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The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
Read MoreGiancarlo 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.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw retakes the season Box-Toppers player rankings lead only four days after losing it to Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. Kershaw, making his first start Friday after returning from five weeks on the disabled list, earns Player of the Game honors and retakes the 2017 Box-Toppers points lead he held for more than three months.
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Anthony Rendon of the Nationals, Justin Bour of the Marlins and Logan Morrison of the Rays have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the 10 players who are All-Star Game Final Vote candidates.
| BTP | ||||
| AL player | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16 |
| Logan Morrison | 1b | Rays | 4.2 | 2.0 |
| Elvis Andrus | ss | Rangers | 3.5 | 9.2 |
| Mike Moustakas | dh 3b | Royals | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Xander Bogaerts | ss | Red Sox | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Didi Gregorius | ss | Yankees | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| BTP | ||||
| NL player | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16 |
| Anthony Rendon | 3b lf | Nationals | 4.5 | 5.5 |
| Justin Bour | 1b | Marlins | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| Mark Reynolds | 1b | Rockies | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Kris Bryant | 3b lf | Cubs | 1.5 | 10.5 |
| Justin Turner | 3b lf | Dodgers | 1.0 | 2.5 |
But if players’ 2016 Box-Toppers point totals are taken into consideration, Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers would be considered leading candidates.
Voting ends today as fans pick one of the five players in each league to fill the final roster spots on the 2017 American League and National League All-Star teams.
In the AL, Logan Morrison of the Rays has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five AL candidates with 4.2. That puts him 15th among AL batters for the season and fourth among AL first basemen.
However, Elvis Andrus of the Rangers, who has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season, had 9.2 points in 2016, most of any of the five AL candidates. That ranked 10th among AL batters in 2016, second among AL shortstops. None of the other five AL candidates had more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.
In the NL, Anthony Rendon of the Nationals and Justin Bour of the Marlins have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five Final Vote candidates with 4.5. Rendon ranks 13th among NL batters and third among NL third basemen. Bour ranks 16th among NL batters and sixth among NL first basemen.
However, Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who has 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017, has the most 2016 points among the five NL candidates with 10.5. That ranked second among NL batters in 2016, behind Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7). Bryant was also NL Most Valuable Player in 2016.
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.
Sale rises to lead Box-Toppers weekly player rankings. Scherzer rises to lead NL pitchers, Judge rises to lead AL batters. Harper maintains lead among NL batters
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Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in season player rankings.
Nova pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 4-0 win over the Marlins.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 |
| 3 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 9 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 4.0 |
| 10 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 4.0 |
Nova earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to third in season player rankings, second among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (6.0 Box-Toppers points).
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Astros.
Triggs earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.4 for the season and rising to seventh in Box-Toppers season player rankings, fourth among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Braves hit three homers, going 3-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Brewers.
With Saturday’s Player of the Game honor, Kemp has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Dodgers and has 60.6 career points, fourth among active NL batters. His best season was 2012 with the Dodgers, when he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points, third among NL batters. In 2016, he had 7.5 points with the Padres and the Braves, sixth among NL outfielders.
American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Judge of the Yankees homered and went 2-for-2, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 12-4 win over the Orioles.
Judge earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 points for the season, rising to lead AL batters, passing previous leader, Logan Morrison of the Rays (3.2).
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Nova earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Triggs earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kemp and Judge each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
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.
| 4/29 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | PIT 4, MIA 0 | Ivan Nova (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| AL | 11.0 | OAK 2, HOU 1 | Andrew Triggs (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | ATL 11, MIL 3 | Matt Kemp, LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 6.0 | NYY 12, BAL 4 | Aaron Judge, RF | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TEX 6, LAA 3 | Yu Darvish (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 4.2 | NYM 5, WSH 3 | Hansel Robles (W,4-0; H,4) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.2 | `CLE 4, SEA 3 | Andrew Miller (H,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | TOR 4, TB 1 | Justin Smoak, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | SD 12, SF 4 | Allen Cordoba, PR-LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 6, DET 4 (F/10) | Jose Abreu, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 7, BOS 4 | Wade Davis (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 6, PHI 5 | Cody Bellinger, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | COL 7, ARI 6 | Alexi Amarista, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 | 13.0 | 28.7 | 36.1 | -3.0 |
| Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 3.4 |
| Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 3.0 | 13.4 | 58.6 | 58.6 | -7.4 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi mr cp | cle al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 17.0 | 25.0 | -6.0 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | lf | atl nl | 1.5 | 9.0 | 32.0 | 60.6 | -6.0 |
| Davis, Wade 2681 | pi cp | chi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 20.0 | 27.0 | -3.0 |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 1.0 | 4.5 | 17.7 | 23.9 | -2.5 |
| Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 21.0 | 21.0 | -0.5 |
| Robles, Hansel 3580 | pi mr cp | nym nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 0.0 |
| Amarista, Alexi 3032 | ss ph | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 |
| Bellinger, Cody 3781 | lf | lad nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Cordova, Allen 3780 | lf pr | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw rises to lead Box-Toppers weekly player rankings. Royals' Jason Vargas continues to lead American League players.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises in three significant Box-Toppers player rankings:
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 |
| 4 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 |
| 6 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 7 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 8 | Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 2.5 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
Kershaw struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
It is the second time this season Kershaw has led players in season Box-Toppers points, also leading from April 3 to 8. It is also the second time this season Kershaw has led active players in career Box-Toppers points. He briefly passed Sabathia for the lead on April 3 before Sabathia regained the lead the next day.
