Blog
David Ortiz is the only player inducted into internet baseball writers’ Hall of Fame for 2022.
None of the nine candidates Box-Toppers voted for Hall induction received the necessary 75 percent support. And Box-Toppers also did not vote for Ortiz.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is voting for nine players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2022 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Of the nine players, three are in their first year on the ballot—Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy and Mark Teixeira. The other six all return after not receiving the necessary votes to make the hall last year, including Curt Schilling, who is on the ballot for his 10th and final year.
Read MoreIn 2017, Carlos Beltran tied Jason Giambi for the longest streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 19. With Beltran's retirement, CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols now have the longest active streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 17.
Read MoreJason Giambi leads list of players who earned Box-Toppers points in most consecutive seasons (19). Carlos Beltran, with 18 straight seasons earning points, could tie Giambi if he earns Box-Toppers points in 2017.
Read More
Adam Duvall of the Reds is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 24.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 24.4 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | died* | 22.4 |
| 4 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 22.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.2 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 17.8 |
| 7 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.7 |
| 8 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
Duvall hit two homers, including a three-run shot, in the 15-2 win over the Cardinals. Duvall went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in five runs.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out three, in the 2-1 win over the Athletics. Weaver did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Athletics tied the game after he exited.
Weaver earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 127.8 for his career, rising to 35th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes Roy Oswalt (127.2) and A.J. Burnett (127.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 34th-ranked player Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). Weaver has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, his lowest point total in his 11-year career.
American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit two homers and a double in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Astros. Cano went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Cano earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, the highest point total of any of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. He ranks 20th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Adam Duvall.
Kluber—Corey Kluber, ranked fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings, started in the Indians’ win Monday but failed to earn Player of the Game honors.
Kluber (4IP 5H 2R BB 3K ND in the 7-4 win over the Tigers) had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0. Player of the Game was middle reliever Andrew Miller (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 4K W) who had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.2.
Kluber has 21.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, fifth among all players and first among AL players.
Streak—Justin Morneau of the White Sox has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Monday.
Morneau (HR 2-3 R 3BI in the 7-1 win over the Rays) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Twins and has 74.3 career points, fourth among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2006 with the Twins, when he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.
Scoring—Duvall earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Weaver earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cano earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/26 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | CIN 15, STL 2 | Adam Duvall, LF | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | MIL 8, TEX 3 | Jonathan Villar, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| AL | 6.0 | `LAA 2, OAK 1 | Jered Weaver | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 5.0 | ARI 14, WSH 4 | Zack Godley (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.2 | CLE 7, DET 4 | Andrew Miller (W,10-1; H,24) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 12, PIT 2 | Javier Baez, 2B-SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SEA 4, HOU 3 (11) | Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | MIA 7, NYM 3 | Justin Bour, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 7, TB 1 | Justin Morneau, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 7, TOR 5 | Adam Warren (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 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. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 7.0 | 13.5 | 42.5 | 74.4 | 0.5 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp mr | cle al | 7.0 | 11.0 | 15.0 | 22.0 | 3.0 |
| Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf | cin nl | 6.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 5.0 |
| Weaver, Jered 2178 | pi sp | ana al | 4.7 | 12.4 | 67.0 | 127.8 | -3.0 |
| Villar, Jonathan 3233 | ss 2b ph | mil nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 |
| Warren, Adam 3169 | pi mr | nyy al | 3.0 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | -0.7 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b ph | fla nl | 2.5 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -6.0 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b ss | chi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi mr sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -2.7 |
| Morneau, Justin 1900 | dh 1b | chi al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 19.7 | 74.3 | -1.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel is Monday’s Player of the Day.
