Who has most Box-Toppers points on each team in 2019? A look at each club’s top pitcher & batter

Twenty-five pitchers and five batters lead their teams in Box-Toppers points at the 2019 All-Star break.

The five batters who have the most points on their club at the All-Star break are Brett Gardner of the Yankees, Mike Trout of the Angels, Josh Bell of the Pirates, Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals and Nolan Arenado of the Rockies.

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Orioles’ Cashner tops players for Saturday, June 29; Diamondbacks’ Grienke rises to 4th in player rankings

Orioles pitcher Andrew Cashner is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. He also becomes the fifth player to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points since player tracking began in 1995.

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Padres’ Lauer tops players for Wednesday, May 22; Hader, Ozuna rise in top 10 player rankings

Padres pitcher Eric Lauer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals rises to eighth place after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

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Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Sunday, July 31, rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead American League pitchers in season player rankings.

Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 8-0 win over the Athletics.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 31:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 17.0
3 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 16.4
4 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 14.5
5 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 14.4
6 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 14.1
7 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 12.4
8 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp chi nl 12.4
9 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 11.0
10 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 11.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.5 for the season, rising to fourth among all players. He rises to first among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Cole Hamels of the Rangers (14.1).

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Cain pitched five scoreless innings, allowing no hits, four walks and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-0 win over the Astros.

Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 139.9 for his career, rising to 26th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, Cabrera passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (140.3).

Cabrera has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 10th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Mets homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Rockies.

Streak—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Sunday.

Garza (5IP 4H 2R BB 5K W in the 4-2 win over the Pirates) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Twins and has 69.1 career points, 18th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Rays when he had 12.7 points, ninth among AL pitchers. He had 1.7 points in 2015 with the Brewers.

Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cain earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Cabrera and Walker each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/31 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 7.0 CLE 8, OAK 0 Corey Kluber (W,10-8) - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 2 7
BAT 6.0 DET 11, HOU 0 Miguel Cabrera, 1B 4 3 3 4 - - - - - -
NL 6.0 SF 3, WSH 1 Matt Cain (W,3-6) - - - - 5.0 0 0 0 4 5
BAT 5.0 NYM 6, COL 4 Neil Walker, 2B 4 2 3 4 - - - - - -
5.0 LAD 14, ARI 3 Yasmani Grandal, C 4 3 3 3 - - - - - -
4.0 MIN 6, CHW 4 Brian Dozier, DH 4 3 3 2 - - - - - -
3.0 TEX 5, KC 3 Mitch Moreland, 1B 3 2 2 2 - - - - - -
3.0 BOS 5, LAA 3 Clay Buchholz (W,4-9) - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 1 1
3.0 CHC 7, SEA 6 (12) Hector Rondon (W,2-2) - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 1
3.0 TB 5, NYY 3 Alex Colome (S,25) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 CIN 3, SD 2 Tony Cingrani (S,13) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 MIL 4, PIT 2 Matt Garza (W,2-4) - - - - 5.0 4 2 1 1 5
1.0 MIA 5, STL 4 J.T. Realmuto, C 3 0 2 2 - - - - - -
1.0 ATL 2, PHI 1 Mauricio Cabrera (W,2-0) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 1 1
0.0 BAL 6, TOR 2 (12) Jonathan Schoop, 2B 5 1 3 1 - - - - - -
Correction made Feb. 27, 2017: Jonathan Schoop, Player of the Game in the Orioles 6-2, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays, was previously incorrectly listed as a pitcher.

