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Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Stroman struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks in the 4-2 win over the Athletics. Stroman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Athletics tied the game after he exited.
Read MoreJosh Hader of the Brewers and Edwin Diaz of the Mariners are winners of this year’s reliever of the year awards as voted on by the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA).
Hader wins the 2018 IBWAA Hoyt Wilhelm National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award and Diaz is selected as the 2018 IBWAA Rollie Fingers American League Relief Pitcher of the Year. The awards were announced Sunday.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Maeda struck out 10 over five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Giants.
Read More
The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
Read MoreThe 2017 National League Championship Series is a rematch of the 2016 series between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. But this year, the tables are turned.
Last year, the Cubs were kings, leading Box-Toppers team rankings in 2016 almost wire-to-wire, and coming into their NLCS matchup against the Dodgers holding practically every advantage. This year, they’ve scraped together their success with a pitching staff that is little more than half as good as it was when it led them to a World Series title in 2016.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, 2017 Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, is headed to the 10-day disabled list after pitching only two innings in his start against the Braves.
Read MoreA look at the All-Star Game rosters through the Box-Toppers lens, including a look at the worthy left in the lurch and players whose selection Box-Toppers deems questionable.
Read MoreCubs' Jake Arrieta led NL pitchers with 29.1 Box-Toppers points. Astros' Dallas Keuchel led AL pitchers with 21.4 Box-Toppers points. Both won their league's Cy Young Award.
Read More
Kelvin Herrera pitched three scoreless innings—the seventh, eighth and ninth—to earn Player of the Game honors as the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series Sunday.
The Royals again came from behind in Game 5, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game 2-2 and scoring five in the top of the 12th inning to defeat the Mets, 7-2 in the 12-inning game and 4-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Herrera kept the Mets off the board for three innings, giving up one hit and striking out three. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, highest among Royals players. While he did not earn the win or the save, picking up a no-decision, he did pitch the requisite three innings required to be eligible to earn Player of the Game honors. He is the only pitcher this postseason to earn Player of the Game honors without earning a win or a save.
Had Herrera not pitched three innings, Player of the Game honors would have gone to Royals top batter, pinch hitter Christian Colon, who hit the go-ahead 12th-inning single (1-1 R BI). Colon had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.
Closing pitcher Wade Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (1IP H 0R 3K), but was not eligible to earn Player of the Game honors because he pitched fewer than three innings and did not pick up the win or the save. Davis was not eligible to earn the save because the Royals led by more than three runs when he entered.
Herrera, during the regular season, had no Box-Toppers points. In both 2013 and 2014, Herrera had 2.0 points each season. It is the third straight World Series game in which the Player of the Game had zero regular season Box-Toppers points:
Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 (6IP 2H 2R 5K ND). Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0 (8IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K ND), highest among all players Sunday.
Mets pitcher Jeurys Familia, who had a blown save pitching in the ninth and 10th innings, had the Mets second-highest Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 (2IP 0H 0R 2K). Curtis Granderson had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets batters of 0.0 (HR 1-4 2R BI). Addison Reed, who picked up the loss for the Mets, had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of all players of −5.9 (0.1IP 3H 5R BB 0K).
Royals catcher Salvador Perez was named World Series Most Valuable Player. He did not earn Player of the Game honors in any World Series game and had a positive Box-Toppers game score in only one game the Royals won—in Game 4, he had a score of +1.0, highest among Royals batters.
Mets pitcher Matt Harvey had complete control of World Series Game 5—until he didn't. Here are real-time tweets from @BoxToppers as the game progressed, complete with real-time statistical errors:
#WorldSeries Gm 5
#Royals Edinson Volquez (7.0 Box-Toppers pts, ranked 105th)
#Mets Matt Harvey (15.4 B-T pts, 16th)
https://t.co/oIAGjoxNUz
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Curtis Granderson #Mets takes early lead as Box-Toppers Player of Game w/solo HR in #WorldSeries Game 5, B-T game score +2.
NY 1-KC 0 B1
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets takes lead as Box-Toppers Player of Game in #WorldSeries Game 5 vs. #Royals (3IP 2H 0R 2K, B-T gm score +3).
