Rays' Cobb tops players for Wednesday, July 23, Giants' Bumgarner rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Rays pitcher Alex Cobb is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Cobb pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 in the 3-0 win over the Cardinals.

Bumgarner rose from third to second place in season Box-Toppers player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Bumgarner pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out six in the 3-1 win over the Phillies. Bumgarner earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 16.2 for the season. He trails only overall Box-Toppers leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 18.1 points.

Yoenis Cespedes of the Athletics is American League Batter of the Day. Cespedes homered twice and drove in five runs in the 9-7 win over the Astros.

Mark Reynolds of the Brewers is NL Batter of the Day. Reynolds homered twice and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 5-1 win over the Reds.

Cobb receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Bumgarner receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Cespedes and Reynolds each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Wednesday, click here

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

723 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Rays Alex Cobb (W, 6-6) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 0 10
NL 9.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 12-7) - - - - - - 8.0 5 0 0 0 6
7.1 Rockies Jorge De La Rosa (W, 11-6) - - - - - - 7.1 8 2 1 0 11
6.1 Braves Ervin Santana (W, 9-6) - - - - - - 7.1 6 1 1 3 10
BAT 5.0 Athletics Yoenis Cespedes LF 4 2 2 5 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 `Royals James Shields - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 7
4.1 Mets Bartolo Colon (W, 9-8) - - - - - - 7.1 3 2 2 1 5
BAT 4.0 Brewers Mark Reynolds 1B 4 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Angels Jered Weaver (W, 11-6) - - - - - - 8.0 6 2 2 0 6
3.0 Tigers Miguel Cabrera 3B 4 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Pirates Travis Snider LF 3 3 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Twins Anthony Swarzak (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 5.0 2 1 1 1 3
2.0 Blue Jays Jose Bautista 1B 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Padres Tommy Medica 1B 5 1 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Yankees Francisco Cervelli C 2 1 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -

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

 

Mets' Jacob deGrom, Yankees' Chase Whitley top players for Tuesday, June 22

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Tuesday’s Player of the Day. deGrom struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners.

deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season and is in 50th place in Box-Toppers player rankings, 24th among National League pitchers. Of the 15 players who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday, deGrom has the most Box-Toppers points this season.

Yankees pitcher Chase Whitley is American League Player of the Day. Whitley pitched six scoreless innings and struck out six in the 14-inning, 2-1 win over the Rangers. Whitley exited the game with the score tied 0-0 and so did not earn the win.

Gregory Polanco of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Polanco homered and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-7 win over the Dodgers.

Carlos Santana of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Santana homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-2 win over the Twins.

deGrom receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Whitley receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Polanco and Santana each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Tuesday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

722 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.0 Mets Jacob deGrom (W, 4-5) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 7
AL 5.0 `Yankees Chase Whitley - - - - - - 6.0 7 0 0 0 6
BAT 4.0 Pirates Gregory Polanco RF 4 3 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Cubs Kyle Hendricks (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 3 5
4.0 `Astros Josh Fields - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 2
BAT 3.0 Indians Carlos Santana 1B 5 2 4 2 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Mike Moustakas 3B 5 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Orioles Zach Britton (S, 18) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Brewers Jonathan Lucroy C 4 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Christian Yelich LF 4 3 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Dbacks David Peralta CF, LF 3 3 2 0 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Blue Jays J.A. Happ (W, 8-5) - - - - - - 6.0 7 0 0 1 4
1.2 Rays Jake Odorizzi (W, 6-8) - - - - - - 5.2 5 2 2 3 8
1.0 Giants Brandon Crawford SS 6 1 2 4 1 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Nationals Adam LaRoche 1B 5 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -

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

 

Red Sox' Lackey, Nationals' Desmond top players for Monday, July 21

Red Sox pitcher John Lackey is Monday’s Player of the Day. Lackey pitched seven innings, allowing two hits and one run, in the 14-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Ian Desmond of the Nationals is National League Player of the Day. Desmond homered and went 5-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Rockies.

Adam Jones of the Orioles is American League Batter of the Day. Jones homered twice and drove in four runs in the 4-2 win over the Angels.

Notable: White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Sale (7IP 1R 8K W in the 3-1 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He is in ninth place in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers.

Lackey receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Desmond receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Jones receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.

All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

721 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.0 Red Sox John Lackey (W, 11-6) - - - - - - 7.0 2 1 1 0 3
NL 5.0 Nationals Ian Desmond SS 5 3 5 2 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 White Sox Chris Sale (W, 9-1) - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 1 8
5.0 Brewers Wily Peralta (W, 11-6) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 2 5
4.2 `Marlins Tom Koehler - - - - - - 6.2 5 1 1 2 7
4.1 Mariners Roenis Elias (W, 8-8) - - - - - - 5.1 5 1 1 2 8
BAT 4.0 Orioles Adam Jones CF 4 2 2 4 0 2 - - - - - -
4.0 Giants George Kontos (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
2.0 Dodgers Adrian Gonzalez 1B 3 1 3 1 2 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Twins Josh Willingham LF 3 2 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 `Tigers Joba Chamberlain (H, 20) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Rangers Geovany Soto C 3 1 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -

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

 

Red Sox' Jon Lester, Braves' Alex Wood top players for Sunday, July 20

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Lester pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 6-0 win over the Royals.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, moving up to 18th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, 10th among American League pitchers. He is the 18th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Braves pitcher Alex Wood is National League Player of the Day. Wood struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, in the 8-2 win over the Phillies.

Matt Dominguez of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Dominguez homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-7 win over the White Sox.

Neil Walker of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. Walker homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 5-3 win over the Rockies.

Lester receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Wood receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Dominguez and Walker each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Sunday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

720 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 Red Sox Jon Lester (W, 10-7) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 2 8
NL 9.0 Braves Alex Wood (W, 7-7) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 0 8
7.2 Athletics Sonny Gray (W, 11-3) - - - - - - 6.2 2 2 1 2 8
6.2 `Yankees Hiroki Kuroda - - - - - - 6.2 3 1 0 2 6
5.2 `Padres Odrisamer Despaigne - - - - - - 7.2 2 1 1 3 5
5.0 Tigers Drew Smyly (W, 6-8) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 6
BAT 4.0 Astros Matt Dominguez 3B 5 2 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Dbacks Josh Collmenter (W, 8-5) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 4
3.0 Blue Jays Melky Cabrera LF 5 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 Pirates Neil Walker 2B 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Angels Mike Trout CF 4 3 2 1 1 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Steve Cishek (S, 21) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Dodgers Kenley Jansen (S, 28) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Nationals Ryan Zimmerman 3B 4 1 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Rays Jake McGee (H, 12) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 1 1

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

 

Rays' Price tops players for Saturday, July 19, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings; Mariners' Hernandez rises to 5th

Rays pitcher David Price is Saturday’s Player of the Day, rising to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises to fifth place in player rankings.

Price pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out nine, in the 5-1 win over the Twins. Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season and rising to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Price bumps the only batter, Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (11.6 Box-Toppers points) from the top 10 list. Price ranks sixth among American League pitchers.

Hernandez was Player of the Game in the Mariners 3-2 win over the Angels (7IP 1R 9K ND), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.8 for the season. He rises from sixth to fifth in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Tigers (16.1 Box-Toppers points).

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels is National League Player of the Day. Hamels struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Braves.

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks is NL Batter of the Day. Goldschmidt homered, doubled, went 3-for-3, with three runs and three RBIs, in the 9-3 win over the Cubs.

Adam Jones of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Jones homered and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-4 win over the Athletics.

Notable: Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Kluber (8.2IP 2R 10K W in the 6-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks eighth among AL pitchers.

Price receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hamels receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Goldschmidt and Jones each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Saturday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

719 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 13.0 Rays David Price (W, 10-7) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 0 9
NL 10.0 Phillies Cole Hamels (W, 4-5) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 0 9
9.0 `Mariners Felix Hernandez - - - - - - 7.0 2 1 0 4 9
8.0 Blue Jays Marcus Stroman (W, 5-2) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 0 5
7.0 Yankees Brandon McCarthy (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 0 9
6.2 Indians Corey Kluber (W, 10-6) - - - - - - 8.2 7 2 2 1 10
BAT 6.0 Dbacks Paul Goldschmidt 1B 3 3 3 3 2 0 - - - - - -
6.0 Padres Tyson Ross (W, 8-10) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 3 6
BAT 5.0 Orioles Adam Jones CF 4 2 2 5 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Cardinals Joe Kelly (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 4
3.1 `Indians Zach McAllister - - - - - - 5.1 3 1 1 3 6
3.0 Nationals Tanner Roark (W, 9-6) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 5
2.0 White Sox Tyler Flowers C 3 0 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Red Sox Mike Napoli 1B 3 2 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Giants Brandon Belt 1B 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Pirates Neil Walker 2B 5 2 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -

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

 

Rangers' Darvish tops players for Friday, July 18, Giants' Bumgarner rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rises to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Darvish struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run, in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, moving him to 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings, sixth among American League pitchers.

Bumgarner rises from fourth to third in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Bumgarner (6IP 1R 7K W in the 9-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.5 for the season. He now ranks second among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who leads all players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points.

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is NL Player of the Day. Liriano struck out eight over five innings in the 4-2 win over the Rockies. Liriano left the game with the score tied 1-1 and so did not pick up the win.

Jason Kipnis of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Kipnis hit two home runs and drove in four, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. d’Arnaud went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs in the 5-4 win over the Padres. This was d’Arnaud’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,384th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. d’Arnaud made his Major League debut Aug. 17, 2013, and was playing in his 87th game.

Notable: Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox, Player of the Game in the 5-4 win over the Royals, also made his Box-Toppers debut. He is the 3,383rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Bogaerts made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2013, and was playing in his 107th game.

Darvish receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Liriano receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Kipnis and d’Arnaud each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Friday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

718 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.2 Rangers Yu Darvish (W, 9-5) - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 3 12
NL 6.0 `Pirates Francisco Liriano - - - - - - 5.0 3 1 0 3 8
5.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 11-7) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 2 7
5.0 White Sox Daniel Webb (W, 5-2) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Indians Jason Kipnis 2B 5 2 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Cardinals Lance Lynn (W, 11-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 2 2 4 9
3.0 Braves Craig Kimbrel (S, 30) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.2 Angels Hector Santiago (W, 2-7) - - - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 0 2
2.0 Red Sox Xander Bogaerts 3B 3 2 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rays Ben Zobrist LF 3 2 1 2 2 0 - - - - - -
1.1 Yankees David Phelps (W, 4-4) - - - - - - 6.1 6 3 2 1 7
BAT 1.0 Mets Travis d`Arnaud C 5 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Athletics Josh Donaldson 3B 4 1 1 3 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Brewers Scooter Gennett 2B 3 2 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Diamondbacks Nick Evans PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -

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

 

Oakland Athletics have most players on Box-Toppers Top 100 list

The Oakland Athletics, baseball’s best team at the All-Star break, has seven players on Box-Toppers Top 100 players list, the most of any team.

The list is led by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has earned 18.1 Box-Toppers points this season and Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer with 16.1. Kershaw led all players in 2013 with 21.7 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer led all American League players in 2013 with 18.1.

Top 100 list 2014

Here is Box-Toppers Top 100, listing players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals at the All-Star break.


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 18.1
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp det al 16.1
3 Wainwright, Adam 2150 pi sp stl nl 14.0
4 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 13.5
5 Kazmir, Scott 1947 pi sp oak al 13.1
6 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 12.8
7 Richards, Garrett 3042 pi sp ana al 12.7
8 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp cin nl 12.7
9 Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 pi sp nyy al 12.7
10 Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 ss col nl 11.6
11 Teheran, Julio 3176 pi sp atl nl 11.4
12 Lincecum, Tim 2288 pi sp sf nl 10.4
13 Price, David 2593 pi sp tb al 10.4
14 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 10.4
15 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 10.1
16 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 10.0
17 Abreu, Jose 3308 1b chi al 9.5
18 Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp tex al 9.4
19 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 9.0
20 Hutchison, Drew 3038 pi sp tor al 9.0
21 Colon, Bartolo pi sp nym nl 8.7
22 Alvarez, Henderson 2951 pi sp fla nl 8.7
23 Simon, Alfredo 2718 pi sp cin nl 8.7
24 Hammel, Jason 2235 pi sp oak al 8.7
25 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 8.7
26 Lohse, Kyle 1487 pi sp mil nl 8.4
27 Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 pi sp lad nl 8.4
28 Hughes, Phil 2272 pi sp min al 8.4
29 Young, Chris 1933 pi sp sea al 8.4
30 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp atl nl 8.0
31 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp bos al 8.0
32 Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 1b dh lf tor al 8.0
33 Freeman, Freddie 2887 1b atl nl 7.7
34 Hudson, Tim 1231 pi sp sf nl 7.7
35 Lackey, John 1640 pi sp bos al 7.7
36 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 7.7
37 Chavez, Jesse 2780 pi sp oak al 7.7
38 Beckett, Josh 1544 pi sp lad nl 7.7
39 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 7.5
40 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 7.0
41 Lynn, Lance 2992 pi sp stl nl 7.0
42 Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048 pi sp sea al 7.0
43 Zimmermann, Jordan 2612 pi sp dc nl 7.0
44 Gonzalez, Gio 2626 pi sp dc nl 7.0
45 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp atl nl 7.0
46 Uehara, Koji 2802 pi cp bos al 7.0
47 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 7.0
48 Shields, James 2157 pi sp kc al 6.7
49 Kennedy, Ian 2723 pi sp sd nl 6.7
50 Donaldson, Josh 3144 3b oak al 6.5
51 Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 lf oak al 6.5
52 McCutchen, Andrew 2637 cf pit nl 6.5
53 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 6.4
54 McHugh, Collin 3316 pi sp hou al 6.4
55 Colabello, Chris 3235 1b dh rf min al 6.2
56 Gallardo, Yovani 2333 pi sp mil nl 6.0
57 Collmenter, Josh 2863 pi sp ari nl 6.0
58 Aybar, Erick 2416 ss ana al 6.0
59 Duffy, Danny 2915 pi sp mr kc al 6.0
60 Doolittle, Sean 3052 pi cp oak al 6.0
61 Elias, Roenis 3309 pi sp sea al 6.0
62 Buehrle, Mark 1407 pi sp tor al 5.7
63 Wilson, C.J. 2074 pi sp ana al 5.7
64 Fister, Doug 2688 pi sp dc nl 5.7
65 Ross, Tyson 2840 pi sp sd nl 5.7
66 Vogelsong, Ryan 1820 pi sp sf nl 5.7
67 Hahn, Jesse 3354 pi sp sd nl 5.7
68 Hunter, Torii 1190 rf det al 5.5
69 Rizzo, Anthony 3063 1b chi nl 5.5
70 Ramirez, Alexei 2537 ss chi al 5.5
71 Morse, Michael 2020 lf sf nl 5.5
72 Upton, Justin 2411 lf atl nl 5.2
73 Masterson, Justin 2462 pi sp cle al 5.0
74 Miller, Shelby 3134 pi sp stl nl 5.0
75 Bailey, Homer 2324 pi sp cin nl 5.0
76 Holland, Greg 2906 pi cp kc al 5.0
77 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp phi nl 5.0
78 Burnett, A.J. 1300 pi sp phi nl 5.0
79 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 5.0
80 Cashner, Andrew 2807 pi sp sd nl 5.0
81 Wood, Travis 2777 pi sp chi nl 5.0
82 Chapman, Aroldis 2826 pi cp cin nl 5.0
83 Leake, Mike 2709 pi sp cin nl 5.0
84 Porcello, Rick 2573 pi sp det al 5.0
85 Smyly, Drew 3009 pi sp mr det al 5.0
86 Cishek, Steve 2997 pi cp fla nl 5.0
87 Perez, Martin 3213 pi sp tex al 5.0
88 Roark, Tanner 3261 pi sp dc nl 5.0
89 Volquez, Edinson 2220 pi sp pit nl 5.0
90 Wacha, Michael 3276 pi sp stl nl 5.0
91 Suzuki, Kurt 2344 ca min al 5.0
92 Seager, Kyle 3031 3b sea al 5.0
93 Koehler, Tom 3159 pi sp fla nl 5.0
94 Dozier, Brian 3219 2b min al 5.0
95 Robertson, David 2774 pi cp nyy al 5.0
96 Tomlin, Josh 2771 pi sp cp cle al 5.0
97 Rodriguez, Sean 2729 lf 1b 2b dh ph tb al 5.0
98 Duda, Lucas 2818 1b nym nl 5.0
99 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 5.0
100 Cobb, Alex 2916 pi sp tb al 4.7
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Pitcher Scott Kazmir leads the seven Athletics on the top 100 list, he has 13.1 Box-Toppers points and is in fifth place overall (second among AL pitchers). The other Athletics players are:

• Jason Hammel, starting pitcher, in 24th place with 8.7. (Hammel earned all 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs, prior to being traded to the Athletics.)

• Jesse Chavez, starting pitcher, in 37th place with 7.7.

• Sonny Gray, starting pitcher, in 47th place with 7.0.

• Josh Donaldson, third base, in 50th place with 6.5.

• Yoenis Cespedes, left field, in 51st place with 6.5.

• Sean Doolittle, closing pitcher, in 60th place with 6.0.

Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points this season, the most of any team. The Los Angeles Dodgers, in second place, have 69.7.

While the addition of Hammel gives the Athletics seven players in the top 100, they would still have the most players on the list without him, with six. No other team has more than five players on the list. There are five teams with five players each—the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the Washington Nationals, the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners.

All but one team is represented on the top 100 list. The only team without a member is the Baltimore Orioles. That team’s leader in Box-Toppers points, Nelson Cruz, designated hitter and left fielder, has 4.5 points, in 109th place. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies both have one player on the top 100 list.

Pitchers dominate the top 100 list, with 80 members—73 of them starting pitchers. Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers over batters, especially in the short-term. Star pitchers tend to rack up points in quick batches while batters tend to pick up points steadily over long periods of time. For example, the Box-Toppers “all-time” top 100 list has 45 batters and 55 pitchers (the “all-time” list tracks players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began).

Here is a breakdown of the top 100 list by position:

• Starting pitchers 73

• Closing pitchers 7

• First base 7

• Outfield 6 (4 LF, 1 CF, 1 RF)

• Shortstop 3

• Third base 2

• Second base 1

• Catcher 1

Here are some notable players’ statuses in the top 100.

• Last year’s Cy Young Award winners are ranked No. 1 and 2. Kershaw, the reigning National League winner, is in first place with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer, the reigning AL winner, is in second place with 16.1.

• Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies leads all NL batters and is in 10th place overall, with 11.6 Box-Toppers points.

• Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads all AL batters and is in 17th place overall, with 9.5 Box-Toppers points.

• Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 2013’s AL Most Valuable Player is in 39th place overall with 7.5 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL batters.

• Pitcher Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, 2013’s NL Rookie of the Year is in 40th place overall with 7.0 Box-Toppers points. However, Fernandez is injured and now out for the rest of the season.

• Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, 2013’s NL MVP, is in 52nd place overall with 6.5 Box-Toppers points (already more than the 6.0 he earned last season, when he ranked 22nd among NL batters). McCutchen currently ranks third among NL batters.

• Pitcher Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who started the All-Star Game for the NL, is ranked third overall with 14.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among NL pitchers.

• Pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, who started the All-Star Game for the AL, is ranked sixth overall with 12.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

• Wil Myers of the Rays, 2013’s AL Rookie of the Year has 1.0 Box-Toppers point and is not on this year’s top 100. (He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.)

• Pitcher Chris Archer of the Rays, who led AL Rookies in Box-Toppers points in 2013, is in 53rd place with 6.4 Box-Toppers points. (Last season, he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.)

So far this season, 578 players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so have at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Eighty new players have earned Player of the Game honors for the first time this season, making their Box-Toppers debut.

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mike Trout is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in 2014 All-Star Game

Mike Trout of the Angels is Box-Toppers’ All-Star Player of the Game.

Trout, who also won the All-Star MVP Award Tuesday, tripled and went 2-for-3, scoring a run and drove in two more, as the American League defeated the National League 5-3 in the annual All-Star Game.

Trout had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.0, tied for the highest with five other pitchers from the winning AL team, but Trout won Player of the Game on a tie-breaker—in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters beat pitchers.

Trout has earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points this season—including earning Player of the Game honors in his most recent game Sunday. He ranks 16th among AL batters in Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL outfielders.

Trout’s 4.5 Box-Toppers points this season is already better than the 3.5 he earned in 2013. His best season was 2012, when he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking fifth among AL batters. In his four seasons, he has 20.5 Box-Toppers points.

Trout currently ranks third among all players in Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com. While he ranks higher than any Angels player in the WAR stat, in Box-Toppers, he ranks fourth among Angels players, behind these players:

• Pitcher Garrett Richards, 12.7

• Shortstop Erick Aybar, 6.0

• Pitcher C.J. Wilson, 5.7

• Designated hitter/first baseman Albert Pujols, 4.5

Just as All-Star Game statistics don’t count in a player’s regular season statistics, no Box-Toppers points are awarded for the All-Star Game.

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, who pitched one inning in the fifth, was the second-ranked AL player, also with a Box-Toppers game score of 2.0. He finished ahead of other pitchers tied with 2.0 on a tiebreaker because he picked up the win. Scherzer currently leads AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 16.1. He ranks second among all players.

Craig Kimbrel of the Braves, usually a closing pitcher, had the highest Box-Toppers game score on the losing NL team of 4.0. Kimbrel pitched the seventh inning, allowed no hits or runs and struck out three. So though he had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any player Tuesday, he did not qualify as Player of the Game because he was on the losing side.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Tuesday, click here.

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

Box-Toppers game scores of AL All-Star players

Here are all the players who played for the winning American League team in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Mike Trout had the highest game score and is Box-Toppers All-Star Player of the Game (POG) 

715 Score Team BATTERS AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 2.0 AL Mike Trout LF 3 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 AL Max Scherzer (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.0 AL Glen Perkins (S, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 AL Felix Hernandez - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.0 AL Yu Darvish (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 AL Greg Holland (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.2 AL Sean Doolittle (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 0 2
1.1 AL Koji Uehara (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 AL Miguel Cabrera 1B 3 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 AL Derek Jeter SS 2 1 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 AL Jose Altuve 2B 0 0 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.2 AL Scott Kazmir (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 0 1
0.1 AL Fernando Rodney (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 1 1
0.0 AL Alexei Ramirez SS 2 1 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 AL Derek Norris C 2 1 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
0.0 AL Erick Aybar SS - - - - - - - - - - - -
0.0 AL Adrian Beltre 3B 0 0 0 0 1 0 - - - - - -
0.0 AL Kurt Suzuki C - - - - - - - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Brandon Moss RF 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Ian Kinsler PH, 2B 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Jose Abreu 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Michael Brantley CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Salvador Perez C 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Chris Sale (BS, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 1 1 1 0 1
-2.0 AL Robinson Cano 2B 2 0 0 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Jose Bautista RF 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Yoenis Cespedes LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Nelson Cruz DH 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Kyle Seager PH, DH 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Adam Jones CF 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Josh Donaldson 3B 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-6.0 AL Jon Lester (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 3 2 2 0 0

Giants' Tim Hudson rises onto Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 10 pitchers list

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson has moved into Box-Toppers ‘all-time’ top 10 pitchers list, passing Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux.

Top 10 pitchers 'all-time'

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 'all-time' pitchers (record keeping began in 1995). The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players have accumulated since 1995.


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Johnson, Randy pi sp retired 278.8
2 Martinez, Pedro J. pi sp retired 244.8
3 Schilling, Curt pi sp retired 194.1
4 Sabathia, C.C. 1492 pi sp nyy al 173.3
5 Halladay, Roy 1178 pi sp retired 170.7
6 Santana, Johan 1448 pi sp bal al 166.6
7 Clemens, Roger pi sp retired 164.8
8 Smoltz, John pi sp retired 160.9
9 Mussina, Mike pi sp retired 155.6
10 Hudson, Tim 1231 pi sp sf nl 152.0
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Hudson, who earned Player of the Game honors July 5, now has 152.0 career Box-Toppers points (including 7.7 this season) and passes Maddux, who had 151.7.

However, Box-Toppers record keeping did not begin until 1995 and so some of Maddux’s most productive years—1986 to 1994, in which he won 15 or more games per season seven times—are not recorded. Meanwhile, Hudson’s entire career, beginning in 1999, has been recorded.

Hudson has scored at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in each of his 16 seasons. He has scored 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season six times. His best season was in 2001 with the Oakland Athletics, when he earned 18.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks 14th among all players in ‘all-time’ Box-Toppers points, just behind Barry Bonds (153.2).

Hudson turned 39 Monday.

The top 10 ‘all-time’ pitchers list does not change that often. The last time there was any change in the standings was June 2013, when Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia passed Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay to move into fourth place overall. Sabathia has since scored only 1.0 additional Box-Toppers point and now has 173.3 for his career.

The last time there was any change in membership in the ‘all-time’ top 10 pitcher list was September 2010, when Sabathia rose onto the list with 137.5 Box-Toppers points, passing then-Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez, with 135.6.

While there are three active pitchers on the top 10 list—Sabathia, Johan Santana of the Orioles and Hudson—Hudson is the only pitcher who is both active and not on the disabled list. Sabathia and Santana are both likely out for the season.

Randy Johnson leads the list with 278.8 Box-Toppers points and is the overall ‘all-time’ Box-Toppers leader (again, since 1995, when record keeping began).

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers player rankings at All-Star break

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw remains atop Box-Toppers player rankings at the All-Star break.

Kershaw has 18.1 Box-Toppers points. Last year, he led all players at the end of the season with 21.7.

Top players

Through Sunday, July 13


 OVERALL LEADERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 18.1
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp det al 16.1
3 Wainwright, Adam 2150 pi sp stl nl 14.0
4 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 13.5
5 Kazmir, Scott 1947 pi sp oak al 13.1
6 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 12.8
7 Richards, Garrett 3042 pi sp ana al 12.7
8 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp cin nl 12.7
9 Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 pi sp nyy al 12.7
10 Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 ss col nl 11.6
AL PITCHERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp det al 16.1
2 Kazmir, Scott 1947 pi sp oak al 13.1
3 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 12.8
4 Richards, Garrett 3042 pi sp ana al 12.7
5 Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 pi sp nyy al 12.7
6 Price, David 2593 pi sp tb al 10.4
7 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 10.4
8 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 10.0
9 Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp tex al 9.4
10 Hutchison, Drew 3038 pi sp tor al 9.0
AL BATTERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Abreu, Jose 3308 1b chi al 9.5
2 Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 1b dh lf tor al 8.0
3 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 7.5
4 Donaldson, Josh 3144 3b oak al 6.5
5 Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 lf oak al 6.5
6 Colabello, Chris 3235 1b dh rf min al 6.2
7 Aybar, Erick 2416 ss ana al 6.0
8 Hunter, Torii 1190 rf det al 5.5
9 Ramirez, Alexei 2537 ss chi al 5.5
10 Suzuki, Kurt 2344 ca min al 5.0
NL PITCHERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 18.1
2 Wainwright, Adam 2150 pi sp stl nl 14.0
3 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 13.5
4 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp cin nl 12.7
5 Teheran, Julio 3176 pi sp atl nl 11.4
6 Lincecum, Tim 2288 pi sp sf nl 10.4
7 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 10.1
8 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 9.0
9 Colon, Bartolo pi sp nym nl 8.7
10 Alvarez, Henderson 2951 pi sp fla nl 8.7
NL BATTERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 ss col nl 11.6
2 Freeman, Freddie 2887 1b atl nl 7.7
3 McCutchen, Andrew 2637 cf pit nl 6.5
4 Rizzo, Anthony 3063 1b chi nl 5.5
5 Morse, Michael 2020 lf sf nl 5.5
6 Upton, Justin 2411 lf atl nl 5.2
7 Duda, Lucas 2818 1b nym nl 5.0
8 Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 rf fla nl 4.7
9 Murphy, Daniel 2589 2b nym nl 4.5
10 Holliday, Matt 1836 lf stl nl 4.5
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Leaders in the other three categories also remain unchanged since the last player rankings report July 3:

• Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer is still American League pitching leader with 16.1 Box-Toppers points. He remains in second place overall.

• Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies is still National League batting leader with 11.6 Box-Toppers points. He falls from ninth to 10th place among all players.

• Jose Abreu of the White Sox is still top AL batter with 9.5 Box-Toppers points. He is in 17th place among all players.

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Trade boosts Oakland Athletics to top of Box-Toppers team rankings at All-Star break

The Oakland Athletics, largely on the strength of their trade to acquire two starting pitchers from the Chicago Cubs, have risen to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings at the All-Star break.

Top 10 teams

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Sunday, July 13. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated since the last team rankings report July 3.



713

Teams

BTP
BTP
/wk		 Last 
wk 
rank
1 Athletics 79.0 19.1 2
2 Dodgers 69.7 8.1 1
3 Angels 69.5 11.0 5
4 Giants 64.3 5.7 4
5 Blue Jays 61.3 2.0 3
6 Mariners 60.7 3.0 6
7 Reds 60.6 9.5 12
8 Brewers 60.6 3.0 7
9 Cardinals 60.5 6.0 8
10 Braves 60.2 6.0 10
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points, rising from second place at the time of the last team rankings report July 3 to regain the top spot. They pass the Los Angeles Dodgers, the leader at the July 3 report. The Dodgers have 69.7 Box-Toppers points, dipping to second place, still leading among all National League teams.

The Athletics jumped in total Box-Toppers points when on July 5, they acquired starting pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs. Hammel has 8.7 Box-Toppers points and Samardzija has 4.0. At the time, the trade gave the Athletics a net gain of 10.7 Box-Toppers points, boosting them to the top of team rankings and pushing the Cubs to the bottom—30th place.

The trade helped make the Athletics the hottest team since the last team rankings report on July 3. They picked up 19.1 Box-Toppers points over that period.

The Athletics are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir (13.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth place among all players) and newly-acquired Hammel (his 8.7 Box-Toppers points puts him at 11th place among AL pitchers, even though all his points were earned while pitching in the NL for the Cubs).

The Athletics also have baseball’s best winning percentage (.621). The Athletics previously led in Box-Toppers team rankings at the weekly June 19 report.

The Dodgers remain the top NL team for the second week with 69.7 Box-Toppers points. They fall from first to second place overall.

The Dodgers are led by starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18.1 Box-Toppers points, overall player rankings leader) and Zack Greinke (10.1 Box-Toppers points, seventh place among NL pitchers).

The Dodgers have NL’s best winning percentage (.557).

The Cincinnati Reds rise into the top 10 at the All-Star break. They picked up a NL-high 9.5 Box-Toppers points since the last report July 3, giving them 60.6 for the season, rising from 12th to seventh in team rankings. The Detroit Tigers fell from the top 10 list—with 60.1 Box-Toppers points, they fell from ninth to 11th.

As previously mentioned, the Chicago Cubs dropped to the bottom of Box-Toppers team rankings, with a net loss of points in the trade with the Athletics. They lost 7.2 Box-Toppers points since the last report July 3, giving them 38.7 for the season. The previous report’s 30th-ranked team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, rose to 28th place, picking up 6.4 Box-Toppers points, giving them 47.5 for the season.

 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.

Red Sox' Buchholz tops players for Sunday, July 13, Giants' Bumgarner (with bat) rises to 4th in Box-Toppers rankings

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Buchholz pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out 12 and allowing no walks, in the 11-0 win over the Astros.

Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu is National League Player of the Day. Ryu pitched six scoreless innings and struck out 10 in the 1-0 win over the Padres.

Chris Johnson of the Braves is NL Batter of the Day. Johnson homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-7 win over the Cubs.

Brian Dozier of the Twins is American League Batter of the Day. Dozier homered twice and doubled in six at-bats, driving in four runs, in the 13-5 win over the Rockies.

Notables: Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday—and for the second time this season earning the honor for batting. (See the updated top 10 player ranking list on the home page.)

Bumgarner hit a grand slam (his second of the season) and went 2-for-3 with two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Diamondbacks. (He also pitched 6 1/3 innings and picked up the win.) He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.5 for the season, moving from ninth to fourth place. He ranks third among NL pitchers.

This is the sixth time this season a pitcher has won Player of the Game honors for batting. It is the second time Bumgarner has done it. He previously did it April 11, earning NL Batter of the Day.

Rays pitcher David Price became the 16th player this season to earn at least 10.0 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Price (8IP 0R 5K W in the 3-0 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, moving him to 13th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He ranks sixth among AL pitchers.

Buchholz receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Ryu receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Johnson and Dozier each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

713 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 18.0 Red Sox Clay Buchholz (W, 4-5) - - - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 0 12
NL 14.0 Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 10-5) - - - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 0 10
8.0 Brewers Wily Peralta (W, 10-6) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 0 0 5
7.0 Rays David Price (W, 9-7) - - - - - - 8.0 5 0 0 1 5
7.0 Nationals Tanner Roark (W, 8-6) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 0 6
6.0 Mets Jacob deGrom (W, 3-5) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 8
5.2 `Indians Trevor Bauer - - - - - - 6.2 8 0 0 3 10
BAT 5.0 Braves Chris Johnson 3B 4 3 3 3 1 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner P 3 2 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Reds Aroldis Chapman (S, 21) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.2 Athletics Sonny Gray (W, 10-3) - - - - - - 7.2 6 1 0 2 5
3.2 Royals Yordano Ventura (W, 7-7) - - - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Twins Brian Dozier 2B 6 2 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Mike Trout CF 4 1 2 4 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Orioles Chris Davis 1B 2 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.

 

Yankees' Shane Greene (7.1IP 0R 9K) tops players for Saturday, July 12

Yankees pitcher Shane Greene is Saturday's Player of the Day. Greene pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 3-0 win over the Orioles.

This was Greene’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,381st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Greene made his Major League debut April 24 and was pitching in his third game, making his second start.

Dodgers pitcher Paul Maholm is National League Player of the Day. Maholm pitched six scoreless innings in the 1-0 win over the Padres. He did not earn the win because when he left the game, the score was tied at 0-0.

Kevin Kiermaier of the Rays is American League Batter of the Day. Kiermaier doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. McCutchen hit two homers and doubled in five at-bats, scoring three times, in the 6-5 win over the Reds. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season and moving him to third place among NL batters in Box-Toppers player rankings. He also passes his Box-Toppers points total for 2013 of 6.0. McCutchen was 2013 NL Most Valuable Player but ranked 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points last season.

Greene receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Maholm receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Kiermaier and McCutchen each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Saturday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

712 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.1 Yankees Shane Greene (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 7.1 4 0 0 2 9
NL 8.0 `Dodgers Paul Maholm - - - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 0 4
7.2 Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 8-4) - - - - - - 8.2 5 2 2 0 8
5.0 White Sox Scott Carroll (W, 4-5) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 1 3
BAT 4.0 Rays Kevin Kiermaier CF 4 2 3 3 1 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Dbacks Wade Miley (W, 5-6) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 3 4
4.0 Nationals Rafael Soriano (S, 22) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.2 Astros Josh Fields (W, 2-4) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 1 3
BAT 3.0 Pirates Andrew McCutchen CF 5 3 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Braves Chris Johnson 3B 5 2 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Cardinals Jhonny Peralta SS 3 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Mets Chris Young PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Joe Smith (S, 14) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Tigers Alex Avila C 4 1 2 3 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Twins Kurt Suzuki PH, C 1 1 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -

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

 

Angels' Richards, Giants' Lincecum top players for Friday, July 11; Mariners' Hernandez rises to 5th in Box-Toppers rankings

Angels pitcher Garrett Richards, Friday’s Player of the Day, rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises to fifth place in rankings.

Richards pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 3-0 win over the Rangers. Richards earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, rising to sixth place among all players. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) He is in fourth place among American League pitchers.

Hernandez rises from eighth to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Hernandez struck out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 3-2 win over the Athletics. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.8 for the season and is in third place among AL pitchers.

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is National League Player of the Day. Lincecum pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out six in the 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Lincecum earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, moving into 12th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He is the 15th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Richards and Lincecum had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 8.0, but Richards earned overall Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts, eight vs. six.

David Wright of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. Wright homered, went 4-for-4, scored twice and drove in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Marlins.

Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Vazquez went 3-for-4, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Astros. This was Vazquez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,380th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut July 9 and was playing in his second game.

Richards receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lincecum receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Wright and Vazquez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Friday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

711 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Angels Garrett Richards (W, 11-2) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 2 8
NL 8.0 Giants Tim Lincecum (W, 9-5) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 2 6
5.0 Mariners Felix Hernandez (W, 11-2) - - - - - - 8.0 6 2 2 2 9
4.1 Blue Jays Aaron Loup (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 4.0 Mets David Wright 3B 4 2 4 2 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Red Sox Christian Vazquez C 4 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Indians Cody Allen (S, 11) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
4.0 Reds Aroldis Chapman (S, 20) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Cardinals Matt Holliday LF 4 3 3 1 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Phillies Jimmy Rollins SS 4 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Padres Jesse Hahn (W, 5-2) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 4 6
3.0 `Orioles Miguel Gonzalez - - - - - - 8.0 6 2 2 0 5
2.0 Rockies Brandon Barnes PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Cubs Chris Coghlan LF 3 1 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Tigers Austin Jackson CF 4 1 3 0 0 1 - - - - - -

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

 

Box-Toppers' regular Friday rankings reports delayed until Monday during All-Star break

Box-Toppers normally updates weekly team rankings and weekly top player lists each Friday. This week’s updates will be delayed until Monday, July 14, during the All-Star break. There will also be no weekly update next Friday (because there will be no regular baseball games played to update during the week because of the All-Star break). Regular Friday weekly updates will resume July 25.

During the All-Star break, look for Box-Toppers special reports, which could include the top 100 players of the season in Box-Toppers points, the top 100 players of “all time” in Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when record keeping began), the Box-Toppers points leaders on each team—or whatever else sounds interesting and we have time for.

Dodgers' Kershaw, top player for Thursday, July 10, adds to Box-Toppers points lead

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Thursday’s Player of the Day, added to his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings, while Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir rose to fourth place overall.

Kershaw pitched a complete game three-hitter, allowing one run and striking out 11, in the 2-1 win over the Padres. Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.1 for the season, to maintain his top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings. Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2013, is only 3.6 points behind his overall total from last season, 21.7.

Kazmir, American League Player of the Day, rises from 10th to fourth place in player rankings. Kazmir pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 6-1 win over the Giants. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, behind Max Scherzer of the Tigers (16.1).

Mike Trout of the Angels is AL Batter of the Day. Trout homered and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 15-6 win over the Rangers. Trout earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season, matching his Box-Toppers points total for 2013. While he currently ranks second among all players in the Wins Above Replacement stat, he ranks 29th among AL batters in Box-Toppers points this season.

Arismendy Alcantara of the Cubs is National League Batter of the Day. Alcantara tripled, doubled, went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Reds. This was Alcantara’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,378th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut July 9 and was playing in his second game. His fifth inning double Thursday was his first Major League hit.

Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kazmir receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Trout and Alcantara each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Thursday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

710 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W, 11-2) - - - - - - 9.0 3 1 1 1 11
AL 12.0 Athletics Scott Kazmir (W, 11-3) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 1 9
10.0 `Red Sox Jon Lester - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 0 12
BAT 6.0 Angels Mike Trout CF 5 3 4 4 0 1 - - - - - -
5.0 Phillies David Buchanan (W, 5-5) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 5
BAT 4.0 Cubs Arismendy Alcantara 2B 5 2 4 3 0 1 0 0
4.0 Tigers J.D. Martinez LF, RF 3 2 2 3 1 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Pirates Edinson Volquez (W, 8-6) - - - - - - 9.0 6 1 1 2 5
3.0 Indians Roberto Perez C 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.1 Braves Craig Kimbrel (S, 28) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Orioles Steve Pearce LF 4 2 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Twins Kurt Suzuki C 3 1 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -

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

 

Reds' Simon top players for Wednesday, July 9, Tigers' Scherzer bolsters Box-Toppers AL pitching lead

Reds pitcher Alfredo Simon is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.

Simon struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.

Scherzer, American League Player of the Day, added to his lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points and maintained his second-place spot in overall player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Scherzer struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.1 for the season. He widens his lead over second-place AL pitcher Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees (12.7 Box-Toppers points). He ties Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 16.1 Box-Toppers points, but Kershaw maintains the overall player rankings lead on a tie-breaker—he has more points since the start of the 2013 season—37.8 vs. 34.2.

Scherzer is only 2.0 Box-Toppers points away from his 2013 total of 18.1, his best season, a year in which he led all AL players.

Robbie Grossman of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Grossman went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Rangers.

Jayson Werth of the Nationals is National League Batter of the Day. Werth homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

Notables: Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Tulowitzki homered twice in the 6-3 win over the Padres, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.6 for the season. He rejoins the overall top 10 after being bumped July 6 and is again the only batter on the list.

Tulowitzki also surpassed his highest Box-Toppers points total for a season with 11.6. His previous high was 11.5 during the 2011 season.

Chris Colabello of the Twins, who early in the season led all players in Box-Toppers points before slumping and being sent to the minors, earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the first time since his return to the Majors. Colabello (2-4 R 2BI in the 8-1 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.2 for the season. He ranks sixth among all AL batters. He last earned Player of the Game honors April 17.

Simon receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Scherzer receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Grossman and Werth each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Wednesday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

709 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.2 Reds Alfredo Simon (W, 12-3) - - - - - - 6.2 4 1 1 2 8
AL 6.0 Tigers Max Scherzer (W, 11-3) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 7
4.0 Phillies Roberto Hernandez (W, 4-8) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 2 3
4.0 Yankees Chase Whitley (W, 4-2) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
4.0 Red Sox Koji Uehara (W, 5-2) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Astros Robbie Grossman RF 5 2 4 2 0 1 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Nationals Jayson Werth RF 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 `Ddbacks Josh Collmenter - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 1 6
3.0 Angels Joe Smith (S, 12) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 Royals Greg Holland (S, 24) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 `Giants Sergio Romo (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Rockies Troy Tulowitzki SS 4 2 2 2 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Cardinals Matt Holliday LF 3 2 2 1 2 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Mets Dillon Gee (W, 4-1) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 4
1.0 Twins Chris Colabello 1B 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.

 

Mets' Jacob deGrom (7IP 0R 11K) tops players for Tuesday, July 8

Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard graphic.png

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Tuesday’s Player of the Day. deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 11 in the 8-3 win over the Braves.

Twins pitcher Phil Hughes is American League Player of the Day. Hughes pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 2-0 win over the Mariners. Hughes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 points for the season, moving up to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Domonic Brown of the Phillies is National League Batter of the Day. Brown homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-7 win over the Brewers.

Michael Brantley of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Brantley homered and hit two doubles, driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Yankees.

deGrom receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hughes receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Brown and Brantley each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Tuesday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

708 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Mets Jacob deGrom (W, 2-5) - - - - - - 7.0 7 0 0 0 11
AL 7.1 Twins Phil Hughes (W, 9-5) - - - - - - 7.1 8 0 0 0 8
7.0 Blue Jays R.A. Dickey (W, 7-8) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 1 5
6.0 Athletics Sonny Gray (W, 9-3) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 8
5.0 `Reds J.J. Hoover - - - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 1 6
BAT 4.0 Phillies Domonic Brown LF 3 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Indians Michael Brantley CF 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Tigers Rajai Davis LF 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 White Sox Conor Gillaspie 3B 4 2 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.2 Rockies Franklin Morales (W, 5-4) - - - - - - 5.2 4 1 1 3 6
2.0 Cardinals Kolten Wong 2B 4 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Astros Chris Carter DH 4 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Steve Cishek (S, 20) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.2 Rays Brad Boxberger (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 0 1
1.0 Reds Chris Heisey LF 3 1 3 0 1 0 - - - - - -

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

 

Royals' James Shields (7IP 0R 10K) tops players for Monday, July 7

Royals pitcher James Shields is Monday’s Player of the Day. Shields pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 in the 6-0 win over the Rays.

Shields had a Box-Toppers game score of 13.0, the same as Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma (Player of the Game in the 2-0 win over the Twins), but Shields won overall Player of the Day on a tie-breaker—Shields allowed fewer hits than Iwakuma, three vs. four.

Padres pitcher Ian Kennedy is National League Player of the Day. Kennedy struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Rockies.

Jonathan Singleton of the Astros is American League Batter of the Day. Singleton homered, doubled and went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs in the 12-7 win over the Rangers. This was Singleton’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,376th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut June 3 and was playing in his 32nd game.

Billy Hamilton of the Reds is NL Batter of the Day. Hamilton tripled and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 9-3 win over the Cubs.

Shields receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kennedy receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Singleton and Hamiton each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Monday, click here.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

707 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 13.0 Royals James Shields (W, 9-4) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 1 10
13.0 Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 7-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 0 10
9.0 Athletics Jesse Chavez (W, 7-5) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 2 9
8.2 White Sox Scott Carroll (W, 3-5) - - - - - - 6.2 1 0 0 2 5
NL 8.0 Padres Ian Kennedy (W, 7-9) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 9
BAT 5.0 Astros Jonathan Singleton 1B 4 2 3 4 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Orioles Manny Machado 3B 6 2 5 2 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Reds Billy Hamilton CF 4 1 2 4 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Dbacks David Peralta LF 4 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Phillies Chase Utley 2B 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Mets Carlos Torres (W, 4-4) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.0 Yankees Dellin Betances (S, 1) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 1
2.0 Cardinals Pat Neshek (W, 3-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Angels Chris Iannetta C 4 2 3 0 0 1 - - - - - -

Angels' Richards, Cubs' Rizzo lead in Box-Toppers points among All-Star Final Vote candidates

Angels pitcher Garrett Richards and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo are the most deserving players to be chosen in the All-Star Game Final Vote, according to their Box-Toppers point total.

All-Star Final Vote

Here are the candidates for the 2014 All-Star Final Vote. There are five candidates from each league. One from each league will be chosen by fans in online voting for the final All-Star roster spots. Voting ends Thursday. Players are shown here in order of their Box-Toppers points total this season.

AL players Pos Team BTP
1 Garrett Richards pi sp ana al 10.7
2 Corey Kluber pi sp cle al 10.4
3 Chris Sale pi sp chi al 10.0
4 Dallas Keuchel pi sp hou nl 8.7
5 Rick Porcello pi sp det al 5.0
NL players Pos Team BTP
1 Anthony Rizzo 1b chi nl 5.5
2 Justin Upton lf atl nl 5.2
3 Casey McGehee 3b fla nl 3.5
4 Anthony Rendon 2b dc nl 2.0
5 Justin Morneau 1b col nl 1.5
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Richards has the most points among the five American League players on the ballot and Rizzo has the most among the five National League players on the ballot in which fans vote for the 34th and final roster spots for both teams in the July 15 All-Star Game. Voting ends Thursday.

Richards has 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers, narrowly ahead of Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (10.4 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all players).

Richards is also the top-ranked AL player in Box-Toppers points who was not selected to the All-Star team.

Rizzo is the top player among the five NL players on the Final Vote ballot, but is far from the top-ranked NL player in Box-Toppers points who was not selected to the All-Star team. That honor would go to non-All-Star Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who has 9.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks eighth among NL players.

Rizzo, by comparison, with 5.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks 29th among NL players. However, he ranks third among NL batters and is the top-ranked NL batter not selected to the All-Star team.

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.