Rangers’ Eovaldi tops players for Saturday, April 29; Blue Jays’ Gausman rises to 2nd

Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, three players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after each earned Player of the Game honors—Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman rises to second place, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to ninth place and Pirates pitcher Vince Velasquez rises to 10th place.

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Blue Jays’ Gausman tops players for Sunday, April 23, rising to 1st in player rankings

Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to regain the lead in season player rankings.

Also Sunday, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors—Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to second place and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels rises to fifth place.

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Red Sox’ Porcello tops players for Friday, Aug. 3; Verlander rises to 6th place in player rankings

Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, who ranks sixth in Box-Toppers season player rankings, earns Player of the Game honors.

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Dodgers' Kenta Maeda tops players for Thursday, May 17; Red Sox' Price tops AL players

Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Maeda struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 7-0 win over the Marlins.

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Nationals' Anthony Rendon tops players for Sunday, April 30, recording possibly highest Box-Toppers game score by batter since 1995

Anthony Rendon of the Nationals is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording what is possibly the highest Box-Toppers game score by a batter in Box-Toppers’ 23-season history.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 29:  


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 Nova, Ivan 2796 pi sp pit nl 5.0
4 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 5.0
5 Holland, Greg 2906 pi cp col nl 5.0
6 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 4.7
7 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 4.4
8 Triggs, Andrew 3723 pi sp oak al 4.4
9 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 4.0
10 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 4.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Rendon hit three home runs, doubled, went 6-for-6, scored five times and drove in 10 runs, in the 23-5 win over the Mets.

Rendon had a Box-Toppers game score of +15.0, which appears to be the highest score by a batter since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.

While Box-Toppers has records for each Player of the Game since the start of 1995, the data from actual game score records from box scores only goes back to the start of 2011. The previous high game score for a batter since 2011 was +12.0, done twice:

  • On June 9, 2014, Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians (3HR 5-5 3R 9BI in the 17-7 win over the Rangers) earned Player of the Day honors.
  • On May 8, 2012, Josh Hamilton of the Rangers (4HR 2B 5-5 4R 8BI in the 10-3 win over the Orioles) earned Player of the Day honors.

However, looking back at some of the most likely games to produce high Box-Toppers game scores for batters from 1995 to 2010, it appears no batter had a higher game score than Rendon had Sunday.

Rendon became the 13th player in Major League history to have a game with 10 runs batted in. That’s a club that’s even rarer than the four-home run club, which has been done 16 times in Major League history.

During the Box-Toppers era (since 1995), there have been three games in which a player has had 10 RBIs and no player had a Box-Toppers game score of more than +12.0:

  • On May 10, 1999, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox (3HR 3-4 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Mariners) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
  • On April 26, 2005, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (3HR 4-5 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Angels) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
  • On Aug. 21, 2007, Garret Anderson of the Angels (2HR 2-2B 4-6 3R 10BI in the 18-9 win over the Yankees) had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0.

Rendon also had a six-hit game, something that’s been done 101 times in Major League history (30 of those games happened in the 1800s). There have been 22 six-hit games in the Box-Toppers era (since 1995). The highest Box-Toppers game score of those games and what appears to be the previous high Box-Toppers game score for a batter (since 1995) was +13.0, achieved by Shawn Green of the Dodgers on May 23, 2002 (4HR 2B 6-6 6R 7BI in the 16-3 win over the Brewers).

Batters have hit four home runs in a game 16 times in Major League history, including four times during the Box-Toppers era (since 1995), however Green’s +13.0 score is the highest for those games. The other four-home run games during the Box-Toppers era:

  • On May 2, 2002, Mike Cameron of the Mariners (4HR 4-5 4R 4BI in the 15-4 win over the White Sox) had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0.
  • On Sept. 25, 2002, Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays (4HR 4-4 4R 6BI in the 10-8 win over the Devil Rays) had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0.
  • On May 8, 2012, Josh Hamilton of the Rangers (4HR 2B 5-5 4R 8BI in the 10-3 win over the Orioles) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.

