Jake Arrieta of the Cubs tops Box-Toppers player rankings in 2015. The World Champion Kansas City Royals have the most representatives among the top 100 players—seven.
Read MoreMets' David Wright (HR 2-5 4BI) tops players in World Series Game 3, Friday, Oct. 30
David Wright hit a two-run homer and drove in four total runs as the New York Mets won Game 3 of the World Series Friday, beating the Kansas City Royals, 9-3.
Wright, who also had two hits, is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game as the Royals now lead the Mets 2-1 in the best-of-seven games series.
Wright had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +2.0, tied for the highest among Mets players with two other batters, Curtis Granderson (HR 2-3 3R 2BI) and Juan Uribe (1-1 R BI). But Wright beat both his teammates on tiebreakers—Wright beat Granderson because he had more runs batted in (4 vs. 2) and he beat Uribe because he had more at bats (5 vs. 1).
Pitcher Jeurys Familia also had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. But in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers under Box-Toppers rules. Also, Familia did not qualify to earn Player of the Game because he did not have at least three innings pitched and did not earn the win or save.
Wright, during the regular season had 0.0 Box-Toppers points, playing in only 38 games due to injury. It is the first time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. In fact, it is the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors since July 11, 2014. That was the only time during the 2014 season that Wright earned Player of the Game honors, giving him 1.5 Box-Toppers points for 2014. Wright does have 74.1 career Box-Toppers points, second among active National League third basemen, and had regular season Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons from 2004 to 2014.
Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard picked up the win but had the second-lowest Box-Toppers game score Friday of all Mets players of −3.0 (6IP 7H 3R 2BB 6K). However, Syndergaard had a higher Box-Toppers game score for batting of 0.0 (1-2 R).
Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura picked up the loss and had the lowest Box-Toppers game score among all players Friday of −12.9 (3.1IP 7H 5R BB 2K). Alex Rios had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals players eligible to earn Player of the Game honors of 0.0 (1-3 R BI).
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 Mets in World Series Game 3
Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Mets who played in World Series Game 3 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). David Wright is Player of the Game (POG).
| 10/30 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 2.0 | Mets | David Wright, 3B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Mets | Curtis Granderson, RF | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Juan Uribe, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Jeurys Familia | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Mets | Addison Reed | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.0 | Mets | Tyler Clippard | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Mets | Michael Conforto, LF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Mets | Juan Lagares, PH-CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard, P | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Mets | Addison Reed, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Mets | Tyler Clippard, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Mets | Jeurys Familia, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | ||
| -1.0 | Mets | Yoenis Cespedes, CF-LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Mets | Kirk Nieuwenhuis, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Mets | Travis d'Arnaud, C | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Mets | Lucas Duda, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Mets | Wilmer Flores, SS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| -4.0 | Mets | Daniel Murphy, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Saturday in New York:
World Series Game 4, Royals lead Mets, 2-1
The pitching match-up Saturday:
Royals—Chris Young, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 78th among all players, 29th among AL pitchers. Young was Player of the Game in World Series Game 1.
Mets—Steven Matz, 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 298th among all players, 76th among NL pitchers.
World Series preview (Corrected 10/31: Previously, David Wright’s 2015 Box-Toppers point total was listed as 1.5, which was his total during 2014. Wright actually had 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015)
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
Royals' Johnny Cueto (2-hit complete game) tops players in World Series Game 2, Wednesday, Oct. 28
Johnny Cueto pitched a complete-game two-hitter to lead the Royals to a Game 2 World Series win over the Mets Wednesday, picking up Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.
Cueto allowed one run, struck out four and walked three in the 7-1 win, giving the Kansas City Royals a 2-0 lead over the New York Mets in the best-of-seven series.
Cueto had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, the highest of all Royals players Wednesday. During the regular season, Cueto had 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players and 13th among AL pitchers. However, Cueto earned nearly all of his points while pitching with the Cincinnati Reds before he was traded in late July to the Royals. He had 10.8 points with the Reds and 2.0 with the Royals, earning Player of the Day honors on Aug. 10.
