	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
6	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	186.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	157.1
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	149.5
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.

Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season and rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL players.

Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, tied with Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Angels (7IP 3H R 2BB 6K W). But Keuchel won the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts—seven vs. six.

National League Batter of the Day—Manny Pina of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.

This was Pina’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pina made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2011, and was playing in his 45th career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Rays hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Red Sox.

Morrison earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.

Streak—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after both earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez has now earned Box-Toppers points for 13 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 2-1 win over the Rangers (7.1IP 6H R 0BB 3K W). Hernandez earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Mariners and has 169.7 career points, ninth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails eighth-place player Roy Halladay (170.7). Hernandez’s best season was 2014 with the Mariners when he had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, third among AL pitchers. Hernandez is the highest-ranked player in Box-Toppers career points (ranked ninth) who has never led his league category (AL pitching) in Box-Toppers points during a season.
• Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 8-2 win over the Rockies (3-4 R 2BI). Pence earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 53.2 career points, eighth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 points, seventh among NL outfielders.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pina and Morrison 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

4/14	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.1	LAD 7, ARI 1	Clayton Kershaw (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-		8.1	4	1	1	1	8
AL	6.0	HOU 7, OAK 2	Dallas Keuchel (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	2	7
	6.0	KC 7, LAA 1	Danny Duffy (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	2	6
	5.0	DET 7, CLE 6	Daniel Norris (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	4	5
	4.0	`WSH 3, PHI 2 (F/10)	Stephen Strasburg	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	2	8
BAT	3.0	MIL 10, CIN 4	Manny Pina, C	5	2	4	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	TB 10, BOS 5	Logan Morrison, 1B	5	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	BAL 6, TOR 4	Wade Miley (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	3	3	0	8
	3.0	CHW 2, MIN 1	David Robertson (S,2)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.1	SEA 2, TEX 1	Felix Hernandez (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-		7.1	6	1	1	0	3
	2.0	PIT 4, CHC 2	David Freese, 3B	4	1	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	SF 8, COL 2	Hunter Pence, RF	4	1	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	ATL 5, SD 2	Ender Inciarte, CF	4	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	MIA 3, NYM 2	Miguel Rojas, SS-3B	3	2	3	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	NYY 4, STL 3	Starlin Castro, 2B	4	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
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	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0	28.4	128.1	187.7	-20.4
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4	10.4	46.2	46.2	-3.6
Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2	5.2	15.2	20.7	1.2
Inciarte, Ender 3360	cf	atl nl	2.0	4.0	8.0	8.0	0.0
Pina, Manny 3769	ca	mil nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	1.0	16.1	75.2	83.9	-14.1
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	1.0	11.7	29.7	30.7	-9.7
Castro, Starlin 2767	2b	nyy al	1.0	8.0	16.5	26.5	-6.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	1.0	7.0	80.7	169.7	-5.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	bal al	1.0	7.0	37.4	37.4	-5.0
Robertson, David 2774	pi cp	chi al	1.0	6.0	23.0	27.0	-4.0
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	1.0	4.5	20.5	53.2	-2.5
Norris, Daniel 3548	pi sp	det al	1.0	3.0	7.0	7.0	-1.0
Freese, David 2710	3b	pit nl	1.0	3.0	19.2	25.2	-1.0
Rojas, Miguel 3642	ss 3b	fla nl	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Rich Hill tops players for Saturday, Sept. 10, rises to 9th; Nationals' Scherzer bolsters lead in Box-Toppers rankings

Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 10:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
10	Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	14.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka rises to 10th place in player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Hill pitched seven perfect innings, striking out nine, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins. Despite allowing no base runners for seven innings, he was pulled after 89 pitches to preserve his health—he had spent time recently on the disabled list. While three Dodgers relievers preserved the shutout, they did give up two hits.

Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.

Tanaka earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 14.1 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

With the rise of Hill to ninth place and Tanaka to 10th place in season player rankings, two other players were displaced from Box-Toppers top 10 list for the season—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (14.0) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (13.7).

American League Batter of the Day—Matt Wieters of the Orioles hit two homers and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Pence of the Giants homered and went 3-for-3, scoring four times and driving in one run, in the 11-3 win over the Diamondbacks. It is the second straight day Pence has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Scherzer (6.2IP 4H 0R BB 8K ND in the 3-0 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 23.7 for the season. He leads second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (20.4) by 3.3 points.

Scherzer also now has 129.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 30th-ranked Jason Giambi (133.4).

Notable—Three other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points on the season also earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

• Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (6IP 4H 2R BB 5K W in the 3-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season, 13th among all players and fourth among AL pitchers.
• Joey Votto of the Reds (HR 2B 4-5 2R BI in the 8-7 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season, 33rd among all players and second among NL batters, behind Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5). (Bryant holds the higher rank because he had more 2015 Box-Toppers points—8.5 vs. 5.)
• Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (8IP 6H R 4BB 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.2 for the season, 36th among all players and 17th among NL pitchers. Wainwright now has 112.0 career Box-Toppers points, 52nd-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (111.3) in “all-time” rankings and now trails 51st-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8).

Debut—Twins pitcher J.T. Chargois made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Chargois (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Indians) made his Major League debut June 11 and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,736th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wieters and Pence 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/10	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	LAD 5, MIA 0	Rich Hill (W,12-3)	-	-	-	-		7.0	0	0	0	0	9
	14.0	SD 6, COL 3	Christian Friedrich (W,5-10)	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	10
AL	10.1	NYY 5, TB 1	Masahiro Tanaka (W,13-4)	-	-	-	-		7.1	5	1	1	0	10
	9.2	`WSH 3, PHI 0	Max Scherzer	-	-	-	-		6.2	4	0	0	1	8
BAT	6.0	BAL 11, DET 3	Matt Wieters, C	4	3	2	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	SF 11, ARI 3	Hunter Pence, RF	3	4	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	SEA 14, OAK 3	Nelson Cruz, DH	4	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	HOU 2, CHC 1	Collin McHugh (W,10-10)	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	1	1	3	6
	3.0	STL 5, MIL 1	Adam Wainwright (W,11-8)	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	1	1	4	7
	2.0	CIN 8, PIT 7	Joey Votto, 1B	5	2	4	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	TEX 8, LAA 5	Carlos Gomez, LF	5	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	KC 6, CHW 5	Eric Hosmer, 1B	3	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	TOR 3, BOS 2	J.A. Happ (W,18-4)	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	1	5
	2.0	MIN 2, CLE 1 (12)	J.T. Chargois (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	ATL 4, NYM 3 (10)	Matt Kemp, LF	3	1	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the 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 (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7	44.7	109.3	129.7	2.7
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4	18.4	18.4	38.1	10.4
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	14.1	22.1	34.8	34.8	6.1
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	13.7	26.8	42.2	50.2	0.6
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	10.5	15.5	32.2	64.2	5.5
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	10.2	13.2	61.3	112.0	7.2
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	9.5	10.5	28.5	34.2	8.5
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	8.5	17.5	31.0	31.0	-0.5
McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	7.7	17.4	29.2	29.2	-2.0
Kemp, Matt 2151	rf lf	atl nl	6.5	12.0	36.5	58.1	1.0
Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224	dh	sea al	5.5	7.5	33.2	52.7	3.5
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	3.5	5.5	24.5	52.2	1.5
Friedrich, Christian 3024	pi sp	sd nl	2.7	2.7	6.4	6.4	2.7
Gomez, Carlos 2397	cf lf	tex al	2.0	8.0	18.5	29.5	-4.0
Chargois, J.T. 3736	pi cp	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 29, extends lead in season Box-Toppers points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and extends his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 29:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
5	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
6	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	7.0
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	6.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 4-2 win over the Mets. Kershaw picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Mets tied the game after he exited.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.0 for the season. He holds a dominating lead in player rankings, 5.0 points ahead of second-place player, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (9.0).

Kershaw also has 173.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails sixth-ranked player, Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3).

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ricky Nolasco struck out seven over six innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Wilson Ramos of the Nationals homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-2 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 13th inning in the 8-6 win over the Angels.

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Hill (6.1IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the White Sox (8.7).

Streak—Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Pence (3-2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 8-3 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 49.7 career points, 10th among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL outfielders. In 2015, Pence had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Giants.

Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey rises to 46th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Lackey (7IP 4H R 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 113.5 for his career. Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, Lackey now ranks 46th and with his point Sunday, he passes four players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Lackey now trails 45th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9). Lackey has 5.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 11th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nolasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramos and Correa each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/29	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.2	`LAD 4/NYM 2	Clayton Kershaw	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	2	2	0	10
BAT	6.0	DC 10/STL 2	Wilson Ramos, C	3	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.1	ARI 6/SD 3	Archie Bradley (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	3	3	1	9
	5.0	MIA 7/ATL 3	Derek Dietrich, 2B	3	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	5.0	MIN 5/SEA 4	Ricky Nolasco (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	2	2	1	7
	4.0	MIL 5/CIN 4	Jonathan Villar, SS	2	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	HOU 8/LAA 6	Carlos Correa, SS	1	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	OAK 4/DET 2	Rich Hill (W,8-3)	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	2	2	3	9
	3.0	SF 8/COL 3	Hunter Pence, RF	5	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	CHC 7/PHI 2	John Lackey (W,5-2)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	4	6
	3.0	NYY 2/TB 1	Nathan Eovaldi (W,6-2)	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	1	1	2	7
	3.0	BOS 5/TOR 3	Koji Uehara (S,1)	-	-	-	-		1	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	KC 5/CHW 4	Lorenzo Cain, CF	4	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`BAL 6/CLE 4	Darren O'Day	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	2
	1.0	TEX 6/PIT 2	Mitch Moreland, 1B	4	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the 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 (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.0	39.7	139.8	173.3	-11.7
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4	12.4	12.4	32.1	4.4
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	5.7	15.4	35.1	113.5	-4.0
Eovaldi, Nathan 2928	pi sp	nyy al	5.7	7.7	24.8	24.8	3.7
Cain, Lorenzo 3171	cf	kc al	4.0	12.2	18.2	18.2	-4.2
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	min al	3.7	5.7	26.4	79.5	1.7
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	hou al	2.5	9.7	9.7	9.7	-4.7
Uehara, Koji 2802	pi mr cp	bos al	2.0	7.0	24.0	28.0	-3.0
O’Day, Darren 2577	pi mr	bal al	2.0	3.7	11.7	12.7	0.3
Ramos, Wilson 2904	ca	dc nl	1.5	2.5	16.0	16.0	0.5
Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b	tex al	1.0	7.2	15.2	16.2	-5.2
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	1.0	3.0	22.0	49.7	-1.0
Dietrich, Derek 3199	2b	fla nl	1.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	0.0
Bradley, Archie 3438	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Villar, Jonathan 3233	ss	mil nl	1.0	1.0	3.0	3.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

How impressive was Madison Bumgarner in postseason? Of 32 total playoff games, he was top player in five

How impressive was Madison Bumgarner’s postseason performance?

The ace starting pitcher earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times in the Giants’ World Series-winning playoff run. That means he was top player in 15 percent of the 32 postseason games played. He was top player in 29 percent of the 17 postseason games the Giants played. He was top player in 42 percent of the 12 postseason games the Giants won. And he was top player in 71 percent of the seven games in which he appeared.

By comparison, Bumgarner earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 15 times in his 33 regular season starts. Bumgarner ranked third among all players in regular season Box-Toppers points with 22.6 (see Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings), so his regular season was pretty impressive. But if he were to maintain his pace this October throughout a regular season, he would have something like 45.0 Box-Toppers points for a season. That would shatter the all-time record for Box-Toppers points in a single season of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).

See a recap of who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in all 32 of the 2014 postseason games in the chart below. Bumgarner’s five top player honors are highlighted in red text.

Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors were far and away the most by any player in the 2014 postseason. Four other players were each Player of the Game twice during the postseason:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

Nineteen players each earned Player of the Game honors once during the 2014 postseason.

Bumgarner also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in all 32 postseason games. On Oct. 1, in the NL Wild Card Game, Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0—he pitched a complete game 8-0 shutout over the Pirates, striking out 10.

Bumgarner also had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the postseason’s 32 Players of the Game (+13.0 in his World Series Game 5 shutout of the Royals, 5-0). In fact, Bumgarner had five of the 10 highest Box-Toppers game scores of all 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees (see the chart of the top 10 at the bottom of the post).

Three of Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors came during the World Series as the Giants defeated the Royals four games to three.

