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Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Flaherty struck out 10 over six innings, allowing one run and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Dodgers. Flaherty did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the Cardinals trailed, 1-0.
Read MoreOnly four of this year’s 18 Silver Slugger-award winners announced this week would receive the honor if it were measured by Box-Toppers points.
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White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is Saturday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Quintana struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Twins.
Greinke rose to 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors Saturday. Greinke pitched six scoreless innings in the 17-0 win over the Giants. Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 15.5 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Ian Desmond of the Nationals is NL Batter of the Day. Desmond doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Mets.
Avisail Garcia of the White Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Garcia homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-6 win over the Twins.
Quintana receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Greinke receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Desmond and Garcia each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 913 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 13.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W, 8-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | |
| 12.0 | Angels | Jered Weaver (W, 17-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W, 15-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | Royals | Jeremy Guthrie (W, 11-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Nationals | Ian Desmond SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Athletics | Sonny Gray | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | Shelby Miller (W, 10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Reds | David Holmberg (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Mark Trumbo 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | White Sox | Avisail Garcia RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Adam Lind 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | Phillies | Kyle Kendrick (W, 9-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.1 | Yankees | Shane Greene (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Felix Doubront (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.1 | `Rangers | Spencer Patton (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Tigers | Alex Avila C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Red Sox pitcher John Lackey is Monday’s Player of the Day. Lackey pitched seven innings, allowing two hits and one run, in the 14-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Ian Desmond of the Nationals is National League Player of the Day. Desmond homered and went 5-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Rockies.
Adam Jones of the Orioles is American League Batter of the Day. Jones homered twice and drove in four runs in the 4-2 win over the Angels.
Notable: White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Sale (7IP 1R 8K W in the 3-1 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He is in ninth place in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers.
Lackey receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Desmond receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Jones receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Monday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 721 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 6.0 | Red Sox | John Lackey (W, 11-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| NL | 5.0 | Nationals | Ian Desmond SS | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 9-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | Brewers | Wily Peralta (W, 11-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | `Marlins | Tom Koehler | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.1 | Mariners | Roenis Elias (W, 8-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Adam Jones CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Giants | George Kontos (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Dodgers | Adrian Gonzalez 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Josh Willingham LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Tigers | Joba Chamberlain (H, 20) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Geovany Soto C | 3 | 1 | 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.
The Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers lead the way with the most players on Box-Toppers’ 2014 preseason all-star team.
The Nationals have four players on the National League team and the Tigers have three players on the American League team. The teams were selected based on which player had the highest Box-Toppers points total at their position in 2013. (The top three outfielders and top four starting pitchers in each league were also selected.)
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | |||
| 1B | Davis, Chris 2478 | bal al | 12.7 |
| 2B | Cano, Robinson 2092 | sea al | 12.5 |
| SS | Lowrie, Jed 2437 | oak al | 8.0 |
| 3B | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | det al | 16.9 |
| CA | McCann, Brian 2179 | nyy al | 7.0 |
| OF | Soriano, Alfonso 1445 | nyy al | 12.9 |
| OF | Raburn, Ryan 2340 | cle al | 9.5 |
| OF | Jones, Adam 2347 | bal al | 8.0 |
| DH | Ortiz, David | bos al | 12.4 |
| SP | Scherzer, Max 2588 | det al | 18.1 |
| SP | Sanchez, Anibal 2187 | det al | 17.1 |
| SP | Masterson, Justin 2462 | cle al | 16.4 |
| SP | Sale, Chris 2806 | chi al | 16.1 |
| CP | Holland, Greg 2906 | kc al | 11.0 |
| NL | |||
| 1B | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | ari nl | 13.7 |
| 2B | Murphy, Daniel 2589 | nym nl | 8.5 |
| SS | Desmond, Ian 2673 | dc nl | 5.5 |
| 3B | Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 | dc nl | 9.2 |
| CA | Ramos, Wilson 2904 | dc nl | 7.5 |
| OF | Cuddyer, Michael 1826 | col nl | 11.5 |
| OF | Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | col nl | 11.0 |
| OF | Harper, Bryce 3011 | dc nl | 9.4 |
| SP | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | lad nl | 21.7 |
| SP | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | stl nl | 20.2 |
| SP | Greinke, Zack 1871 | lad nl | 19.4 |
| SP | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | fla nl | 19.0 |
| CP | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | atl nl | 12.7 |
| ALMVP | Scherzer, Max 2588 | det al | 18.1 |
| ALBAT | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | det al | 16.9 |
| NLMVP | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | lad nl | 21.7 |
| NLBAT | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | ari nl | 13.7 |
The four Nationals players include:
• Shortstop Ian Desmond, who had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.
• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2.
• Catcher Wilson Ramos with 7.5.
• Outfielder Bryce Harper with 9.4.
The three Tigers players include:
• Third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 (Cabrera is slated to move to first base for the 2014 season).
• Starting pitcher Max Scherzer with 18.1.
• Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez with 17.1.
If Cabrera’s move to first base were taken into account, he would bump Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points) from the AL first base all-star spot. Cabrera’s third base spot would be filled by Josh Donaldson of the Athletics, who had the second-most points among AL third basemen in 2013 with 9.5.
The NL team is led by overall Box-Toppers points leader for 2013, pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who had 21.7 points. The top NL batter is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, who had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013.
