Box-Toppers selects seven players for 2021 Hall of Fame induction in internet writers’ ballot

Box-Toppers is voting for seven players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot—Todd Helton, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent, Aramis Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Billy Wagner.

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Catching up on baseball with Box-Toppers, after falling behind by a ‘fair’ amount

Baseball proceeds whether we are ready or not.

In the past few weeks, other duties put me behind staying up-to-date with the Box-Toppers daily blog and I have been scrambling to catch up. I fell behind three weeks and three days ago, on Aug. 13 and only caught up today (Monday, Sept. 7) with yesterday’s games.

Usually when a person falls behind doing something, it’s best to just move ahead and ignore most of what was missed. But when you’re trying to keep comprehensive track of the baseball season, to assess and evaluate teams and players across an entire season, it is a mistake to simply ignore a chunk of the season, simply due to lack of convenience or lack of attention. So I’ve gone back and picked up the days I’ve missed, posting each day’s summary in the blog, even if was sometimes more than a week late.

During my catch-up phase, I did not post daily highlights to Box-Toppers’ Twitter and Facebook feeds. Instead, I’ve opted to post a summary of highlights of what was missed in the interim while I wasn’t posting to social media here in this post, with links to the relevant posts in the Box-Toppers blog:

New Box-Toppers leaders—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta took over the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings on Saturday, Sept. 5. Arrieta has 21.1 Box-Toppers points and passed previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who took the lead Wednesday, Sept. 2. (Kershaw has 20.7 Box-Toppers points.) Previously, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom led from July 26 to Sept. 1. He currently ranks third with 19.4 points.

Arrieta picked up 6.7 Box-Toppers points during the catch-up period (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6), including earning Player of the Day honors twice—on Sunday, Aug. 30 (when he pitched a no-hitter) and on Sept. 5.

New American League pitching leader—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel took the lead among AL pitchers on Sunday, Sept. 6 with 19.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Blue Jays pitcher David Price led AL pitchers. He currently ranks second among AL pitchers with 19.1 points.

New American League batting leader—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays took the lead among AL batters on Saturday, Aug. 29 with 10.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Mike Trout of the Angels led AL batters. Trout currently has 10.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks second among AL batters.

New National League batting leader—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies took the lead among NL batters on Thursday, Sept. 3 with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets took the lead among NL batters on Friday, Aug. 21 with 9.9 points. Before that, Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals led NL batters. He currently ranks fourth with 9.5 points.

New Box-Toppers team rankings leader—The Kansas City Royals took over the lead among teams at the last Box-Toppers team ranking report, as of Thursday, Sept. 3. The St. Louis Cardinals rose to top NL teams. For three weeks previously (Aug. 13, 20 and 27), the Pittsburgh Pirates were the top-ranked team. The Pirates ranked third as of Sept. 3.

Notable—Here are some notable achievements by players that happened during the catch-up phase (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6):

  • Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was the first player with 20.0 or more points this season, earning it on Wednesday, Sept. 2, the same day he took the Box-Toppers points lead. Kershaw, who led players in Box-Toppers points in three of the past four seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014) and led National League pitchers the past four seasons, has now exceeded 20.0 Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons. Kershaw also rose to 15th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He has 154.3 career Box-Toppers points.
  • Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon rose to 22nd place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995. He earned Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31, giving him 138.5 Box-Toppers points.
  • Michael Cuddyer of the Mets extended to 12 the number of consecutive seasons in which he’s earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point on Sunday, Aug. 30.
  • Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the catch-up period and is currently ranked sixth among all players with 18.0 points. In addition, with his point earned Tuesday, Sept. 1, Greinke has 143.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.
  • Astros pitcher Mike Fiers pitched a no-hitter on Friday, Aug. 21, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
  • Carlos Beltran of the Yankees earned Box-Toppers points in his 17th straight season, tying the record for the longest-active season streak on Friday, Aug. 14. 