Hammel pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 6.0 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 3 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 3.7 |
| 6 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.7 |
| 7 | DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.7 |
| 8 | Hechavarria, Adeiny 3445 | ss | fla nl | 3.5 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.4 |
| 10 | Harang, Aaron 1599 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.4 |
Hammel has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Rays. His best season was 2014 when he had 10.4 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs (8.7) and the Athletics (1.7). He has 38.5 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks him 44th among active pitchers currently in the National League.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Adam Warren struck out six over 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run in the 4-1 win over the Rays. Warren earned no decision because he left with the game tied, 1-1.
National League Batter of the Day—Jay Bruce of the Reds hit a two-run homer, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Pablo Sandoval of the Red Sox homered, went 2-for-2 and drove in three runs, in the 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.
Streak—Justin Morneau of the Rockies has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 12 straight seasons. Morneau was Player of the Game in Monday’s 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks (3R HR 2-3 3BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Morneau earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2004 with the Twins. His best season was 2006 with the Twins when he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking seventh among AL batters. In 2014, he had 3.2 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.
Morneau has 72.3 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 71st among all batters since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, behind Ryan Braun (72.7) and ahead of Chase Utley (72.1). He ranks sixth among active batters currently in the NL.
Debut—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Walker (7IP R 5K W in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Aug. 30, 2013, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,453rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Hammel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Warren earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Bruce and Sandoval each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/27 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Cubs | Jason Hammel (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | Phillies | Cole Hamels (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Reds | Jay Bruce RF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 4.2 | `Yankees | Adam Warren | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Red Sox | Pablo Sandoval 3B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Justin Turner PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Mariners | Taijuan Walker (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Kelly Johnson LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Justin Morneau 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | `Mets | Dillon Gee | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Astros | Colby Rasmus LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Yoenis Cespedes LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Tuesday’s Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Carrasco struck out eight over five innings and allowed one run in the 6-2 win over the White Sox. Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season.
National League Player of the Day—Todd Frazier of the Reds hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3 with three runs, in the 16-10 win over the Brewers.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 4.0 |
| 2 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 3.7 |
| 3 | DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 3.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 3.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.0 |
| 8 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 3.0 |
| 9 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.7 |
American League Batter of the Day—Johnny Giavotella of the Angels homered and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 14-1 win over the Athletics.
Streak—Ryan Howard of the Phillies has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 11 straight seasons. Howard was Player of the Game in Tuesday’s 7-3 win over the Marlins (HR 2-3 2R 2BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Howard, who has spent his entire career with the Phillies, earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005. His best season was 2009 when he had 15.4 Box-Toppers points, third among NL batters. In 2014, he had 7.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking fifth among NL first basemen. He has 92.2 career Box-Toppers points, ranking him 83rd among all players since record keeping began in 1995, 35th among all batters in that time and first among active first basemen currently in the NL (second place is Justin Morneau of the Rockies with 71.3 Box-Toppers points).
Debut—Dalton Pompey of the Blue Jays made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pompey (2-2B 3-4 3R in the 13-6 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut Sept. 2, 2014, and was playing in his 31st career game. He is the 3,450th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Young and Young—Both Major League players named Chris Young earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Frazier earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Giavotella earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/21 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Angels | Johnny Giavotella 2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 5.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.1 | Rangers | Shawn Tolleson (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Giants | Justin Maxwell RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cubs | Starlin Castro SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Phillies | Ryan Howard 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Jake Marisnick CF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Chris Young (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Curtis Granderson RF | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Padres | Wil Myers CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Dalton Pompey CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Chris Young RF | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | Red Sox | Wade Miley (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | Nationals | Aaron Barrett (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
How did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points?
The leaders in pitching statistical categories in general did better than leaders in batting statistical categories.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014, was voted National League Most Valuable Player Thursday.
Center fielder Mike Trout of the Angels was the unanimous choice for American League Most Valuable Player, though Trout ranked seventh among AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014.
Read MoreBatters with the most Box-Toppers points tend to hit for power and play on teams that win a lot of games. The 2014 batting average leaders in both the American and National leagues did neither. Both batting average leaders were largely singles hitters and played on teams that finished well below .500. And as a consequence, neither batting average leader scored many Box-Toppers points in 2014.