NY 1-KC 0 E3
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Game in #WorldSeries Gm 5 vs. #Royals (4IP 2H 0R 5K, B-T gm score +7).
NY 1-KC 0 M4
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm 5 v. #Royals (5IP 2H 0R BB 8K, B-T gm score +10).
NY 1-KC 0 M5
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm5 v. #Royals (6IP 3H 0R 1BB 9K, B-T gm score +11).
NY 1-KC 0 M5
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets still leads as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm5 v. #Royals (7IP 4H 0R 1BB 9K, B-T gm score +11).
NY 2-KC 0 M7
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Edinson Volquez #Royals exits #WorldSeries Game 5 vs. #Mets (6IP 2H 2R 5BB 5K, B-T gm score +1) on hook for L.
NY 2-KC 0 E7.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm5 v. #Royals (8IP 4H 0R 1BB 9K, B-T gm score +12).
NY 2-KC 0 M8
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets exits #WorldSeries Gm5 w/lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm (8+IP 5H R 3BB 9K, B-T gm score +8).
NY 2-KC 1 T9.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015#Royals tie #Mets in #WorldSeries Game 5, 2-2 B9
Herrera leads KC as Player of Game (2IP H 0R 3K), Harvey leads NY (8IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015In T10, #Royals, #Mets tied 2-2 in #WorldSeries Game 5.
Box-Toppers Player of Game leaders:
KC-Herrera B-T gm score +5
NY-Harvey +6
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015As #Royals take 3-2 lead over #Mets in #WorldSeries Gm5 in T12, Herrera leads as Box-Toppers Player of Game (3IP H 0R 3K, B-T gm score +5).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015#WorldSeries MVP? #Royals Game 2 CG winner Johnny Cueto? https://t.co/NpJxBiVnT1
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Kelvin Herrera #Royals (3IP H 0R 3K ND) is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in #WorldSeries Game 5 win, 7-2, as KC beats #Mets in series, 4-1.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015About 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.
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Royals who played in World Series Game 5 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). Kelvin Herrera is Player of the Game (POG).
| 11/1 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 5.0 | `Royals | Kelvin Herrera | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Wade Davis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Christian Colon, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson, PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Drew Butera, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Wade Davis, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez, P | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Ben Zobrist, 2B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Alex Rios, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -5.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Though the baseball season is now over, in coming days, Box-Toppers will feature season-end features, including Box-Toppers 2015 All-Star teams, top 100 player rankings and analysis of the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards, among many other things. Stay current on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to Box-Toppers’ RSS feed.
Royals pitcher Ryan Madson pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out two and picking up the win, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Saturday in World Series Game 4.
The Kansas City Royals came from behind, scoring three runs in the eighth inning, to beat the New York Mets, 5-3. The Royals take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Madson entered the game with the Royals trailing 3-2 and retired the side on 16 pitches, striking out Travis d’Arnaud of Michael Conforto, who had homered in his previous two at bats. After Madson exited, the Royals scored three runs in the eighth, making Madson the pitcher of record and allowing him to pick up the win.
Madson had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, highest among Royals players. Closer Wade Davis, who pitched two innings to earn the save, was leading Madson in the ninth inning in Box-Toppers game score until he gave up two hits. Davis had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals of +2.0.
Catcher Salvador Perez had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters of +1.0 (2B 3-4 R BI).
Madson, during the regular season, had 0.0 Box-Toppers points. In fact, Madson has not earned Box-Toppers points since the last time he was Player of the Game more than four years ago—May 30, 2011, when he was with the Phillies. Madson has 20.7 career Box-Toppers points from 2004 to 2011, all with the Phillies.
Royals starting pitcher Chris Young had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (4IP 2H 2R BB 3K ND). Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0. (5IP 7H 2R 5K ND).
Left fielder Michael Conforto had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets players of +3.0 (2HR 2-3 2R 2BI). Mets middle reliever Tyler Clippard, who picked up the loss pitching in the eighth inning, had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of the night of −5.9 (0.1IP 0H 2R 2BB 0K L).
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.
Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 4 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). Ryan Madson is Player of the Game (POG).
| 10/31 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Ryan Madson (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Ben Zobrist, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Chris Young | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Danny Duffy, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Ryan Madson, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Chris Young, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Wade Davis, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Danny Duffy | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Alex Rios, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Sunday in New York:
The pitching match-up Sunday:
Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers. Volquez has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 16, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers. Harvey has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 17, he was top player in the National League Championship Series Game 1.