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

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game Pos Team 16 15-16 11-16 Career +/-
Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 14.5 27.9 58.7 58.7 1.1
Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 7.0 11.7 60.3 139.9 2.3
Colome, Alex 3189 pi cp tb al 6.0 11.0 14.7 14.7 1.0
Rondon, Hector 3201 pi cp chi nl 5.0 7.0 10.0 10.0 3.0
Realmuto, J.T. 3491 ca fla nl 4.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 -0.5
Grandal, Yasmani 3058 ca lad nl 4.0 6.0 14.0 14.0 2.0
Moreland, Mitch 2799 1b tex al 3.5 9.7 17.7 18.7 -2.7
Walker, Neil 2756 2b nym nl 3.5 7.5 25.0 30.5 -0.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307 2b bal al 3.5 6.0 8.5 8.5 1.0
Cain, Matt 2081 pi sp sf nl 2.7 4.7 37.5 99.7 0.7
Buchholz, Clay 2363 pi sp mr bos al 2.0 8.0 36.2 55.9 -4.0
Dozier, Brian 3219 2b dh min al 2.0 5.7 13.7 13.7 -1.7
Cingrani, Tony 3158 pi cp cin nl 2.0 2.0 9.4 9.4 2.0
Cabrera, Mauricio 3689 pi cp mr atl nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Garza, Matt 2343 pi sp mil nl 1.0 2.7 32.4 69.1 -0.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Monday, May 23, extends season lead, rises to 7th in Box-Toppers all-time rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extending his lead in season player rankings and rising to seventh place in Box-Toppers “all-time” rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 23:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 12.0
2 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 9.0
3 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 8.7
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 8.7
5 Machado, Manny 3087 ss 3b bal al 7.7
6 Hill, Rich 2215 pi sp oak al 7.4
7 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 7.0
8 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 6.7
9 Matz, Steven 3516 pi sp nym nl 6.7
10 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 6.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Monday, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out seven, in the 1-0 win over the Reds.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, extending his lead in season player rankings. Kershaw also now has 171.3 career Box-Toppers points and rises to seventh among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” list to become the fifth-ranked pitcher since 1995. Kershaw now trails sixth-ranked player Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3).

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +13.0, tied with Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto, who was Player of the Game in the 1-0 win over the Padres. But Kershaw won overall Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker: He had more strikeouts than Cueto—7 vs. 6.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


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 Alex Rodriguez dh nyy al 187.0
5 CC Sabathia pi sp nyy al 181.0
6 Albert Pujols 1b dh ana al 176.3
7 Clayton Kershaw pi sp lad nl 171.3
8 Roy Halladay pi sp retired 170.7
9 Manny Ramirez lf dh retired 167.2
10 Johan Santana pi sp free agent 166.6
11 Roger Clemens pi sp retired 164.8
12 Felix Hernandez pi sp sea al 164.7
13 John Smoltz pi sp retired 160.9
14 Tim Hudson pi sp retired 157.0
15 Mike Mussina pi sp retired 155.6
16 Barry Bonds lf retired 153.2
17 Greg Maddux pi sp retired 151.7
18 Zack Greinke pi sp ari nl 151.4
19 Chipper Jones 3b retired 149.0
20 Javier Vazquez pi sp retired 148.3
List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Cody Anderson struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 5-1 win over the White Sox.

American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera hit two homers and went 3-for-3 in the 5-4 win over the Phillies. It is the second straight day Cabrera has earned Player of the Game honors.

Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 136.9 for his career. He maintains his rank of 26th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began and trails 25th-ranked player Jake Peavy of the Giants (137.8).

National League Batter of the Day—Miguel Rojas of the Marlins doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-6 win over the Rays.

This was Rojas’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rojas made his Major League debut June 6, 2014, and was playing in his 178th career game. He is the 3,642nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—In addition to Kershaw, two players in Box-Toppers top 10 season rankings earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (CG 2H 0R 6K in the 1-0 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season, rising from fourth to second in player rankings. Cueto trails overall leader Kershaw by 3.0 Box-Toppers points (12.0 vs. 9.0). Cueto barely missed beating out Kershaw for Player of the Day. Had Cueto won Player of the Day Monday over Kershaw, he still would trail Kershaw in season points, but the margin would be closer (11.0 vs. 10.0).
  • Athletics pitcher Rich Hill (8IP 8H 0R 6K W in the 5-0 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.4 for the season, rising to sixth in player rankings. Hill ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the White Sox (8.7).

Notable—Neil Walker won Player of the Game honors over Yoenis Cespedes in the Mets’ 7-1 win over the Nationals Monday in one of the lowest-level tiebreakers ever used in Box-Toppers tracking.

