Pirates' Gerrit Cole tops players for Saturday, May 6; Kershaw rises to lead Box-Toppers player rankings

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	6.7
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	6.7
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
5	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	5.0
6	Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	5.0
7	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
8	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	5.0
9	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	5.0
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Cole struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Brewers. Cole picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.

American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hicks of the Yankees hit a three-run homer and doubled in the 11-6 win over the Cubs. Hicks went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Phillies.

2017 lead changes

Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

Date	Player	Team	BTP
4/2	Carlos Martinez	stl nl	2.0
4/3	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	2.0
4/9	Noah Syndergaard	nym nl	3.0
4/14	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	4.0
4/15	Ervin Santana	min al	4.7
4/19	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	5.0
5/2	Chris Sale	bos al	6.7
5/6	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	7.0

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (7.1IP 5H R 4BB 9K W in the 10-2 win over the Padres).

Kershaw earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, passing previous leader, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (6.7 points). This is the fourth time this season Kershaw has led players in Box-Toppers points.

Kershaw also now has 190.7 career Box-Toppers points, most among active players and fourth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1) on the “all-time” list.

Debut—Mariners pitcher James Pazos made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Pazos (1IP H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 8-2 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2015, and was playing in his 31st career game. He is the 3,786th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hicks and Zimmerman 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

5/6	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	`PIT 2, MIL 1 (F/10)	Gerrit Cole	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	8
AL	8.0	TB 6, TOR 1	Jake Odorizzi (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	0	6
	7.0	COL 9, ARI 1	Tyler Anderson (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	1	1	1	10
	5.1	LAD 10, SD 2	Clayton Kershaw (W,5-2)	-	-	-	-		7.1	5	1	1	4	9
BAT	5.0	NYY 11, CHC 6	Aaron Hicks, CF	5	3	4	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	`CLE 3, KC 1	Josh Tomlin	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	0	3
	4.0	BOS 11, MIN 1	Rick Porcello (W,2-4)	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	1	1	0	6
	4.0	CIN 14, SF 2	Robert Stephenson (S,1)	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	1	2
	3.0	OAK 6, DET 5	Yonder Alonso, 1B	4	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	WSH 6, PHI 2	Ryan Zimmerman, 1B	4	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	BAL 6, CHW 5	Trey Mancini, LF	3	1	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	SEA 8, TEX 2	James Pazos (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	2.0	LAA 2, HOU 1	Bud Norris (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	NYM 11, MIA 3	Jay Bruce, RF	5	1	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	STL 5, ATL 3	Aledmys Diaz, SS-LF	4	0	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-

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	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0	31.4	131.1	190.7	-17.4
Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	3.4	9.8	29.5	29.5	-3.0
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	3.0	11.5	28.7	61.8	-5.5
Mancini, Trey 3766	lf	bal al	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	1b	dc nl	2.5	4.0	23.7	58.8	1.0
Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	2.0	8.5	37.9	37.9	-4.5
Hicks, Aaron 3170	cf	nyy al	1.5	2.5	6.5	6.5	0.5
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	bos al	1.0	9.0	31.7	43.7	-7.0
Norris, Bud 2638	pi cp sp	ana al	1.0	6.7	31.4	47.1	-4.7
Diaz, Aledmys 3612	ss lf	stl nl	1.0	6.5	6.5	6.5	-4.5
Tomlin, Josh 2771	pi sp	cle al	1.0	6.0	19.4	25.4	-4.0
Alonso, Yonder 2945	1b	oak al	1.0	3.0	12.5	14.0	-1.0
Anderson, Tyler 3656	pi sp	col nl	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0
Stephenson, Robert 3617	pi cp	cin nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Pazos, James 3786	pi mr	sea al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' James Paxton tops players for Wednesday, April 26, rises to sixth in Box-Toppers player rankings

Mariners pitcher James Paxton is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 26:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
2	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	5.7
3	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	4.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	4.0
6	Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	4.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	4.0
8	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	4.0
9	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	3.7
10	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Paxton struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Tigers.

Paxton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to sixth in season player rankings, fourth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a grand slam and went 3-for-4, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Shin-Soo Choo of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and tripled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times, in the 14-3 win over the Twins.

Choo has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Indians and has 49.2 career points, sixth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2010 with the Indians, when he had 9.0 points, seventh among AL batters. He had 1.0 point in 2016 with the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Maikel Franco.