This was the second time Cueto earned Player of the Game honors this postseason. He was also Player of the Game in the American League Division Series Game 5 against the Astros on Oct. 14.
Alex Gordon (2B 1-2 2R BI) had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters of +2.0.
Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom ranked third in Box-Toppers points during the regular season (22.4), but had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of any player in Game 2. deGrom (5IP 6H 4R 3BB 2K) had a Box-Toppers game score of −10.0.
Only three Mets players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or more in Wednesday’s Game 2 as most pitchers gave up multiple hits or runs and most batters were shut down by Cueto and did not earn hits, runs or RBIs. The top three Mets were:
- Middle reliever Hansel Robles (1IP 0R 0H 0K), Box-Toppers game score of +1.0.
- Middle reliever Sean Gilmartin (0.2IP 0R 0H 0K), Box-Toppers game score of +0.2.
- First baseman Lucas Duda (2-3 BI), Box-Toppers game score of 0.0. Duda had both of the Mets’ hits off Cueto.
Thursday is a travel day. The World Series resumes with Game 3 Friday in New York.
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 Royals in World Series Game 2
Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 2 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score. Johnny Cueto is Player of the Game (POG).
| 10/28 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 6.0 | Royals | Johnny Cueto (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Alex Rios, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -5.0 | Royals | Ben Zobrist, 2B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Friday in New York:
World Series Game 3, Royals lead Mets, 2-0
The pitching match-up Friday:
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
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
In World Series, Royals rank higher in Box-Toppers ratings, but Mets have a big edge in starting pitching
Royals rank 2nd in Box-Toppers team rankings, Mets rank 7th. But Mets' top four starters have edge in combined Box-Toppers points over Royals' top four—54.9 vs. 39.5.
Read MoreKelvin Herrera tops players in ALCS Game 6, as Royals eliminate Blue Jays
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.
Top player in ALCS Game 6
| 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 |
AL Championship Series Blue Jays vs. Royals resumes Friday with Game 6 in Kansas City
After a day off Thursday, postseason baseball resumes Friday as the American League Championship Series continues with Game 6 in Kansas City. Here are details:
ALCS Game 6, Royals lead Blue Jays, 3-2
The pitching match-up Friday:
Blue Jays—David Price, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, second among AL pitchers.
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
It is a rematch of the starters from Game 2, won by the Royals 6-3. Neither Price nor Ventura did particularly well in that game. Price had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.8 (6.2IP 6H 5R 8K L) and Ventura had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.9 (5.1IP 8H 3R 6K ND).
Neither Price nor Ventura has earned Player of the Game honors so far this postseason. Both Price and Ventura have appeared in three 2015 playoff games.
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.
Royals' Edinson Volquez tops players in ALCS Game 1, Friday, Oct. 16
Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, to win Game 1 of the American League Championship Series and earn Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0. Alcides Escobar, who hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a run, had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters, +2.0.
Volquez, during the regular season had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers.
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
| 10/16 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 5.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
Coming Saturday:
ALCS Game 2, Royals lead Blue Jays, 1-0
The pitching match-up Saturday:
Blue Jays—David Price, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, second among AL pitchers.
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
NLCS Game 1, Cubs at Mets
The pitching match-up Saturday:
Cubs—Jon Lester, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Blue Jays' Tulowitzki tops players in Sunday, Oct. 11's ALDS playoff games
Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s two American League Division Series playoff games.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is top player in the other ALDS game.
ALDS Game 3: Blue Jays 5, Rangers 1
Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, driving in four total runs.
During the regular season, Tulowitzki had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 133rd among all players, 28th among AL batters and third among AL shortstops, behind Eduardo Escobar of the Twins (7.7) and Carlos Correa of the Astros (7.2). Tulowitzkiled all National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 (11.6).