Debuts—Twenty-three players made their Box-Toppers debut during the catch-up phase. Here is the list with links to the blog post for the day they made their debut with more information:

•

So what was I doing that was keeping me from Box-Toppers? I served as a volunteer coordinator for our local high school band’s major fundraiser. Over the course of the 11-day Iowa State Fair, I helped wrangle nearly 300 student and parent volunteers to fill 550 volunteer spots to serve ice cream and shakes at the fair’s Dairy Barn.

It’s a task that requires a few months of preparation to set up—to get volunteers signed up, to comply with various red-tape regulations and to develop and implement logistics to make it all work. But when the fair starts, the task can sometimes become even more time-consuming. As soon as the fair started on Aug. 13, Box-Toppers fell to the wayside. 

My last “on-time” post was Thursday, Aug. 13, covering the games of Wednesday, Aug. 12. The very next post was more than a week later on Friday, Aug. 21, covering the games of Thursday, Aug. 13. After the fair ended on Aug. 23, I kept plugging away, finally catching up two more weeks later.

The fundraiser went well, by the way. All our volunteers made it, worked hard, had a little fun (and a little ice cream) and raised a lot of money for our high school band program. It was my fifth and final year of coordinating volunteers for the fundraiser. And though it put me a little behind updating the Box-Toppers blog, it was a lot of fun and now that it’s over, tremendously satisfying.

And now, with my attention returned more fully to baseball, onto the homestretch of the season …

Cubs' Jake Arrieta, pitching no-hitter, tops players for Sunday, Aug. 30, rises to 2nd in player rankings

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, pitching a no-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Sunday, Aug. 30 and rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 30.  


 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 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 17.1
6 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 17.0
7 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 16.7
8 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 16.4
9 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
10 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 15.8
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Michael Cuddyer of the Mets extended to 12 the number of consecutive seasons in which he’s earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Player of the Day—Arrieta struck out 12 and walked one, pitching the complete-game no-hitter, shutting out the Dodgers, 2-0.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.1 for the season and rising to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He trails overall leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Derek Holland pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 6-0 win over the Orioles.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 20-6 win over the Braves.

National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit a two-run homer and doubled, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.

Streak—Michael Cuddyer of the Mets has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Cuddyer (3-3 2R BI in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Cuddyer earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Twins. His best year was 2013 with the Rockies when he had 11.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among NL batters. In 2014, he had 3.0 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.

Cuddyer has 60.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 209th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks third among active NL outfielders in career Box-Toppers points, behind Matt Holliday of the Cardinals (91.8) and Ryan Braun (77.7).

Trivial—This is the first time this season in which all players in the Box-Toppers top 10 have different Box-Toppers point totals. After the games of Aug. 29, Arrieta and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale both had 17.1 Box-Toppers points, but with Arrieta earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points, each player has a different point total.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Holland earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Drew and Werth 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

8/30 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 20.0 Cubs Jake Arrieta (W,17-6) - - - - - - 9.0 0 0 0 1 12
AL 17.0 Rangers Derek Holland (W,2-1) - - - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 0 11
11.0 Twins Ervin Santana (W,3-4) - - - - - - 7.0 6 0 0 0 10
8.0 Rockies Jorge De La Rosa (W,8-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 1 7
BAT 7.0 Yankees Stephen Drew, 2B 4 3 4 4 2 0 - - - - - -
6.0 Padres James Shields (W,10-6) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 8
5.0 Indians Josh Tomlin (W,3-1) - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 2 0 8
5.0 White Sox David Robertson (W,6-3) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 3
4.0 Blue Jays Russell Martin, C 3 3 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Brewers Wily Peralta (W,5-8) - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 0 6
BAT 3.0 Nationals Jayson Werth, LF 4 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Mets Michael Cuddyer, LF-1B 3 2 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Cardinals Kevin Siegrist (S,6) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Rays Brandon Guyer, RF 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Athletics Pat Venditte (W,1-2) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 1

Padres' Despaigne tops players for Friday, Sept. 19; Athletics' Lester rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings

Padres pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Athletics pitcher Jon Lester rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

In addition Friday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s chances were diminished for breaking the single-season record for Box-Toppers points. While Kershaw earned a win, he did not earn Player of the Game. And while he holds a commanding lead among players in Box-Toppers points for the season (with 30.5) he is now less likely to break the all-time single-season record of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. More on Kershaw’s chances to break the record.