Streaks—Two players have now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after both earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals (HR 3-5 2R 3BI in the 11-4 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Nationals and has 57.3 career points, sixth among NL first basemen. His best season was 2013 with the Nationals, when he had 9.2 points, sixth among NL batters. He had 1.5 points in 2016 with the Nationals.
• Nick Markakis of the Braves (3-4 2R BI in the 8-2 win over the Mets) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Orioles and now has 48.1 career points, 11th among NL outfielders. His best season was 2009 with the Orioles, when he had 7.7 points, sixth among AL outfielders. In 2016, he had 5.0 points.

Scoring—Paxton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Franco earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Choo earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

4/26	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	SEA 8, DET 0	James Paxton (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	1	9
	8.0	NYY 3, BOS 1	Luis Severino (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	2	6
	6.0	CHW 5, KC 2	Jose Quintana (W,1-4)	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	1	2	10
BAT	4.0	TEX 14, MIN 3	Shin-Soo Choo, RF	5	3	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	4.0	PHI 7, MIA 4	Maikel Franco, 3B	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	CLE 7, HOU 6	Cody Allen (S,4)	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	WSH 11, COL 4	Ryan Zimmerman, 1B	5	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	LAA 8, OAK 5	Cameron Maybin, LF	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	MIL 9, CIN 4	Jett Bandy, C	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	SD 8, ARI 5	Ryan Schimpf, 3B	2	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	ATL 8, NYM 2	Nick Markakis, RF	4	2	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	PIT 6, CHC 5	Josh Harrison, 3B	3	2	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	SF 4, LAD 3 (F/10)	Michael Morse, PH	1	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	BAL 5, TB 4 (F/11)	Craig Gentry, PR	0	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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	+/-
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	4.0	8.4	15.1	15.1	-0.4
Schimpf, Ryan 3686	3b 2b	sd nl	2.0	7.2	7.2	7.2	-3.2
Severino, Luis 3567	pi sp mr	nyy al	2.0	4.0	7.0	7.0	0.0
Franco, Maikel 3510	3b	phi nl	1.7	6.2	9.4	9.4	-2.8
Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf	tex al	1.5	2.5	22.5	49.2	0.5
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	1.0	11.4	36.2	36.2	-9.4
Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	cle al	1.0	8.0	17.0	17.0	-6.0
Markakis, Nick 2116	rf	atl nl	1.0	6.0	19.0	48.1	-4.0
Maybin, Cameron 2672	lf	ana al	1.0	4.0	9.5	16.5	-2.0
Harrison, Josh 2947	3b 2b	pit nl	1.0	3.0	7.5	9.0	-1.0
Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	1b	dc nl	1.0	2.5	22.2	57.3	-0.5
Bandy, Jett 3711	ca	mil nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Morse, Michael 2020	lf 1b ph	sf nl	1.0	1.0	11.0	24.0	1.0
Gentry, Craig 2977	lf cf pr	bal al	1.0	1.0	5.0	6.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cardinals' Wacha tops players for Monday, April 11; Rangers' Lewis tops AL players

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Wacha struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 10-1 win over the Brewers. Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and ranks sixth in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 11:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	3.0
2	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	2.7
3	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	2.5
4	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	2.0
5	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	2.0
6	Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
7	Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	2.0
8	Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	2.0
9	Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	2.0
10	Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b ss	cin nl	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis struck out six over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-3 win over the Mariners.

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 9-7 win over the Red Sox. Davis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day and now has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising to third in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 6-4 win over the Braves.

Zimmerman has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Nationals and has 56.3 career points, ninth among active NL batters. His best season was 2013 with the Nationals when he had 9.2 points, sixth among NL batters. He had 3.0 points in 2015 with the Nationals.

Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lewis earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and Zimmerman 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

4/11	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Cardinals	Michael Wacha (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	1	7
AL	5.0	Rangers	Colby Lewis (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	1	6
BAT	4.0	Orioles	Chris Davis, 1B	5	2	2	5	0	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cubs	Hector Rondon (S,2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Astros	Jose Altuve, 2B	4	3	3	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman, 1B	3	3	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Angels	Nick Tropeano (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	6	0	0	2	6
	3.0	`Padres	Carlos Villanueva	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.1	Marlins	Chris Narveson (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	1	0	0	0	2
	2.0	White Sox	Jose Quintana (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	3	5
	1.0	Pirates	Francisco Cervelli, C	4	1	3	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Yankees' Pineda tops players for Sunday, May 10; Mariners' Hernandez extends lead among players, rises to 15th in 'all-time' rankings

Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is Sunday’s Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and moved into 15th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings, passing Greg Maddux.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
4	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	5.0
5	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	4.7
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	4.7
9	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
10	Rodriguez, Alex	dh	nyy al	4.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Pineda struck out 16 batters over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

Pineda had a Box-Toppers game score of 15, the highest recorded so far this season. However, another player also had a Box-Toppers game score of 15 Sunday—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar, Player of the Game in the 8-2 win over the Twins (7IP H R 11K). However, Pineda won the tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day because he had more strikeouts than Salazar—16 vs. 11. And though Salazar had one of the two highest Box-Toppers game scores of the season, he earns only 1.0 Box-Toppers point as Player of the Game, while Pineda earns 2.0 for being Player of the Day.

National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Cubs. After Garza exited the game, the Cubs tied the score 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning, so Garza did not earn the win, but picked up a no-decision.

National League Batter of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers hit two doubles and drove in four runs in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Red Sox hit a three-run home run in the 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Napoli has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Angels. His best year was 2011 with the Rangers when he had 9.0, ninth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox.

Napoli has 48.2 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 23rd among active batters currently in the AL.

Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Hernandez (7IP 2R 6K W in the 4-3 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He is 2.7 Box-Toppers points ahead of the second place player, Gerrit Cole of the Pirates (6.0).

With the Box-Toppers point earned Sunday, Hernandez now has 152.0 for his career, which moves him up to 15th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He passes Greg Maddux (151.7) on the list. It should be noted that Maddux pitched nine seasons, many of them stellar, before Box-Toppers record keeping began, so his actual Box-Toppers career total would likely be much higher. Hernandez now trails Tim Hudson of the Giants (153.0) and Barry Bonds (153.2).

Streak—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons.

Zimmerman was Player of the Game in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Braves (2B 2-4 2R 2BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Zimmerman earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Nationals. His best year was 2013 with the Nationals when he had 9.2, sixth among NL batters. In 2014, he had 3.5 Box-Toppers points with the Nationals.

Zimmerman has 52.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among active batters currently in the NL.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

• Johnny Monell of the Mets (pinch hitter: 2B 2BI in the 7-4 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2013, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,463rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Jung-Ho Kang of the Pirates (HR 2-4 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,464th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Pineda earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garza earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Napoli each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/10	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.0	Yankees	Michael Pineda (W, 5-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	0	16
	15.0	Indians	Danny Salazar (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	1	1	0	11
	9.2	Angels	Garrett Richards (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	1	1	1	4	10
NL	8.0	`Brewers	Matt Garza	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	3	9
	7.0	`Rangers	Wandy Rodriguez	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	1	6
	6.0	`Giants	Ryan Vogelsong	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	0	5
	5.0	`Royals	Chris Young	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	0	0	3
	4.1	`Dbacks	Daniel Hudson	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.1	2	0	0	2	5
BAT	3.0	Dodgers	Adrian Gonzalez 1B	4	1	2	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Red Sox	Mike Napoli 1B	2	1	1	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W, 6-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	1	6
	2.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman 1B	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mets	Johnny Monell PH	1	0	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Pirates	Jung-Ho Kang 3B	4	1	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	White Sox	Tyler Flowers C	2	1	2	0	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cubs' Jake Arrieta (7.2 IP 1H 0R 10K) tops players for Monday, June 30

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Monday’s Player of the Day. Arrieta, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out 10 in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season. He is in 25th place in Box-Toppers player rankings and 11th among National League pitchers.

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is American League Player of the Day. Jimenez struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 7-1 win over the Rangers.

Rajai Davis of the Tigers is AL Batter of the Day. Davis hit a walk-off grand slam and went 2-for-5 in the 5-4 win over the Athletics.

Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals is NL Batter of the Day. Zimmerman went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 7-3 win over the Rockies.

Arrieta receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Davis and Zimmerman each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Monday’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 Monday, 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

630	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.2	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W, 5-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	1	0	0	1	10
	10.0	Dodgers	Dan Haren (W, 8-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	0	0	1	5
AL	9.0	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 3-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	0	1	7
	9.0	Padres	Jesse Hahn (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	0	0	2	9
	3.0	Rays	Brad Boxberger (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	1
BAT	2.0	Tigers	Rajai Davis LF	5	1	2	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mariners	Robinson Cano 2B	5	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman 3B	4	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Royals	Alcides Escobar SS	4	0	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Braves	Craig Kimbrel (S, 25)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1

Nats & Tigers have most players on Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star teams

The Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers lead the way with the most players on Box-Toppers’ 2014 preseason all-star team.

The Nationals have four players on the National League team and the Tigers have three players on the American League team. The teams were selected based on which player had the highest Box-Toppers points total at their position in 2013. (The top three outfielders and top four starting pitchers in each league were also selected.)

Preseason All-Star Team

Here is Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star team, featuring top players in each position in both the American and National Leagues. The column at right (BTP) shows the number of Box-Toppers points the player scored in 2013. Players are listed based on positions they primarily played during 2013. It is expected some players will change positions in 2014, including Miguel Cabrera, moving from third to first base. The bottom four lines list the top overall pitchers and batters in both leagues in 2013.

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP
	AL
1B	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	12.7
2B	Cano, Robinson 2092	sea al	12.5
SS	Lowrie, Jed 2437	oak al	8.0
3B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	16.9
CA	McCann, Brian 2179	nyy al	7.0
OF	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	nyy al	12.9
OF	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	9.5
OF	Jones, Adam 2347	bal al	8.0
DH	Ortiz, David	bos al	12.4
SP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	18.1
SP	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	det al	17.1
SP	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	16.4
SP	Sale, Chris 2806	chi al	16.1
CP	Holland, Greg 2906	kc al	11.0
	NL
1B	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.7
2B	Murphy, Daniel 2589	nym nl	8.5
SS	Desmond, Ian 2673	dc nl	5.5
3B	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	dc nl	9.2
CA	Ramos, Wilson 2904	dc nl	7.5
OF	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	col nl	11.5
OF	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	11.0
OF	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	9.4
SP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	21.7
SP	Wainwright, Adam 2150	stl nl	20.2
SP	Greinke, Zack 1871	lad nl	19.4
SP	Fernandez, Jose 3147	fla nl	19.0
CP	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	atl nl	12.7
ALMVP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	18.1
ALBAT	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	16.9
NLMVP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	21.7
NLBAT	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.7

The four Nationals players include:

• Shortstop Ian Desmond, who had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.

• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2.

• Catcher Wilson Ramos with 7.5.

• Outfielder Bryce Harper with 9.4.

The three Tigers players include:

• Third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 (Cabrera is slated to move to first base for the 2014 season). 

• Starting pitcher Max Scherzer with 18.1.

• Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez with 17.1.

If Cabrera’s move to first base were taken into account, he would bump Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points) from the AL first base all-star spot. Cabrera’s third base spot would be filled by Josh Donaldson of the Athletics, who had the second-most points among AL third basemen in 2013 with 9.5.

The NL team is led by overall Box-Toppers points leader for 2013, pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who had 21.7 points. The top NL batter is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, who had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013.

Scherzer led all AL players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Cabrera’s 16.9 led all AL batters.

Five other teams had two players on the all-star teams, the Orioles, the Yankees, the Indians, the Rockies and the Dodgers. 

Two of the all-stars are on new teams in 2014:

• AL second baseman Robinson Cano (12.5 points) moved from the Yankees to the Mariners.

• AL catcher Brian McCann (7.0 points) moved from the Braves to the Yankees.

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.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers' batting leader Miguel Cabrera wins AL MVP; NL leader Goldschmidt finishes behind McCutchen for NL MVP

Box-Toppers' top-ranked batter Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers was named American League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

But the National League leading batter in Box-Toppers points, Paul Goldschmidt, finished in second place in NL MVP voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who finished 71st among NL players and 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points, was voted NL MVP.

Cabrera had 16.9 Box-Toppers points for the season, first among all batters, third among all AL players and eighth among all players. He was consistently the only batter in the overall player top 10 list during the season. He led all players in Box-Toppers points four different times during the season, most recently from June 28 to June 30.