The Rangers lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Texas.
ALDS Game 3: Astros 4, Royals 2
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits to earn Player of the Game honors.
During the regular season, Keuchel had 21.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. It is the second time this postseason Keuchel has earned Player of the Game honors—he was also top player in the Astros’ Oct. 6 NL Wild Card playoff game win against the Yankees.
The Astros lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Houston.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/11 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Troy Tulowitzki, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| POG | 4.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Coming Monday: League Division Series playoff games resume:
AL Division Series Game 4, Astros lead Royals, 2-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Astros—Lance McCullers, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 120th among all players, 46th among AL pitchers.
AL Division Series Game 4, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 2-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Blue Jays—R.A. Dickey, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 180th among all players, 64th among AL pitchers.
Rangers—Derek Holland, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 369th among all players, 106th among AL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 3, Cardinals at Cubs, series tied, 1-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Cardinals—Michael Wacha, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 53rd among all players, 23rd among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 29.1 Box-Toppers points, first among all players, first among NL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 3, Dodgers at Mets, series tied, 1-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Dodgers—Brett Anderson, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 147th among all players, 46th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
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 points leader Jake Arrieta tops players as Cubs beat Pirates in NL Wild Card Game
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.
Arrieta pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing four hits, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.
Arrieta led all players during the regular season with 29.1 Box-Toppers points, the eighth-highest single-season total since 1995. He outdueled Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who had 19.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ninth among all players and sixth among NL pitchers. Cole (5IP 6H 4R 4K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of -6.
The Pirates’ loss means the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers rankings is eliminated from the playoffs. The Pirates had 129.6 Box-Toppers points on the season. The Cubs, rank third with 127.4, are now the top-ranked NL team remaining in the playoffs.
The Cubs carried more momentum into the postseason, picking up 11.0 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season. The Pirates, by comparison, had 5.5 during that period.
The Cubs will face face the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in St. Louis. The Cardinals have baseball’s best record, but rank fourth in Box-Toppers team rankings, behind both the Cubs and Pirates, with 124.3 Box-Toppers points.
Top player from NL Wild Card Game
| 10/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 16.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Coming Thursday: The American League begins both division playoff series Thursday.
AL Division Series Game 1, Rangers at Blue Jays
The Blue Jays rank fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 124.1 Box-Toppers points. The Rangers rank 10th with 107.2. In the final 10 days of the season, the Blue Jays picked up 6.5 Box-Toppers points, while the Rangers earned 5.7
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Rangers—Yovani Gallardo, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 176th among all players, 62nd among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—David Price, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth among all players, second among AL pitchers.
Rangers vs. Blue Jays
Here are players for both teams in the AL Division Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.
| Texas Rangers | Toronto Blue Jays | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | 15.4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | 21.1 | |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | 12.5 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | 10.4 | |
| Fielder, Prince 2029 | dh | 11.5 | Bautista, Jose 2169 | rf | 10.0 | |
| Lewis, Colby 1567 | pi sp | 7.7 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | 9.9 | |
| Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b | 6.2 | Hutchison, Drew 3038 | pi sp | 9.0 | |