Both Walker and Cespedes had Box-Toppers game scores of +1.0, the highest on the team and both had extremely similar batting lines (HR 2-4 2R BI). Both struck out once and did not walk. Both left two runners on base. Both had five total bases. Walker won Player of the Game over Cespedes simply because he batted lower in the lineup—fifth vs. fourth.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Anderson earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cabrera and Rojas each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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

5/23 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 13.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,7-1) - - - - - - 9.0 2 0 0 1 7
13.0 Giants Johnny Cueto (W,7-1) - - - - - - 9.0 2 0 0 0 6
AL 9.0 Indians Cody Anderson (W,1-3) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 0 9
7.2 Angels Nick Tropeano (W,3-2) - - - - - - 6.2 4 0 0 1 6
6.0 Athletics Rich Hill (W,7-3) - - - - - - 8.0 8 0 0 0 6
BAT 5.0 Tigers Miguel Cabrera, 1B 3 3 3 2 1 0 - - - - - -
5.0 White Sox Brett Lawrie, DH 2 2 2 3 3 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 5 3 5 1 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Marlins Miguel Rojas, 2B 4 2 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Cardinals Matt Adams, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Pirates Josh Harrison, 2B 4 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Mets Neil Walker, 2B 4 2 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -

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

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player Pos Team 16 15-16 11-16 Career +/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 12.0 37.7 137.8 171.3 -13.7
Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 9.0 21.8 73.0 92.4 -3.8
Hill, Rich 2215 pi sp oak al 7.4 11.4 11.4 31.1 3.4
Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 4.0 8.7 57.3 136.9 -0.7
Perez, Salvador 2972 ca kc al 2.5 7.0 20.2 20.2 -2.0
Walker, Neil 2756 2b nym nl 2.0 6.0 23.5 29.0 -2.0
Tropeano, Nick 3451 pi sp ana al 2.0 5.7 5.7 5.7 -1.7
Anderson, Cody 3509 pi sp cle al 1.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 -1.3
Rojas, Miguel 3642 2b fla nl 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Adams, Matt 3220 1b ph stl nl 1.0 3.5 9.5 9.5 -1.5
Lawrie, Brett 2934 dh 3b chi al 1.0 2.5 10.7 10.7 -0.5
Harrison, Josh 2947 2b 3b pit nl 1.0 2.0 7.0 7.0 0.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Adam Conley (6IP R 3H 8K ND) tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 23

Marlins pitcher Adam Conley is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Conley struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Marlins. Conley did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because after he exited, the Phillies tied the game 2-2 in the eighth inning.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 23.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 25.1
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 22.7
3 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 21.1
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 20.4
5 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 20.4
6 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 19.7
7 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 19.4
8 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 18.0
9 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 17.1
10 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 17.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing five hits, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. This was Stroman’s first Player of the Game honor this season. He was out much of the season after an ACL injury in spring training. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 13-7 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Athletics.

Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season, rising to sixth place among AL batters.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Lynn (6IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 10-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He rises to 29th place among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Givens (2IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 24 and was playing in his 19th career game. He is the 3,599th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Conley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Walker and Beltre 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/23 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 `Marlins Adam Conley - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 1 8
BAT 7.0 Pirates Neil Walker, 2B 5 2 4 6 1 0 - - - - - -
7.0 Cardinals Lance Lynn (W,12-10) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 0 4
7.0 Brewers Zach Davies (W,2-2) - - - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 1 4
6.0 Braves Freddie Freeman, PH-1B 2 1 2 5 0 0 - - - - - -
AL 6.0 Blue Jays Marcus Stroman (W,3-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 5
5.1 Rays Drew Smyly (W,4-2) - - - - - - 6.1 5 0 0 3 7
5.0 Twins Phil Hughes (W,11-9) - - - - - - 5.0 4 0 0 0 4
4.0 `Orioles Mychal Givens (MR) (H,4) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 `Dodgers Carlos Frias - - - - - - 4.0 1 1 1 0 2
2.0 Padres Jedd Gyorko, SS-2B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 Rangers Adrian Beltre, 3B 5 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Tigers Rajai Davis, LF 4 3 3 0 0 1 - - - - - -
1.1 `Angels Nick Tropeano - - - - - - 4.1 4 2 0 2 5
1.0 Royals Jarrod Dyson, PR-CF 0 0 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Indians' Carlos Carrasco, with near no-hitter, tops players for Wednesday, July 1

