Braves pitcher Jared Shuster is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Shuster struck out seven over four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Red Sox.
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Braves, Padres gain at trade deadline, but Yankees, Dodgers still top team rankings
Trade deadline deals helped both the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres rise closer to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings this week.
But the top two spots in Box-Toppers team rankings remain the same with the New York Yankees in first place and the top National League team, the Los Angeles Dodgers in second.
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Los Angeles Dodgers extend lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings
The Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the eighth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox maintain the lead among American League teams and the San Diego Padres are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreBrewers’ Burnes tops players for Saturday, Sept. 11, rising to 6th in player rankings
Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler maintains his third-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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In 2017, while batters made gains, pitchers still had more Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors
While batters made modest gains in 2017, earning more Box-Toppers points and Player of the Game honors than in 2016, pitchers were still dominant, earning the most Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors for the season.
Here's a look at some key statistics in a comprehensive look at all 2,430 Major League Baseball games played and tracked in 2017 by Box-Toppers.
Read MoreDiamondbacks' Jake Lamb tops players in Wednesday's NL Wild Card Game
Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.
Lamb went 4-for-5, scoring three times, in the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-8 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Read MoreRed Sox' Chris Sale tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 8, bolsters Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, bolstering his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.
Also Tuesday, Buster Posey of the Giants rises to lead National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to seventh place in overall Box-Toppers player rankings.
Read MoreBlue Jays' Dominic Leone tops players for Thursday, July 20; Dbacks' Lamb tops NL players
Blue Jays pitcher Dominic Leone is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Leone pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, allowing no hits, no runs, one walk, striking out four and earning the win, in the 8-6 win over the Red Sox.
Read MoreWhite Sox' Jose Quintana tops players for Friday, May 19; Dodgers' Wood rises to 6th in Box-Toppers rankings
White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana 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 May 19:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 |
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Quintana allowed one run and one hit over eight innings, striking out seven and walking one, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Mariners. Quintana picked up the no-decision and did not earn the win because he exited with the score tied, 1-1.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.
American League Batter of the Day—Wellington Castillo of the Orioles hit two homers, including the game-winning, walk-off, two-run homer in the 10th inning, in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays. Castillo went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks hit two homers, going 2-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 10-1 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Wood (7.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Streak—Evan Longoria of the Rays has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor for 2017 on Friday.
Longoria (2B 4-5 2R BI in the 5-4 win over the Yankees) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Rays and has 48.0 career points, second among active AL third basemen (behind Adrian Beltre of the Rangers who has 111.3). Longoria’s best season was 2009 with the Rays when he had 8.5 points, second among AL third basemen. In 2016, he had 6.5 points with the Rays, sixth among AL third basemen.
Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and deGrom earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Castillo and Lamb 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| 5/19 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | `CHW 2, SEA 1 (F/10) | Jose Quintana | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 9.0 | NYM 3, LAA 0 | Jacob deGrom (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| 6.0 | MIL 6, CHC 3 | Wily Peralta (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | BAL 5, TOR 3 (F/10) | Welington Castillo, C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | ARI 10, SD 1 | Jake Lamb, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.1 | LAD 7, MIA 2 | Alex Wood (W,5-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 12, CIN 6 | Alexi Amarista, SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 7, WSH 4 | Dansby Swanson, SS | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIN 4, KC 3 (F/10) | Kennys Vargas, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 5, DET 3 | Nick Martinez (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | SF 6, STL 5 | Bryan Morris (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.- | - | - | - | - | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | CLE 5, HOU 3 | Trevor Bauer (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2.0 | TB 5, NYY 4 | Evan Longoria, 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 3, BOS 2 (F/10) | Mark Canha, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 7, PIT 2 | Jeremy Hellickson (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 5.0 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 | 14.4 | 39.2 | 39.2 | -6.4 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.0 | 16.1 | 37.1 | 47.8 | -10.1 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.7 | 12.4 | 47.8 | 47.8 | -7.0 |
| Lamb, Jake 3517 | 3b | ari nl | 2.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -1.5 |
| Vargas, Kennys 3511 | dh 1b ph | min al | 2.5 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.0 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 13.4 | 31.5 | 31.5 | -9.4 |
| Peralta, Wily 3123 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 1.0 |
| Canha, Mark 3454 | cf rf | oak al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 2.0 |
| Amarista, Alexi 3032 | ss ph | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 2.0 |
| Castillo, Wellington 3251 | ca | bal al | 1.5 | 6.5 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -3.5 |
| Longoria, Evan 2423 | 3b | tb al | 1.0 | 7.5 | 20.0 | 48.0 | -5.5 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Morris, Bryan 3369 | pi mr | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 24, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 24:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 15.1 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.0 |
Fernandez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing six hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Royals.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.4 for the season, rising from fourth to third place among all players and among all National League pitchers in 2016.