Despaigne pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.

Lester rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Lester struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 3-1 win over the Phillies. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.4 for the season. He ranks sixth among AL pitchers.

Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies is National League Batter of the Day. Cuddyer hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5 with three runs and seven RBIs in the 15-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

David Ortiz of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Ortiz hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Orioles.

Notable: Cardinals pitcher John Lackey became the 53rd player to earn 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season after he earned Player of the Game honors Friday. Lackey (7.2IP R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 43rd among all players and 19th among NL pitchers.

Despaigne receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lester receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Cuddyer and Ortiz 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

919 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 Padres Odrisamer Despaigne (W, 4-7) - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 1 6
BAT 8.0 Rockies Michael Cuddyer RF 5 3 3 7 0 1 - - - - - -
6.0 Mets Zack Wheeler (W, 11-10) - - - - - - 6.0 5 0 0 2 7
5.0 Dodgers A.J. Ellis C 4 3 2 4 1 2 - - - - - -
AL 5.0 Athletics Jon Lester (W, 16-10) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 7
4.2 Cardinals John Lackey (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 7.2 6 1 1 0 5
4.2 Yankees Adam Warren (S, 3) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Red Sox David Ortiz DH 5 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Tigers Ian Kinsler 2B 5 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Mariners Dustin Ackley LF 4 3 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rangers Dan Robertson RF 3 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Twins Oswaldo Arcia RF 4 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.2 White Sox Zach Putnam (S, 6) - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 0 2
1.0 Pirates Russell Martin C 4 1 1 3 0 2 - - - - - -
1.0 Nationals Adam LaRoche 1B 3 1 1 2 1 1 - - - - - -

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, Aug. 17; Cuddyer earns NL Batter of Day with cycle

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, Sunday’s Player of the Day, becomes the 30th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 2-1 win over the Mets. Arrieta picked up a no-decision because after he left the game with the lead, the Mets tied the game at 1-1, before the Cubs scored the go-ahead run in the ninth. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 27th among all players and 12th among National League pitchers.

Mariners pitcher Chris Young is American League Player of the Day. Young pitched six scoreless innings in the 8-1 win over the Tigers. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season. He ranks 17th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.

Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Cuddyer hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-5 win over the Reds.

Jose Altuve of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Altuve hit a grand slam and went 4-for-5 in the 8-1 win over the Red Sox.

Notable: Nationals pitcher Doug Fister rose to 22nd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Fister (7IP 5K ND in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

Arrieta receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Young receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Cuddyer and Altuve 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

817 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 `Cubs Jake Arrieta - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 2 9
BAT 5.0 Rockies Michael Cuddyer RF, 1B 5 3 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
AL 5.0 Mariners Chris Young (W, 12-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 1 4
BAT 4.0 Astros Jose Altuve 2B 5 1 4 4 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Cardinals Matt Carpenter 3B 4 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Marlins Giancarlo Stanton RF 4 2 2 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 White Sox Conor Gillaspie 3B 3 2 1 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Braves Mike Minor (W, 5-8) - - - - - - 7.0 4 2 2 2 7
4.0 `Nationals Doug Fister - - - - - - 7.0 5 2 0 1 5
3.2 `Giants Javier Lopez (H, 8) - - - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 0 3
3.0 Brewers Jonathan Lucroy C 5 1 2 5 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Alex Gordon LF 4 3 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rockies Drew Stubbs CF 6 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 `Yankees Dellin Betances (H, 18) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
1.0 Rangers Neftali Feliz (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Orioles Steve Pearce 1B, LF 5 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.

 

Cardinals' Adam Wainwright grabs slim lead in Box-Toppers player rankings with 1 week to go

Box-Toppers has a new leader in player rankings with only one week left in the season. 

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright takes the lead in the penultimate (and also next-to-last) weekly look at Box-Toppers player rankings. Wainwright has 19.2 Box-Toppers points and passed last week's leader, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (19.0).

Wainwright picked up 2.5 Box-Toppers points over the past week, rising from sixth to first in overall Box-Toppers player rankings. The race for the leading player in Box-Toppers points is tight going into the final week of the season, with eight players within 2.5 points of Wainwright.