Read More
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright scored to maintain his ninth-place spot in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Carrasco pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out 12 and walking one, in the 2-0 win over the Astros. Carrasco becomes the 51st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 45th among all players and 23rd among American League pitchers.
Wainwright earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday to remain in ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Wainwright (CG 0R 7H 7K W in the 2-0 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among National League pitchers.
Justin Morneau of the Rockies is NL Player of the Day. Morneau homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 16-2 win over the Dodgers.
Steve Pearce of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Pearce hit two home runs, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Notables: Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Hamels (7IP R 9K W in the 5-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks ninth among NL pitchers.
Marlins pitcher Steve Cishek rose to 51st place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Cishek (1IP 0R K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 22nd among NL pitchers and is the 52nd player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Carrasco receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Morneau receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pearce receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Wednesday’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
| 917 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 18.0 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| 10.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 13-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | Rockies | Justin Morneau 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Adam Wainwright (W, 19-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W, 13-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Phillies | Cole Hamels (W, 9-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | Braves | Alex Wood (W, 11-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Orioles | Steve Pearce RF, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Twins | Danny Santana CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford SS | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Ike Davis 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | Rangers | Robbie Ross Jr. (W, 3-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Brandon McCarthy (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Steve Cishek (S, 37) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Angels pitcher Garrett Richards and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo are the most deserving players to be chosen in the All-Star Game Final Vote, according to their Box-Toppers point total.
| AL players | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garrett Richards | pi sp | ana al | 10.7 |
| 2 | Corey Kluber | pi sp | cle al | 10.4 |
| 3 | Chris Sale | pi sp | chi al | 10.0 |
| 4 | Dallas Keuchel | pi sp | hou nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Rick Porcello | pi sp | det al | 5.0 |
| NL players | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Anthony Rizzo | 1b | chi nl | 5.5 |
| 2 | Justin Upton | lf | atl nl | 5.2 |
| 3 | Casey McGehee | 3b | fla nl | 3.5 |
| 4 | Anthony Rendon | 2b | dc nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Justin Morneau | 1b | col nl | 1.5 |
Richards has the most points among the five American League players on the ballot and Rizzo has the most among the five National League players on the ballot in which fans vote for the 34th and final roster spots for both teams in the July 15 All-Star Game. Voting ends Thursday.
Richards has 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers, narrowly ahead of Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (10.4 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all players).
Richards is also the top-ranked AL player in Box-Toppers points who was not selected to the All-Star team.
Rizzo is the top player among the five NL players on the Final Vote ballot, but is far from the top-ranked NL player in Box-Toppers points who was not selected to the All-Star team. That honor would go to non-All-Star Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who has 9.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks eighth among NL players.
Rizzo, by comparison, with 5.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks 29th among NL players. However, he ranks third among NL batters and is the top-ranked NL batter not selected to the All-Star team.
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.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Tuesday’s Player of the Day, rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 2-0 win over the Royals. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, rising from sixth to second among all players (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page). He is also in second place among National League pitchers, behind overall Box-Toppers points leader Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (13.0 points).
Kershaw and Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon had identical Box-Toppers game scores Tuesday of 9.0. However, Kershaw won Player of the Day honors on a tie-breaker—he allowed no runs, while Colon allowed one.
White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is American League Player of the Day. Quintana struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, in the 4-2 win over the Orioles.
Justin Morneau of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Morneau drove in six runs, while going 3-for-5 with a homer, in the 10-5 win over the Cardinals.
Dioner Navarro of the Blue Jays is AL Batter of the Day. Navarro hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 7-6 win over the Yankees.
Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Quintana receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Morneau and Navarro each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Tuesday’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 Tuesday, 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
| 624 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 9.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 8-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Rockies | Justin Morneau 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Padres | Jesse Hahn (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | 4.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W, 4-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |
| 4.0 | Tigers | Drew Smyly (W, 4-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Blue Jays | Dioner Navarro C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Mariners | Kyle Seager 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Mike Trout CF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Craig Kimbrel (S, 22) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | Ender Inciarte CF | 7 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Phillies | Marlon Byrd RF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Pirates | Russell Martin C | 4 | 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.
One in a series
Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the sixth of the series:
Derek Jeter said this week he will retire at the end of the 2014 season, ending a 20-year career at the age of 40.
Jeter, who has 76.4 career Box-Toppers points, ranks second among all shortstops (Box-Toppers record keeping began when he made his Major League debut in 1995), 60th among all batters and 121st among all players. He finished among the top 10 American League batters only once (1998) and finished as high as second place in AL Most Valuable Player award voting once (2006).
| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | nyy al | 0.0 | |
| 1996 | nyy al | 4.5 | RoY-1 |
| 1997 | nyy al | 2.0 | MVP-24 |
| 1998 | nyy al | 10.0 | AS, BTP-51, BTP-AL bat-9, MVP-3 |
| 1999 | nyy al | 2.0 | AS, BTP-409, MVP-3 |
| 2000 | nyy al | 2.5 | AS, BTP-400, MVP-6 |
| 2001 | nyy al | 5.0 | AS, BTP-200, MVP-10 |
| 2002 | nyy al | 5.0 | AS |
| 2003 | nyy al | 2.5 | MVP-21 |
| 2004 | nyy al | 8.7 | AS, BTP-68, BTP-AL bat-16, MVP-3 |
| 2005 | nyy al | 4.0 | BTP-238, MVP-10 |
| 2006 | nyy al | 6.7 | AS, BTP-135, MVP-2 |
| 2007 | nyy al | 7.0 | AS, BTP-112, BTP-AL bat-29, MVP-11 |
| 2008 | nyy al | 3.0 | AS |
| 2009 | nyy al | 1.0 | AS, BTP-571, MVP-3 |
| 2010 | nyy al | 5.0 | AS |
| 2011 | nyy al | 4.5 | AS |
| 2012 | nyy al | 3.0 | AS, BTP-319, MVP-7 |
| 2013 | nyy al | 0.0 | |
| Total | 76.4 | BTP-121, BTP-bat-60 |
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL bat Finish among all AL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
RoY Rookie of the Year
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Jeter, of course, has spent his entire career with the New York Yankees—so far. (This season has yet to play out, so there’s always the chance Jeter will be dealt to the Astros—or the Red Sox … OK, probably not.)
Miguel Tejada is the only shortstop with more career Box-Toppers points than Jeter. Tejada, currently a free agent who has played primarily for the Athletics and the Orioles, has 102.3 points. Jeter is just ahead of the third-place shortstop on the “all-time” list—Nomar Garciaparra has 74.9 Box-Toppers points.
Jeter’s Box-Toppers point totals seem a little low given his longevity, his profile and his accomplishments—five-time World Series champion, 2000 World Series MVP, 1996 AL Rookie of the Year, membership in the 3,000-hit club (he has 3,316 at present) and Yankees team captain since 2003. Plus, his seasonal point totals are lower than expected given his general Jeterian-ness—he has only one season with 10.0 Box-Toppers points.
Why doesn’t he have more Box-Toppers points? A couple of reasons: Box-Toppers tends to favor players with fat batting lines—lots of hits, runs and runs batted in. No doubt, Jeter has a lot of hits, but because he has hit early in the line-up and because he doesn't necessarily hit for power, he does not rack up RBIs as quickly as some. (For example, Jeter has 1,261 career RBIs over 19 seasons. Just behind him on the all-time RBI list is Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who has nearly as many RBIs as Jeter in just over half the time—1,260 RBIs over 11 seasons.)
