Phillies' Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter, tops players for Saturday, July 25; Sale, Martinez rise in Box-Toppers' top 10

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter against the Cubs, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 25.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 14.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
7 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
9 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 12.7
10 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 12.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, two players rose in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place and Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to ninth place. Plus, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, the active career Box-Toppers points leader, now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Hamels pitched a no-hitter in the 5-0 win over the Cubs. He faced 29 batters and allowed two walks and struck out 13.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He is the 19th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and now ranks 20th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.

Hamels has now earned at least 10 Box-Toppers points in each of his first 10 seasons.

In addition, Hamels now has 120.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 34th place in among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Saturday, Hamels passes two players on the “all-time” list—Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 33rd-place player Gary Sheffield (124.1). Hamels ranks seventh in career Box-Toppers points among active NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hit three home runs and drove in four runs in the 8-5 win over the Twins.

Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to third among AL batters.

Rodriguez also now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank in fourth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1). Rodriguez leads all batters and all active players in career Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 15-2 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is a batter (Alex Rodriguez).

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

  • White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (7IP 7H 2R 7K W in the 10-3 win over the Indians) rose to third place with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. Sale, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).
  • Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (8IP 6H 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Braves) rose to ninth place with 12.7 Box-Toppers points. Martinez, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto became the 20th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Cueto (8IP 4H 0R 5K W in the 5-2 win over the Rockies) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/25 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 20.0 Phillies Cole Hamels (W,6-7) - - - - - - 9.0 0 0 0 2 13
8.0 Dbacks Rubby De La Rosa (W,8-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 2 6
8.0 Reds Johnny Cueto (W,7-6) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 1 5
7.0 Cardinals Carlos Martinez (W,11-4) - - - - - - 8.0 6 0 0 1 6
BAT 6.0 Mets Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF-RF 4 2 4 4 1 0 - - - - - -
AL 6.0 Yankees Alex Rodriguez, DH 4 3 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
5.2 Orioles Miguel Gonzalez (W,9-6) - - - - - - 7.2 5 1 1 0 5
5.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W,11-5) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 7
3.0 Nationals Michael Taylor, CF 5 1 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 White Sox Chris Sale (W,9-5) - - - - - - 7.0 7 2 2 0 7
3.0 Padres Ian Kennedy (W,6-9) - - - - - - 6.0 7 1 1 1 7
3.0 `Royals Danny Duffy - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 1 3
2.0 Tigers Nick Castellanos, 3B 4 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Blue Jays Ezequiel Carrera, PH-LF 2 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Rangers Rougned Odor, 2B 4 2 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, July 12; Nationals' Scherzer regains Box-Toppers points lead

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 12th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Also Sunday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the Box-Toppers season points lead and also earned his 100th career Box-Toppers point. Plus, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to ninth 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 July 12.  


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?

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched a two-hit complete game, allowing one run and striking out nine, in the 3-1 win over the White Sox.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 points for the season. He is the 12th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among all players, seventh among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Indians.

Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.1 for the season. He is the 13th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to ninth in season player rankings, fifth among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets hit three homers and drove in four runs in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Omar Infante of the Royals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 11-10 win over the Blue Jays.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings Sunday after earning Player of the Game honors.

Scherzer (8.2IP 4H 2R 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (14.4 Box-Toppers points) for first place in Box-Toppers rankings. Scherzer previously led players in Box-Toppers points this season from June 26 to July 8, when he both took the lead from and lost the lead to Hernandez.

Scherzer also now has 100.0 career Box-Toppers points, becoming the 67th player with 100 since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Scherzer ranks 67th among all players and trails 66th-place player Larry Walker (100.1).

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis and Infante 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

7/12 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 Cubs Jake Arrieta (W,10-5) - - - - - - 9.0 2 1 1 0 9
AL 12.0 Athletics Sonny Gray (W,10-3) - - - - - - 9.0 2 0 0 1 6
7.2 Nationals Max Scherzer (W,10-7) - - - - - - 8.2 4 2 2 0 7
7.2 Padres Tyson Ross (W,6-7) - - - - - - 6.2 3 0 0 2 6
7.0 Angels Andrew Heaney (W,3-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 6
BAT 6.0 Mets Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF 4 3 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
6.0 Twins Kyle Gibson (W,8-6) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 0 2 6
4.2 Giants Chris Heston (W,9-5) - - - - - - 6.2 7 1 1 0 7
3.0 Rockies Charlie Blackmon, CF 5 1 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Marlins Justin Bour, 1B 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Kenley Jansen (S,16) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
BAT 2.0 Royals Omar Infante, 2B 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Pirates Gregory Polanco, RF 4 1 3 2 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees Brian McCann, C 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rays David DeJesus, LF 3 2 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -

Yankees' Ivan Nova, D-Backs' Tyler Skaggs top players for Friday, July 5

Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard graphic.png

Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova is Friday's Player of the Day. Nova pitched a complete game and struck out 11 in the 3-2 win over the Orioles.

Diamondbacks pitcher Tyler Skaggs is National League Player of the Day. Skaggs pitched eight scoreless innings and gave up only three hits in the 5-0 win over the Rockies. 

Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. Nieuwenhuis went 4-for-4 with five RBIs in the 12-5 win over the Brewers.

Josh Reddick of the Athletics is American League Batter of the Day. Reddick went 2-for-3 and scored three runs in the 6-3 win over the Royals. 

Notable: Mariners closing pitcher Oliver Perez (Save, 3K in 4-2 win vs. Reds) was Player of the Game for the first time in more than four years. The previous time Perez was Player of the Game was April 15, 2009, when he was a starting pitcher for the New York Mets. In 2004, Perez had 17.0 Box-Toppers points for the season as a starter for the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates. He has 43.1 career Box-Toppers points.

Nova receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Skaggs receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis and Reddick each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

705ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
MLB12.0Yankees 0000000  Ivan Nova (W, 3-2)9.0322111
NL9.0Diamondbacks 0000000  Tyler Skaggs (W, 2-1)8.030015
BAT8.0Mets Kirk Nieuwenhuis RF434520  00.000000
 8.0Rays 0000000  Jeremy Hellickson (W, 8-3)7.061109
 7.0Dodgers Juan Uribe 3B523701  00.000000
 6.0Tigers 0000000  Rick Porcello (W, 5-6)7.050026
 6.0Blue Jays 0000000  Mark Buehrle (W, 5-5)7.060005
BAT4.0Athletics Josh Reddick RF332201  00.000000
 4.0Pirates 0000000  Francisco Liriano (W, 8-3)9.042247
 4.0`Cardinals 0000000  Trevor Rosenthal (H, 18)1.000003
 4.0Mariners 0000000  Oliver Perez (S, 2)1.000003
 3.0Phillies Humberto Quintero C312301  00.000000
 3.0Red Sox David Ortiz PH111200  00.000000
 2.0Rangers Nelson Cruz RF521401  00.000000
 2.0Nationals Wilson Ramos C412301  00.000000

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