This is a rematch of World Series Game 1, which the Royals won 5-4 in 14 innings. Neither starting pitcher was particularly effective. Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0 and Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.0.
Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report
Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end
Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end
Kelvin Herrera struck out two in 1 2/3 innings of scoreless middle relief as the Kansas City Royals won Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, eliminating the Toronto Blue Jays.
Herrera earns Player of the Day honors in the 4-3 win, as the Royals win the best-of-seven game series, 4-2.
Herrera entered the game in the sixth inning as the Royals led 2-1 and held the lead through the seventh inning, giving up no hits and no walks. He did not pick up a win or a save. Herrera had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2, highest among all Royals players.
Previously, I incorrectly tweeted that closing pitcher Wade Davis was Box-Toppers Player of the Game. Davis (1.2IP H 0R BB 3K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.2. But in the heat of the moment following the game, I overlooked Herrera, who had a higher Box-Toppers game score than the pitcher who won or saved the game and had the same (or more) innings pitched.
To earn Player of the Game honors, Box-Toppers rules say a pitcher must have at least three innings pitched or pick up the win or the save and if they do none of those, they must have a higher Box-Toppers game score as the pitcher who otherwise earned Player of the Game honors and have the same or more innings pitched. That’s how Herrera beat out Davis Friday.
Had Herrera pitched only 1 1/3 innings, he would have had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.1, still higher than Davis’s +2.2. But in that case, Davis would have been Player of the Game because he picked up the win and because Herrera, while having a higher Box-Toppers game score, would not have had as many or more innings pitched than Davis.
During the regular season, Herrera had no Box-Toppers points—he did not earn Player of the Game honors once during the regular season. He earned 2.0 points each in both 2013 and 2014 with the Royals.
Mike Moustakas had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters, +1.0. Moustakas homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run.
Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura, who exited the game with the lead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.1 (5.1IP 4H R 5K). He picked up a no decision because the Blue Jays tied the game in the eighth inning after he exited.
Blue Jays starting pitcher David Price, ranked fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points during the regular season with 21.1, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.2 (6.2IP 5H 3K 8K ND).
The Royals and the Blue Jays were the top two AL teams in Box-Toppers team rankings. With 127.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015, the Royals ranked second among all teams (behind only the Pittsburgh Pirates) and first among AL teams. The Blue Jays ranked fifth among all teams, second among AL teams, with 124.1.
The Royals return to the World Series for the second straight year and will face the National League champion New York Mets beginning Tuesday in Kansas City.
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
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.
| 10/23 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 3.2 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H,3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets is Box-Toppers top player in Monday’s four league division series playoff games.
Other Players of the Game Monday:
Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs to earn overall Player of the Day honors Monday.
During the regular season, d’Arnaud had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 381st among all players, 189th among NL batters and ninth among NL catchers.
d’Arnaud had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, the same as teammate Yoenis Cespedes, who had a similar batting line (HR 3-5 3R 3BI), but d’Arnaud won Player of the Game honors on a low-level tie-breaker—he left fewer runners on base than Cespedes—zero vs. one.
D’Arnaud’s Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 is also tied with Players of the Game in two other games—Jorge Soler of the Cubs and Royals pitcher Wade Davis. But d’Arnaud beat Soler because he had more at bats (five vs. two) and he beat Davis because in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters beat pitchers.
The Mets now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in New York.
Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-2, to earn Player of the Game honors.
During the regular season, Soler had 3.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked 306th among all players, 70th among NL batters and 33rd among NL outfielders.
Box-Toppers points leader Jake Arrieta (29.1) started the game for the Cubs. Arrieta (5.2IP 5H 4R 9K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of −0.8. It is the first time since Aug. 15 that Arrieta did not earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a start. He had 10 straight starts in which he earned Player of the Game honors, including in the postseason on Oct. 7, when he was Player of the Game in the NL Wild Card Game. In his final nine starts of the regular season, Arrieta earned 14.7 Box-Toppers points.
The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in Chicago.
Royals closing pitcher Wade Davis struck out three over two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and picking up the save, to earn Player of the Game honors.
During the regular season, Davis had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 235th among all players, 74th among AL pitchers and ninth among AL closing pitchers.
The best-of-five game series is now tied 2-2 and concludes Wednesday in Kansas City.
Kevin Pillar homered and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs to earn Player of the Game honors.
During the regular season, Pillar had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 300th among all players, 68th among AL batters and 22nd among AL outfielders.
Blue Jays pitcher David Price, ranked second among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points (21.1) pitched three innings of middle relief. Price (3IP 6H 3R 2K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of −7.0.
The best-of-five game series is now tied 2-2 and concludes Wednesday in Toronto.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/12 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 4.0 | Mets | Travis d'Arnaud, C | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| POG | 4.0 | Cubs | Jorge Soler, RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| POG | 4.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| POG | 3.0 | Blue Jays | Kevin Pillar, CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Tuesday, the NL Division Series playoff games resume:
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Cardinals—John Lackey, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Jason Hammel, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 52nd among all players, 22nd among NL pitchers. (Though Lackey and Hammel have the same Box-Toppers point totals for 2015, Lackey places higher because he holds the tiebreaker—he had more Box-Toppers points in 2014, 10.7 vs. 10.4.)
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.
Mets—Steven Matz, 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 298th among all players, 76th among NL pitchers.
Looking at Box-Toppers points leaders over three time spans (2015, 2014-15 and 2010-15) and selecting AL & NL All-Star teams.
Read MoreNats have four players ranked in Box-Toppers top 20 for 2014. Royals have pitching staff that nearly evenly shares the burden of winning.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ two top-ranked pitchers won each league’s Cy Young Award Wednesday.
Overall Box-Toppers points leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers easily won the National League Cy Young Award for top pitcher in a unanimous vote. The race in the American League was tighter, but Corey Kluber of the Indians, who led all AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, edged out Felix Hernandez of the Mariners to win the AL Cy Young Award.
Read More
How impressive was Madison Bumgarner’s postseason performance?
The ace starting pitcher earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times in the Giants’ World Series-winning playoff run. That means he was top player in 15 percent of the 32 postseason games played. He was top player in 29 percent of the 17 postseason games the Giants played. He was top player in 42 percent of the 12 postseason games the Giants won. And he was top player in 71 percent of the seven games in which he appeared.
By comparison, Bumgarner earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 15 times in his 33 regular season starts. Bumgarner ranked third among all players in regular season Box-Toppers points with 22.6 (see Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings), so his regular season was pretty impressive. But if he were to maintain his pace this October throughout a regular season, he would have something like 45.0 Box-Toppers points for a season. That would shatter the all-time record for Box-Toppers points in a single season of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).
See a recap of who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in all 32 of the 2014 postseason games in the chart below. Bumgarner’s five top player honors are highlighted in red text.
Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors were far and away the most by any player in the 2014 postseason. Four other players were each Player of the Game twice during the postseason:
• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.
• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.
• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.
• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.
Nineteen players each earned Player of the Game honors once during the 2014 postseason.
Bumgarner also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in all 32 postseason games. On Oct. 1, in the NL Wild Card Game, Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0—he pitched a complete game 8-0 shutout over the Pirates, striking out 10.
Bumgarner also had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the postseason’s 32 Players of the Game (+13.0 in his World Series Game 5 shutout of the Royals, 5-0). In fact, Bumgarner had five of the 10 highest Box-Toppers game scores of all 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees (see the chart of the top 10 at the bottom of the post).
Three of Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors came during the World Series as the Giants defeated the Royals four games to three.
Wade Davis had the highest Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game honoree among Royals players in the postseason. His game score of +6.0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ranks as 10th-highest in the 2014 postseason among Player of the Game honorees.
Pitchers monopolized the top 10 chart for highest Box-Toppers game score among Player of the Game honorees. The highest game score among batters was +3.0 by Hunter Pence of the Giants when he was Player of the Game in World Series Game 4.
The lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +1.0 by Travis Ishikawa in Game 3 of the NLCS. The second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +2.0 by Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who hit a pinch-hit home run in Game 2 of the NLCS. Taveras was killed in a car accident Oct. 26, 12 days after the game.
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.
Listings below are chronological, starting from the first Wild Card Game on Sept. 30 to the final World Series Game on Oct. 29—32 games in all (out of a total of 43 possible games if all series went the distance). On days where more than one game was played, players are listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. There is a different background color for each postseason round—Wild Card round in yellow, League Division Series round in green, League Championship Series round in blue and World Series in red. Madison Bumgarner’s name is highlighted in red text in his five Player of the Game postseason honors.
| Date | Round | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/30 | ALWC | 2.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/1 | NLWC | 14.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 10/2 | ALDS | 3.0 | Orioles | Nelson Cruz DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/2 | ALDS | 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10/3 | ALDS | 4.0 | `Royals | Yordano Ventura | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10/3 | NLDS | 3.2 | Giants | Jake Peavy (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 10/3 | NLDS | 3.0 | Cardinals | Matt Carpenter 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/3 | ALDS | 3.0 | Orioles | Delmon Young PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 10.0 | `Dodgers | Zack Greinke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 9.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 10/5 | ALDS | 8.1 | Orioles | Bud Norris (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 10/5 | ALDS | 3.0 | Royals | Norichika Aoki RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/6 | NLDS | 7.0 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10/6 | NLDS | 3.0 | Nationals | Doug Fister (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 10/7 | NLDS | 3.2 | `Giants | Ryan Vogelsong | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 10/7 | NLDS | 2.0 | Cardinals | Matt Adams 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/10 | ALCS | 6.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10/11 | NLCS | 9.2 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 10/11 | ALCS | 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/12 | NLCS | 2.0 | Cardinals | Oscar Taveras PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/14 | ALCS | 3.0 | `Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10/14 | NLCS | 1.0 | Giants | Travis Ishikawa LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/15 | NLCS | 5.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 10/15 | ALCS | 4.1 | Royals | Jason Vargas (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 10/16 | NLCS | 2.0 | Giants | Travis Ishikawa LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/21 | WS | 6.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10/22 | WS | 3.0 | Royals | Omar Infante 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/24 | WS | 3.0 | `Royals | Wade Davis (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10/25 | WS | 3.0 | Giants | Hunter Pence RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/26 | WS | 13.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10/28 | WS | 3.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/29 | WS | 7.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Here are the top 10 Box-Toppers game scores for 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees, representing the most dominating performances in the 32 playoff games. Madison Bumgarner of the Giants had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in the 2014 postseason (+14.0) and also had five of the top 10 game scores among 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees.
| Date | Round | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/1 | NLWC | 14.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 10/26 | WS | 13.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 10.0 | `Dodgers | Zack Greinke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 10/11 | NLCS | 9.2 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 9.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 10/5 | ALDS | 8.1 | Orioles | Bud Norris (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 10/6 | NLDS | 7.0 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10/29 | WS | 7.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10/21 | WS | 6.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10/10 | ALCS | 6.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Madison Bumgarner won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the third time in this World Series and led the Giants to its third title in five years.
Bumgarner, who pitched five scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits, striking out four and earning the save, is top player in the decisive Game 7. The Giants beat the Royals in the game 3-2 and won the series 4-3. The Giants previously won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.
Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, highest of any Giants player. He had been Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 and Game 5—both games he started. In Game 7, pitching on two-days’ rest, the Giants ace entered the game in unfamiliar territory for him— in relief in the fifth inning with the Giants already leading 3-2.
In the Giants four wins in the World Series, Bumgarner—who won World Series Most Valuable Player—was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in three of them. The only game in which Bumgarner was not Player of the Game was in Game 4, the Giants’ second win of the series. The honor that game went to Hunter Pence.
Bumgarner also earned Player of the Game honors five times during the postseason. Previously, he was Player of the Game:
• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.
• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.
• Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.
• Oct. 26 in the World Series Game 5 win over the Royals.
Bumgarner was top player in nearly half the games the Giants won this postseason—five of 12. No other player earned Player of the Game honors more than twice during the postseason. The players who won it twice:
• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.
• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.
• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.
• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.
During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He was the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.
Bumgarner had originally been credited with a win in the game, even though he entered the game with the Giants already leading. That was corrected by official scorers within an hour after the game, giving the win to Jeremy Affeldt and the save to Bumgarner who was a five-inning closer. Affeldt, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, was the pitcher of record when the Giants took the lead.
Had Bumgarner been pulled in favor of a closer—possibly Santiago Casilla—in the ninth inning, he still likely would have won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, even though Casilla would have been credited with the save and Bumgarner would have earned a no decision (no win or save). Under Box-Toppers rules, non-decision-earning pitchers are eligible to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch three or more innings. After eight innings, Bumgarner pitched four innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0.
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top four Giants players in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Pablo Sandoval was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Only four Giants players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or above.
| 1029 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 7.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2.0 | Giants | Pablo Sandoval 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Giants | Jeremy Affeldt (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Giants | Michael Morse DH | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Lorenzo Cain led an offensive onslaught in World Series Game 6 as the Royals beat the Giants 10-0, pushing the series to a decisive seventh game Wednesday. Cain is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cain doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs as the Royals evened the series 3-3.
Cain had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Royals player in Tuesday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 2 win over the Orioles on Oct. 11.
During the regular season, Cain had 2.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 421st among all players, 107th among AL batters and 50th among AL outfielders.
Royals starting pitcher in Game 6, Yordano Ventura, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the same as Cain’s. But under Box-Toppers rules, in cases of game score ties, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers. Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked five and struck out four, earning the win.
Giants starting pitcher in Game 6, Jake Peavy, who picked up the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of −13.9. He gave up five runs and six hits over 1 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two.
The baseball season ends Wednesday:
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Royals: Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113rd among all players, 40th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.
This is a rematch of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the Royals 3-2. Guthrie picked up the win (5IP 4H 2R 0K) and Hudson picked up the loss (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K). Royals middle relief pitcher Wade Davis was Box-Toppers Player of the Game.
Guthrie has started twice this postseason and Hudson has started three times. Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this postseason.
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top seven Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 6, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Lorenzo Cain, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Starting pitcher Yordano Ventura also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, but under Box-Toppers rules, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers in cases of game score ties.
| 1028 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Tim Collins | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Omar Infante 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Norichika Aoki RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2014 regular season are led by overall top player for the second straight season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
Nine teams each have two different players on the teams and a total of 20 teams are represented on the American League and National League teams.
The All-Star teams are comprised of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the NL and nine (including the designated hitter) in the AL—are the top four starting pitchers in each league, the top player who was predominately a middle-reliever and the top closing pitcher.
Kershaw was Box-Toppers Player of the Season, the top overall player, with 31.5 Box-Toppers points. Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is the top AL player with 25.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked second overall.
The top AL batter is White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu with 15.5 points, ranked 14th overall. The top NL batter is Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki with 11.6 points, ranked 39th overall. (Tulowitzki was out with injuries nearly half the season, but still surpassed all other NL batters in Box-Toppers points—second among NL batters is Giants catcher Buster Posey with 8.5 points.)
Nine teams each had two players make the teams. In the AL, the Mariners, Angels, Orioles, Indians and Tigers each had two players. In the NL, the Giants, Braves, Marlins and Cardinals each had two players.
Three players from the All-Star teams are still active in the World Series:
• Wade Davis of the Royals, who led AL middle relief pitchers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.
• Madison Bumgarner of the Giants, who ranked second among NL pitchers with 22.6 points.
• Buster Posey of the Giants, who led NL catchers with 8.5 points.
Six players were on Box-Toppers’ 2013 All-Star teams and returned to the 2014 teams:
• AL 2B: Robinson Cano, last year with the Yankees, this year with the Mariners (12.5 points in 2013, 6.5 in 2014).
• AL OF: Adam Jones, Orioles (8.0 points in 2013, 11.5 in 2014).
• AL Starting pitcher: Max Scherzer, Tigers (18.1 points in 2013, 22.1 in 2014).
• NL Starting pitcher: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (21.7 points in 2013, 31.5 in 2014).
• NL Starting pitcher: Adam Wainwright, Cardinals (20.2 points in 2013, 18.7 in 2014).
• NL Closing pitcher: Craig Kimbrel, Braves (12.7 points in 2013, 11.0 in 2014).
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.
Here are the Box-Toppers All-Stars by position for both leagues. It includes players with the highest Box-Toppers points (BTP) by position in each league. Also included is the players' overall rank among all players.
| Pos | American League | Team | BTP | Rank | National League | Team | BTP | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Jose Abreu | White Sox | 15.5 | 14 | Lucas Duda | Mets | 8.5 | 79 | ||
| 2B | Robinson Cano | Mariners | 6.5 | 135 | Jedd Gyorko | Padres | 7.2 | 103 | ||
| SS | Erick Aybar | Angels | 6.0 | 155 | Troy Tulowitzki | Rockies | 11.6 | 39 | ||
| 3B | Josh Donaldson | Athletics | 10.5 | 40 | Aramis Ramirez | Brewers | 5.0 | 194 | ||
| CA | Brian McCann | Yankees | 6.5 | 136 | Buster Posey | Giants | 8.5 | 76 | ||
| OF | Adam Jones | Orioles | 11.5 | 40 | Justin Upton | Braves | 8.2 | 80 | ||
| OF | Nelson Cruz | Orioles | 8.5 | 77 | Marcell Ozuna | Marlins | 8.0 | 88 | ||
| OF | Mike Trout | Angels | 8.5 | 78 | Matt Holliday | Cardinals | 7.5 | 97 | ||
| DH | Edwin Encarnacion | Blue Jays | 9.5 | 63 | ||||||
| SP | Corey Kluber | Indians | 25.8 | 2 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 31.5 | 1 | ||
| SP | Max Scherzer | Tigers | 22.1 | 5 | Madison Bumgarner | Giants | 22.6 | 3 | ||
| SP | Felix Hernandez | Mariners | 20.8 | 6 | Johnny Cueto | Reds | 22.4 | 4 | ||
| SP | David Price | Tigers | 19.1 | 7 | Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | 18.7 | 8 | ||
| MR | Wade Davis | Royals | 7.0 | 117 | Michael Dunn | Marlins | 6.0 | 159 | ||
| CP | Carlos Carrasco | Indians | 10.7 | 52 | Craig Kimbrel | Braves | 11.0 | 45 |
Reliever Wade Davis held the lead for the Royals, shutting down the Giants in the eighth inning and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors for Friday in Game 3 of the World Series.
Davis pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two, as the Royals beat the Giants 3-2 to take a 2-1 game lead in the best-of-seven series.
Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the highest of any Royals player in Friday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1 win over the Orioles. In the Royals’ 10 postseason wins this year, Davis is the first player from the team to earn Player of the Game honors more than once.
Davis did not earn a win or a save in the game and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a roundabout, but not uncommon fashion. Davis earned the honor because:
• He had a higher Box-Toppers game score than the winning or saving pitcher who otherwise would have been Player of the Game.
• He had the same or more innings pitched as that player.
In Game 3, Royals closer Greg Holland—who earned the save—would have been Player of the Day, pitching a scoreless ninth inning and striking out one. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. However, two other Royals pitchers (see the chart below) had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Holland:
• Brandon Finnegan (0.2IP 0R K, Box-Toppers game score +1.2). However, Finnegan would not qualify for Player of the Game because though his game score was higher than Holland’s, he had fewer innings pitched.
• Davis, who beat Holland for the honor because he had the same number of innings pitched (one) and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0 vs. +1.0).
During the regular season, Davis had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 117th among all players, 42nd among AL pitchers and first among AL middle relievers.
In close, low-scoring games, such as Game 3, Player of the Game honors often goes to relief pitchers who can hold the lead. In fact, only one Royals batter had a Box-Toppers game score of 0 or better—Alcides Escobar (2B 2-4 2R) had a game score of 0. Only five Royals (including four relief pitchers) had game scores of 0 or better.
Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, who earned the win, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3 (5IP 4H 2R 0K). Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson, who earned the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.8 (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K).
Coming Saturday:
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.
Vargas has started twice this postseason (ALDS Game 1 and ALCS Game 4) and Vogelsong has started twice (NLDS Game 4 and NLCS Game 4). Both have earned Player of the Game honors once:
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top five Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Wade Davis, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Only five Royals players had game scores of 0 or better. Alcides Escobar was the Royals' highest-scoring batter, with a game score of 0.
| 1024 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1.2 | Royals | Brandon Finnegan (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.1 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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.