Wainwright's outright lead and lead among National League pitchers is slim. Three other NL pitchers could pass him in the season's final week—Dodgers Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke or Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks. (Jose Fernandez of the Marlins was not scheduled to pitch again this season.)

National League players hold down the top five spots in player rankings. The top American League player is Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, who this week passed previous AL leader Miguel Cabrera, also of the Tigers. Scherzer is in sixth place overall in player rankings with 17.1 Box-Toppers points and Cabrera with 16.9, has fallen from fifth to eight place overall. 

Scherzer passed previous AL pitching leader Justin Masterson of the Indians this week. And Scherzer's top spot going into the final week is also not secure, with four other AL pitchers within 1.0 Box-Toppers point of him.

Cabrera maintains his dominance among AL batters. He is the sole batter among the top 10 players and leads second-place AL batter, Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees (12.9), by 4.0 Box-Toppers points.  

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks continues to lead among NL batters with 13.7 Box-Toppers points. His nearest competitors among NL batters are both 2.2 points behind him—Freddie Freeman of the Braves and Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies both have 11.5 Box-Toppers points.

Previous player rankings report from Sept. 12. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

 

Box-Toppers player rankings graphic.png

Top players

As of Thursday, Sept. 19

2013 LEADERS   
 OVERALL LEADERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl19.2
2Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl19.0
3Kershaw, Clayton 2494pi splad nl18.7
4Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl18.4
5Corbin, Patrick 3027pi spari nl17.4
6Scherzer, Max 2588pi spdet al17.1
7Sanchez, Anibal 2187pi spdet al17.1
8Cabrera, Miguel 17763bdet al16.9
9Liriano, Francisco 2104pi sppit nl16.7
10Masterson, Justin 2462pi spcle al16.4
     
 AL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Scherzer, Max 2588pi spdet al17.1
2Sanchez, Anibal 2187pi spdet al17.1
3Masterson, Justin 2462pi spcle al16.4
4Sale, Chris 2806pi spchi al16.1
5Moore, Matt 2975pi sptb al16.1
6Darvish, Yu 3003pi sptex al15.0
7Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048pi spsea al14.4
8Hernandez, Felix 2064pi spsea al13.1
9Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349pi spcle al12.8
10Tillman, Chris 2754pi spbal al12.7
     
 AL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Cabrera, Miguel 17763bdet al16.9
2Soriano, Alfonso 1445lfnyy al12.9
3Davis, Chris 24781bbal al12.7
4Cano, Robinson 20922bnyy al12.5
5Ortiz, Daviddhbos al12.4
6Raburn, Ryan 2340rf dh lf phcle al9.5
7Donaldson, Josh 31443boak al9.5
8Butler, Billy 2330dhkc al9.0
9Encarnacion, Edwin 20981b dhtor al8.7
10Fielder, Prince 20291bdet al8.5
     
 NL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl19.2
2Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl19.0
3Kershaw, Clayton 2494pi splad nl18.7
4Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl18.4
5Corbin, Patrick 3027pi spari nl17.4
6Liriano, Francisco 2104pi sppit nl16.7
7Bumgarner, Madison 2753pi spsf nl15.7
8Miller, Shelby 3134pi spstl nl15.4
9Harvey, Matt 3075pi spnym nl15.0
10Lynn, Lance 2992pi spstl nl14.1
     
 NL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Goldschmidt, Paul 29351bari nl13.7
2Freeman, Freddie 28871batl nl11.5
3Cuddyer, Michael 1826rfcol nl11.5
4Gonzalez, Carlos 2460lfcol nl11.0
5Harper, Bryce 3011lfdc nl9.4
6Zimmerman, Ryan 21803bdc nl9.2
7Venable, Will 2621rf cfsd nl9.0
8Phillips, Brandon 16912bcin nl7.5
9Carpenter, Matt 29872bstl nl7.5
10Murphy, Daniel 25892bnym nl7.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Marlins' Jose Fernandez leads all players in Box-Toppers points—does he have a shot at Cy Young? Probably not

With only two weeks left in the season, Box-Toppers has a new leader atop player standings—rookie Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez. 

