Cardinals’ Flaherty tops players for Monday, Aug. 24; Lynn, Maeda rise in top 10 player rankings

Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Monday, Rangers pitcher Lance Lynn rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors and Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda rises to sixth place after earning American League Player of the Day honors.

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Yankees’ James Paxton tops players for Tuesday, April 16; 3 players rise in top 10 player rankings

Yankees pitcher James Paxton is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, three players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday: Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to third place, Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana rises to eighth place and Indians pitcher Shane Bieber rises to ninth place.

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A look at Box-Toppers’ top 100 players for 2018

Blake Snell tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2018.

The Rays pitcher had 27.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the 12th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

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Indians’ Corey Kluber tops players for Friday, Aug. 31; Kluber, Severino rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.

Also Friday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning his first Player of the Game honor since July 1.

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Twins' Jose Berrios tops players for Sunday, April 1; Nationals' Gonzalez tops NL players

Twins pitcher Jose Berrios is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Berrios pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out six and allowing one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Orioles.

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How did 2017 home run leaders fare in Box-Toppers points? 4 of top 10 finish in Box-Toppers' top 100

Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins led all players in home runs in 2017 and ranked second among all batters in Box-Toppers points for the season. Four of the top 10 home run leaders in 2017 are among the overall top 100 players.

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More pitchers lead their team in 2017 Box-Toppers points than batters at the All-Star break

A look at who leads each of the 30 teams in 2017 Box-Toppers points at the All-Star break.

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Dbacks' Zack Greinke tops players for Thursday, May 11; Vargas, Keuchel rise in Box-Toppers top 10

Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Grienke is Thursday’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 11:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 7.0
2 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 6.7
3 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 6.7
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 6.0
5 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 6.0
6 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 5.4
7 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 5.4
8 Triggs, Andrew 3723 pi sp oak al 5.4
9 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 5.0
10 Nova, Ivan 2796 pi sp pit nl 5.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, two players rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to fifth place and Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to seventh place.

Player of the Day—Greinke struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one hit—an eighth-inning home run—in the 2-1 win over the Pirates. Greinke allowed just the one run and walked only one.

Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 160.8 for his career, 14th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 13th-place player John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list. Greinke ranks fifth among all active players.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 7-1 win over the Angels.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-2 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-7 win over the Dodgers.

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

  • Royals pitcher Jason Vargas (7IP 3H 0R BB 4K W in the 6-0 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to fifth place, third among AL pitchers.
  • Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (6IP 5H R BB 9K W in the 3-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to seventh place, fifth among AL pitchers.

Streak—Mike Napoli of the Rangers has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday (2HR 2-3 2R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Padres).

Napoli earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Angels and has 58.7 career points, sixth among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2011 with the Rangers when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL batters. In 2016, he had 6.5 points with the Indians, ninth among AL first basemen.

Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fulmer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Smoak and Arenado each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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 

5/11 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 15.0 ARI 2, PIT 1 Zack Greinke (W,4-2) - - - - 8.0 1 1 1 1 11
8.0 HOU 3, NYY 2 Dallas Keuchel (W,6-0) - - - - 6.0 5 1 0 1 9
AL 7.0 DET 7, LAA 1 Michael Fulmer (W,4-1) - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 2 7
7.0 KC 6, TB 0 Jason Vargas (W,5-1) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 1 4
BAT 6.0 TOR 7, SEA 2 Justin Smoak, 1B 3 2 3 4 - - - - - -
6.0 `BOS 4, MIL 1 Eduardo Rodriguez - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 0 5
5.0 TEX 5, SD 2 Mike Napoli, DH 3 2 2 4 - - - - - -
4.2 MIN 7, CHW 6 Brandon Kintzler (S,8) - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 4.0 COL 10, LAD 7 Nolan Arenado, 3B 4 3 3 2 - - - - - -
2.1 CIN 3, SF 2 Wandy Peralta (W,2-0) - - - - 1.1 1 0 0 0 2
MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game Pos Team ’17 ’16-17 ’12-17 Career +/-
Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 6.0 7.0 32.4 53.2 5.0
Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 5.4 12.4 48.2 48.2 -1.6
Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp ari nl 4.7 14.4 83.7 160.8 -5.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 pi sp bos al 4.7 9.4 15.4 15.4 0.0
Fulmer, Michael 3640 pi sp det al 3.7 16.4 16.4 16.4 -9.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306 3b col nl 3.0 13.7 23.7 23.7 -7.7
Kintzler, Brandon 3150 pi cp min al 3.0 3.0 5.0 5.0 3.0
Smoak, Justin 2731 1b tor al 2.5 6.0 19.2 25.4 -1.0
Peralta, Wandy 3782 pi mr cin nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Napoli, Mike 2161 dh 1b tex al 1.0 7.5 30.7 58.7 -5.5
What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Justin Verlander tops players for Friday, Aug. 26; Cubs' Bryant extends Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander 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 2016 season as of Aug. 26:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 20.7
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
3 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 18.4
4 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 17.2
5 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 16.8
6 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp chi nl 15.4
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
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, Kris Bryant of the Cubs extended his lead in season Box-Toppers points among National League batters after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Verlander struck out eight over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Angels.

Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 133.6 career points, rising to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 28th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (136.5). Verlander has 9.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 15th among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Luke Weaver allowed one run over six innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and two walks, in the 14-4 win over the Athletics.

This was Weaver’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Weaver made his Major League debut Aug. 13 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,719th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 15-8 win over the Twins.

Smoak and Gary Sanchez of the Yankees (Player of the Game in the 14-4 win over the Orioles) both had Box-Toppers game scores of +5.0 Friday, but Smoak holds the tiebreaker to earn AL Batter of the Day honors because he had more RBIs than Sanchez—5 vs. 4.

National League Batter of the Day—Kris Bryant of the Cubs hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 6-4, 10-inning win over the Dodgers.

Bryant earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season, extending his lead among NL batters—second place NL batter is Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (8.5). 

Bryant becomes the 31st player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, the fourth batter and the first NL batter. He is the sixth Cubs player to reach 10 points in 2016 (The others: Jon Lester—15.4, Jake Arrieta—13.7, John Lackey—12.4, Jason Hammel—11.0, Kyle Hendricks—10.7). He ranks 26th among all players in season player rankings. It is Bryant’s first 10-point season; in his rookie season of 2015, he had 8.5 points.

Streak—Rickie Weeks of the Diamondbacks has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game of the season Friday.

Weeks (HR 3B 2-3 2R BI in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Reds) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2005 with the Brewers and has 37.1 career points, third among active NL second basemen. His best season was 2007 with the Brewers when he had 6.2 Box-Toppers points. In 2015, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Mariners.

Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Weaver earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Smoak and Bryant 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/26 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.2 DET 4, LAA 2 Justin Verlander (W,14-7) - - - - 7.2 4 2 2 1 8
BAT 5.0 TOR 15, MIN 8 Justin Smoak, 1B 5 2 3 5 - - - - - -
5.0 NYY 14, BAL 4 Gary Sanchez, C 5 3 3 4 - - - - - -
NL 5.0 STL 3, OAK 1 Luke Weaver (W,1-1) - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 2 7
4.2 SEA 3, CHW 1 Edwin Diaz (S,11) - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 3
4.0 CLE 12, TEX 1 Abraham Almonte, RF 5 2 3 4 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 CHC 6, LAD 4 (10) Kris Bryant, 3B 4 3 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 NYM 9, PHI 4 Asdrubal Cabrera, SS 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 SF 7, ATL 0 Jeff Samardzija (W,11-9) - - - - 7.0 7 0 0 3 6
3.0 MIA 7, SD 6 Fernando Rodney (W,2-3) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 KC 6, BOS 3 Eric Hosmer, 1B 4 1 2 3 - - - - - -
2.0 PIT 5, MIL 3 Jordy Mercer, SS 4 1 1 4 - - - - - -
2.0 ARI 4, CIN 3 (11) Rickie Weeks, LF 3 2 2 1 - - - - - -
2.0 WSH 8, COL 5 Daniel Murphy, 2B 3 2 1 2 - - - - - -
1.0 HOU 5, TB 4 Evan Gattis, C 4 1 2 2 - - - - - -

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 +/-
Bryant, Kris 3465 lf 3b rf chi nl 10.5 19.0 19.0 19.0 2.0
Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp det al 9.0 15.4 78.6 133.6 2.6
Murphy, Daniel 2589 2b dc nl 7.5 9.0 31.0 32.5 6.0
Samardzija, Jeff 2495 pi sp sf nl 6.7 16.1 44.8 45.8 -2.7
Hosmer, Eric 2886 1b kc al 6.0 15.0 28.5 28.5 -3.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803 pi cp fla nl 5.0 6.0 23.0 35.0 4.0
Diaz, Edwin 3690 pi cp sea al 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Smoak, Justin 2731 1b tor al 3.5 8.5 18.4 22.9 -1.5
Gattis, Evan 3179 ca hou al 3.0 7.0 9.0 9.0 -1.0
Mercer, Jordy 3206 ss pit nl 3.0 3.0 9.0 9.0 3.0
Sanchez, Gary 3701 dh ca nyy al 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 ss nym nl 2.0 5.0 26.7 42.7 -1.0
Almonte, Abraham 3554 rf ph cle al 2.0 3.5 3.5 3.5 0.5
Weaver, Luke 3719 pi sp stl nl 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7
Weeks, Rickie 2035 lf 2b ari nl 1.0 2.0 17.9 37.1 0.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, Sept. 27, cementing his status as Box-Toppers Player of the Year

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, taking a commanding lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and virtually assuring his status as Box-Toppers Player of the Year.

Also Sunday, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 27.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 27.1
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 22.7
3 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 21.4
4 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 21.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 21.1
6 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 19.7
7 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 19.4
8 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 19.0
9 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 18.0
10 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 17.8
What are those numbers after players' names?
  • Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third place.
  • Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to fourth place and took the lead among American League pitchers, displacing previous leader, David Price of the Blue Jays.

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out nine, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 27.1 for the season, cementing his lead atop Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Best seasons

Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Sunday became the player with the 11th-most points in a single season (27.1) since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.  

Rank Player Team Pos Year BTP
1 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 2000 33.7
1 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 2002 33.7
3 Pedro Martinez Red Sox pi sp 2000 33.5
4 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 1999 31.5
4 Clayton Kershaw Dodgers pi sp 2014 31.5
6 Pedro Martinez Red Sox pi sp 1999 31.4
7 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 2001 29.4
8 Pedro Martinez Red Sox pi sp 2002 28.8
9 Curt Schilling Dbacks pi sp 2002 28.4
10 Roger Clemens Blue Jays pi sp 1997 27.4
11 *Jake Arrieta Cubs pi sp 2015 27.1
12 Johan Santana Twins pi sp 2004 26.8
13 Pedro Martinez Expos pi sp 1997 26.7
13 CC Sabathia Indians/Brewers pi sp 2008 26.7
15 Randy Johnson Mariners/Astros pi sp 1998 26.4
16 John Smoltz Braves pi sp 1996 26.1
16 Clayton Kershaw Dodgers pi sp 2011 26.1
18 Roger Clemens Blue Jays pi sp 1998 25.8
18 Corey Kluber Indians pi sp 2014 25.8
20 Johan Santana Twins pi sp 2006 25.7
21 Cliff Lee Phillies pi sp 2011 25.4
* Current season

Arrieta also now has the 11th-highest Box-Toppers single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began (see Best seasons chart). Only once since 2002 has a player had a higher Box-Toppers point total than Arrieta has in 2015—last season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had 31.5, ranked fourth since 1995.

Arrieta’s Box-Toppers points lead for 2015 is all-but insurmountable. He now leads second-place player Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) by 4.4 Box-Toppers points. Since the most a player can earn in one game is 2.0 Box-Toppers points, that means Kershaw would need at least three starts to pass Arrieta. Kershaw likely only has one start left this season, at most, two.

It would be extremely unlikely, though still mathematically possible, for a player to pass Arrieta in Box-Toppers points. With seven games left in the season, if a player earned Player of the Day honors each day, they could earn up to 14.0 points. But if you consider the players who are now within 14.0 points of Arrieta, that would include the top 19 players, all of whom are starting pitchers and who aren’t likely to pitch every day. But mathematically, it would be possible, for example for Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 19th) to be Box-Toppers Player of the Day for seven games, earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each day and ending the season with 27.7 points, passing Arrieta. But that just won’t happen.

In other words, Arrieta on Sunday won Box-Toppers Player of the Year for 2015, with a week left to go in the season.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Henry Owens pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 2-0 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-5 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 5-4 win over the Rays.

Rankings—Two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings:

  • Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third in player rankings. deGrom (6IP 5H R 9K W in the 8-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.4 for the season. He also ranks third among NL pitchers.
  • Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to fourth in player rankings. Keuchel (7IP 2H R 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.4 for the season. (Though tied with deGrom in Box-Toppers points at 21.4, deGrom ranks ahead of Keuchel on a tiebreaker: deGrom had more Box-Toppers points in 2014, 13.0 vs. 12.4.) Keuchel rises to first place among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader David Price of the Blue Jays (21.1).

Debuts—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Jason Rogers of the Brewers (pinch-hit, ninth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 8-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 2, 2014, and was playing in his 92nd career game. He is the 3,602nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Angels closing pitcher Mike Morin (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut April 30, 2014, and was playing in his 103rd career game. He is the 3,603rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Byron Buxton of the Twins (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 7-1 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,604th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Owens earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Arenado and Smoak 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

9/27 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 15.0 Cubs Jake Arrieta (W,21-6) - - - - - - 7.0 1 0 0 0 9
11.0 Astros Dallas Keuchel (W,19-8) - - - - - - 7.0 2 1 1 2 10
AL 8.2 Red Sox Henry Owens (W,4-3) - - - - - - 7.2 3 0 0 1 5
8.0 Mets Jacob deGrom (W,14-8) - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 0 9
BAT 6.0 Rockies Nolan Arenado, 3B 3 2 2 5 1 0 - - - - - -
6.0 Royals Chris Young (W,11-6) - - - - - - 5.0 0 0 0 1 2
5.0 Brewers Jason Rogers, 3B 1 1 1 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Dbacks Ender Inciarte, RF 5 2 4 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Blue Jays Justin Smoak, 1B 4 1 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Marlins Justin Bour, 1B 4 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Mike Morin (S, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Phillies Freddy Galvis, SS 5 2 3 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Twins Byron Buxton, CF 4 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees Luis Severino (W,5-3) - - - - - - 6.0 5 0 0 1 2
2.0 Giants Santiago Casilla (S,37) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 1 2

Cardinals' Lance Lynn (7IP R 3H 9K) tops players for Friday, July 17

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson became the 14th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Lynn struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, in the 3-2 win over the Mets.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 17.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 14.4
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 13.4
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 13.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
7 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
8 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 11.7
9 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp hou al 11.1
10 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 11.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out four, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.

Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.1 for the season. He ranks 13th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers. He is the 14th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Jeff Francoeur of the Phillies hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 6-3 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer, doubled and scored two runs in the 6-2 win over the Rays.

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Jose Iglesias of the Tigers (HR 1-3 2R 3BI in the 7-3 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 8, 2011, and was playing in his 222nd career game. He is the 3,532nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Braves pitcher Arodys Vizcaino (1IP 0R 0H K W in the 4-2 win over the Cubs) made his Major League debut Aug. 10, 2011, and was playing in his 27th career game. He is the 3,533rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lynn earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Francoeur and Smoak each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/17 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 Cardinals Lance Lynn (W,7-5) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 1 9
8.0 Brewers Mike Fiers (W,5-7) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 1 7
BAT 4.0 Phillies Jeff Francoeur, PH 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
AL 4.0 Angels C.J. Wilson - - - - - - 8.0 5 0 0 3 4
3.0 Reds Marlon Byrd, LF 4 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Blue Jays Justin Smoak, 1B 4 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Twins Trevor Plouffe, 3B 4 1 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Tigers Jose Iglesias, SS 3 2 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 White Sox David Robertson (S,20) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 `Padres Joaquin Benoit (H,12) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Braves Arodys Vizcaino (W,1-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Giants Hunter Pence, RF 6 2 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Yankees Chris Young, RF 4 2 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Astros Luke Gregerson (S,19) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 1
0.0 Royals Alex Rios, RF 3 1 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Dodgers' Zack Greinke (7IP 0R 7K) tops players for Monday, July 8

Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard graphic.png

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Monday's Player of the Day. Greinke pitched seven shutout innings, allowed only two hits and struck out seven in the 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Justin Smoak of the Mariners is American League Player of the Day. Smoak went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs in the 11-4 win over the Red Sox. 

Jean Segura of the Brewers is National League Batter of the Day. Segura went 3-for-3 in the 4-3 win over the Reds. 

Greinke receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Smoak receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Segura receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.

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

708ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
MLB10.0Dodgers 0000000  Zack Greinke (W, 7-2)7.020027
 6.0Phillies 0000000  John Lannan (W, 2-3)8.040024
 5.0Cubs 0000000  Matt Garza (W, 5-1)7.052106
AL3.0Mariners Justin Smoak 1B423210  00.000000
 3.0Braves 0000000  David Carpenter (W, 2-0)2.010002
 3.0`Mets 0000000  Carlos Torres 2.010002
 3.0Royals 0000000  Greg Holland (S, 21)1.010003
BAT2.0Brewers Jean Segura SS313100  00.000000
 2.0Athletics 0000000  Bartolo Colon (W, 12-3)7.071115
 2.0Tigers 0000000  Drew Smyly (W, 4-0)1.000001
 1.0Rangers Ian Kinsler 2B502400  00.000000
 1.0Rays Ben Zobrist 2B412201  00.000000
 0.0Rockies Wilin Rosario C402202  00.000000

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