Box-Toppers selects 4 players for 2025 Hall of Fame induction in internet writers' ballot

Shawn Plank December 8, 2024

Box-Toppers is voting for four players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2025 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.

Box-Toppers is voting for these players: Felix Hernandez, Torii Hunter, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

Notably, Box-Toppers is not voting for Ichiro Suzuki, who is on the Hall ballot for the first time for 2025. While Suzuki is expected to be a shoo-in for the Hall and to possibly be only the second player inducted on a unanimous vote, I devoted a previous post to why Box-Toppers doesn’t view him as a Hall of Famer. In addition, this post which will show how unfavorably he compares in Box-Toppers rankings to even this year’s Hall candidates, may even make a more stark case why I don’t see Suzuki as a Hall of Famer.

Box-Toppers top catchers by time frame (after 2019 season)

Shawn Plank September 8, 2020

Mike Piazza has the most Box-Toppers points of any catcher since tracking began in 1995.

Piazza, who played from 1992 to 2007 primarily for the Mets and Dodgers, but also for the Padres, Athletics and Marlins, earned 95.7 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to the end of his career. That is 13.1 more points than the second-place catcher since 1995, Joe Mauer (82.6).

Box-Toppers All-time All-Star teams, 1995-2019

Shawn Plank May 18, 2020

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads the list of Box-Toppers Active Career All-Stars and is one of four active players included on Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team.

The Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team consists of the best players by position since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and includes 10 players who have retired and four who are still active—Kershaw, along with Albert Pujols of the Angels, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Astros pitcher Zack Greinke, who joined the All-Time All-Star team in 2019.

Braves’ Mike Soroka, Dodgers’ Russell Martin top players in Sunday's pair of NLDS games

Shawn Plank October 7, 2019

Braves pitcher Mike Soroka and Russell Martin of the Dodgers are Sunday’s Box-Toppers top players in a pair of National League Division Series games.

Box-Toppers top catchers by time frame (after 2017)

Shawn Plank February 10, 2018

Mike Piazza has the most Box-Toppers points of any catcher since tracking began in 1995.

Brian McCann leads active catchers in career points. Buster Posey leads catchers in

Box-Toppers points over the past season, past two seasons and past six seasons.

Box-Toppers 2016-17 All-Star teams

Shawn Plank January 11, 2018

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2016-17 consist of the best players at each position in each league over the past two seasons.

Among the 27 players included on the American and National League teams are 17 who are also on Box-Toppers 2017 All-Star teams. Leading the 2016-17 All-Stars is Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who ranks first in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons with 50.7.

Dodgers' Rich Hill tops players for Thursday, July 6; Indians' Encarnacion tops AL players

Shawn Plank July 7, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 6:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4
8	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Hill struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Hill did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the game was tied, 1-1.

It is the third straight day that a Dodgers pitcher has earned Box-Toppers overall Player of the Day honors. Clayton Kershaw did it Tuesday. Alex Wood did it Wednesday.

American League Player of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 11-2 win over the Padres.

Encarnacion earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.9 for the season, most among the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. Encarnacion ranks 18th among all players in season Box-Toppers points, third among AL batters, behind Ryon Healy of the Athletics (8.7) and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (8.2).

National League Batter of the Day—Domingo Santana of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-2 win over the Cubs.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Edwin Encarnacion.

Streak—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honors of the season Thursday.

Martin (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 7-4 win over the Astros) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Dodgers and now has 54.0 career points, second among active AL catchers, behind Brian McCann of the Astros (60.4). Martin’s best season was 2016 with the Blue Jays, when he had 10.5 points, sixth among AL batters.

Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Encarnacion earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Santana earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Note—Friday’s usual Box-Toppers team power rankings report and player rankings report will be delayed until the All-Star break on Monday.

Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/6
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    `LAD 5, ARI 4
    Rich Hill
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    AL
    5.0
    CLE 11, SD 2
    Edwin Encarnacion (1B)
    5
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    DET 6, SF 2
    Anibal Sanchez (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIL 11, CHC 2
    Domingo Santana (RF)
    5
    3
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 6, PHI 3
    Gregory Polanco (RF)
    4
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TB 4, BOS 1
    Wilson Ramos (C)
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    STL 4, MIA 3
    Michael Wacha (W, 6-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    6
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 5, WSH 2
    Jim Johnson (S, 19)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    TOR 7, HOU 4
    Russell Martin (C)
    5
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIN 6, BAL 4
    Eduardo Escobar (3B)
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    OAK 7, SEA 4
    Khris Davis (LF)
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 6, COL 3
    Zack Cozart (PH)
    1
    0
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

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 (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	cle al	7.9	15.9	51.0	75.0	-0.1
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	6.7	21.1	25.1	44.8	-7.7
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	atl nl	5.0	9.0	20.0	26.7	1.0
Davis, Khris 3242	lf	oak al	3.5	10.2	20.2	20.2	-3.2
Santana, Domingo 3507	rf	mil nl	3.5	3.5	5.0	5.0	3.5
Polanco, Gregory 3361	rf lf	pit nl	3.0	8.5	15.5	15.5	-2.5
Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	3.0	5.0	22.7	22.7	1.0
Cozart, Zack 3012	ss ph	cin nl	2.0	4.0	13.0	13.0	0.0
Escobar, Eduardo 3135	ss 3b	min al	2.0	2.0	13.7	13.7	2.0
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	tor al	1.0	11.5	26.0	54.0	-9.5
Ramos, Wilson 2904	ca	tb al	1.0	2.5	14.0	17.0	-0.5
Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	1.0	1.0	33.2	66.3	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers top catchers by time frame

Shawn Plank February 6, 2017

Mike Piazza leads catchers in career Box-Toppers points. Brian McCann leads active catchers in career points.

ALCS Preview: Though Indians rank higher in Box-Toppers rankings, Blue Jays have chance because of key Tribe injuries

Shawn Plank October 14, 2016

Indians rank higher than the Blue Jays in Box-Toppers team rankings, but two pitchers who got them ranked so highly—Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco—are not available for the ALCS.

Giants' Madison Bumgarner tops players in NL Wild Card Game win over Mets

Shawn Plank October 6, 2016

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie who hit the ninth-inning, three-run homer that put the Giants ahead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (HR 2-4 R 3BI).

Bumgarner had 13.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 19th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers. Over the past two seasons, Bumgarner has 30.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among NL pitchers. Gillaspie had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.

The Giants, 10th-ranked in Box-Toppers team rankings (112.7), beat the Mets, ranked sixth (119.1). The Giants are the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason but among the 10 teams in the playoffs, they were hottest down the stretch—in the season’s final 10 games, they picked up 8.7 Box-Toppers points.

The Giants will face the Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best record and highest accumulated Box-Toppers point total of 139.5.

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

  
    BTG
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  
    9.0
    SF 3, NYM 0
    Madison Bumgarner (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  
    BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Thursday: The American League begins both division playoff series:

AL Division Series, Game 1: Blue Jays at Rangers

The Blue Jays rank 10th in Box-Toppers team rankings (114.0 Box-Toppers points) while the Rangers rank fifth (122.5). In the final 10 days of the season, the Rangers picked up 7.5 Box-Toppers points while the Blue Jays picked up 6.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.

Rangers—Cole Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among all players, second among AL pitchers.

The Blue Jays have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:

J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks third among AL pitchers.
Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers poitns, ranks seventh among AL batters.

The Rangers also have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:

Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers, sixth among all players.
Third baseman Adrian Beltre, 9.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL batters.
Shortstop Elvis Andrus, 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL batters.