Cabrera was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots, winning his second straight MVP award. However, in 2012, Cabrera ranked third among AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.7, behind Adrian Beltre (13.5) and Chris Davis (12.0). Cabrera ranked third in 2012 despite his Triple Crown season.

McCutchen, voted NL MVP, had 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots and was voted on all 30 ballots no lower than third place. However, as the 22nd-ranked NL batter in Box-Toppers points, he wouldn’t have even appeared on Box-Toppers’ 10-spot ballot.

Box-Toppers’ top NL batter Goldschmidt had 13.7 Box-Toppers points and received 15 of the writers’ second place votes, enough to secure the NL MVP runner-up spot.

So what went wrong here? Why do the writers so unanimously see McCutchen as the MVP and Box-Toppers so ... does not? (In fact, McCutchen is not even the highest-ranked batter in Box-Toppers points on his team—that honor goes to Pedro Alvarez, with 7.7 points.)

McCutchen’s batting average is .317. He hit 21 homers and 84 RBIs, scored 97 runs and stole 27 bases. Goldschmidt’s numbers were just as good, often better—.302 average, 36 homers, 125 RBIs. But McCutchen’s team made the postseason. Goldschmidt’s didn’t. Plus, words being used to describe McCutchen are “all-around player,” a “heart-and-soul” guy—intangibles. By their very nature, it’s hard to measure intangibles.

But Box-Toppers measures tangibles. The player who most helps his team win the most games earns the most Box-Toppers points. And to be fair, Box-Toppers doesn’t measure defensive play—for batters, it relies on what they produce at the plate. So it is possible that a lot of McCutchen’s valuableness gets missed that way.

Though in the previous two seasons, McCutchen has fared better in Box-Toppers points than he did in 2013. In 2011, he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, in eighth place among NL batters. And in 2012, he had 8.5, finishing just out of the top 10 among NL batters.

So, by Box-Toppers standards, Goldschmidt very simply more often helped his team win more games than did McCutchen.

A couple of other players were voted by writers to higher spots than would be recommended by their Box-Toppers point total:

• Mike Trout of the Angels was voted in second place in AL MVP voting with five first place votes. He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 144th place among all AL players and 62nd among all AL batters. (In 2012, he also finished second in AL MVP voting, but in 2012, he finished fifth among AL batters with 11.0 Box-Toppers points.)
• Yadier Molina of the Cardinals was voted in third place in NL MVP voting with two first place votes. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 126th place among all NL players and 52nd among all NL batters. However, Molina is rightly given credit for his defensive skills as a catcher and his role in shaping a pitching staff with four or five Cy Young-worthy starters. Box-Toppers doesn’t measure that.

There were several players who had high Box-Toppers point totals who did not receive MVP votes. Three of the Box-Toppers top 10 AL batters received no votes and seven of the Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters were shut out:

• Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all AL players and second among all AL batters. However, Soriano played in the National League for the Cubs at the start of the season and switched to the American League in July.
• Billy Butler of the Royals had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 33rd among all AL players and eighth among AL batters.
• Prince Fielder of the Tigers had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 39th among all AL players and 10th among AL batters.
• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all NL players and fourth among NL batters.
• Bryce Harper of the Nationals had 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all NL players and fifth among NL batters.
• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals had 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all NL players and sixth among NL batters.
• Will Venable of the Padres had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 36th among all NL players and seventh among NL batters.
• Daniel Murphy of the Mets had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 40th among all NL players and eighth among NL batters.
• Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all NL players and ninth among NL batters.
• Brandon Phillips of the Reds had 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 48th among all NL players and 10th among NL batters.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Here are the final Box-Toppers Player Rankings for 2013, showing the top 10 overall players, plus the top 10 in AL and NL pitching and AL and NL batting. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers season point totals.

Box-Toppers rankings of MVP Award candidates 

Here are the results of Most Valuable Player Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among all players in their league.