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who was one strike away from a no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earned Player of the Game honors and rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” top 50 player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 1.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 14.0
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 13.4
3 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
4 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 11.4
6 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 11.4
7 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 11.1
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 10.7
9 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 10.7
10 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 9.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco struck out 13 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one run, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. Carrasco had a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning before allowing his first hit to Joey Butler, who was down to his final strike.

Carrasco also has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and is ranked 16th among all players. He ranks eighth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates hit two homers and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-5 win over the Royals.

Notables—Two pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings top 50:

  • Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle rose to 40th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Buehrle (7IP 4H R 7K W in the 11-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 116.7 career Box-Toppers points. He passes Todd Helton (116.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).
  • Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose to 45th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Lester (7IP 5H 0R 7K ND in the 2-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 114.1 for his career. He passes Sammy Sosa (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 44th-place player Torii Hunter (114.4). Lester has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season—he has earned 4.0 of those points when he’s earned a no decision.

Debut—Braves pitcher Matt Wisler made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Wisler (5.1IP H 0R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 19 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,522nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Walker and Altuve 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/1 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 16.2 Indians Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-6) - - - - - - 8.2 1 1 1 2 13
12.0 Mariners Taijuan Walker (W, 7-6) - - - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 0 7
NL 9.0 Reds Johnny Cueto (W, 5-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 1 8
8.0 Blue Jays Mark Buehrle (W, 9-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 0 7
8.0 `Cubs Jon Lester - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 7
6.0 White Sox Jose Quintana (W, 4-7) - - - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 0 8
5.1 Braves Matt Wisler (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 5.1 1 0 0 5 6
BAT 4.0 Pirates Neil Walker 2B 6 3 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Athletics Jesse Hahn (W, 6-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 2 6
4.0 Orioles Zach Britton (S, 23) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Brewers Scooter Gennett 2B 5 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Brett Anderson (W, 5-4) - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 2 7
2.2 `Yankees Chasen Shreve (H, 5) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 1
BAT 2.0 Astros Jose Altuve 2B 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Justin Bour 1B 4 1 2 3 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' top batters—Jose Abreu, Troy Tulowitzki—missing from MVP finalists; pitcher Kershaw likely to win NL MVP

Baseball’s Most Valuable Player Awards generally go to the top batter in each league.

But this year, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked batters—Jose Abreu of the White Sox and Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies—won’t win the awards; they weren’t even named as finalists. And in the National League, the award will likely go to a pitcher.

Read More

If Box-Toppers points measured Silver Sluggers, most winners would be different

Only four of this year’s 18 Silver Slugger-award winners announced this week would receive the honor if it were measured by Box-Toppers points.

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A look back at how Box-Toppers watched players did in 2014

BOX-TOPPERS EXTRA

BOX-TOPPERS EXTRA

Andrew McCutchen may be selected as National League’s Most Valuable Player, but only ranks 18th among NL batters in Box-Toppers points. Mike Trout may be voted American League MVP but ranks seventh among AL batters in Box-Toppers points.

Box-Toppers watched players

Here are Box-Toppers' eight watched players at the close of the 2014 season. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players accumulated this season, followed by their overall rank among all players for 2014. Honors shows the four players who led Box-Toppers major player categories—AL and NL batting and pitching.

Player Team BTP Rank Honors
Derek Jeter Yankees 0.0 996
Yasiel Puig Dodgers 1.0 593
Andrew McCutchen Pirates 6.5 137
Mike Trout Angels 8.5 78
Troy Tulowitzki Rockies 11.6 39 1st NL batter
Jose Abreu White Sox 15.5 14 1st AL batter
Corey Kluber Indians 25.8 2 1st AL pitcher
Clayton Kershaw Dodgers 31.5 1 1st NL pitcher
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Meanwhile, unexpected players—Jose Abreu and Troy Tulowitzki—who may have no chance at even being considered for postseason honors, are among Box-Toppers points leaders.