While Rendon seems to have broken the “all-time” (since 1995) record for Box-Toppers game score for a batter, it is still only the second-best game score of 2017. On April 20, Chris Sale of the Red Sox had a Box-Toppers game score of +16.0 (8IP 4H 0R BB 13K ND in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays). Pitchers generally have more opportunity to earn high game scores than batters. In 2016, the highest overall game score was +22.0, earned by Vince Velasquez of the Phillies on April 14 (CG 3H 0R 0BB 16K W in the 3-0 win over the Padres).

(Related: Highest Box-Toppers game scores by batters in the 2016 season and 2015 season.)

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Ryan Tepera pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, allowing one hit and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Rays. Tepera picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.

American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins homered and went 3-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 7-5 win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Anthony Rendon.

Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to seventh in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Keuchel (7.2IP 3H R 2BB 9K W in the 7-2 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.4 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.

Streak—Justin Upton of the Tigers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Upton (HR 2-3 2R BI in the 7-3 win over the White Sox) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Diamondbacks and has 52.1 career points, fourth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2011 with the Diamondbacks, when he had 9.7 points, 10th among NL batters. In 2016, he had 6.7 points with the Tigers, fourth among AL outfielders.

Debut—Reds pitcher Wandy Peralta made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Peralta (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 5-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 4, 2016, and was playing in his 22nd career game. He is the 3,782nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Rendon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tepera earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Sano earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.

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 

4/30 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 15.0 WSH 23, NYM 5 Anthony Rendon, 3B 6 5 6 10 - - - - - -
9.2 HOU 7, OAK 2 Dallas Keuchel (W,5-0) - - - - 7.2 3 1 1 2 9
8.1 `ARI 2, COL 0 (F/13) Patrick Corbin - - - - 6.1 2 0 0 2 6
AL 7.1 `TOR 3, TB 1 Ryan Tepera - - - - 3.1 1 0 0 0 5
6.1 LAD 5, PHI 3 Hyun-Jin Ryu (W,1-4) - - - - 5.1 3 1 1 3 9
6.0 MIA 10, PIT 3 Justin Bour, 1B 5 1 4 6 - - - - - -
6.0 `BOS 6, CHC 2 Eduardo Rodriguez - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 2 9
5.0 MIL 4, ATL 3 Domingo Santana, RF 3 2 2 4 - - - - - -
4.1 LAA 5, TEX 2 JC Ramirez (W,3-2) - - - - 5.1 4 2 2 2 9
BAT 4.0 MIN 7, KC 5 Miguel Sano, 3B 5 1 3 5 - - - - - -
4.0 SD 5, SF 2 (F/12) Ryan Buchter (W,2-1) - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
3.0 CLE 12, SEA 4 Abraham Almonte, RF 4 2 3 2 - - - - - -
3.0 BAL 7, NYY 4 Logan Verrett (W,1-0) - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 2
3.0 CIN 5, STL 4 Wandy Peralta (W,1-0) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 DET 7, CHW 3 Justin Upton, LF 3 2 2 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 +/-
Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 4.4 11.4 47.2 47.2 -2.6
Sano, Miguel 3527 3b min al 4.0 7.0 13.0 13.0 1.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 pi sp bos al 3.7 8.4 14.4 14.4 -1.0
Ramirez, JC 3778 pi sp ana al 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Rendon, Anthony 3258 3b dc nl 2.0 7.5 14.0 14.0 -3.5
Corbin, Patrick 3027 pi sp cp ari nl 2.0 5.7 34.5 34.5 -1.7
Tepera, Ryan 3774 pi mr tor al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Upton, Justin 2411 lf det al 1.0 7.7 33.9 52.1 -5.7
Bour, Justin 3433 1b fla nl 1.0 3.5 13.5 13.5 -1.5
Almonte, Abraham 3554 rf cle al 1.0 3.0 4.5 4.5 -1.0
Verrett, Logan 3518 pi cp bal al 1.0 2.0 5.0 5.0 0.0
Buchter, Ryan 3626 pi mr sd nl 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0
Santana, Domingo 3507 rf mil nl 1.0 1.0 2.5 2.5 1.0
Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 pi sp lad nl 1.0 1.0 22.1 22.1 1.0
Peralta, Wandy 3782 pi mr cin nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

A Box-Toppers look back at 2016, with a preview of the coming 2017 season

A compilation of player and team standings from the end of the 2016 season, featuring a plethora of posts to prep for the 2017 season, including preseason team standings and Box-Toppers 2017 playoff and World Series picks.