| Tolleson, Shawn 3077 | pi cp | 6.0 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | 8.0 | |
| Gallardo, Yovani 2333 | pi sp | 5.0 | Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 | ss | 6.0 | |
| Napoli, Mike 2161 | 1b | 4.5 | Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | 5.0 | |
| Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 | rf | 4.5 | Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | 5.0 | |
| DeShields, Delino 3557 | cf | 4.5 | Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | 5.0 | |
| Hamilton, Josh 2332 | lf dh ph | 3.5 | Goins, Ryan 3478 | ss 2b | 4.5 | |
| Chirinos, Robinson 2924 | ca | 3.5 | Osuna, Roberto 3512 | pi cp | 4.0 | |
| Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | 3.0 | Pillar, Kevin 3486 | cf | 3.5 | |
| Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | 2.7 | Travis, Devon 3436 | 2b | 3.0 | |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi sp | 2.0 | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | 2.7 | |
| Dyson, Sam 3399 | pi mr cp | 2.0 | Buehrle, Mark 1407 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Patton, Spencer 3416 | pi mr | 2.0 | Colabello, Chris 3235 | lf dh 1b | 2.0 | |
| Gonzalez, Chi Chi 3490 | pi sp | 1.7 | Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Blanks, Kyle 2661 | 1b | 1.5 | Cecil, Brett 2566 | pi cp mr | 2.0 | |
| Gallo, Joey 3485 | 3b | 1.5 | Pennington, Cliff 2641 | ss 3b | 2.0 | |
| Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | 1.0 | Navarro, Dioner 2087 | ca | 1.0 | |
| Gimenez, Chris 2870 | ca | 1.0 | Revere, Ben 2886 | lf | 1.0 | |
| Ohlendorf, Ross 2457 | pi mr | 1.0 | Loup, Aaron 3146 | pi mr cp | 1.0 | |
| Claudio, Alex 3459 | pi mr | 1.0 | Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Klein, Phil 3477 | pi sp | 1.0 | Delabar, Steve 3020 | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Strausborger, Ryan 3560 | lf | 1.0 | Carrera, Ezequiel 2873 | lf ph | 1.0 | |
| Pompey, Dalton 3450 | cf | 1.0 | ||||
| Total | 107.2 | Total | 124.1 | |||
AL Division Series Game 1, Astros at Royals
The Royals have the most Box-Toppers team points in the AL with 127.5, ranked second overall, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Astros rank eighth with 118.4. In the final 10 days of the season, the Astros were slightly hotter than the Royals—7.9 vs. 6.0.
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Astros—Collin McHugh, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 49th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Astros vs. Royals
Here are players for both teams in the AL Division Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.
| Houston Astros | Kansas City Royals | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | 21.4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | 12.8 | |
| Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | 12.7 | Ventura, Yordano 3294 | pi sp | 11.7 | |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | 9.7 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | 9.0 | |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | 7.2 | Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | 8.2 | |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | 7.0 | Young, Chris R. 1933 | pi sp | 8.0 | |
| Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | 7.0 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | 8.0 | |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | 6.7 | Moustakas, Mike 2967 | 3b | 7.7 | |
| Gomez, Carlos 2397 | cf | 6.0 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | 7.0 | |
| Rasmus, Colby 2608 | lf rf cf | 6.0 | Rodriguez, Wandy 2117 | pi sp | 6.7 | |
| Gregerson, Luke 2563 | pi cp | 6.0 | Infante, Omar 1949 | 2b | 5.2 | |
| Valbuena, Luis 2600 | 3b | 4.5 | Morales, Kendrys 2142 | dh | 4.7 | |
| Gattis, Evan 3179 | dh | 4.0 | Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | 4.5 | |
| Harris, Will 3093 | pi mr cp | 3.7 | Gomes, Jonny 2059 | lf rf | 4.5 | |
| Qualls, Chad 1958 | pi mr cp | 3.0 | Gordon, Alex 2328 | lf | 4.5 | |
| Lowrie, Jed 2437 | ss dh | 2.5 | Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | 4.0 | |
| Feldman, Scott 2632 | pi sp cp | 2.0 | Davis, Wade 2681 | pi cp | 4.0 | |
| Marisnick, Jake 3428 | cf | 2.0 | Escobar, Alcides 2663 | ss | 3.5 | |
| Tucker, Preston 3525 | rf lf | 2.0 | Rios, Alex 1989 | rf | 2.5 | |
| Carter, Chris 2828 | dh | 1.0 | Guthrie, Jeremy 2290 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf | 1.0 | Dyson, Jarrod 2813 | cf pr | 2.0 | |
| Fields, Josh 3247 | pi mr | 1.0 | Medlen, Kris 2596 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Conger, Hank 2843 | ca | 1.0 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | 1.0 | |
| Oberholtzer, Brett 3244 | pi sp | 1.0 | Morales, Franklin 2369 | pi mr sp | 1.0 | |
| Zobrist, Ben 2216 | lf ss | 1.0 | ||||
| Hochevar, Luke 2440 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Orlando, Paulo 3526 | cf | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 118.4 | Totals | 127.5 | |||
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.