Why?

Why do some unexpected players excel in Box-Toppers points? And why do some star players seem to lag behind with fewer Box-Toppers points?

This season, Box-Toppers set to demonstrate why by focusing on a limited number of players and their daily performances. These watched players—featured in Box-Toppers Facebook posts and specially hashtagged Box-Toppers Twitter posts—showed when a player was deserving of earning Box-Toppers points or showed how other players in their game beat them out for points.

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 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.

At the end of the season, Box-Toppers was watching eight players—four of them lead key Box-Toppers categories (NL and AL pitching and batting) and four others are players who often do not score well in Box-Toppers points but who are frequently highly touted, considered for postseason honors and are considered to be stars.

Here is a look at the eight players (including the Twitter hashtag (#) used in daily “watched” posts):

Derek Jeter, Yankees #jeterwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 0.0

Jeter, 40, is surely a future Hall-of-Famer, but in 145 games, he did not earn Player of the Game honors in any of the Yankees wins in his retirement season.

Box-Toppers watched him this season because he announced his retirement prior to the season and we thought it would be interesting to see how he fared in his last year. But Box-Toppers also watched him because he tended not to score as highly in Box-Toppers as his reputation as a star would indicate. 

In his career, he scored 76.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 127th among all players. To give some perspective, he trails DH Travis Hafner (in 123rd place with 76.9 points), who is not exactly on the glidepath to Cooperstown that Jeter is.

But to be fair, Jeter ranks second among all shortstops all-time, trailing Miguel Tejada (102.3 Box-Toppers points). The shortstop position is generally not called upon for the offensive numbers required to win Player of the Game honors and earn Box-Toppers points.

Jeter’s Box-Toppers points total have also likely been impacted over the years because of the caliber of the talent on his own team—players like Roger Clemens, CC Sabathia, Jason Giambi, who have been his teammates, have more career Box-Toppers points than Jeter and likely beat him out on occasion for Player of the Game honors.

For example, Jeter did not even earn Player of the Game honors in his final game at Yankee Stadium Sept. 25. While Jeter drove in the winning run on a dramatic, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth (and was 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs), he was beat out for Player of the Game by pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who struck out nine over eight innings in the win over the Orioles.

Also, Jeter’s star power does not come from putting together performances that frequently make him Player of the Game. It often comes from anecdotal (but real) flashes of brilliance that make the highlight reel, that do contribute to the win, that wows the fans to the point of deserved admiration, but do not translate well to the scorecard, the box score—or to Box-Toppers points.

More on Derek Jeter in this February post in Box-Toppers Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series on retiring or soon-to-be retiring players.

 

Yasiel Puig, Dodgers #puigwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 1.0

145th among NL batters

593rd among all players

Box-Toppers watched Puig this year because of the buzz he created. True, he led the NL in on-base percentage and had the NL’s eighth-best batting average—but he only once was Dodger’s top player in a win, on May 12. He has only earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors twice in his career and has only 2.5 career Box-Toppers points in two seasons.

Is Puig overrated and not living up to the hype, at least in terms of helping the Dodgers win games? Or is Puig perhaps overshadowed by other players on his team who contributed more to Dodgers wins, especially pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, who were among the overall Box-Toppers points leaders?

 

Andrew McCutchen, Pirates #cutchwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 6.5

18th among NL batters

137th among all players

A leader in new-fangled baseball statistics, such as Wins Above Replacement and on-base plus slugging, the 2013 NL MVP is touted by many to repeat the feat in 2014.

But in 2013, he finished 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points with 6.0. This year, he is slightly improved, with 6.5 points—18th among NL batters. According to Box-Toppers, he is not the NL batter who most helped his team win the most games. In fact, he is not even the top Pirates batter, an honor that goes to Neil Walker (7.0 Box-Toppers points).

 

Mike Trout, Angels #troutwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 8.5

7th among AL batters

78th among all players

Another sabermetrician favorite and leader in wins above replacement, Trout actually had a decent season Box-Toppers-wise—just not among the top five of AL batters.