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In 2016, pitchers had more Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors than batters

A comprehensive Box-Toppers analysis of all 2,428 games played in 2016 shows pitchers won Player of the Game honors more frequently than batters and won an overwhelming majority of overall Player of the Day honors.

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Box-Toppers’ top single game performances for 2016

Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez has best single-game Box-Toppers game score in 2016. Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez each had two of the 12 best game scores of the year.

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Rockies' Jon Gray tops players for Saturday, Sept. 17 with 3rd-highest Box-Toppers game score of season

Rockies pitcher Jon Gray is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day with the third-highest Box-Toppers game score of the season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 17:  


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?

Gray pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, walking none and striking out 16, in the 8-0 win over the Padres.

Gray had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +21.0, the third-highest of the season and only the sixth time this season a player has had a game score of +20 or more. Two pitchers had scores of +22.0 this season—Vince Velasquez of the Phillies did it April 14 and Danny Duffy of the Royals did it Aug. 1. (See the chart at the bottom of the page for the top 11 Box-Toppers game scores earned in 2016.)

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Cubs.

Braun earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season. He rises to second place among NL batters, behind Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5 Box-Toppers points). Though Bryant and Braun both have 10.5 points, Bryant ranks ahead because he had more points in 2015—8.5 vs. 5.0.

Bryant is the 42nd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. This is Braun’s sixth season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, his first since 2012 when he had 12.5, prior to his 2013 suspension under baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. Braun now ranks 35th among all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016.

American League Batter of the Day—Marcus Semien of the Athletics hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-2 win over the Rangers.

Notable—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson has the most 2016 Box-Toppers points of any of the 16 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Hellickson (CG 3H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 8-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks 17th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nolasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Braun and Semien 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

9/17 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 21.0 COL 8, SD 0 Jon Gray (W,10-8) - - - - 9.0 4 0 0 0 16
11.0 PHI 8, MIA 0 Jeremy Hellickson (W,12-9) - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 0 5
AL 6.0 LAA 6, TOR 1 Ricky Nolasco (W,6-14) - - - - 6.0 5 0 0 2 7
6.0 HOU 2, SEA 1 Mike Fiers (W,11-7) - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 1 4
5.1 BOS 6, NYY 5 Craig Kimbrel (S,27) - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 4
BAT 5.0 MIL 11, CHC 3 Ryan Braun, LF 5 2 3 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
4.0 CLE 1, DET 0 (10) Andrew Miller (W,8-1) - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
4.0 PIT 7, CIN 3 Juan Nicasio (W,10-6) - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 2
4.0 PIT 10, CIN 4 Wade LeBlanc (S,2) - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 0 2
4.0 KC 3, CHW 2 Wade Davis (S,25) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 OAK 11, TEX 2 Marcus Semien, SS 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 `NYM 3, MIN 2 (12) Josh Smoker - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 3
2.0 ATL 7, WSH 3 Ender Inciarte, CF 4 3 3 0 - - - - - -
2.0 TB 5, BAL 2 Evan Longoria, 3B 4 3 2 1 - - - - - -
1.0 LAD 6, ARI 2 Joc Pederson, CF 4 1 2 2 - - - - - -
1.0 STL 3, SF 2 Kolten Wong, 2B 1 0 1 1 - - - - - -
`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 +/-
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 pi sp phi nl 13.1 18.1 41.8 44.8 8.1
Braun, Ryan J. 2300 lf mil nl 10.5 15.5 46.5 88.2 5.5
Nolasco, Ricky 2125 pi sp ana al 9.4 11.4 32.1 85.2 7.4
Nicasio, Juan 2888 pi mr sp pit nl 9.0 10.0 25.4 25.4 8.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 7.0 13.0 56.7 57.7 1.0
Gray, Jon 3634 pi sp col nl 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0
Longoria, Evan 2423 3b tb al 6.5 9.5 26.0 47.0 3.5
Semien, Marcus 3302 ss oak al 6.0 6.0 9.5 9.5 6.0
Fiers, Michael 3029 pi sp hou al 5.0 12.0 26.1 26.1 -2.0
Miller, Andrew 2436 pi cp cle al 5.0 9.0 13.0 20.0 1.0
Davis, Wade 2681 pi cp kc al 4.0 8.0 23.0 26.0 0.0
Pederson, Joc 3621 cf lad nl 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
LeBlanc, Wade 2669 pi sp cp pit nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 10.0 3.0
Inciarte, Ender 3360 cf atl nl 2.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 -1.0
Smoker, Josh 3725 pi cp mr nym nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Wong, Kolten 3377 2b stl nl 1.0 5.0 10.5 10.5 -3.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Highest Box-Toppers game scores of 2016