Kershaw now trails the third-place player on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, Curt Schilling (194.1). With his 2.0 points Friday, he actually moved up two spots on the "all-time" list, passing both Sabathia and Rodriguez.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-2 win over the Athletics.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 187.7 |
| 5 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 186.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 157.1 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 149.5 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season and rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL players.
Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, tied with Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Angels (7IP 3H R 2BB 6K W). But Keuchel won the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts—seven vs. six.
National League Batter of the Day—Manny Pina of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.
This was Pina’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pina made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2011, and was playing in his 45th career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Rays hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Red Sox.
Morrison earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.
Streak—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after both earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pina and Morrison 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.
| 4/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.1 | LAD 7, ARI 1 | Clayton Kershaw (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 6.0 | HOU 7, OAK 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | KC 7, LAA 1 | Danny Duffy (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | DET 7, CLE 6 | Daniel Norris (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | `WSH 3, PHI 2 (F/10) | Stephen Strasburg | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 10, CIN 4 | Manny Pina, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | TB 10, BOS 5 | Logan Morrison, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | BAL 6, TOR 4 | Wade Miley (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 2, MIN 1 | David Robertson (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | SEA 2, TEX 1 | Felix Hernandez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, CHC 2 | David Freese, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 8, COL 2 | Hunter Pence, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 5, SD 2 | Ender Inciarte, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 3, NYM 2 | Miguel Rojas, SS-3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | NYY 4, STL 3 | Starlin Castro, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 28.4 | 128.1 | 187.7 | -20.4 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 | 10.4 | 46.2 | 46.2 | -3.6 |
| Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 | 5.2 | 15.2 | 20.7 | 1.2 |
| Inciarte, Ender 3360 | cf | atl nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| Pina, Manny 3769 | ca | mil nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 16.1 | 75.2 | 83.9 | -14.1 |
| Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 11.7 | 29.7 | 30.7 | -9.7 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | 2b | nyy al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 16.5 | 26.5 | -6.0 |
| Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 80.7 | 169.7 | -5.0 |
| Miley, Wade 3006 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 37.4 | 37.4 | -5.0 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | chi al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 23.0 | 27.0 | -4.0 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 20.5 | 53.2 | -2.5 |
| Norris, Daniel 3548 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -1.0 |
| Freese, David 2710 | 3b | pit nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 19.2 | 25.2 | -1.0 |
| Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss 3b | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez is Sunday’s opening day Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Martinez pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits, no walks and striking out 10 in the 4-3 win over the Cubs. Martinez did not earn the win because after he exited, the Cubs tied the game in the top of the ninth inning before the Cardinals won the game in the bottom of the ninth.
While it is relatively rare for a pitcher to earn overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day without earning a win or a save, it did happen nine times in 2016, including once by Martinez on Aug. 29.
American League Player of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Rays homered and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice, in the 6-5 win over the Giants.
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner had a magnificent day, hitting two home runs and pitching a perfect game through five innings (his final line was 7IP 6H 3R 0BB 11K ND), but earns no Box-Toppers points for his effort (despite having a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0 for pitching, highest of any player on either team) simply because the Giants did not win.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Logan Morrison. Also, only one AL game was played Sunday.
Scoring—Martinez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and becomes the de facto early leader in season Box-Toppers points. Morrison earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pollock earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.
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
| 4/2 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.1 | `STL 4, CHC 3 | Carlos Martinez | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | 3.0 | TB 7, NYY 3 | Logan Morrison, 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 2.0 | ARI 6, SF 5 | A.J. Pollock, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| ` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | '17 | '16-17 | '12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 | 14.4 | 29.1 | 29.1 | -10.4 |
| Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 1.7 | 3.7 | 13.7 | 19.2 | -0.3 |
| Pollock, A.J. 3142 | cf | ari nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 16.2 | 16.2 | 1.5 |
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Sept. 2 and takes the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 19.1 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 16.0 |
Kershaw is the first player with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and has now exceeded 20.0 Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons. This is the first time this season Kershaw has led in Box-Toppers points. Kershaw led players in Box-Toppers points in three of the past four seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014) and has led National League pitchers the past four seasons.
Kershaw struck out 15 in a complete game, allowing one run and six hits, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.7 for the season. He rises from third place to take the Box-Toppers player rankings lead, passing previous leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (19.1 points).
Kershaw also rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Kershaw now has 154.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes Barry Bonds (153.2) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted Bonds began his career in 1986 and if his entire career were tracked, he would likely have about 230 career Box-Toppers points, making a rough extrapolation.) Kershaw trails 14th-place player Tim Hudson (155.0).
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Tommy Milone pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 3-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 and drove in seven runs.
| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
| 4/5 | Adam Wainwright | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4/6 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 2.0 |
| 4/13 | Scott Kazmir | oak al | 3.7 |
| 4/18 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 4.0 |
| 6/26 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 7/9 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 14.4 |
| 7/12 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 7/24 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 15.4 |
| 7/26 | Jacob deGrom | nym nl | 16.4 |
| 9/2 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 20.7 |
Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season. He ranks third among NL batters, behind Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9) and Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates (9.5). He ranks 36th among all players.
American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners earned AL Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day. Morrison homered, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Astros. He has 4.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 3.0 in the past two days.
Notable—Two other notable milestones from Wednesday:
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Milone earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Morrison each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,12-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | |
| AL | 11.0 | Twins | Tommy Milone (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 10.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 9.0 | Blue Jays | R.A. Dickey (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | `Reds | Raisel Iglesias | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison, PH-1B | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Yankees | Stephen Drew, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Ruben Tejada, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Sam Dyson (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Albert Pujols, DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Adam Lind, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna, CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Rays pitcher Drew Smyly is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 19.1 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.7 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 16.0 |
Player of the Day—Smyly pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 11-2 win over the Orioles.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Villanueva pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, striking out six and allowing one hit, in the 8-5 win over the Nationals. Villanueva did not earn the win, picking up a no decision because he exited with the Cardinals trailing, 4-3.
National League Batter of the Day—Darin Ruf of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 14-8 win over the Mets.
This was Ruf’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ruf made his Major League debut Sept. 14, 2012, and was playing in his 219th career game. He is the 3,575th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the 7-5 win over the Astros.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Greinke (7.1IP 5H R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Greinke also now has 143.7 career Box-Toppers points and maintains his rank at 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).
Notable—Prince Fielder rises to fourth place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Fielder (HR 2-5 2R 2BI in the 8-6 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.
Debut—In addition to Ruf, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday: Marlins pitcher Justin Nicolino earned his first Player of the Game honor (7IP 6H 0R 3K W in the 7-1 win over the Braves). Nicolino made his Major League debut June 20 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,576th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Smyly earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Villanueva earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Ruf and Morrison each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s 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
| 9/1 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Rays | Drew Smyly (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | 8.1 | `Cardinals | Carlos Villanueva (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 7.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W,11-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Yankees | Michael Pineda (W,10-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Phillies | Darin Ruf, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.1 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,15-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Phil Gosselin, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Cubs | Kyle Schwarber, LF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison, PH-1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W,7-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Ryan Goins, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Aaron Hill, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Justin Nicolino (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | Tigers | Ian Kinsler, 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Prince Fielder, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn is Monday’s Player of the Day. Lynn pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and striking out seven in the 8-0 win over the Rockies
Lynn receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season. He is in 38th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and ranks 16th among National League pitchers.
Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is American League Player of the Day. Stroman struck out seven over eight innings, allowing only one run, in the 8-3 win over the Yankees.
Logan Morrison of the Mariners is AL Batter of the Day. Morrison hit two home runs, went 4-for-4 with two runs and drove in four in the 12-3 win over the Red Sox.
Devin Mesoraco of the Reds is NL Batter of the Day. Mesoraco hit a grand slam in the 6-1 win over the Cubs.
Lynn receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Stroman receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Morrison and Mesoraco each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Monday’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 Monday, 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
| 623 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| AL | 9.0 | Blue Jays | Marcus Stroman (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison 1B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Reds | Devin Mesoraco C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis PH, DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Padres | Odrisamer Despaigne (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 4.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W, 4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson CF | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Marlins | Nathan Eovaldi (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
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.