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

Here are players for both teams in the AL Divisional Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Toronto Blue Jays			Texas Rangers
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	14.7	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	17.8
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	11.0	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	10.4
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	10.7	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	9.5
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	10.5	Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	9.2
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	9.7	Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	7.7
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	8.0	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf lf	7.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	8.0	Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	6.5
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	7.0	Beltran, Carlos 1194	dh rf	6.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	6.7	Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	5.7
Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	5.2	Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	5.7
Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	3.5	Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf	4.5
Osuna, Roberto 3512	pi cp	3.0	Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	4.0
Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	2.5	Desmond, Ian 2673	cf lf	4.0
Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	2.0	Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b	3.5
Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	2.0	Harrell, Lucas 2988	pi sp	3.0
Goins, Ryan 3478	2b	1.5	Rua, Ryan 3631	1b lf	3.0
Bautista, Jose 2169	rf	1.0	DeShields, Delino 3557	cf lf	2.0
Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	1.0	Perez, Martin 3213	pi sp	2.0
Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	1.0	Barnette, Tony 3670	pi mr	2.0
Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	1.0	Bush, Matt 3673	pi mr cp	2.0
Travis, Devon 3436	2b	1.0	Tolleson, Shawn 3077	pi cp	1.0
Benoit, Joaquin 1663	pi mr	1.0	Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf	1.0
Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	1.0	Claudio, Alex 3459	pi mr	1.0
Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	1.0	Jeffress, Jeremy 3473	pi cp	1.0
			Diekman, Jake 3266	pi mr	1.0
			Alvarez, Dario 3663	pi mr	1.0
			Profar, Jurickson 3665	ph	1.0
Totals		114.0	Totals		122.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

AL Division Series, Game 1: Red Sox at Indians

The Red Sox rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings (128.3 Box-Toppers points) while the Indians rank fourth (123.7). In the final 10 days of the season, the Indians picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points while the Red Sox picked up 5.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Red Sox—Rick Porcello, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 91st among all players, 31st among AL pitchers. (Despite leading all pitchers with 22 wins, Porcello did not rank highly in Box-Toppers player rankings in 2016.)

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers. (Bauer ranks higher than Porcello in Box-Toppers player rankings but has 10 fewer wins—he was 12-8 in 2016.)

The Red Sox are the AL’s top-ranked team in Box-Toppers points, but have only one player ranked in the top 10 in a Box-Toppers category—David Price, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among AL pitchers.

The Indians have three pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 pitchers list, none of whom is starting Game 1:

Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, ranks first among AL pitchers and fifth among all players.
Danny Salazar, 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks eighth among AL pitchers.
Carlos Carrasco, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks 10th among AL pitchers.

Red Sox vs. Indians


Boston Red Sox			Cleveland Indians
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Price, David 2593	pi sp	12.4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	21.2
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	12.4	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	12.5
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	8.4	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	12.4
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	8.0	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	11.4
Ortiz, David	dh	8.0	Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp mr	8.0
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	8.0	Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	7.0
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	7.0	Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	7.0
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b	7.0	Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	6.5
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	6.2	Tomlin, Josh 2771	pi sp	5.0
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	5.5	Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf	3.5
Hill, Aaron 2056	2b	5.5	Crisp, Coco 1876	lf	3.0
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	5.0	Otero, Dan 3365	pi mr	3.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	5.0	Shaw, Bryan 2995	pi mr	3.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	4.7	Clevinger, Mike 3707	pi mr sp	3.0
Uehara, Koji 2802	pi cp	4.0	Byrd, Marlon 1751	rf	2.5
Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999	pi cp mr sp	3.0	Santana, Carlos 2757	dh 1b	2.5
Leon, Sandy 3676	ca	3.0	Almonte, Abraham 3554	rf ph	2.0
Holt, Brock 3340	3b lf	2.5	Naquin, Tyler 3662	cf ph	2.0
Ziegler, Brad 2504	pi cp	2.0	Anderson, Cody 3509	pi sp	1.7
Abad, Fernando 3653	pi mr	2.0	Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	1.5
Hembree, Heath 3620	pi cp	1.7	Brantley, Michael 2785	lf	1.0
Swihart, Blake 3565	lf ca	1.0	McAllister, Zach 3088	pi mr sp	1.0
Kelly, Joe 3066	pi sp	1.0	Gomes, Yan 3177	ca	1.0
Bogaerts, Xander 3383	ss	1.0	Guyer, Brandon 3363	lf	1.0
Hanigan, Ryan 2708	ca	1.0	Gimenez, Chris 2870	ca	1.0
Tazawa, Junichi 3151	pi mr	1.0
Vazquez, Christian 3380	ca	1.0
Brentz, Bryce 3680	lf	1.0
Totals		128.3	Totals		123.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Orioles' Chris Tillman faces Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman in AL Wild Card Game