Fernandez, who has 19.0 Box-Toppers points this season, passed last week's leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 18.7 points and is in second place. 

But Fernandez' days atop player rankings may be numbered. He made what was expected to be his final start of the season this week, in part to protect his young arm and also because the Marlins are not in the playoff hunt.

The race for the not-at-all coveted top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings is a tight one. Any one of the top 10 players, who are within 2.9 Box-Toppers points of the lead, could rise and claim it. Nine of the top 10 players are pitchers and could have two or three starts left in the season, giving them plenty of opportunity to pick up 3.0 or more Box-Toppers points to claim the top spot.

The race for top National League pitcher is extremely tight, with Fernandez currently narrowly leading the way. The top four players are all National League pitchers and are only 1.6 points apart. So, for example, if Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin were to earn at least NL Player of the Day honors in his next start, he would earn 1.7 points and have 19.1 for the season, enough to pass Fernandez.

The top American League player remains Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. The third baseman—the sole batter among the top 10—has 16.9 Box-Toppers points and is in fifth place overall. Though other AL pitchers could challenge him for overall top AL player in Box-Toppers points, his lead among AL batters seems secure—he leads second-place player Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees (12.9) by 4.0 Box-Toppers points.

The top American League pitcher remains Justin Masterson of the Indians with 16.4 Box-Toppers points. He falls from seventh to eight place overall. Masterson continues to lead AL pitchers despite not scoring a Box-Toppers point since July 27. 

Still, he has maintained a narrow lead among AL pitchers of 1.3 points or less since then. In other words, Masterson is not exactly on fire and no other AL pitchers seem eager to steal his crown from him. (Masterson has been injured recently but hopes to return to pitching before the end of the season.) 

Masterson's lead among AL pitchers does appear shaky, with five other pitchers within 1.5 Box-Toppers points of catching him with two weeks left. 

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks continues to lead among NL batters with 12.7 Box-Toppers points. There are three players who trail him by fewer than 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Freddie Freeman of the Braves and Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies, both of whom have 11.5 Box-Toppers points and both of whom have been hot recently, seem to have the best shot of catching Goldschmidt.

Now: Would any of these leaders in Box-Toppers points categories have any shot at all of winning actual coveted postseason awards? 

For example, if Fernandez keeps his lead among NL pitchers, would he be worthy of winning the NL Cy Young Award? Worthy? Yes. Will he get it? Unlikely, since he comes from a non-playoff team and an ignored media market.  It will probably be Kershaw. However, Fernandez should receive more-than-serious consideration for NL Rookie of the Year.

Will Justin Masterson win the AL Cy Young if he keeps his lead? No, probably not. Though Box-Toppers credits him with being most responsible for bringing his teams wins more often, I don't think he is viewed as The One for the Indians. Plus, the Tigers have overshadowed the Indians in the AL Central and their pitchers, especially Max Scherzer who has 19 wins, have been the media favorites.

Will Cabrera win AL most valuable player? Yes. He should. 

Will Goldschmidt win NL MVP? No. Again, he's playing for a non-playoff team. Freddie Freeman of the Braves, in second in Box-Toppers NL batters list, would be a good candidate, but I think writers will probably pick an "intangible" guy, a leader in the clubhouse, a "spark plug" on the field, a light-hitting catcher or something. Or perhaps even someone like Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers. Though the rookie is a media juggernaut, he earned his 1.5 and only Box-Toppers points of the season on June 4.

Previous player rankings report from Sept. 5. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work? 