Here are the highest Box-Toppers game scores earned by Players of the Games in 2016. Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez had the highest score of +22.0 on April 14 when he was Player of the Day (and 2.0 Box-Toppers points). Saturday, Rockies pitcher Jon Gray had the third-highest score (+21.0). All but one player among the top 11 here earned Player of the Day honors. Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia earned Player of the Game honors (worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point) because he finished behind that day’s overall top player Velasquez on April 14.  


Date Bonus BTG Team Players IP H R ER BB K
1 4/14 MLB 22.0 PHI 3, SD 0 Vince Velasquez (W,2-0) 9.0 3 0 0 0 16
2 8/1 MLB 22.0 KC 3, TB 0 Danny Duffy (W,7-1) 8.0 1 0 0 1 16
3 9/17 MLB 21.0 COL 8, SD 0 Jon Gray (W,10-8) 9.0 4 0 0 0 16
4 7/10 MLB 21.0 SF 4, ARI 0 Madison Bumgarner (W,10-4) 9.0 1 0 0 1 14
5 5/1 MLB 20.0 LAD 1, SD 0 Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1) 9.0 3 0 0 0 14
6 4/14 20.0 STL 7, MIL 0 Jaime Garcia (W,1-0) 9.0 1 0 0 1 13
7 5/11 MLB 19.0 WSH 3, DET 2 Max Scherzer (W,4-2) 9.0 6 2 2 0 20
8 5/12 MLB 18.0 LAD 5, NYM 0 Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1) 9.0 3 0 0 1 13
9 9/13 MLB 17.0 SEA 8, LAA 0 Taijuan Walker (W,6-10) 9.0 3 0 0 0 11
10 4/23 MLB 17.0 WSH 2, MIN 0 Tanner Roark (W,2-2) 7.0 2 0 0 3 15
11 6/5 MLB 17.0 MIA 1, NYM 0 Jose Fernandez (W,9-2) 7.0 4 0 0 0 14

Royals' Danny Duffy tops players for Monday, Aug. 1 with 2nd-highest Box-Toppers game score of season

Royals pitcher Danny Duffy is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 1:  


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 14.1
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?

Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg maintained his seventh-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Duffy pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 16 and allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Rays.

Duffy had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +22.0, tied for the highest game score of the season. But Duffy ranks second on the season to Vince Velasquez of the Phillies, who on April 14, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +22.0, because Velasquez had more innings pitched—nine vs. eight. (See chart below for the top Box-Toppers game score of 2016.) Duffy’s is the fifth Box-Toppers game score this season of +20.0 or greater.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out six over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 14-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Strasburg earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 14.1 for the season, maintaining his seventh-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Max Kepler of the Twins hit three two-run homers and went 4-for-6, in the 12-5 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Travis Jankowski of the Padres went 3-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-3 win over the Brewers.

This was Jankowski’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Jankowski made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2015, and was playing in his 114th career game. He is the 3,696th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Duffy earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Strasburg earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Kepler and Jankowski 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

8/1 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 22.0 KC 3, TB 0 Danny Duffy (W,7-1) - - - - 8.0 1 0 0 1 16
9.0 `HOU 2, TOR 1 (14) Doug Fister - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 1 8
BAT 7.0 MIN 12, CLE 5 Max Kepler, RF 6 3 4 6 - - - - - -
5.1 `BOS 2, SEA 1 Eduardo Rodriguez - - - - 6.1 3 1 1 2 6
NL 5.0 WSH 14, ARI 1 Stephen Strasburg (W,15-1) - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 2 6
4.0 CHC 5, MIA 0 Kyle Hendricks (W,10-7) - - - - 9.0 7 0 0 3 5
3.0 NYY 6, NYM 5 (10) Adam Warren (W,4-2) - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 1 2
BAT 2.0 SD 7, MIL 3 Travis Jankowski, CF 3 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 +/-
Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 14.1 28.1 74.2 81.9 0.1
Duffy, Danny 2915 pi sp kc al 8.7 12.7 27.7 27.7 4.7
Hendricks, Kyle 3386 pi sp chi nl 8.0 17.7 22.7 22.7 -1.7
Kepler, Max 3664 rf min al 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Fister, Doug 2688 pi sp hou al 3.0 5.0 50.5 54.2 1.0
Warren, Adam 3169 pi mr sp nyy al 2.0 5.7 9.7 9.7 -1.7
Jankowski, Travis 3696 cf sd nl 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 pi sp bos al 1.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 -5.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Highest Box-Toppers game scores of 2016

Here are the highest Box-Toppers game scores earned by Players of the Games in 2016. Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez had the highest score of +22.0 on April 14 when he was Player of the Day (and 2.0 Box-Toppers points). All but two players among the top 13 here earned Player of the Day honors. Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia and Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda earned Player of the Game honors (worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point) because they finished behind that day’s overall top player—Garcia finished behind Velasquez on April 14 and Garcia finished behind Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner on July 10.  


Date Bonus Score Team Players IP H R ER BB K
1 4/14 MLB 22.0 Phillies Vince Velasquez (W,2-0) 9.0 3 0 0 0 16
2 8/1 MLB 22.0 Royals Danny Duffy (W,7-1) 8.0 1 0 0 1 16
3 7/10 MLB 21.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W,10-4) 9.0 1 0 0 1 14
4 5/1 MLB 20.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1) 9.0 3 0 0 0 14
5 4/14 20.0 Cardinals Jaime Garcia (W,1-0) 9.0 1 0 0 1 13
6 5/11 MLB 19.0 Nationals Max Scherzer (W,4-2) 9.0 6 2 2 0 20
7 5/12 MLB 18.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1) 9.0 3 0 0 1 13
8 4/23 MLB 17.0 Nationals Tanner Roark (W,2-2) 7.0 2 0 0 3 15
9 6/5 MLB 17.0 Marlins Jose Fernandez (W,9-2) 7.0 4 0 0 0 14
10 4/15 MLB 16.0 White Sox Chris Sale (W,3-0) 9.0 2 0 0 0 9
11 6/8 MLB 16.0 Mariners Taijuan Walker (W,3-6) 8.0 3 0 0 0 11
12 7/10 16.0 Dodgers Kenta Maeda (W,8-6) 7.0 2 1 1 0 13
13 4/19 MLB 16.0 `Rays Drew Smyly 8.0 1 0 0 2 11
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Madison Bumgarner tops players for Sunday, July 10, rising to 6th in Box-Toppers rankings

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning the season’s second-highest Box-Toppers game score and rising to sixth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 14.4
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 14.0
4 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 13.4
5 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 12.5
6 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 11.0
7 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 10.7
8 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 10.7
9 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 10.5
10 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 10.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 14 and walking one in the 4-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to sixth in player rankings and fifth among National League pitchers.

He had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +21.0, the second-highest of the season, behind only the +22.0 score earned April 14 by Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez. (See chart below for the 12 highest Box-Toppers game score earned by Players of the Games in 2016.)

Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda had the 11th-highest Box-Toppers game score of the season, +16.0, but since he was beaten out by NL pitcher Bumgarner for Player of the Day, he only earns Player of the Game honors and 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Maeda was Player of the Game in the 3-1 win over the Padres (7IP 2H R 0BB 13K W).

Bumgarner also now has 103.7 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 62nd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Carlos Beltran (101.9), Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2), Miguel Tejada (102.3) and Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (103.4). He now trails 61st-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0).

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher David Price pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits and two walks, in the 4-0 win over the Rays.

Price earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and now has 102.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 65th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes five players on the “all-time” list—Paul Konerko (100.7), Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4), Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (101.9) and Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2). Price trails 64th-ranked player Miguel Tejada (102.3). 

American League Batter of the Day—Kennys Vargas of the Twins homered and went 1-for-2, scoring three times, in the 15-5 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Cameron Rupp of the Phillies homered and went 4-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 10-3 win over the Rockies.

Scoring—Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Price earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Vargas and Rupp each earn 1.5 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

7/10 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 21.0 SF 4/ARI 0 Madison Bumgarner (W,10-4) - - - - 9.0 1 0 0 1 14
16.0 LAD 3/SD 1 Kenta Maeda (W,8-6) - - - - 7.0 2 1 1 0 13
AL 13.0 BOS 4/TB 0 David Price (W,9-6) - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 1 10
12.0 ATL 2/CHW 0 Mike Foltynewicz (W,3-3) - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 0 10
9.0 STL 5/MIL 1 Mike Leake (W,6-7) - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 0 10
4.1 `DC 3/NYM 2 Tanner Roark - - - - 2.1 0 0 0 0 2
BAT 4.0 PHI 10/COL 3 Cameron Rupp, C 5 1 4 4 - - - - - -
4.0 `HOU 2/OAK 1 Dallas Keuchel - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 5
3.1 NYY 11/CLE 7 Nathan Eovaldi (W,7-6) - - - - 4.1 1 0 0 3 3
BAT 3.0 MIN 15/TEX 5 Kennys Vargas, 1B 2 3 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 TOR 6/DET 1 R.A. Dickey (W,7-9) - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 5
2.1 SEA 8/KC 5 Mike Montgomery (W,3-3) - - - - 6.1 5 1 1 0 3
2.0 BAL 4/LAA 2 J.J. Hardy, SS 3 1 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 MIA 7/CIN 3 Mike Dunn (W,1-1) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 CHC 6/PIT 5 Hector Rondon (S,14) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
`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 +/-
Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 11.0 28.0 98.0 103.7 -6.0
Price, David 2593 pi sp bos al 8.4 29.5 85.5 102.2 -12.7
Roark, Tanner 3261 pi sp dc nl 7.7 8.7 23.7 23.7 6.7
Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 pi sp nyy al 6.7 8.7 25.8 25.8 4.7
Maeda, Kenta 3609 pi sp lad nl 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 5.0 26.4 40.8 40.8 -16.4
Dickey, R.A. 1734 pi sp tor al 5.0 10.0 54.2 75.9 0.0
Rondon, Hector 3201 pi cp chi nl 4.0 6.0 9.0 9.0 2.0
Rupp, Cameron 3556 ca phi nl 3.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 2.5
Leake, Mike 2709 pi sp stl nl 3.0 13.0 38.1 42.6 -7.0
Montgomery, Mike 3513 pi cp mr sp sea al 3.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 -1.0
Foltynewicz, Mike 3455 pi sp atl nl 3.0 5.7 5.7 5.7 0.3
Hardy, J.J. 2071 ss bal al 2.7 2.7 24.1 51.3 2.7
Vargas, Kennys 3511 1b min al 2.5 4.0 4.0 4.0 1.0
Dunn, Michael 2867 pi mr cp fla nl 1.0 1.0 9.0 9.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Highest Box-Toppers game scores of 2016

Here are the highest Box-Toppers game scores earned by Players of the Games in 2016. Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez had the highest score of +22.0 on April 14 when he was Player of the Day (earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points). All but two players among the top 12 here earned Player of the Day honors. Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia and Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda earned Player of the Game honors (worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point) because they finished behind that day’s overall top player—Garcia finished behind Velasquez on April 14 and Garcia finished behind Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner on July 10.  


Date Bonus Score Team Players IP H R ER BB K
1 4/14 MLB 22.0 Phillies Vince Velasquez (W,2-0) 9.0 3 0 0 0 16
2 7/10 MLB 21.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W,10-4) 9.0 1 0 0 1 14
3 5/1 MLB 20.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1) 9.0 3 0 0 0 14
4 4/14 20.0 Cardinals Jaime Garcia (W,1-0) 9.0 1 0 0 1 13
5 5/11 MLB 19.0 Nationals Max Scherzer (W,4-2) 9.0 6 2 2 0 20
6 5/12 MLB 18.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1) 9.0 3 0 0 1 13
7 4/23 MLB 17.0 Nationals Tanner Roark (W,2-2) 7.0 2 0 0 3 15
8 6/5 MLB 17.0 Marlins Jose Fernandez (W,9-2) 7.0 4 0 0 0 14
9 4/15 MLB 16.0 White Sox Chris Sale (W,3-0) 9.0 2 0 0 0 9
10 6/8 MLB 16.0 Mariners Taijuan Walker (W,3-6) 8.0 3 0 0 0 11
11 7/10 16.0 Dodgers Kenta Maeda (W,8-6) 7.0 2 1 1 0 13
12 4/19 MLB 16.0 `Rays Drew Smyly 8.0 1 0 0 2 11
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cubs' Kris Bryant tops players for Monday, June 27, with season's highest game score for a batter

