Indians' Corey Kluber (8IP H 0R 18K) tops players for Wednesday, May 13 with highest Box-Toppers game score of 2015

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, who struck out 18 and allowed one hit over eight innings, is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.

Kluber did not allow a hit until the seventh inning in the 2-0 win over the Cardinals. His Box-Toppers game score of 25 is the highest of the season, far outdistancing the previous high game scores of 15.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 13.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.0
3	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
4	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	5.0
5	Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	5.0
6	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	5.0
7	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
8	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	4.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kluber led American League players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 25.8. This was his first Player of the Game honor this season and first Box-Toppers points of the season. Until now, he held the distinction of the player with the highest 2014 Box-Toppers point total who had yet to earn points in 2015, a dubious honor that now goes to Twins pitcher Phil Hughes (14.1 points in 2014).

Though it was Kluber’s first points of the season, he is not very far off pace from his 2014 point total. As Wednesday’s Player of the Day, Kluber now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. As of May 14, 2014, Kluber had 3.0 Box-Toppers points. His 25.8 Box-Toppers points were the 17th-most points scored by a player in a single season since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Raisel Iglesias allowed one run and two hits over eight innings in the 5-1 win over the Braves.

This was Iglesias’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut April 12 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,467th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Michael Taylor of the Nationals hit a grand slam in the 9-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Prince Fielder of the Rangers homered and went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the 5-2 win over the Royals.

Fielder has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Brewers. His best year was 2011 with the Brewers when he had 15.7 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters. In 2014, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Rangers.

Fielder has 71.8 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 73rd among all batters since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. His career 71.8 points ranks ninth among active batters currently in the AL.

Notable—Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels moves up to 41st place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Hamels now has 114.8 Box-Toppers points and moves past Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle (114.7). He trails 40th-place player Josh Beckett (114.9).

Hamels (7IP 2R 9K W in the 3-2 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 4.0 for the season, 19th among all players for 2015.

Hammel, Hamels—Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel and Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels have been Box-Toppers Players of the Game on the same day three times this season, including Wednesday. Obviously, the similarly-named hurlers are on the same starting rotation schedule and both are doing well so far—Hamels has earned Player of the Game honors four times and has 4.0 Box-Toppers points. Hammel has earned Player of the Game honors three times and also has 4.0 Box-Toppers points. Both were top players in their games on April 27, May 8 and May 13. In addition, the two have shared Player of the Game honors on the same day in previous seasons three different times—April 25, 2012, June 6, 2014, and Sept. 1, 2014.

Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iglesias earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Taylor and Fielder 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

5/13	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	25.0	Indians	Corey Kluber (W, 1-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	1	0	0	0	18
	10.0	White Sox	Jose Quintana (W, 2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	1	10
NL	6.0	Reds	Raisel Iglesias (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	1	1	3	5
	6.0	Phillies	Cole Hamels (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	1	9
	6.0	`Cubs	Jason Hammel	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	1	6
	5.2	Orioles	Miguel Gonzalez (W, 4-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	3	1	0	3	5
BAT	5.0	Nationals	Michael Taylor RF	1	1	1	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	`Angels	Hector Santiago	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	7	1	1	0	8
	4.0	Padres	James Shields (W, 5-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	1	1	3	9
	3.1	Twins	Ricky Nolasco (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	4	2	0	3	7
	3.0	Rays	Brad Boxberger (S, 10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Marlins	A.J. Ramos (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Rangers	Prince Fielder DH	4	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Chad Qualls (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Red Sox	Daniel Nava 1B	3	1	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.