Box-Toppers player rankings graphic.png

Top players

As of Thursday, Sept. 12

2013 LEADERS   
 OVERALL LEADERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl19.0
2Kershaw, Clayton 2494pi splad nl18.7
3Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl18.4
4Corbin, Patrick 3027pi spari nl17.4
5Cabrera, Miguel 17763bdet al16.9
6Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl16.7
7Liriano, Francisco 2104pi sppit nl16.7
8Masterson, Justin 2462pi spcle al16.4
9Sale, Chris 2806pi spchi al16.1
10Sanchez, Anibal 2187pi spdet al16.1
     
 AL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Masterson, Justin 2462pi spcle al16.4
2Sale, Chris 2806pi spchi al16.1
3Sanchez, Anibal 2187pi spdet al16.1
4Scherzer, Max 2588pi spdet al15.4
5Moore, Matt 2975pi sptb al15.1
6Darvish, Yu 3003pi sptex al15.0
7Hernandez, Felix 2064pi spsea al13.1
8Tillman, Chris 2754pi spbal al12.7
9Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048pi spsea al12.4
10Buchholz, Clay 2363pi spbos al11.1
     
 AL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Cabrera, Miguel 17763bdet al16.9
2Soriano, Alfonso 1445lfnyy al12.9
3Davis, Chris 24781bbal al12.7
4Cano, Robinson 20922bnyy al12.5
5Ortiz, Daviddhbos al12.4
6Raburn, Ryan 2340rf dh lf phcle al9.5
7Butler, Billy 2330dhkc al9.0
8Encarnacion, Edwin 20981b dhtor al8.7
9Donaldson, Josh 31443boak al8.5
10Beltre, Adrian 11413btex al8.4
     
 NL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl19.0
2Kershaw, Clayton 2494pi splad nl18.7
3Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl18.4
4Corbin, Patrick 3027pi spari nl17.4
5Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl16.7
6Liriano, Francisco 2104pi sppit nl16.7
7Miller, Shelby 3134pi spstl nl15.4
8Harvey, Matt 3075pi spnym nl15.0
9Bumgarner, Madison 2753pi spsf nl14.7
10Lynn, Lance 2992pi spstl nl14.1
     
 NL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Goldschmidt, Paul 29351bari nl12.7
2Freeman, Freddie 28871batl nl11.5
3Cuddyer, Michael 1826rfcol nl11.5
4Gonzalez, Carlos 2460lfcol nl11.0
5Venable, Will 2621rf cfsd nl9.0
6Harper, Bryce 3011lfdc nl8.4
7Zimmerman, Ryan 21803bdc nl7.7
8Phillips, Brandon 16912bcin nl7.5
9Carpenter, Matt 29872bstl nl7.5
10Murphy, Daniel 25892bnym nl7.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Angels' Mark Trumbo (HR, 5-5) tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 10

Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard graphic.png

Mark Trumbo of the Angels is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Trumbo homered and went 5-for-5 in the 12-6 win over the Blue Jays. 

Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner is National League Player of the Day. Cashner allowed two runs and struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings in the 8-2 win over the Phillies. 

Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Cuddyer hit two homers, including a three-run shot, went 3-for-5 and drove in four runs in the 9-8 win over the Giants. Cuddyer rises to 31st in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season.

Notables: Four other Players of the Games from Tuesday are among the top 40 in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season:

  • Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller rises to 11th in the rankings (6.2IP 0R W in 4-2 win vs. Brewers). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.4 for the season.
  • Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees rises to 21st in rankings (2HR 3RBI in 7-5 win vs. Orioles).  He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 12.9 for the season.
  • Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz rises to 33rd in rankings (5IP 0R 6K W in 2-0 win vs. Rays). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 11.1 for the season.
  • Braves closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to 37th in rankings (1IP 0R 2K Sv in 4-3 win vs. Marlins). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 10.7 for the season. 

Trumbo receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Cashner receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Cuddyer receives  1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

 

910ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
MLB7.0Angels Mark Trumbo 1B555200  00.000000
 7.0Red Sox 0000000  Clay Buchholz (W, 10-0)5.030016
 6.2`Royals 0000000  Luke Hochevar (H, 6)1.200005
NL5.2Padres 0000000  Andrew Cashner (W, 9-8)7.242217
BAT4.0Rockies Michael Cuddyer RF523400  00.000000
 4.0Tigers Alex Avila C424210  00.000000
 4.0Twins Josh Willingham LF322310  00.000000
 3.2Cardinals 0000000  Shelby Miller (W, 13-9)6.250024
 3.0Astros Jose Altuve 2B633301  00.000000
 3.0Cubs Welington Castillo C523300  00.000000
 3.0Nationals Jayson Werth RF423200  00.000000
 3.0Dodgers Scott Van Slyke PH111200  00.000000
 2.0Pirates Andrew McCutchen CF513301  00.000000
 2.0Yankees Alfonso Soriano LF522301  00.000000
 2.0Braves 0000000  Craig Kimbrel (S, 46)1.010002

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

 

Royals' Shields tops players for Sunday, Sept. 1; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard graphic.png

Royals pitcher James Shields is Sunday's Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Shields pitched seven shutout innings and struck out nine in the 5-0 win over the Blue Jays. 