Shawn Plank October 4, 2016

The Baltimore Orioles visit the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.

Starting pitchers are:

Orioles—Chris Tillman, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among AL pitchers, 89th overall.

Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 43rd among AL pitchers, 112th overall.

Both teams have identical 89-73 records, but the Orioles rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings—they are seventh with 116.6 Box-Toppers points, while the Blue Jays are ninth with 114.0. The Blue Jays are the lowest-ranked AL team to make the postseason.

The Orioles finished the season as one of the hottest teams in baseball. In the final 10 days of the season, they earned 8.5 Box-Toppers points, third-most among all teams. The Blue Jays earned 6.0 points during that period.

Top-ranked player among both teams is Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among AL pitchers and 11th among all players. However, Happ started Saturday.

The Blue Jays also feature two players ranked in the top 10 list of AL batters for 2016:

Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters, 48th among all players.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks seventh among AL batters, 57th among all players.

The Orioles top-ranked player is third baseman-shortstop Manny Machado, whose 12.7 Box-Toppers points leads all AL batters. He ranks 21st among all players.

Also in the top 10 among AL batters is Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth, 38th among all players.

The winner of the AL Wild Card game will face the Texas Rangers in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Texas. The Rangers rank fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings, third among AL teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points.

Orioles vs. Blue Jays

Here are players for both teams in the AL Wild Card Game Tuesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Baltimore Orioles			Toronto Blue Jays
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	12.7	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	14.7
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	11.0	Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	11.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	10.8	Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	10.7
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	8.2	Martin, Russell 2202	ca	10.5
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	8.0	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	9.7
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	7.5	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	8.0
Hardy, J.J. 2071	ss	6.2	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	8.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	6.0	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	7.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	6.0	Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	6.7
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	5.0	Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	5.2
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	4.7	Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	3.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	4.5	Osuna, Roberto 3512	pi cp	3.0
Brach, Brad 3374	pi mr	3.0	Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	2.5
O’Day, Darren 2577	pi mr cp	3.0	Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	2.0
Wilson, Tyler 3608	pi mr sp	3.0	Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	2.0
Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	2.0	Goins, Ryan 3478	2b	1.5
Pearce, Steve 2371	1b	2.0	Bautista, Jose Antonio 2169	rf	1.0
Bourn, Michael 2505	rf cf	2.0	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	1.0
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	2.0	Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	1.0
Lobstein, Kyle 3406	pi sp mr	2.0	Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	1.0
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	2.0	Travis, Devon 3436	2b	1.0
Jones, Adam 2347	cf	1.0	Benoit, Joaquin 1663	pi mr	1.0
Alvarez, Pedro 2817	dh 1b	1.0	Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	1.0
Wright, Mike 3471	pi sp	1.0	Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	1.0
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi cp	1.0
Reimold, Nolan 2607	lf	1.0
Totals		116.6	Totals		114.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Athletics' Daniel Mengden tops players for Thursday, Sept. 15; Giants' Cueto rises to 8th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank September 16, 2016

Athletics pitcher Daniel Mengden is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 15:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Mengden pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out six, in the 14-5 win over the Royals.