Plus, Box-Toppers awards only one player for each game—the one who most contributes to his team’s win. Jeter has had a lot of competition for Player of the Game in a Yankees’ lineup stocked with All-Stars. He played on a team that had a lot of power hitters—Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams, for example. Those players were more likely to drive in runs, which drove the Box-Toppers formula to give them Player of the Game honors more often and thus, earn more Box-Toppers points.
He also competed for points against some of the all-time great pitchers on his team—Roger Clemens, CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. With so much talent around him, competition for Box-Toppers points (though they probably had no idea they were competing for Box-Toppers points!) was fierce.
Shortstops also generally don't receive as many Box-Toppers points because they are hired mainly for their fielding—which Box-Toppers ignores—and not for their bat. That all supposedly changed in the 1980s when Cal Ripken Jr. of the Orioles brought power hitting to the shortstop position (Box-Toppers tracking didn't begin until the end of Ripken's career, but he did record 26.9 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2001.) In the 1990s, three phenom players ran with Ripken's shortstops-that-can-really-hit model—Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, then of the Red Sox and Alex Rodriguez, then of the Mariners.
Garciaparra, as previously mentioned, accumulated 74.9 Box-Toppers points from 1996 to 2009 (though late in his career, he played first and third base). Rodriguez played shortstop for his first eight seasons with the Mariners and the Rangers, racking up 87.5 Box-Toppers points over that time, which is more than the 76.4 Jeter has over 19 seasons. Rodriguez switched to third base in deference to Jeter when he signed with the Yankees in 2004 and has accumulated 91.8 more Box-Toppers points over those 10 seasons, giving him 179.3 for his career. But the most successful shortstop of the Box-Toppers era (since 1995) is none of those three, but Miguel Tejada, with 102.3 points (a few of the points earned while playing third base and designated hitter).
On Box-Toppers all-time batting ranks, Jeter ranks 60th, just behind these five players—John Olerud (77.8), Shawn Green (77.6), Edgar Martinez (77.5), Mark McGwire (77.3) and Travis Hafner (76.9). He is just ahead of these five players—Pat Burrell (76.0), Jermaine Dye (76.0), Vernon Wells (75.8), Luis Gonzalez (75.3) and Garciaparra (74.9).
Jeter scored at least one Box-Toppers point in 17 straight seasons, from 1996 until 2012. He did not score any points in his injury-shortened 2013 season, ending the streak. Some other career highlights for Jeter:
• In 1998, he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points, the most he had in any season. He finished ninth among all AL batters and 51st among all players in Box-Toppers points, both rankings were his highest for a season. He finished third in AL MVP voting. (The winner, Juan Gonzalez of the Rangers, had 16.3 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters to Albert Belle of the White Sox with 16.4.)
• In 1999, he had only 2.0 Box-Toppers points, but finished third in AL MVP voting.
• In 2004, he had 8.7 Box-Toppers points and was again third in AL MVP voting. (Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels was voted MVP. He had 14.4 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all AL players.)
• In 2006, he had 6.7 Box-Toppers points and was second in AL MVP voting, his highest finish. (Justin Morneau of the Twins was voted MVP—he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all AL batters.)
• In 2007, he had 7.0 Box-Toppers points and was 11th in AL MVP voting.
• In 2009, he had only 1.0 Box-Toppers point and was ranked 571st among all players in Box-Toppers season rankings. Yet, he still finished third in AL MVP voting.
Jeter’s Box-Toppers numbers often don’t correlate well with baseball writers voting for MVP, especially in years like 2009, when Jeter had but 1.0 Box-Toppers point, yet finished third in MVP voting. Again, Jeter’s point totals may have been kept low because he has not been a power hitter and has competed with an all-star Yankee line-up for points. But Jeter’s play was often spectacular, flipping impossible relays, diving into stands for a foul ball, hitting dramatic World Series-game winning homers. It’s hard to ignore that, but unless it shows up in a box score batting line during a regular season game, Box-Toppers does, indeed, ignore it. Plus, Jeter had the squishy intangibles working in his favor—he was a clubhouse leader, a heckuva guy writers liked and fans admired. Box-Toppers really doesn’t pay attention to that either. It also doesn’t hurt that Jeter is playing in New York and able to attract a lot of attention. But Box-Toppers doesn’t award bonus points for performing well in the media hub of the world.