Wade Davis had the highest Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game honoree among Royals players in the postseason. His game score of +6.0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ranks as 10th-highest in the 2014 postseason among Player of the Game honorees.

Pitchers monopolized the top 10 chart for highest Box-Toppers game score among Player of the Game honorees. The highest game score among batters was +3.0 by Hunter Pence of the Giants when he was Player of the Game in World Series Game 4.

The lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +1.0 by Travis Ishikawa in Game 3 of the NLCS. The second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +2.0 by Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who hit a pinch-hit home run in Game 2 of the NLCS. Taveras was killed in a car accident Oct. 26, 12 days after the game.

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 Player of the Game for each 2014 postseason game

Listings below are chronological, starting from the first Wild Card Game on Sept. 30 to the final World Series Game on Oct. 29—32 games in all (out of a total of 43 possible games if all series went the distance). On days where more than one game was played, players are listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. There is a different background color for each postseason round—Wild Card round in yellow, League Division Series round in green, League Championship Series round in blue and World Series in red. Madison Bumgarner’s name is highlighted in red text in his five Player of the Game postseason honors.

Date	Round	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
9/30	ALWC	2.0	Royals	Eric Hosmer 1B	4	2	3	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/1	NLWC	14.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	10
10/2	ALDS	3.0	Orioles	Nelson Cruz DH	4	2	2	3	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/2	ALDS	3.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/3	ALDS	4.0	`Royals	Yordano Ventura	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	5
10/3	NLDS	3.2	Giants	Jake Peavy (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	2	0	0	3	3
10/3	NLDS	3.0	Cardinals	Matt Carpenter 3B	5	2	2	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/3	ALDS	3.0	Orioles	Delmon Young PH	1	0	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/4	NLDS	10.0	`Dodgers	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	7
10/4	NLDS	9.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	3	7
10/5	ALDS	8.1	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	0	0	2	6
10/5	ALDS	3.0	Royals	Norichika Aoki RF	3	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/6	NLDS	7.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	8
10/6	NLDS	3.0	Nationals	Doug Fister (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	3	3
10/7	NLDS	3.2	`Giants	Ryan Vogelsong	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	2	1	1	2	4
10/7	NLDS	2.0	Cardinals	Matt Adams 1B	3	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/10	ALCS	6.0	Royals	Wade Davis (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4
10/11	NLCS	9.2	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	1	7
10/11	ALCS	2.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/12	NLCS	2.0	Cardinals	Oscar Taveras PH	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/14	ALCS	3.0	`Royals	Kelvin Herrera (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/14	NLCS	1.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	0	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/15	NLCS	5.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	1	4
10/15	ALCS	4.1	Royals	Jason Vargas (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	2	1	1	3	6
10/16	NLCS	2.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	1	1	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/21	WS	6.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	5
10/22	WS	3.0	Royals	Omar Infante 2B	3	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/24	WS	3.0	`Royals	Wade Davis (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/25	WS	3.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	5	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/26	WS	13.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	8
10/28	WS	3.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	3	1	2	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/29	WS	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Most dominating Players of the Game in 2014 postseason

Here are the top 10 Box-Toppers game scores for 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees, representing the most dominating performances in the 32 playoff games. Madison Bumgarner of the Giants had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in the 2014 postseason (+14.0) and also had five of the top 10 game scores among 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees.

Date	Round	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
10/1	NLWC	14.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	10
10/26	WS	13.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	8
10/4	NLDS	10.0	`Dodgers	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	7
10/11	NLCS	9.2	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	1	7
10/4	NLDS	9.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	3	7
10/5	ALDS	8.1	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	0	0	2	6
10/6	NLDS	7.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	8
10/29	WS	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4
10/21	WS	6.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	5
10/10	ALCS	6.0	Royals	Wade Davis (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Madison Bumgarner earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game for third time in World Series, leading Giants to title in Game 7, Wednesday, Oct. 29

Madison Bumgarner won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the third time in this World Series and led the Giants to its third title in five years.

Bumgarner, who pitched five scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits, striking out four and earning the save, is top player in the decisive Game 7. The Giants beat the Royals in the game 3-2 and won the series 4-3. The Giants previously won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, highest of any Giants player. He had been Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 and Game 5—both games he started. In Game 7, pitching on two-days’ rest, the Giants ace entered the game in unfamiliar territory for him— in relief in the fifth inning with the Giants already leading 3-2.