Greinke, National League Player of the Day, moves to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season (see the updated top 10 list on the home page). Greinke gave up one run and two hits over seven innings and struck out seven in the 2-1 win over the Padres. Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 17.4 for the season.

Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Cuddyer homered, drove in three runs and went 4-for-4 in the 7-4 win over the Reds. Cuddyer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.0 points for the season, rising to 38th place among players for the season. 

David Ortiz of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Ortiz drove in three runs and went 2-for-3 in the 7-6 win over the White Sox. Ortiz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.7 points for the season, rising to 30th place among players for the season.

Shields receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Greinke receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Cuddyer and Ortiz 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

901ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
MLB12.0Royals 0000000  James Shields (W, 10-8)7.030019
 9.0Astros 0000000  Brett Oberholtzer (W, 4-1)9.040015
NL8.0Dodgers 0000000  Zack Greinke (W, 14-3)7.021127
 6.0Athletics 0000000  A.J. Griffin (W, 12-9)7.051117
 5.2Angels 0000000  Ernesto Frieri (S, 30)1.200004
 5.0Marlins 0000000  Nathan Eovaldi (W, 3-5)8.070026
 5.0`Indians 0000000  Danny Salazar 6.060005
BAT4.0Rockies Michael Cuddyer RF414300  00.000000
 4.0Giants Hunter Pence RF433210  00.000000
 3.0Cardinals 0000000  Joe Kelly (W, 7-3)6.041125
 3.0Orioles 0000000  Kevin Gausman (W, 2-3)2.010013
 3.0Twins 0000000  Glen Perkins (S, 32)1.000002
 3.0Nationals 0000000  Rafael Soriano (S, 36)1.000002
 2.2Cubs 0000000  Jake Arrieta (W, 2-1)6.231134
BAT2.0Red Sox David Ortiz DH302310  00.000000

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

 

Top 10: Kershaw among best players for 2013

Five players are tied at the top the 2013 Box-Toppers ​leaders list less than two weeks into the season.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led National League players in Box-Toppers points in 2012, is one of the five with 3.0 Box-Toppers points.

The others are Braves pitcher Paul Maholm, Indians pitcher Justin Masterson, Athletics first baseman Brandon Moss and Mets pitcher Matt Harvey.

All five players have been named Player of the Game in two of their teams' wins. In one of the wins, each player was also named Player of the Day, earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the game. ​

Kershaw, Maholm and Harvey lead all NL pitchers. ​

Masterson leads all American League pitchers.​

Moss leads all AL batters.​

Two players are tied at the top of the NL batters list: Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter and Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer both have 2.5 Box-Toppers points.

Obviously, the season is very young, teams have only played about 10 games and most players on the list have only been named Player of the Game once, so the statistics are a little threadbare. As the season progresses, those statistics will fill in, giving a better picture of the best players. We'll have another report on 2013's top players in a couple of weeks.

What are those numbers after players' names?​

2013 LEADERS   
 OVERALL LEADERSPOSTEAMPTS
1Kershaw, Clayton 2494pi splad nl3
2Maholm, Paul 2078pi spatl nl3
3Masterson, Justin 2462pi spcle al3
4Moss, Brandon 25201boak al3
5Harvey, Matt 3075pi spnym nl3
6Cabrera, Miguel 17763bdet al2.7
7Moore, Matt 2975pi sptb al2.7
8Carpenter, Matt 29872b lf 1b rfstl nl2.5
9Cuddyer, Michael 1826 rf phcol nl2.5
10Gonzalez, Gio 2626pi spdc nl2
     
 AL PITCHERS   
1Masterson, Justin 2462pi spcle al3
2Moore, Matt 2975pi sptb al2.7
3Darvish, Yu 3003pi sptex al2
4Sale, Chris 2806pi spchi al2
5Bedard, Erik 1914pi sphou al2
6Hernandez, Felix 2064pi spsea al1.7
7Buchholz, Clay 2363pi spbos al1.7
8Guthrie, Jeremy 2290pi spkc al1.7
9Happ, J.A. 2536pi sptor al1.7
10Ogando, Alexi 2739pi sptex al1.7
     
 AL BATTERS   
1Moss, Brandon 25201boak al3
2Cabrera, Miguel 17763bdet al2.7
3Davis, Chris 24781b lf dh rfbal al2
4Fielder, Prince 20291bdet al2
5Butler, Billy 23301b dhkc al1.5
6Pujols, Albert 1438dh 1bana al1.5
7Wieters, Matt 2643cabal al1.5
8Reddick, Josh 2936rfoak al1.5
9Saltalamacchia, Jarod 2355cabos al1.5
10Hosmer, Eric 28861bkc al1.5
     
 NL PITCHERS   
1Kershaw, Clayton 2494pi splad nl3
2Maholm, Paul 2078pi spatl nl3
3Harvey, Matt 3075pi spnym nl3
4Gonzalez, Gio 2626pi spdc nl2
5Lynn, Lance 2992pi spstl nl2
6Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl2
7Samardzija, Jeff 2495pi spchi nl2
8Minor, Mike 2894pi spatl nl2
9Lee, Cliff 1798pi spphi nl2
10Bumgarner, Madison 2753pi spsf nl1.7
     
 NL BATTERS   
1Carpenter, Matt 29872b lf 1b rfstl nl2.5
2Cuddyer, Michael 1826rf phcol nl2.5
3Harper, Bryce 3011lfdc nl1.7
4Pollock, A.J. 3142cfari nl1.7
5Phillips, Brandon 16912bcin nl1.5
6Gonzalez, Carlos 2460lfcol nl1.5
7Bruce, Jay 2453rfcin nl1.5
8Venable, Will 2621rfsd nl1.5
9Werth, Jayson 1664rfdc nl1.5
10Cowgill, Collin 3046cf lfnym nl1.5

Top players for Saturday, April 6

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was Player of the Day. Kershaw pitched seven innings, struck out nine and gave up only two hits and a walk in the 1-0 win over the Pirates.

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ was American League Player of the Day. Happ struck out six and allowed one hit over five innings in the 5-0 win over the Red Sox.​

Albert Pujols of the Angels was American League Batter of the Day. Pujols homered twice and drove in three runs (and walked three times) in the 8-4 win over the Rangers.

Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies was National League Batter of the Day. Cuddyer went 3-for-4 with a homer and 4 RBIs in the 6-3 win over the Padres.​

Kershaw receives two Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Happ receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Pujols receives 1.5 points for AL Batter of the Day. Cuddyer receives 1.5 points for NL Batter of the Day.

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

406ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
MLB13.0Dodgers 0000000  Clayton Kershaw (W, 2-0)7.020019
AL7.1Blue Jays 0000000  J.A. Happ (W, 1-0)5.110036
 6.1Rays 0000000  Alex Cobb (W, 1-0)7.040036
BAT5.0Angels Albert Pujols DH222330  00.000000
BAT4.0Rockies Michael Cuddyer RF413400  00.000000
 3.0Braves Justin Upton LF533202  00.000000
 3.0Tigers Miguel Cabrera 3B424110  00.000000
 3.0Nationals Wilson Ramos C422310  00.000000
 3.0Mets John Buck C201400  00.000000
 3.0Phillies Kevin Frandsen PH101300  00.000000
 3.0Twins 0000000  Josh Roenicke (W, 1-0)3.010012
 3.0White Sox 0000000  Donnie Veal (W, 1-0)1.000002
 2.0Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt 1B532201  00.000000
 2.0Athletics 0000000  Grant Balfour (S, 1)1.000001
 1.0Cardinals Pete Kozma SS413100  00.000000