Trout was watched this season because he has been touted as an MVP candidate for two seasons, finishing behind Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers both times. With Cabrera ostensibly out of the limelight since he is not having another Triple Crown season, the door has been opened for Trout to finally claim MVP this year. However, it should be noted that Cabrera has 12.5 Box-Toppers points this season, in second among AL batters and ahead of Trout.

But ahead of both Trout and Cabrera in Box-Toppers points is rookie Jose Abreu of the White Sox with 15.5 points.

In 2013, Trout had only 3.5 Box-Toppers points and yet finished second in AL MVP voting. This year is his second-best ever (he had 11.0 points in 2012) and he is the leading batter among Angels players in Box-Toppers points, third-best among all Angels players.

 

Jose Abreu, White Sox #abreuwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 15.5

1st among AL batters

14th among all players

Rookie Jose Abreu has been a Box-Toppers watched player since he assumed the lead among AL batters in June. He hit 36 home runs and led the AL in slugging percentage (.581) and handily won Box-Toppers AL Batter of the Year honors—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers finished second with 12.5 Box-Toppers points.

Abreu should win AL Rookie of the Year honors. But despite his performance, it is unclear whether he is even being taken seriously as a candidate for AL MVP.

 

Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies #tulowatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 11.6

1st among NL batters

39th among all players

Tulowitzki played only 91 games this season—he last played July 19 and was out with injury and hip surgery after that. No one in their right mind would consider that anyone who missed nearly half the season should be considered as NL MVP.

And yet, according to Box-Toppers, no other NL batter playing an entire season even came close the the 11.6 Box-Toppers points Tulowitzki earned in his short time. Second-place Buster Posey of the Giants had 8.5.

Early in the season, Tulowitzki was the rare batter among Box-Toppers top 10 overall players. But even as he fell down to 39th among all players, he never fell from first among NL batters in Box-Toppers points.

It could be argued that NL batters were so lackluster and so overshadowed by NL pitchers in 2014 that no batter should win MVP and the honor should go instead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. More on him in a second.

 

Corey Kluber, Indians #kluberwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 25.8

1st among AL pitchers

2nd among all players

Kluber came on late to take the AL pitching lead from Max Scherzer of the Tigers (22.1 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers).

Kluber became one of only 11 players in Box-Toppers’ 20 years of record keeping to reach 25 Box-Toppers points in a season.

 

Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers #clawwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 31.5

1st among NL pitchers

1st among all players

Kershaw’s season was dominant. Despite missing six weeks with injury at the start of the season, Kershaw racked up the fourth-best single-season Box-Toppers point total in 20 years.

It was a year so dominant in a year in an overall down year for NL batters, Kershaw is being touted for the NL MVP.

Kershaw, top NL player for Sunday, Sept. 14, becomes only 3rd player in 20 seasons with 30 Box-Toppers points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Sunday’s National League Player of the Day, becomes only the third player in the past 20 years to earn 30 Box-Toppers points in a single season.

Most BTP single season

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now has the sixth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 30.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014 and has a chance to break the single-season record of 33.7 set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.

Rank Player Team Pos Year BTP
1 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 2000 33.7
1 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 2002 33.7
3 Pedro Martinez Red Sox pi sp 2000 33.5
4 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 1999 31.5
5 Pedro Martinez Red Sox pi sp 1999 31.4
6 *Clayton Kershaw Dodgers pi sp 2014 30.5
7 Randy Johnson Dbacks pi sp 2001 29.4
8 Pedro Martinez Red Sox pi sp 2002 28.8
9 Curt Schilling Dbacks pi sp 2002 28.4
10 Roger Clemens Blue Jays pi sp 1997 27.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Kershaw, who earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points, now has 30.5 for the season and with possibly two starts remaining, still has a chance to break the single-season record for Box-Toppers points of 33.7, set twice by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in 2000 and 2002. 

If Kershaw has two starts remaining, he would need to earn at least NL Player of the Day in both starts—worth 1.7 points each—to pass Johnson’s record. He could have as many as 34.5 total points if he is Player of the Day (earning 2.0 points each) in both starts.