In the Giants four wins in the World Series, Bumgarner—who won World Series Most Valuable Player—was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in three of them. The only game in which Bumgarner was not Player of the Game was in Game 4, the Giants’ second win of the series. The honor that game went to Hunter Pence.

Bumgarner also earned Player of the Game honors five times during the postseason. Previously, he was Player of the Game:

• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.

• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.

• Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.

• Oct. 26 in the World Series Game 5 win over the Royals.

Bumgarner was top player in nearly half the games the Giants won this postseason—five of 12. No other player earned Player of the Game honors more than twice during the postseason. The players who won it twice:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He was the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.

Bumgarner had originally been credited with a win in the game, even though he entered the game with the Giants already leading. That was corrected by official scorers within an hour after the game, giving the win to Jeremy Affeldt and the save to Bumgarner who was a five-inning closer. Affeldt, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, was the pitcher of record when the Giants took the lead.

Had Bumgarner been pulled in favor of a closer—possibly Santiago Casilla—in the ninth inning, he still likely would have won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, even though Casilla would have been credited with the save and Bumgarner would have earned a no decision (no win or save). Under Box-Toppers rules, non-decision-earning pitchers are eligible to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch three or more innings. After eight innings, Bumgarner pitched four innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0.

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. 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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 4 players in World Series Game 7 

Here are the top four Giants players in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Pablo Sandoval was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Only four Giants players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or above.

1029	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4
	2.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	3	2	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	Giants	Jeremy Affeldt (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.1	1	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Giants	Michael Morse DH	3	0	1	2	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-

Giants' Hunter Pence tops players in World Series Game 4, Saturday, Oct. 25

Hunter Pence had three hits, three RBIs and two runs, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors Saturday, as the Giants evened the World Series with the Royals at two games apiece.

Pence went 3-for-5 in Game 4 in which the Giants defeated the Royals 11-4. Pence had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Giants player.

During the regular season, Pence had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 367th among all players, 82nd among National League batters and 35th among NL outfielders. This is the first time this postseason Pence has earned Player of the Game honors.

Coming Sunday:

World Series Game 5: Royals at Giants, series tied 2-2

The pitching matchup Sunday:

Royals: James Shields, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 22nd among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.

Giants: Madison Bumgarner, 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players, second among NL pitchers.

This is a rematch of Game 1 starting pitchers, won by the Giants, 7-1. Bumgarner was Player of the Game. Bumgarner has been Player of the Game three times this postseason, more than any other player. The other two times: NL Wild Card Game and NL Championship Series Game 1.

Shields has not earned Player of the Game honors this postseason.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 7 players in World Series Game 4 

Here are the top seven Giants players in Saturday’s World Series Game 4, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Hunter Pence, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Yusmeiro Petit, who pitched the fourth through sixth innings and earned the win, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0. But under Box-Toppers rules, batters beat pitchers in cases of game score ties.

1025	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	3.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	5	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	2	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Giants	Joe Panik 2B	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Giants	Matt Duffy PH	1	1	1	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Giants	Michael Morse PH	0	1	0	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Giants	Sergio Romo	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Giants	Hunter Strickland	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	1

Giants ace Madison Bumgarner tops players in World Series Game 1, Tuesday, Oct. 21

Madison Bumgarner allowed one run in seven innings to lead the Giants to a World Series Game 1 win Tuesday. He is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Day.

Bumgarner allowed three hits, one walk and struck out five in the 7-1 win over the Royals. The Giants take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game World Series.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +6, more than any other Giants player Tuesday. It is the third time this postseason Bumgarner has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He did it previously:

• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.

• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.

During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He is the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.

Coming Wednesday:

World Series Game 2: Giants lead Royals, 1-0

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Giants: Jake Peavy, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 165th among all players, 58th among NL pitchers.

Royals: Yordano Ventura, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 75th among all players, 33rd among AL pitchers.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 6 players in World Series Game 1 

Here are the top six Giants players in Tuesday’s World Series Game 1, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, was Player of the Game (POG). Hunter Pence was the Giants’ top batter, hitting a homer and a double and going 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0.