This was Mengden’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Mengden made his Major League debut June 11 and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,741st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin pitched three scoreless innings, allowing no runs, hits or walks, striking out four and earning the save, in the 7-3 win over the Dodgers.

National League Batter of the Day—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates hit two homers and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 15-2 win over the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day—Evan Longoria of the Rays hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 7-6 win over the Orioles.

Rankings—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Cueto (CG 5H 2R BB 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season, rising from ninth to eighth place. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays became the 41st player (and seventh batter) with 10 or more Box-Toppers points in 2016 after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Martin (HR 1-3 R 4BI in the 7-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He ranks 35th among all players and fourth among AL batters.

This is Martin’s first season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. His previous best season was 2007 with the Dodgers, when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points.

Also notable—David Ortiz of the Red Sox rises to 23rd place in career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Day honors Thursday.

Ortiz (HR 2B 3-4 R 3BI in the 7-5 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 144.9 career points. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (143.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (145.8). Ortiz also rises to seventh place among active players in career points, second among active batters, behind only Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3). Ortiz also now rises to seventh among all batters in career points since 1995 and trails sixth-ranked batter Jim Thome (146.7) on the “all-time” list.

Ortiz has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 19th among AL batters and fourth among AL designated hitters. Ortiz has said he will retire at the end of the season.

Scoring—Mengden earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Corbin earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. McCutchen and Longoria 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/15
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    OAK 14, KC 5
    Daniel Mengden (W,2-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    NL
    7.0
    ARI 7, LAD 3
    Patrick Corbin (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    6.0
    SF 6, STL 2
    Johnny Cueto (W,16-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    6.0
    `CHW 2, CLE 1
    James Shields
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    PIT 15, PHI 2
    Andrew McCutchen, CF
    5
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    TB 7, BAL 6
    Evan Longoria, 3B
    5
    1
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 7, NYY 5
    David Ortiz, DH
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TOR 7, LAA 2
    Russell Martin, C
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 5, CHC 4
    Scooter Gennett, PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIN 5, DET 1
    Eddie Rosario, LF
    4
    2
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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	+/-
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4	28.2	79.4	98.8	2.6
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	tor al	10.5	15.5	32.0	53.0	5.5
McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	7.0	17.5	48.2	53.9	-3.5
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	7.0	11.5	42.9	144.9	2.5
Longoria, Evan 2423	3b	tb al	5.5	8.5	25.0	46.0	2.5
Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp cp	ari nl	3.7	9.1	32.5	32.5	-1.7
Shields, James 2157	pi sp	chi al	3.0	10.4	68.6	99.4	-4.4
Rosario, Eddie 3542	lf	min al	3.0	4.5	4.5	4.5	1.5
Gennett, Scooter 3254	2b ph	mil nl	2.5	4.5	11.5	11.5	0.5
Mengden, Daniel 3741	pi sp	oak al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Jacob deGrom tops players for Saturday, Aug. 13; Tigers' Boyd tops AL players

Shawn Plank August 14, 2016

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 13:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
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	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

deGrom struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Padres. deGrom did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited the game, the Mets trailed.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out three, in the 2-0 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals homered and went 1-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays hit a three-run home run and went 1-for-2, in the 4-2 win over the Astros.

Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Bumgarner (7IP 3H 0R 3BB 8K in the 6-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks 12th among all players in Box-Toppers points and eighth among NL pitchers.

Bumgarner also now has 104.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 62nd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Saturday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 61st-ranked player, Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1).

Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday with their first career Player of the Game honors:

Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes (3IP H 0R BB 3K W in the 8-4 win over the Cubs) made his Major League debut Aug. 9 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,706th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger (5.2IP H R 4BB 3K W in the 5-1 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut May 18 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,707th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
White Sox pitcher Chris Beck (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K W in the 8-7 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut May 28, 2015, and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,708th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphy and Martin each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/13
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    `NYM 3, SD 2 (11)
    Jacob deGrom
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    9.0
    SF 6, BAL 2
    Madison Bumgarner (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    AL
    6.0
    DET 2, TEX 0
    Matt Boyd (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    
    4.0
    STL 8, CHC 4
    Alex Reyes (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    WSH 7, ATL 6
    Daniel Murphy, 1B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PHI 6, COL 3
    Maikel Franco, 3B
    3
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    TOR 4, HOU 2
    Russell Martin, C
    2
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 11, MIL 5
    Joey Votto, 1B
    5
    1
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    LAD 8, PIT 4
    Joc Pederson, CF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYY 8, TB 4
    Aaron Hicks, LF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 6, ARI 3
    Brock Holt, LF
    4
    3
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 5, KC 3
    Tyler Duffey (W,8-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    SEA 4, OAK 3
    Edwin Diaz (S,6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.2
    CLE 5, LAA 1
    Mike Clevinger (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    1
    1
    1
    4
    3
  

    
    1.1
    CHW 8, MIA 7
    Chris Beck (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    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 point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	12.0	29.0	99.0	104.7	-5.0
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	9.7	32.1	45.1	45.1	-12.7
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	tor al	8.5	13.5	30.0	51.0	3.5
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	7.5	12.5	29.2	61.2	2.5
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	6.5	8.0	30.0	31.5	5.0
Duffey, Tyler 3558	pi sp	min al	6.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	2.0
Boyd, Matt 3550	pi sp	det al	4.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	3.4
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp	sea al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Franco, Maikel 3510	3b	phi nl	3.5	6.7	6.7	6.7	0.3
Pederson, Joc 3621	cf	lad nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Holt, Brock 3340	3b lf	bos al	2.5	3.5	4.5	4.5	1.5
Hicks, Aaron 3170	lf	nyy al	1.0	3.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Beck, Chris 3708	pi mr	chi al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Clevinger, Mike 3707	pi sp	cle al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Reyes, Alex 3706	pi mr	stl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Reds' Homer Bailey tops players for Friday, Aug. 12; Rangers' Lucroy tops AL players

Shawn Plank August 13, 2016

Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 12:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
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	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bailey struck out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 7-4 win over the Brewers.

American League Player of the Day—Jonathan Lucroy of the Rangers hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-5 win over the Tigers.

Lucroy earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday. Lucroy ranks 110th among all players, 20th among AL batters and third among AL catchers (behind Russell Martin of the Blue Jays and Matt Wieters of the Orioles, both of whom have 7.0 Box-Toppers points).

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Szczur of the Cubs hit two homers, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 13-2 win over the Cardinals.

This was Szczur’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Szczur made his Major League debut Aug. 17, 2014, and was playing in his 156th career game. He is the 3,704th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Jonathan Lucroy.

Notable—Four batters Friday had Box-Toppers game scores of +6.0—Lucroy, Szczur, Hanley Ramirez of the Red Sox and Ryan Schimpf of the Padres.

Lucroy and Szczur ranked ahead of Ramirez and Schmipf because they both had three hits, while the other two had two hits. And Lucroy ranked ahead of Szczur because he had more RBIs—five vs. three.

Debut—Astros pitcher Joe Musgrove made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Musgrove (7IP 6H 2R BB 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut Aug. 2 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,705th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

A-Rod—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees played in the apparent final game of his career Friday, a 6-3 win over the Rays.

Rodriguez doubled and went 1-for-4, driving in a run, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of −2.0. Player of the Game for the Yankees was closer Delin Betances (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv).

If that truly is the end for Rodriguez, 41, he exits with 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, which as of Friday, was the highest total for any active player, the most points earned by any batter since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) and the fourth-highest total of any player since 1995.

However, Rodriguez did not earn any Box-Toppers points in 2016. He earned 7.7 points in 2015, the year after he returned from a 2014 yearlong suspension for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. More on Rodriguez’s career through a Box-Toppers perspective here.