Nationals' Scherzer, with 2nd no-hitter of '15, tops players for Saturday, Oct. 3, rises to 6th in player rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, pitching his second no-hitter of the season, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 29.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 24.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 21.4 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 21.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 21.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 19.0 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 18.8 |
Also Saturday, Scherzer and Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke became the sixth and seventh players this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. Plus, Christian Yelich of the Marlins became the 11th player since 1995 to earn Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader.
Player of the Day—Scherzer had a perfect game into the sixth inning, when a batter reached on an error, the only baserunner of the game. Scherzer struck out 17 and walked none in the 2-0 win over the Mets.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.0 for the season, rising to sixth place in player rankings and fourth among National League pitchers. It is the second straight season Scherzer has earned 20 or more points in season. Last season, he had 22.1 with the Tigers.
Scherzer also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of the season Saturday of +26, beating the previous high of +25, set by Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (8IP H 0R 18K) on May 13. Scherzer also has the third-highest score of +23 on June 14 (CG H 0R 16K). It is the eighth time this season a player has achieved a Box-Toppers game score of +20 or more. In Scherzer’s previous no-hitter this season, on June 20, he had a Box-Toppers game score of +19 (CG 0H 0R 0 BB 10K)—the only baserunner allowed was on a hit-by-pitch.
Scherzer also rises to 57th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. Scherzer has 106.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes Aramis Ramirez (105.8) on the “all-time” list. He trails 56th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2).
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.
Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season and ranking 21st among all players, 10th among AL pitchers. In 2014, he led all AL pitchers with 25.8 Box-Toppers points.
American League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Orioles doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Yankees.
Doubleheader Players of the Game
Christian Yelich of the Marlins became the 11th player since 1995 to earn Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader. Here are all 11 players who have achieved that distinction since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.| Date | Player | Team | Pos |
| 7/15/98 | Albert Belle | White Sox | lf |
| 8/13/99 | Rondell White | Expos | lf |
| 8/30/99 | Edgar Martinez | Mariners | dh |
| 4/13/00 | Shawn Green | Dodgers | rf |
| 6/24/02 | Alex Rodriguez | Rangers | ss |
| 5/28/04 | Rob Mackowiak | Pirates | cf 3b |
| 9/2/05 | Chad Cordero | Nationals | pi cp |
| 5/25/08 | Jorge Cantu | Marlins | 3b |
| 7/21/09 | Erick Aybar | Angels | ss |
| 4/28/11 | Ben Zobrist | Rays | 2b |
| 10/3/15 | Christian Yelich | Marlins | cf lf |
National League Batter of the Day—Christian Yelich of the Marlins doubled and went 5-for-5, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 7-6 win over the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader.
Yelich was also Player of the Game in the second game of the doubleheader (3-4 2R BI in the 5-2 win over the Phillies. He is only the 11th player in 21 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping to earn Player of the Game in both games of a doubleheader. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day and 1.0 point for being Player of the Game, giving him 2.5 points for the day, which were also his first points of the season. (Yelich had 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014, ninth among NL batters.)
It is the first time a player has earned Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader since April 28, 2011, when it was done by Ben Zobrist of the Rays.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke became the seventh player of the season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Greinke (8IP 4H R 8K W in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.7 for the season. He actually slips from sixth to seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings as he was passed by Scherzer. Greinke ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
This is the second season Greinke has earned 20 or more Box-Toppers points in a season. In 2009, he had 21.5 Box-Toppers points with the Royals, his best season.