Kershaw joins Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only players who have earned 30 or more Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Johnson scored 30 three times (1999, 2000 and 2002) and Martinez did it twice with the Red Sox (1999 and 2000). So Sunday marked only the sixth time in 20 seasons that a player has passed the 30-point threshold.

Kershaw earned his 1.7 points Sunday by striking out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Giants. Kershaw extends his overall lead in Box-Toppers points for the season (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page), with 7.9 points more than the second-place player, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (22.6 Box-Toppers points).

With points earned Sunday, Kershaw moves from seventh to sixth place on the Box-Toppers “all-time” single-season points list, passing the 29.4 Randy Johnson earned in 2001 with the Diamondbacks.

Meanwhile, Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Archer struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays. Archer earned no decision because after he left, the Blue Jays tied the game before the Rays went ahead in the top of the 10th inning.

Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 32nd among all players and 18th among American League pitchers.

Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Bogaerts homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Royals.

Neil Walker of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. Walker homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Cubs.

Notables: Athletics pitcher Jon Lester rose to 13th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Lester (6IP 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.

Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann rose to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Zimmermann (6.2IP 0R 5K W in the 3-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks ninth among NL pitchers.

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to 43rd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Keuchel (7IP R W in the 6-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 21st among AL pitchers.

Archer and Keuchel on Sunday both passed 10.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. They are the 47th and 48th players this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Archer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts and Walker 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

914 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 `Rays Chris Archer - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 3 9
BAT 5.0 Red Sox Xander Bogaerts SS 4 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
NL 5.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W, 19-3) - - - - - - 8.0 7 2 2 1 9
5.0 Astros Dallas Keuchel (W, 11-9) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 1 4
5.0 Twins Trevor May (W, 3-4) - - - - - - 6.0 5 3 3 0 10
5.0 Athletics Jon Lester (W, 15-10) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 4 7
4.2 Nationals Jordan Zimmermann (W, 12-5) - - - - - - 6.2 6 0 0 1 5
4.2 Cardinals Marco Gonzales (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 5.2 4 1 1 4 9
4.2 `Orioles Chris Tillman - - - - - - 6.2 5 1 1 1 6
4.0 Rangers Luis Sardinas 2B 5 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Pirates Neil Walker 2B 4 2 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Brewers Matt Garza (W, 8-8) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 3 6
2.0 Tigers J.D. Martinez LF 3 1 2 2 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Dbacks Zeke Spruill (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 1 1
2.0 Marlins Steve Cishek (S, 35) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 1 3

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

 

Red Sox' Jon Lester, Braves' Alex Wood top players for Sunday, July 20

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Lester pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 6-0 win over the Royals.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, moving up to 18th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, 10th among American League pitchers. He is the 18th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Braves pitcher Alex Wood is National League Player of the Day. Wood struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, in the 8-2 win over the Phillies.

Matt Dominguez of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Dominguez homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-7 win over the White Sox.

Neil Walker of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. Walker homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 5-3 win over the Rockies.

Lester receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Wood receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Dominguez and Walker 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 Sunday, 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

720 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 Red Sox Jon Lester (W, 10-7) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 2 8
NL 9.0 Braves Alex Wood (W, 7-7) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 0 8
7.2 Athletics Sonny Gray (W, 11-3) - - - - - - 6.2 2 2 1 2 8
6.2 `Yankees Hiroki Kuroda - - - - - - 6.2 3 1 0 2 6
5.2 `Padres Odrisamer Despaigne - - - - - - 7.2 2 1 1 3 5
5.0 Tigers Drew Smyly (W, 6-8) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 6
BAT 4.0 Astros Matt Dominguez 3B 5 2 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Dbacks Josh Collmenter (W, 8-5) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 4
3.0 Blue Jays Melky Cabrera LF 5 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 Pirates Neil Walker 2B 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Angels Mike Trout CF 4 3 2 1 1 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Steve Cishek (S, 21) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Dodgers Kenley Jansen (S, 28) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Nationals Ryan Zimmerman 3B 4 1 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Rays Jake McGee (H, 12) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 1 1

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