Scoring—Bailey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lucroy earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Szczur earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/12
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    CIN 7, MIL 4
    Homer Bailey (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    AL
    6.0
    TEX 8, DET 5
    Jonathan Lucroy, C
    4
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    CHC 13, STL 2
    Matt Szczur, CF
    4
    4
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    BOS 9, ARI 4
    Hanley Ramirez, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    SD 8, NYM 6
    Ryan Schimpf, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    PHI 10, COL 6
    Ryan Howard, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CLE 13, LAA 3
    Brandon Guyer, LF
    4
    1
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    ATL 8, WSH 5
    Freddie Freeman, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    KC 7, MIN 3
    Yordano Ventura (W,8-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    3
    3
    1
    9
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 6, TB 3
    Dellin Betances (S,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    `CHW 4, MIA 2
    Nate Jones (H,23)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 5, TOR 3
    Joe Musgrove (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 5, SF 2
    Zach Britton (S,36)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    OAK 6, SEA 3
    Marcus Semien, SS
    4
    2
    4
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 5, LAD 1
    Andrew McCutchen, CF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	tex al	5.7	7.4	26.3	27.3	4.0
Ventura, Yordano 3294	pi sp	kc al	5.0	16.7	26.4	26.4	-6.7
Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	5.0	8.0	36.2	36.2	2.0
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b	bos al	5.0	5.0	27.7	55.6	5.0
Semien, Marcus 3302	ss	oak al	4.5	4.5	8.0	8.0	4.5
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	bal al	4.0	12.7	32.1	32.1	-4.7
Jones, Nate 3125	pi mr	chi al	4.0	5.0	12.0	12.0	3.0
McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	3.5	14.0	44.7	50.4	-7.0
Schimpf, Ryan 3686	3b 2b	sd nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Howard, Ryan 2040	1b	phi nl	2.0	7.5	32.4	98.7	-3.5
Betances, Dellin 3333	pi mr cp	nyy al	2.0	6.0	10.7	10.7	-2.0
Bailey, Homer 2324	pi sp	cin nl	2.0	2.0	36.4	47.1	2.0
Szczur, Matt 3704	cf	chi nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Guyer, Brandon 3363	lf	cle al	1.0	2.0	4.5	4.5	0.0
Musgrove, Joe 3705	pi sp	hou al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

A look at Box-Toppers All-Stars: Top players by position & league for July 21

Shawn Plank July 22, 2016

11 AL players and seven NL players are leaders in Box-Toppers points for their position for both 2016 and 2015-16.

Toronto Blue Jays have most players (seven) in Box-Toppers top 100 of 2016 at All-Star break

Shawn Plank July 12, 2016

A look at Box-Toppers 100 top-ranked players for 2016 at the All-Star break. Blue Jays and top-ranked Cubs have most representatives on the list.

An All-Star break look at who Box-Toppers deems to be All-Stars

Shawn Plank July 11, 2016

A look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position and by league for the 2016 season and for the combined 2015-16 seasons.

Nationals' Max Scherzer ‘most worthy but unchosen' player for 2016 All-Star Game

Shawn Plank July 8, 2016

A look at the All-Star rosters based on Box-Toppers points. Which players were worthy but unchosen? Which players made it but probably shouldn't have?

A look at Box-Toppers All-Stars at the season's halfway point

Shawn Plank July 1, 2016

Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league in both the 2016 season the combined 2015-16 seasons.

A late June look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams, led by Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw

Shawn Plank June 24, 2016

Eight AL players and five NL players occupy All-Star spots at their position in both the 2016 season and the combined 2015-16 seasons.

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

AL Division Series, Game 1: Blue Jays at Rangers

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

AL Division Series, Game 1: Red Sox at Indians

Red Sox vs. Indians

Orioles vs. Blue Jays

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.