Greinke ranks 21st among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. He has 146.4 career Box-Toppers points and trails 20th-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).
Notable—Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura (7IP 4H R 11K W in the 5-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 30th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Parra and Yelich each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day (Yelich earns an extra 1.0 point for being Player of the Game in the second game of the doubleheader). 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/3 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 26.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,14-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | |
| 13.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W,8-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| AL | 12.0 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W,9-16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 9.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,19-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W,13-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 7.0 | `Nationals | Gio Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Athletics | Pat Venditte (MR) (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Reds | Brandon Finnegan (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W,19-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Orioles | Gerardo Parra, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Orioles | T.J. McFarland (MR) (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.1 | `Giants | Sergio Romo (MR) (H,33) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Marlins | Christian Yelich, CF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Angels | Johnny Giavotella, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Christian Yelich, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | J.B. Shuck, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Alex Colome (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Wednesday, Sept 2, takes Box-Toppers player rankings lead
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Sept. 2 and takes the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 19.1 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 16.0 |
Kershaw is the first player with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and has now exceeded 20.0 Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons. This is the first time this season Kershaw has led in Box-Toppers points. Kershaw led players in Box-Toppers points in three of the past four seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014) and has led National League pitchers the past four seasons.
Kershaw struck out 15 in a complete game, allowing one run and six hits, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.7 for the season. He rises from third place to take the Box-Toppers player rankings lead, passing previous leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (19.1 points).
Kershaw also rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Kershaw now has 154.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes Barry Bonds (153.2) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted Bonds began his career in 1986 and if his entire career were tracked, he would likely have about 230 career Box-Toppers points, making a rough extrapolation.) Kershaw trails 14th-place player Tim Hudson (155.0).
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Tommy Milone pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 3-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 and drove in seven runs.
Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
| 4/5 | Adam Wainwright | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4/6 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 2.0 |
| 4/13 | Scott Kazmir | oak al | 3.7 |
| 4/18 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 4.0 |
| 6/26 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 7/9 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 14.4 |
| 7/12 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 7/24 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 15.4 |
| 7/26 | Jacob deGrom | nym nl | 16.4 |
| 9/2 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 20.7 |
Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season. He ranks third among NL batters, behind Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9) and Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates (9.5). He ranks 36th among all players.
American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners earned AL Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day. Morrison homered, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Astros. He has 4.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 3.0 in the past two days.
Notable—Two other notable milestones from Wednesday:
- Albert Pujols of the Angels earned Player of the Game honors and now has 174.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his spot in sixth place among all players since 1995. Pujols (HR 2-5 2R 3BI in the 9-4 win over the Athletics) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point and trails fifth-place player on the “all-time” list, CC Sabathia (178.0). Pujols is ranked third among active players and is second among all batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Pujols has 7.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 12th among AL batters.
- Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura became the 30th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors. Ventura (7IP 5H R 11K W in the 12-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 24th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Milone earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Morrison each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,12-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | |
| AL | 11.0 | Twins | Tommy Milone (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 10.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 9.0 | Blue Jays | R.A. Dickey (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | `Reds | Raisel Iglesias | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison, PH-1B | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Yankees | Stephen Drew, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Ruben Tejada, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Sam Dyson (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Albert Pujols, DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Adam Lind, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna, CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Giants' Bumgarner tops players for Thursday, Aug. 27; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 5th in player rankings
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Thursday, Aug. 27 and rises to 12th in player rankings.
Also Thursday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 27.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 16.7 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
Player of the Day—Bumgarner struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 9-1 win over the Cubs.
Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season, rising to 12th among all players and seventh among National League pitchers. It is the fourth straight season Bumgarner has earned 15.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season.
American League Player of the Day—Yordano Ventura of the Royals struck out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 5-3 win over the Orioles.
American League Batter of the Day—Adam Eaton of the White Sox went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 4-2 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Cardinals homered and went 1-for-2, driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Greinke (7IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 1-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Jacob deGrom of the Mets (19.4) and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (17.1).