Fernandez is now 1.6 Box-Toppers points behind overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 points), meaning Fernandez could pass Kershaw for the season lead in his next start if he earns NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7 points) or overall Player of the Day (worth 2.0 points). Kershaw has led all players since May 7 and maintained his lead despite spending the past nearly two months on the disabled list.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing six hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Mariners.
Tanaka earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising to 15th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered and went 4-for-6, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-8 win over the Nationals.
Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season. He maintains his rank of second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5 points). Machado ranks 18th among all players.
National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks homered, doubled and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-9, 11-inning win over the Braves. Lamb and teammate Paul Goldschmidt both had Box-Toppers game scores of +2.0 Wednesday with similar line scores (3-6 3R 2BI), but Lamb won Player of the Game honors over Goldschmidt because he had both a homer and a double, while Goldschmidt had just a home run.
Notable—Three other players became the 28th, 29th and 30th players to reach the 10.0-Box-Toppers point threshold for the 2016 season:
- Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks (6IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 6-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, becoming the 28th player with 10 or more this season. Hendricks rises to 22nd place among all players and 14th among NL pitchers. He is the fifth Cubs pitcher this season with 10 or more points.
- Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill (6IP 5H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 1-0 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, becoming the 29th player with 10 or more this season. Hill ranks 29th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers. It is Hill’s second 10-point season; his other was 2007 with the Cubs when he had 11.7. Wednesday marked Hill’s first Player of the Game honor since being traded from the Athletics to the Dodgers.
- Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (HR 2B 4-5 2R 2BI in the 9-4 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, becoming the 30th player (and third batter) with 10 or more this season. Cabrera ranks third among AL batters and 30th among all players. It is his seventh season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Cabrera also now has 142.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 23rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Cabrera passes David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9) on the “all-time” list, to become the seventh-ranked active player in career points, second among all active batters, behind Albert Pujols of the Angels (181.3). While Cabrera and Ortiz both have the same 142.9 career Box-Toppers point total, Cabrera now ranks ahead because he has more points in 2016—10.0 vs. 5.0. Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (145.8).
Scoring—Fernandez 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. Machado and Lamb each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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
| 8/24 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | MIA 3, KC 0 | Jose Fernandez (W,13-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| AL | 5.0 | NYY 5, SEA 0 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,11-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | LAA 8, TOR 2 | Matt Shoemaker (W,8-13) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | BAL 10, WSH 8 | Manny Machado, 3B | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | STL 8, NYM 1 | Carlos Martinez (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | MIL 7, COL 1 | Zach Davies (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 6, SD 3 | Kyle Hendricks (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 1, SF 0 | Rich Hill (W,10-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | `TB 4, BOS 3 (11) | Alex Colome | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | DET 9, MIN 4 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 5, PIT 4 | Ken Giles (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | ARI 10, ATL 9 (11) | Jake Lamb, 3B | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | PHI 5, CHW 3 | Aaron Altherr, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | TEX 6, CIN 5 | Nomar Mazara, LF-RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | OAK 5, CLE 1 | Ryon Healy, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 | 23.1 | 49.1 | 49.1 | 13.7 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 12.4 | 20.4 | 33.1 | 33.1 | 4.4 |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 11.7 | 19.2 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 4.2 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 | 20.4 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 1.0 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 34.1 | 6.4 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 10.0 | 14.7 | 63.3 | 142.9 | 5.3 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.7 | 21.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 | -6.0 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 | 12.7 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 1.3 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 7.0 | 12.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 2.0 |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | tex al | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Lamb, Jake 3517 | 3b | ari nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Healy, Ryon 3685 | 3b | oak al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Altherr, Aaron 3563 | rf lf | phi nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 |
| Giles, Ken 3402 | pi mr cp | hou nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -1.0 |
Marlins' Fernandez tops players for Monday, May 9; White Sox' Frazier tops AL players
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 9:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 4 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 5.7 |
| 5 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 6 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 5.0 |
| 9 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 10 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
Fernandez struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Brewers. Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, ranking 21st among all players, the highest ranking of any of Monday’s 11 Players of the Games.
American League Player of the Day—Todd Frazier of the White Sox hit two home runs, including a 12-inning, tie-breaking grand slam, in the 8-4 win over the Twins. Frazier also went 4-for-6.
National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Todd Frazier.
Debut—Ketel Marte of the Mariners made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Marte (HR 2B 4-5 3R 3BI in the 5-2 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 31, 2015, and was playing in his 87th career game. He is the 3,630th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Frazier earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Lamb earns 1.5 points for being NL 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
| 5/9 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Marlins | Jose Fernandez (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | |
| AL | 6.0 | White Sox | Todd Frazier, 3B | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Dbacks | Jake Lamb, 3B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Mariners | Ketel Marte, SS | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Astros | Mike Fiers (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.2 | Yankees | Kirby Yates (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Daniel Murphy, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Aaron Sanchez (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Jeurys Familia (S,11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Joey Votto, 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 4.0 | 8.7 | 34.7 | 34.7 | -0.7 |
| Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | tor al | 3.7 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 1.7 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 2.5 | 4.0 | 26.0 | 27.5 | 1.0 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 2.0 | 7.0 | 23.7 | 55.7 | -3.0 |
| Yates, Kirby 3628 | pi mr | nyy al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Frazier, Todd 2929 | 3b | chi al | 1.7 | 10.6 | 24.6 | 24.6 | -7.2 |
| Lamb, Jake 3517 | 3b | ari nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 1.0 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | -8.5 |
| Familia, Jeurys 3446 | pi cp | nym nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -7.0 |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 22.1 | 22.1 | -6.0 |
| Marte, Ketel 3630 | ss | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Orioles' Jimenez tops players for Sunday, June 28; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 23rd in Box-Toppers 'all-time' rankings
Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 28.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 6 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 7 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 9.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Jimenez pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 4-0 win over the Indians.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Alex Wood pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 2-1 win over the Pirates.
National League Batter of the Day—Mets pitcher Steven Matz doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 7-2 win over the Reds. Matz is the fourth pitcher this year to earn Player of the Game honors for batting (it was done eight times in 2014).
This was also Matz’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. He is the 3,516th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals homered and went 1-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Athletics.
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Greinke (7.2IP 4H 0R 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 133.7 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings list: Miguel Cabrera (132.9), Jason Giambi (133.4) and David Ortiz (133.4). He trails 22nd-ranked player Bartolo Colon (136.4). Greinke ranks 17th among all pitchers since 1995.
Greinke also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranked 14th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Rankings—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Martinez (6IP 2H R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers. He is the eighth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also, three pitchers with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points this season started Sunday but did not earn Player of the Game honors:
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (ranked second with 13.4 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Angels. Hernandez (6IP H 0R 8K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of 10. Player of the Game was Angels pitcher Hector Santiago (7IP 3H R 6 ND) who had a lower Box-Toppers game score of 6, but had the highest game score of any player on the Angels, the winning team.
- Rays pitcher Chris Archer (ranked third with 12.0 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox. Archer (6IP 5H 5R 10K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Player of the Game was Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson (5IP 5H R 6K W) who had a Box-Toppers game score of 5.
- Tigers pitcher David Price (ranked sixth with 11.1 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 5-4 win over the White Sox. Price (6IP 6H 4R 5K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Tigers closing pitcher Joakim Soria (1IP 0H 0R K W) who had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.
Debut—In addition to Matz, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut Aug. 7, 2014, and was playing in his 64th career game. He is the 3,517th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Mets pitcher Logan Verrett (2IP H 0R K ND in the 2-1 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,518th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Jimenez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wood earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Matz and Perez each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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
| 6/28 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Orioles | Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| NL | 10.1 | Braves | Alex Wood (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W, 6-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 8.2 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W, 6-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | `Angels | Hector Santiago | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison (W, 8-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | Cardinals | Carlos Martinez (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | Red Sox | Justin Masterson (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.2 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Mets | Steven Matz P | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Jake Lamb 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez C | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Brewers | Ryan Braun RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Mets | Logan Verrett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Joakim Soria (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Phillies | Odubel Herrera CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||