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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2022 preseason rankings. They also ended 2021 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Oakland Athletics saw the biggest decline.
Read MoreBoth National League Division Series begin Tuesday.
The Miami Marlins face the Atlanta Braves in one best-of-five game series and the San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the other series.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Corey Kluber had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2018 to 2019.
Kluber, who earned 21.7 Box-Toppers points in 2018 (fourth among all players), earned no points in 2019. His decline of 21.7 points was ahead of Rays pitcher Blake Snell, whose 10.0 points in 2019 represented a 17.2-point drop from the 27.2 points he earned to lead all players in 2018.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty and Anthony Rendon of the Nationals are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s pair of deciding National League Division Series games.
Read MoreRays pitcher Nick Anderson is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s American League Division Series Game 4 win over the Astros.
Anderson struck out two over 2 1/3 scoreless middle relief innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 4-1 win, the day’s only game.
Read MoreIn four league division series playoff games Friday these are Box-Toppers Players of the Game: Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, and DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees.
Read MoreWalker Buehler of the Dodgers and Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of National League Division Series openers.
Read MoreRays pitcher Blake Snell had the biggest improvement in Box-Toppers point totals from 2017 to 2018, and is this season’s Box-Toppers’ Most Improved Player.
Snell had 22.2 more Box-Toppers points in 2018 than he did in 2017. In 2017, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points and in 2018, he had 27.2 points, first among all players.
Read MoreBrock Holt of the Red Sox was one of three Box-Toppers Player of the Game honorees in Monday’s three league Division Series games.
Holt hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, as the Red Sox beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Corbin Burnes and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves are Sunday’s Box-Toppers top players in a pair of National League Division Series games.
Read MoreBoth National League Division Series begin Thursday.
The Wild Card Colorado Rockies face the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers in one best-of-five game series and the NL East winners, the Atlanta Braves take on the Los Angeles Dodgers, champions of the NL West in the other series.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Twins pitcher Jose Berrios rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Javier Baez of the Cubs rises to first place among National League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Shane Bieber is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Bieber struck out 11 over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks, in the 2-0 win over the Rays.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is the most deserving player not selected to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Paxton has 14.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, fifth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, passing Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. Plus, Rays pitcher Blake Snell rises to ninth place in player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Foltynewicz pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking one, in the 4-0 win over the Nationals.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels became the 22nd player since 1995 to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
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Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Sunday’s Player of the Day.
Gibson struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 8-1 win over the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Brewers.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 9.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 8 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.7 |
National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a three-run homer, tripled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-2 win over the Giants.
American League Batter of the Day—Evan Gattis of the Astros homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-8 win over the Tigers.
Notable—Mike Napoli of the Red Sox earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day. Napoli (two-run HR, two-run 2B, 2-3 2R 4BI in the 6-1 win over the Angels) was also Player of the Game Saturday. He earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point each day and has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season, ranked ninth among AL batters.
Debut—Ryan Goins of the Blue Jays made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Goins (2R HR 2-3 3BI in the 8-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut Aug. 23, 2013, and was playing in his 134th career game. He is the 3,478th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Gibson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Foltynewicz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Arenado and Gattis 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/24 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | 8.2 | Braves | Mike Foltynewicz (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 8.0 | Pirates | Francisco Liriano (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Rockies | Nolan Arenado 3B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Padres | Justin Upton LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Astros | Evan Gattis DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Red Sox | Mike Napoli 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.2 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Rangers | Shawn Tolleson (S, 3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Ryan Goins SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Michael Wacha (W, 7-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Martin Prado 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Royals pitcher Chris Young is Friday’s Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees was top player in the game in which he tied Willie Mays’ career home run mark and Mets pitcher Matt Harvey rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 6.0 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.7 |
| 6 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.4 |
| 8 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 3.7 |
| 9 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 3.7 |
| 10 | DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.7 |
Young allowed no hits and no runs over five innings, striking out nine, in the 4-1 win over the Tigers.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn struck out 10 over seven innings and allowed one run in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Pirates. Lynn exited the game with the score tied at 1-1 and so did not earn the win, but picked up a no-decision.
National League Batter of the Day—Justin Upton of the Padres went 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in two runs, in the 14-3 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Brett Hayes of the Indians hit a three-run home run in the 9-4 win over the Blue Jays.
Rankings—Matt Harvey rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday (7IP 0R W in the 4-0 win over the Nationals). Harvey earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season.
Notable—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees tied Willie Mays’ career home run mark of 660 Friday and also earned Player of the Game honors (pinch-hit homer in the 3-2 win over the Red Sox). Rodriguez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season and moves into 11th place in player rankings, second among AL batters (Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers leads with 3.7). Rodriguez has already eclipsed his 2013 Box-Toppers point total of 3.0.
Rodriguez now has 182.8 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) and first among all batters.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Young earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lynn earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Upton and Hayes 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/1 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Royals | Chris Young (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| NL | 10.0 | `Cardinals | Lance Lynn | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 8.0 | Rays | Alex Colome (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 7.0 | Cubs | Jon Lester (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.1 | Astros | Josh Fields (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Padres | Justin Upton LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mets | Matt Harvey (W, 5-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | Dodgers | Carlos Frias (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | `Giants | Chris Heston | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna CF | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Indians | Brett Hayes C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Yankees | Alex Rodriguez PH, DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Mark Canha LF, 1B, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Braves | Mike Foltynewicz P | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.