Kris Bryant of the Cubs is Monday’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 June 27:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 13.4
3 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 11.7
4 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 10.7
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 10.7
6 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 10.0
7 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 10.0
8 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 9.8
9 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp ari nl 9.7
10 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 9.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Bryant hit three homers and two doubles, going 5-for-5, scoring four times and driving in six runs, in the 11-8 win over the Reds.

Bryant’s Box-Toppers game score Monday of +10 was the highest for a batter this season. The highest Box-Toppers game score earned by a batter in 2015 was +11.0, done by four players.

American League Player of the Day—Royals pitcher Danny Duffy struck out eight over eight innings, allowing two runs, six hits and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Nick Franklin of the Rays homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 13-7 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Kris Bryant.

Notable—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez has the highest season Box-Toppers point total of all 11 of Monday’s Players of the Game. Velasquez (5IP 5H 0R 0BB 7K W in the 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He ranks 27th among all players and 14th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Rangers pitcher Tony Barnette made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor Monday.

Barnette (1.2IP H 0R BB 3K W in the 9-6 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his 30th career game. He is the 3,670th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bryant earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Duffy earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Franklin earns 1.5 points for being AL 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

6/27 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 CHC 11/CIN 8 Kris Bryant, 3B-RF-LF 5 4 5 6 - - - - - -
7.0 PHI 8/ARI 0 Vince Velasquez (W,6-2) - - - - 5.0 5 0 0 0 7
AL 6.0 KC 6/STL 2 Danny Duffy (W,3-1) - - - - 8.0 6 2 2 0 8
BAT 4.0 TB 13/BOS 7 Nick Franklin, DH 5 1 3 5 - - - - - -
4.0 COL 9/TOR 5 Carlos Gonzalez, RF 3 2 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 DC 11/NYM 4 Ben Revere, CF 5 3 4 1 - - - - - -
3.0 OAK 8/SF 3 Marcus Semien, SS 4 1 2 4 - - - - - -
2.2 TEX 9/NYY 6 Tony Barnette (W,5-2) - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 1 3
2.1 LAD 5/PIT 4 Kenley Jansen (S,22) - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 1 2
2.0 CLE 8/ATL 3 Lonnie Chisenhall, RF 4 1 2 3 - - - - - -
1.0 HOU 4/LAA 2 Jake Marisnick, PR-DH 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -

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 +/-
Velasquez, Vince 3611 pi sp phi nl 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0
Bryant, Kris 3465 lf 3b rf chi nl 5.5 14.0 14.0 14.0 -3.0
Duffy, Danny 2915 pi sp kc al 4.7 8.7 23.7 23.7 0.7
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 rf col nl 3.5 15.0 43.7 56.7 -8.0
Semien, Marcus 3302 ss oak al 3.5 3.5 7.0 7.0 3.5
Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp lad nl 3.0 7.0 33.4 33.4 -1.0
Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959 rf 3b cle al 2.5 2.5 12.5 12.5 2.5
Franklin, Nick 3238 dh ss tb al 1.5 2.5 6.0 6.0 0.5
Marisnick, Jake 3428 dh cf pr hou al 1.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 -1.0
Revere, Ben 2886 cf dc nl 1.0 2.0 11.0 11.0 0.0
Barnette, Tony 3670 pi mr tex al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Giants' Bumgarner tops players for Tuesday, May 17; Kershaw extends Box-Toppers points lead

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Tuesday’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 May 17:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 10.0
2 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 7.7
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 6.7
4 Machado, Manny 3087 3b ss bal al 6.7
5 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 6.1
6 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 6.0
7 Velasquez, Vince 3611 pi sp phi nl 6.0
8 Quintana, Jose 3040 pi sp chi al 5.7
9 De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 pi sp ari nl 5.7
10 Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 5.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke became the 18th player since 1995 with 150 or more career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Bumgarner pitched a complete game five-hitter, allowing one run and striking out 11, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, tied with Kershaw’s Tuesday game score, but Bumgarner won overall Player of the Game honors on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—9 vs. 8.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 13-1 win over the Reds.

Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.1 for the season, rising to fifth in season player rankings, second among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the White Sox (6.7).

American League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Athletics hit three home runs, including a walk-off grand slam, in the 8-5 win over the Rangers. Davis went 3-for-5 with six total RBIs.

National League Batter of the Day—John Jaso of the Pirates doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 12-9 win over the Braves.

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 180.0
6 Albert Pujols 1b dh ana al 176.3
7 Roy Halladay pi sp retired 170.7
8 Clayton Kershaw pi sp lad nl 169.3
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 163.7
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 150.4
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)

Kershaw—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Kershaw (8IP 4H R 11K W in the 5-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. Kershaw is the first player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and it is the eighth straight season in which he has earned 10 or more points.

Kershaw also now has 169.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of eighth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails seventh-place player Roy Halladay (170.7).

Greinke—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke becomes the 18th player with 150 or more Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Greinke (7IP 5H 3R 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 150.4 career points. He maintains his rank of 18th place on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, trailing 17th-ranked player Greg Maddux (151.7). Greinke has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Rankings—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Velasquez (5IP 3H 0R 10K W in the 3-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

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

  • Tyler White of the Astros (2HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his 35th career game. He is the 3,638th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Kyle Ryan of the Tigers (1.2IP 0H 0R K W in the 7-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Aug. 30, 2014, and was playing in his 38th career game. He is the 3,639th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and Jaso each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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

5/17 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 13.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W,5-2) - - - - - - 9.0 5 1 1 0 11
13.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,6-1) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 0 11
12.0 Mets Noah Syndergaard (W,4-2) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 0 10
10.0 Phillies Vince Velasquez (W,5-1) - - - - - - 5.0 3 0 0 2 10
AL 7.1 Indians Danny Salazar (W,4-2) - - - - - - 7.1 5 1 1 1 8
BAT 7.0 Athletics Khris Davis, LF 5 3 3 6 0 2 - - - - - -
7.0 Mariners Nelson Cruz, DH 3 2 3 5 1 0 - - - - - -
6.2 Brewers Chase Anderson (W,2-5) - - - - - - 8.2 3 2 2 1 6
5.0 Royals Paulo Orlando, RF 4 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Astros Tyler White, 1B 4 2 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Rays Kevin Kiermaier, CF 4 3 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Pirates John Jaso, 1B 3 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dbacks Zack Greinke (W,4-3) - - - - - - 7.0 5 3 3 0 7
2.2 Tigers Kyle Ryan (W,1-1) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 1
1.2 Rockies Chad Bettis (W,4-2) - - - - - - 6.2 5 1 1 2 4

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 10.0 35.7 135.8 169.3 -15.7
Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 6.1 19.5 28.9 28.9 -7.3
Velasquez, Vince 3611 pi sp phi nl 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 5.0 22.0 92.0 97.7 -12.0
Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 5.0 15.4 15.4 15.4 -5.4
Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp ari nl 4.0 24.7 89.8 150.4 -16.7
Bettis, Chad 3481 pi sp col nl 3.7 9.1 9.1 9.1 -1.7
Anderson, Chase 3328 pi sp mil nl 3.0 7.0 12.0 12.0 -1.0
Jaso, John 2705 1b ca pit nl 3.0 3.0 8.0 14.0 3.0
Cruz, Nelson 2224 dh rf sea al 2.0 4.0 29.7 49.2 0.0
Davis, Khris 3242 lf oak al 1.5 5.5 11.5 11.5 -2.5
Kiermaier, Kevin 3373 cf tb al 1.0 2.0 4.5 4.5 0.0
Orlando, Paulo 3526 rf kc al 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0
Ryan, Kyle 3639 pi mr det al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
White, Tyler 3638 1b hou al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?