MVP vote
AL
Player	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Miguel Cabrera	3b	Tigers	23	7									385	16.9	3
Mike Trout	cf lf	Angels	5	19	3	1	1		1				282	3.5	144
Chris Davis	1b	Orioles	1	4	11	12	1		1				232	12.7	14
Josh Donaldson	3b	Athletics	1		14	9	3	3					222	9.5	31
Robinson Cano	2b	Yankees			1	5	9	2	6	5	2		150	12.5	17
Evan Longoria	3b	Rays					4	6	6	4	5	3	103	5.5	82
Dustin Pedroia	2b	Red Sox				1	5	5	5	4	2	1	99	3.5	145
Adrian Beltre	3b	Rangers					2	8	7	3	4	2	99	8.4	41
Manny Machado	3b	Orioles					2	1	2	5	5	7	57	1.0	316
David Ortiz	dh	Red Sox				2	1	2	2	1	2	2	47	12.4	18
Jason Kipnis	2b	Indians					1	1		3	3	5	31	8.0	44
Max Scherzer	pi sp	Tigers			1			2		1	1	2	25	18.1	1
Adam Jones	cf	Orioles					1			1			9	8.0	43
Edwin Encarnacion	1b dh	Blue Jays								1	2		7	8.7	38
Greg Holland	pi cp	Royals								1			3	11.0	22
Carlos Santana	ca	Indians								1			3	1.0	287
Coco Crisp	cf	Athletics									1	1	3	4.0	129
Jacoby Ellsbury	cf	Red Sox									1	1	3	5.5	83
Torii Hunter	rf	Tigers									1		2	4.0	125
Hisashi Iwakuma	pi sp	Mariners									1		2	16.1	7
Koji Uehara	pi cp	Red Sox										2	2	6.0	76
Yu Darvish	pi sp	Rangers										1	1	16.0	8
Felix Hernandez	pi sp	Mariners										1	1	14.8	9
Salvador Perez	ca 1b	Royals										1	1	2.5	195
Shane Victorino	rf	Red Sox										1	1	4.5	112
Notable AL snubs
Alfonso Soriano	lf	Yankees											0	12.9	12
Billy Butler	dh	Royals											0	9.0	33
Prince Fielder	1b	Tigers											0	8.5	39
NL
Player, Club	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Andrew McCutchen	cf	Pirates	28	1	1								409	6.0	71
Paul Goldschmidt	1b	D-Backs		15	9	1	3	2					242	13.7	12
Yadier Molina	ca	Cardinals	2	8	4	6	6		1		2	1	219	4.0	126
Matt Carpenter	2b	Cardinals		6	5	4	3	9	1	1	1		194	7.5	49
Freddie Freeman	1b	Braves				5	7	8	8	1	1		154	11.5	19
Joey Votto	1b	Reds			2	8	7	3	4		1	2	149	4.5	109
Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	Dodgers			8	4		4	5	4	1		146	21.7	1
Hanley Ramirez	ss	Dodgers			1	1	2	1	2	3	3	3	58	5.0	87
Carlos Gomez	cf	Brewers					1		3	6	2	3	43	3.0	162
Jay Bruce	rf	Reds					1	1	3		2	3	30	4.5	112
Craig Kimbrel	pi cp	Braves				1		1		3	3		27	12.7	18
Shin Soo Choo	cf	Reds						1	1	1	4	3	23	7.0	55
Jayson Werth	rf	Nationals							1	2	2	6	20	6.5	66
Andrelton Simmons	ss	Braves								2	4		14	1.5	261
Yasiel Puig	rf	Dodgers							1	2			10	1.5	259
Hunter Pence	rf	Giants								1	1	2	7	6.5	63
Troy Tulowitzki	ss	Rockies									2	1	5	4.0	124
Allen Craig	lf 1b	Cardinals								1		1	4	5.0	84
Adrian Gonzalez	1b	Dodgers								1		1	4	5.0	86
Buster Posey	ca	Giants								1			3	7.0	54
Adam Wainwright	pi sp	Cardinals								1			3	20.2	2
Michael Cuddyer	rf	Rockies										3	3	11.5	20
Matt Holliday	lf	Cardinals									1		2	6.5	62
Russell Martin	ca	Pirates										1	1	2.0	212
Notable NL snubs
Carlos Gonzalez	lf	Rockies											0	11.0	22
Bryce Harper	lf	Nationals											0	9.4	34
Ryan Zimmerman	3b	Nationals											0	9.2	35
Will Venable	rf cf	Padres											0	9.0	36
Daniel Murphy	2b	Mets											0	8.5	40
Pedro Alvarez	3b	Pirates											0	7.7	45
Brandon Phillips	2b	Reds											0	7.5	48

* Rank among players (batters and pitchers) in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

Source: Baseball Writers Association of America