1021	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	6.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	5
	3.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	3	2	2	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Giants	Hunter Strickland	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Giants	Gregor Blanco CF	3	2	1	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	5	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Giants	Javier Lopez	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	0

Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka (CG 0R 8K) tops players for Wednesday, May 14, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, Wednesday’s Player of the Day, rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and is now the top-ranked American League pitcher.

Tanaka pitched a complete game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out eight, in the 4-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season. He passes Max Scherzer of the Tigers (6.7 Box-Toppers points) to lead AL pitchers in player rankings. He trails only Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (9.1 Box-Toppers points), the overall leader. (See the updated top 10 player rankings for the season on the home page.)

Nationals pitcher Doug Fister is National League Player of the Day. Fister struck out six over seven innings, allowing only one run, in the 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Hunter Pence of the Giants is NL Batter of the Day. Pence homered and went 4-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 10-4 win over the Braves.

David Ortiz of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Ortiz homered twice and went 3-for-5 in the 9-4 win over the Twins.

Tanaka receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Fister receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pence and Ortiz each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

514	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.0	Yankees	Masahiro Tanaka (W, 6-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	8
	10.0	Angels	Garrett Richards (W, 4-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	0	8
	10.0	Rays	Jake Odorizzi (W, 2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	2	7
	7.0	Indians	Corey Kluber (W, 4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	1	9
NL	6.0	`Nationals	Doug Fister	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	0	6
	6.0	`Pirates	Francisco Liriano	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	1	7
	4.2	Royals	Jason Vargas (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	2	2	1	8
BAT	4.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	5	2	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz DH	5	3	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Marlins	Jeff Mathis C	4	2	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.1	White Sox	Ronald Belisario (W, 2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Astros	Dexter Fowler CF	3	2	3	0	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Tigers	Bryan Holaday C	4	2	2	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Friday, Aug. 16, Dodgers' Greinke rises to 9th in Box-Toppers standings

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Friday, Aug. 16:

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday's Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player standings. 

Arrieta pitched seven shutout innings and struck out seven in the 7-0 win over the Cardinals.

Greinke rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers standings after he earned Player of the Game honors Friday. Greinke (7.1IP 0R W in the 4-0 win vs. the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season.

Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is American League Player of the Day. Iwakuma gave up one run over seven innings, striking out eight, in the 3-1 win over the Rangers. Iwakuma rises to 19th place in Box-Toppers player season standings. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 points.

Hunter Pence of the Giants is National League Batter of the Day. Pence drove in five runs and went 3-for-6 in the 14-10 win over the Marlins. 

Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees is AL Batter of the Day. Soriano hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 10-3 win over the Red Sox. Soriano rises to 25th in Box-Toppers player season standings. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.9 for the season. This is his highest single-season Box-Toppers points total in his 13 Major League seasons, surpassing 2006 when he had 10.5 with the Washington Nationals.

In addition, this is the third time in the past four days that Soriano has earned Player of the Game honors. He has earned 4.9 Box-Toppers points over that span. Soriano has earned 5.9 of his 10.9 points since he was traded to the Yankees from the Chicago Cubs on July 26.

Arrieta receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Iwakuma receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Pence and Soriano each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

816	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	10.0	Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jake Arrieta (W, 1-0)	7.0	2	0	0	2	7
	8.1	`Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Alex Wood	6.1	5	1	1	0	9
AL	6.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 11-6)	7.0	4	1	1	3	8
	6.0	Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Niese (W, 5-6)	6.0	6	1	1	1	9
BAT	5.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	6	3	3	5	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	5.0	Yankees	Alfonso Soriano LF	4	2	3	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Danny Duffy (W, 1-0)	6.0	1	0	0	3	3
	4.0	Astros	Chris Carter DH	4	1	2	5	0	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.1	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Zack Greinke (W, 11-3)	7.1	3	0	0	4	3
	3.0	Brewers	Jonathan Lucroy C	5	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Rockies	Wilin Rosario DH	4	2	2	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	White Sox	Adam Dunn 1B	3	2	2	1	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Rays	Jose Lobaton C	4	0	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Royals	Eric Hosmer 1B	4	1	2	2	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Pirates	Jose Tabata RF	3	1	1	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Athletics	Yoenis Cespedes CF, LF	4	1	1	2	0	0			0	0.0	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.