Box-Toppers is another metric through which players can be compared. Jeter has done well in Box-Toppers points, not so much as a dominant player season-by-season, but more for his long-term legacy and for what he has accomplished over a two-decade career.
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.
Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome
One in a series
Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the fourth of the series:
Johan Santana was Box-Toppers’ dominant player in the mid-2000s as he led all players in Box-Toppers points three consecutive years and all American League pitchers for four straight years.
Santana, 34, missed the entire 2013 season after re-injuring his shoulder and undergoing surgery. He missed the 2011 season with a similar injury and there are questions whether he will be able to continue pitching. He is currently an unsigned free agent.
| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | min al | 0.0 | |
| 2001 | min al | 1.7 | |
| 2002 | min al | 10.0 | |
| 2003 | min al | 10.7 | CYA-7 |
| 2004 | min al | 26.8 | BTP-1, CYA-1, MVP-6 |
| 2005 | min al | 24.1 | AS, BTP-1, CYA-3 |
| 2006 | min al | 25.7 | AS, BTP-1, CYA-1, MVP-7 |
| 2007 | min al | 18.1 | AS, CYA-5, BTP-4, BTP-AL pi-1 |
| 2008 | nym nl | 15.4 | BTP-9, BTP-NL pi-5, CYA-3, MVP-14 |
| 2009 | nym nl | 11.4 | |
| 2010 | nym nl | 12.0 | |
| 2011 | nym nl | 0.0 | |
| 2012 | nym nl | 10.7 | |
| 2013 | nym nl | 0.0 | |
| Total | 166.6 | BTP-8, BTP-pi-6 |
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL pi Finish among all AL pitchers in BTP
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Santana has 166.6 Box-Toppers points, putting him in eighth place among players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” rankings (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995) and sixth among all pitchers. At the end of 2013, he ranked third among all active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (172.3) and Roy Halladay (170.7), who announced his retirement in December.
Santana’s Box-Toppers numbers suggest he should have won four straight American League Cy Young Awards while pitching for the Minnesota Twins from 2004 through 2007, however, he only won two. He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and led all AL pitchers in points in 2007:
• In 2004, his best season, he earned 26.8 Box-Toppers points, more than any other player that year, won the Cy Young Award and also finished sixth in AL Most Valuable Player voting. (Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels was voted MVP. He had 14.4 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all AL players.)
• In 2005, Santana had 24.1 Box-Toppers points, more than any other player that season. However, he finished third in AL Cy Young voting. (Bartolo Colon of the Angels won the Cy Young—he had 9.4 Box-Toppers points that year, ranking 13th among AL pitchers.)
• In 2006, Santana had 25.7 Box-Toppers points, again more than any other player that year, winning the AL Cy Young Award and finishing seventh in AL MVP voting. (Twins teammate Justin Morneau was voted MVP—he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all AL batters.)
• In 2007, Santana had 18.1 Box-Toppers points, the most of any AL pitcher and the fourth most of any player. However, he finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting, with only one vote. (CC Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians won the award—he had 13.1 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL pitchers.)
Santana moved to the New York Mets in 2008 and while he finished fifth among National League pitchers and ninth among all players in Box-Toppers points with 15.4, he has never again equalled the success he had over the previous four years with the Twins.
However, when he has been healthy and active, he has surpassed 10.0 Box-Toppers points each season—he has 10 such seasons in his 14-year career. He surpassed 15.0 points in five seasons and scored more than 20.0 points in three seasons.
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.
Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez
The Los Angeles Dodgers are now Box-Toppers' top team.
The Dodgers, the hottest team since June and the hottest team of the past week, have catapulted from early-season obscurity to steadily climbing Box-Toppers team rankings, rising this week to the No. 1 spot.
Dodgers players have accumulated 112.2 Box-Toppers points this season, including 13.2 this past week, more than any other team. They picked up 7.0 of those Box-Toppers points by acquiring two players this past week:
The Dodgers were the preseason favorite to win the World Series, a pick that seemed doomed in May when the team got off to a slow start. They started winning in June and were so far back, they did not debut in the Box-Toppers top 10 team rankings until July 25. Last week, they took over top spot among National League teams. And this week, they rose from third place overall to the top spot.
The Dodgers pass last week's top team, the Detroit Tigers, which topped Box-Toppers power rankings for four weeks. The Tigers, with 108.5 points, second place overall, still have more Box-Toppers points than any other American League team.
The second-hottest team of the past week, the Pittsburgh Pirates, picked up 10.2 Box-Toppers points, giving them 101.2 points the season, rising from ninth to sixth place in power rankings. The Pirates picked up 4.5 of those points by acquiring first baseman Justin Morneau in a trade with the Twins. The Pirates were also the hottest team last week.
The hottest AL team of the week is the Boston Red Sox, picking up 8.7 Box-Toppers points and rising from sixth place to third place in power rankings.
The team with the best actual winning percentage, the Atlanta Braves (.612) , is in ninth place in Box-Toppers power rankings. The Red Sox (.599) have the best record in the AL. The Box-Toppers-power-rankings-leader Dodgers have the third best record in baseball (.597).
Through Thursday, Sept. 5
| 905 | Top 10 Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Last week rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodgers | 112.2 | 13.2 | 3 |
| 2 | Tigers | 108.5 | 3.5 | 1 |
| 3 | Red Sox | 107.2 | 8.7 | 6 |
| 4 | Rays | 102.1 | 2.7 | 2 |
| 5 | Cardinals | 101.9 | 3.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Pirates | 101.2 | 10.2 | 9 |
| 7 | Rangers | 101.0 | 2.0 | 4 |
| 8 | Reds | 100.2 | 6.0 | 7 |
| 9 | Braves | 96.5 | 4.0 | 8 |
| 10 | Athletics | 94.7 | 5.0 | 10 |
BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.
BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week, through games on Thursday.
Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Sunday, Aug. 4:
Rangers pitcher Derek Holland is Sunday's Player of the Day, while Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn rises to seventh place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Holland pitched eight shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 4-0 win over the Athletics.
Lynn is National League Player of the Day, striking out 11 over eight innings in the 15-2 win over the Reds. Lynn earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season, moving him into seventh place among players.
Khris Davis of the Brewers is National League Batter of the Day. Davis scored twice and went 1-for-2 in the 8-5 win over the Nationals.
Justin Morneau of the Twins is American League Batter of the Day. Morneau homered and went 2-for-4 in the 3-2 win over the Astros.
Holland receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lynn receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Davis and Morneau each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 804 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Derek Holland (W, 9-6) | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| NL | 9.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lance Lynn (W, 13-5) | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 9.0 | Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Kazmir (W, 7-4) | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |||
| 7.0 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A.J. Burnett (W, 5-7) | 9.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 7.0 | Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Felix Doubront (W, 8-5) | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 6.0 | `Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yoervis Medina (H, 8) | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 4.0 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bruce Rondon (W, 1-1) | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kenley Jansen (S, 17) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 3.1 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Alex Torres (W, 4-0) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Alex Wood (W, 2-2) | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 2.2 | Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brett Cecil (W, 5-1) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| BAT | 2.0 | Brewers | Khris Davis PH, LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2.0 | Padres | Mark Kotsay LF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| BAT | 1.0 | Twins | Justin Morneau 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson PR, CF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 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.
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.