Greinke now has 142.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He trails 20th-place player Jim Thome (146.7 Box-Toppers points). Greinke ranks third among active NL pitchers in career Box-Toppers points, behind Tim Hudson of the Giants (155.0) and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (150.3).
Notable—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cole (7.1IP 5H R 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He ranks eighth among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ventura earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Eaton and Moss each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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
| 8/27 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W,16-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |
| AL | 11.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W,9-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | |
| 10.1 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 10.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,14-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 9.0 | Nationals | Joe Ross (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.1 | Pirates | Gerrit Cole (W,15-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Rays | Brad Boxberger (S,31) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Whte Sox | Adam Eaton, CF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | Mets | Carlos Torres (MR) (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Delino DeShields, CF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Cardinals | Brandon Moss, LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
San Francisco Giants rise to top Box-Toppers weekly team rankings
Giants rise from 5th to take top spot. Royals fall from 1st to 4th but still top AL teams. Pirates are hot team of the week.
Read MoreKansas City Royals rise to edge Cardinals in weekly Box-Toppers team rankings
Kansas City rises from third to first in rankings. Cardinals fall to second, but still lead NL. San Francisco Giants were the week's hot team.
Read MoreRoyals' Ventura tops players for Tuesday, May 19; Giants' Hudson earns Box-Toppers points for 17th straight season
Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Colby Rasmus of the Astros rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, taking the lead among American League batters and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson earned a Box-Toppers point for the 17th straight season, tying him for the longest current consecutive streak.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 19.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Harang, Aaron 1599 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.1 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 10 | Rasmus, Colby 2608 | lf rf cf | hou al | 5.0 |
Player of the Day—Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher James Shields struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Cubs. Shields did not pick up the win in the game because he exited with the score tied 2-2.
National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks hit a pinch-hit, two-run, go-ahead home run in the 4-2 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Jimmy Paredes of the Orioles homered and went 2-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Mariners.
Rankings—Colby Rasmus of the Astros rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, taking the lead among AL batters, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Rasmus (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season. Rasmus has the same 2015 Box-Toppers point total as Eric Hosmer of the Royals, but wins the tie-breaker because he had more points in 2014—3.2 vs. 2.5.
Streak—Giants pitcher Tim Hudson has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied for the longest currently active streak. Hudson was Player of the Game Tuesday in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers (6.1IP 0R W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
In addition, with his point Tuesday, Hudson now has 154.0 for his career and rises to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Hudson passes Barry Bonds (153.2) on that list, though it should be noted Bonds played nine seasons before Box-Toppers record keeping began and so would likely have many more career Box-Toppers points.
Hudson’s 17-season streak of earning at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point ties him with Torii Hunter of the Twins for the longest active streak. (Hunter has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season.) The record for most consecutive seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point is 19, held by Jason Giambi (1995-2013). (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) One other active player had Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons as of 2014 and also has a chance to extend that to 17 straight seasons in 2015—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees.
Hudson earned his first Box-Toppers points in 1999 with the Athletics. His best year was 2001 with the Athletics, when he had 18.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Giants.
His 154.0 career Box-Toppers points ranks him 13th among all players since 1995, just behind Mike Mussina (155.6). His career total ranks 10th among all pitchers since 1995 and first among active pitchers currently in the NL, ahead of Bartolo Colon of the Mets (136.4).