Scherzer led all AL players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Cabrera’s 16.9 led all AL batters.
Five other teams had two players on the all-star teams, the Orioles, the Yankees, the Indians, the Rockies and the Dodgers.
Two of the all-stars are on new teams in 2014:
• AL second baseman Robinson Cano (12.5 points) moved from the Yankees to the Mariners.
• AL catcher Brian McCann (7.0 points) moved from the Braves to the Yankees.
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.
What are those numbers after players' names?
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2013 regular season are led by overall top player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
The Washington Nationals have the most representatives of any team, with four players.
The All-Star teams are comprised of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the National League and nine (including the designated hitter) in the American League—are the top four starting pitchers in each league, the top player who was predominately a middle-reliever and the top closing pitcher.
Kershaw was Box-Toppers Player of the Season, the top overall player, with 21.7 Box-Toppers points. The top four overall players were starting pitchers from the NL. Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer is the top AL player with 18.1 points, ranked fifth overall.
The top AL batter is Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 points, ranked eighth overall. The top NL batter is Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt with 13.7 points, ranked 22nd overall.
Four Nationals players made the list, more than any other team:
Only two members of both leagues' All-Star teams are still active this season, playing in the World Series:
Box-Toppers is set up to determine the players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars.
Here are the Box-Toppers All-Stars by position for both leagues. It includes players with the highest Box-Toppers points (BTP) by position in each league. Also included is the players' overall rank among all players.
| AL | Team | BTP | Rank | NL | Team | BTP | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Davis, Chris 2478 | Orioles | 12.7 | 32 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | D-Backs | 13.7 | 22 | |
| 2B | Cano, Robinson 2092 | Yankees | 12.5 | 35 | Murphy, Daniel 2589 | Mets | 8.5 | 79 | |
| SS | Lowrie, Jed 2437 | Athletics | 8.0 | 90 | Desmond, Ian 2673 | Nationals | 5.5 | 163 | |
| 3B | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | Tigers | 16.9 | 8 | Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 | Nationals | 9.2 | 66 | |
| CA | Arencibia, J.P. 2781 | Blue Jays | 5.5 | 158 | Ramos, Wilson 2904 | Nationals | 7.5 | 101 | |
| OF | Soriano, Alfonso 1445 | Yankees | 12.9 | 28 | Cuddyer, Michael 1826 | Rockies | 11.5 | 40 | |
| OF | Raburn, Ryan 2340 | Indians | 9.5 | 62 | Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | Rockies | 11.0 | 43 | |
| OF | Jones, Adam 2347 | Orioles | 8.0 | 86 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | Nationals | 9.4 | 65 | |
| DH | Ortiz, David | Red Sox | 12.4 | 36 | |||||
| SP | Scherzer, Max 2588 | Tigers | 18.1 | 5 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | Dodgers | 21.7 | 1 | |
| SP | Sanchez, Anibal 2187 | Tigers | 17.1 | 7 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | Cardinals | 20.2 | 2 | |
| SP | Masterson, Justin 2462 | Indians | 16.4 | 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | Dodgers | 19.4 | 3 | |
| SP | Sale, Chris 2806 | White Sox | 16.1 | 12 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | Marlins | 19.0 | 4 | |
| MR | Chen, Bruce 1170 | Royals | 6.4 | 129 | Collmenter, Josh 2863 | D-Backs | 8.0 | 89 | |
| CP | Holland, Greg 2906 | Royals | 11.0 | 37 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | Braves | 12.7 | 31 |
A pair of pitchers threw complete game, one-hit shutouts to top all players for Friday.
Shelby Miller of the Cardinals is Friday's Player of the Day. Miller who gave up his only hit in the first inning (the only baserunner of the game) and struck out 13, led the Cards to a 3-0 win over the Rockies.
Jon Lester of the Red Sox is American League Player of the Day. Lester also allowed only one baserunner, giving up a hit in the sixth inning, in the 5-0 win over the Blue Jays.
Lyle Overbay of the Yankees is AL Batter of the Day. Overbay hit a two-run homer, went 4-for-5 and drove in five runs in the 11-6 win over the Royals.
Ian Desmond of the Nationals is National League Batter of the Day. Desmond homered, went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs in the 7-3 win over the Cubs.
Standings update: Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma moves up to ninth place among players in the 2013 season. Iwakuma was Player of the Game in the 6-3 win over the Athletics earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season. Miller, who earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, moves up to 10th place with 5.7 points for the season.
Miller receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Lester receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Overbay and Desmond receive 1.5 each 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:
| 510 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 21.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Shelby Miller (W, 5-2) | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||
| AL | 13.0 | Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jon Lester (W, 5-0) | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 8.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 4-1) | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |||
| BAT | 6.0 | Yankees | Lyle Overbay 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6.0 | Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Matt Cain (W, 2-2) | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |||
| 5.1 | Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tommy Hunter (W, 3-1) | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| BAT | 5.0 | Nationals | Ian Desmond SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 5.0 | `Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dane De La Rosa (H, 4) | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 4.2 | `Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Alex Cobb | 4.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | |||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Garrett Jones 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Marlins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Steve Cishek (S, 5) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2.1 | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Robbie Ross (W, 1-0) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 2.0 | Reds | Brandon Phillips 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Alex Avila C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.2 | Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tony Sipp (W, 2-1) | 0.2 | 0 | 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.
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.