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (3B 2-2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 10-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut April 28, 2014, and was playing in his 57th career game. He is the 3,474th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Clint Robinson of the Nationals (PH 2B 1-1 R BI in the 8-6 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut June 8, 2012, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,475th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Ventura earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shields earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Pollock and Paredes each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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
| 5/19 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| NL | 7.0 | `Padres | James Shields | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 5.1 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Dbacks | A.J. Pollock PH, CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.2 | `Twins | Blaine Boyer (H, 7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Randal Grichuk RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Orioles | Jimmy Paredes DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Astros | Colby Rasmus CF, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Clint Robinson PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Wade Miley (W, 3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Hector Santiago (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Brad Boxberger (S, 11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.1 | Giants | Tim Hudson (W, 2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Rockies | Nick Hundley C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Royals' Yordano Ventura, 7 no-hit innings, tops players for Friday, March 27's spring games
Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura, who threw seven no-hit innings, is Friday’s spring training Player of the Day.
Ventura allowed two walks and struck out four in the 5-1 win over the Mariners.
Rafael Ortega of the Cardinals is National League Player of the Day. Ortega hit two home runs and drove in four runs in the 5-4 win over the Mets.
Box-Toppers points aren’t awarded for spring training games, but if this were the regular season, Ventura would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ortega would earn 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would have received 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
There was no AL Batter of the Day Friday (which would have earned a player 1.5 Box-Toppers points) because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Sixteen spring training games were scheduled Friday. Two were cancelled and one other game ended in a tie (Cardinals and Nationals tied at 1). It was not included in Box-Toppers results.
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
| 327 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| NL | 6.0 | Cardinals | Rafael Ortega LF, 9,7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | `Dbacks | Josh Collmenter | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Yankees | Michael Pineda (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Dbacks | Randall Delgado (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Yonder Alonso 1B | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `Athletics | Jesse Hahn | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Gregor Blanco CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Jonathan Lucroy 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Kelly Johnson 3B, 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Antonio Bastardo (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Cubs | Chris Coghlan LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 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 picks the Nationals over the Royals in the 2015 World Series
Nats 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' top rookies—Jose Abreu, Jacob deGrom—easily win 2014 Rookie of the Year Awards
Box-Toppers’ leading rookies easily won each league’s Rookie of the Year Award Monday.
First baseman Jose Abreu of the White Sox won the American League award unanimously and Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom won the National League award with 26 out of 30 first place votes.
Read MoreLorenzo Cain tops players as Royals blow out Giants in World Series Game 6, Tuesday, Oct. 28
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:
World Series Game 7: Giants at Royals, series tied 3-3
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.
Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Top 7 players in World Series Game 6
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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Giants' Madison Bumgarner earns fourth postseason Player of Game honors in World Series Game 5, Sunday, Oct. 26
Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game shutout, leading the Giants Sunday to a World Series Game 5 win, moving them within one game of the title and earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
Bumgarner allowed four hits, walked none and struck out eight in the 5-0 win over the Royals. The Giants now have a 3-2 game lead in the best-of-seven World Series.
Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, the most of any Giants player. The second-highest Box-Toppers game score was +3.0, by Juan Perez (who went 1-for-1 with a run and two RBIs).
This was the fourth time this postseason Bumgarner earned Player of the Game honors, the most of any player in the postseason. No other player has been Player of the Game more than twice. Bumgarner was Player of the Game previously:
• 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.
During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He is the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.
The World Series takes a day off Monday and resumes Tuesday in Kansas City:
World Series Game 6: Giants lead Royals, 3-2
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Giants: Jake Peavy, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 165th among all players, 58th among NL pitchers.
Royals: Yordano Ventura, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 75th among all players, 33rd among AL pitchers.
This is a rematch of Game 2 starting pitchers, won by the Royals, 7-2. Peavy earned the loss in that game.
Both pitchers have earned Player of the Game honors once during the postseason, both on Oct. 3 in each team’s League Division Series games—Peavy in NLDS Game 1 vs. the Nationals and Ventura in ALDS Game 2 vs. the Angels.
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.
Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Top 5 players in World Series Game 5
Here are the top five Giants players in Sunday’s World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Juan Perez was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +3.
| 1026 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 13.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 3.0 | Giants | Juan Perez PR, LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Giants | Pablo Sandoval 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Giants | Hunter Pence RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |