Kershaw unseats Jacob deGrom as overall leader. Encarnacion passes Trout to lead AL batters. Gonzalez passes Cespedes to lead NL batters. Price leads AL pitchers.
Read MoreKansas City Royals rise to lead Box-Toppers team rankings; Cardinals take NL lead
Royals, with hot week, rise to led team rankings. Cardinals regain NL team lead. Pirates fall to third.
Read MoreRockies' Gonzalez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 3, rises to lead NL batters in Box-Toppers points
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Thursday, Sept. 3, and rises to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 3.| 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 |
Gonzalez homered twice and doubled, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-3 win over the Giants.
Gonzalez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season and rising to lead NL batters in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9 Box-Toppers points).
Gonzalez becomes the 31st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and is the first NL batter to reach that mark. Gonzalez now also has more Box-Toppers points than any Major League batter, passing Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays (10.4).
This is the second straight day Gonzalez has earned Player of the Game honors. On Wednesday, he was NL Batter of the Day. He has earned 3.5 Box-Toppers points in two days.
American League Player of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 15-7 win over the Tigers.
Morales had a Box-Toppers game score of 6.0, tied with Carlos Gonzalez. But Gonzalez won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more home runs than Morales (two vs. zero).
AL and NL Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Thursday because the overall Players of the Day in the two leagues were batters—Gonzalez and Morales. In fact, all of the six who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday were batters—no pitchers earned Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Debut—Hernan Perez of the Brewers made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Perez (3B 3-3 R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut June 9, 2012, and was playing in his 131st career game. He is the 3,577th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Gonzalez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Morales earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player 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
| 9/3 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 6.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, DH | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Padres | Yangervis Solarte, 3B-1B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Brewers | Hernan Perez, 3B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | J.B. Shuck, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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. | ||||||||||||||||
Rays' Smyly tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 1; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 5th in player rankings
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Rays pitcher Drew Smyly is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place 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. 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 19.1 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.7 |
| 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 |
Player of the Day—Smyly pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 11-2 win over the Orioles.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Villanueva pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, striking out six and allowing one hit, in the 8-5 win over the Nationals. Villanueva did not earn the win, picking up a no decision because he exited with the Cardinals trailing, 4-3.
National League Batter of the Day—Darin Ruf of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 14-8 win over the Mets.
This was Ruf’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ruf made his Major League debut Sept. 14, 2012, and was playing in his 219th career game. He is the 3,575th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the 7-5 win over the Astros.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Greinke (7.1IP 5H R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Greinke also now has 143.7 career Box-Toppers points and maintains his rank at 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).
Notable—Prince Fielder rises to fourth place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Fielder (HR 2-5 2R 2BI in the 8-6 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.
Debut—In addition to Ruf, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday: Marlins pitcher Justin Nicolino earned his first Player of the Game honor (7IP 6H 0R 3K W in the 7-1 win over the Braves). Nicolino made his Major League debut June 20 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,576th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Smyly earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Villanueva earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Ruf and Morrison 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
| 9/1 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Rays | Drew Smyly (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | 8.1 | `Cardinals | Carlos Villanueva (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 7.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W,11-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Yankees | Michael Pineda (W,10-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Phillies | Darin Ruf, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.1 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,15-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Phil Gosselin, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Cubs | Kyle Schwarber, LF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison, PH-1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W,7-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Ryan Goins, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Aaron Hill, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Justin Nicolino (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | Tigers | Ian Kinsler, 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Prince Fielder, 1B | 5 | 2 | 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' Colon tops players for Monday, Aug. 31; Keuchel rises to 5th in player rankings, Archer rises to 10th
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31.
Also Monday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to 10th place.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 31.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 19.1 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.7 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 17.7 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 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 |
Player of the Day—Colon pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 3-1 win over the Phillies.
Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 140.1 for his career, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Monday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5 Box-Toppers points) on the “all-time” list. He trails 21st-ranked player Zack Greinke (142.7 points).
Colon has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season. He becomes the 29th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 22nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Mark Canha of the Athletics homered, scored twice and drove in four runs, in the 11-5 win over the Angels.
National League Batter of the Day—Adam Duvall of the Reds hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the 13-6 win over the Cubs.
This was Duvall’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Duvall made his Major League debut June 26, 2014, and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,573rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings list after earning Player of the Game honors Monday:
- Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (7IP 6H 2R 10K W in the 8-3 win over the Mariners) rose to fifth place with 17.7 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind David Price of the Blue Jays (18.1 Box-Toppers points).
- Rays pitcher Chris Archer (6IP 4H 0R 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Orioles) rose to 10th place with 16.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher John Lackey rises to 57th place among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lackey (6IP 4H 2R 8K ND in the 8-5 win over the Nationals) now has 104.8 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0 points) on the “all-time” list and trails 56th-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Lackey has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
Debut—In addition to Duvall, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Monday: Rockies pitcher Simon Castro earned his first career Player of the Game honor. Castro (2IP 0R 0H K W in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut July 5, 2013, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,574th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Canha and Duvall each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/31 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W,12-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 9.0 | Padres | Tyson Ross (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| 6.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,16-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W,12-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | Marlins | Chris Narveson (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Mark Canha, 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Chris Hatcher (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Reds | Adam Duvall, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `Cardinals | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Simon Castro (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cubs' Jake Arrieta, pitching no-hitter, tops players for Sunday, Aug. 30, rises to 2nd in player rankings
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, pitching a no-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Sunday, Aug. 30 and rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 30.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 19.1 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.7 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 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 |
Also Sunday, Michael Cuddyer of the Mets extended to 12 the number of consecutive seasons in which he’s earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Player of the Day—Arrieta struck out 12 and walked one, pitching the complete-game no-hitter, shutting out the Dodgers, 2-0.
Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.1 for the season and rising to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He trails overall leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Derek Holland pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 6-0 win over the Orioles.
American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 20-6 win over the Braves.
National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit a two-run homer and doubled, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.
Streak—Michael Cuddyer of the Mets has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Cuddyer (3-3 2R BI in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Cuddyer earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Twins. His best year was 2013 with the Rockies when he had 11.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among NL batters. In 2014, he had 3.0 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.
Cuddyer has 60.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 209th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks third among active NL outfielders in career Box-Toppers points, behind Matt Holliday of the Cardinals (91.8) and Ryan Braun (77.7).
Trivial—This is the first time this season in which all players in the Box-Toppers top 10 have different Box-Toppers point totals. After the games of Aug. 29, Arrieta and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale both had 17.1 Box-Toppers points, but with Arrieta earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points, each player has a different point total.
Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Holland earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Drew and Werth each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/30 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,17-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| AL | 17.0 | Rangers | Derek Holland (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Twins | Ervin Santana (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 8.0 | Rockies | Jorge De La Rosa (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Yankees | Stephen Drew, 2B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Padres | James Shields (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | Indians | Josh Tomlin (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | White Sox | David Robertson (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | Russell Martin, C | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Brewers | Wily Peralta (W,5-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Nationals | Jayson Werth, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Mets | Michael Cuddyer, LF-1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Kevin Siegrist (S,6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Brandon Guyer, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Pat Venditte (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion tops players for Saturday, Aug. 29, takes Box-Toppers lead among AL batters
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Saturday, Aug. 29 and rises to first place among batters in season Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 29.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 5 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 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 |
Encarnacion hit three home runs, scored four times and drove in nine runs, in the 15-1 win over the Tigers.
Encarnacion earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season. He passes Mike Trout of the Angels (10.0 Box-Toppers points) to take the lead among AL batters. He ranks 24th among all players. He becomes the 28th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, the second batter.
National League Player of the Day—Jay Bruce of the Reds homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-9 win over the Brewers.
AL and NL Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day and NL Player of the Day were batters (Encarnacion and Bruce).
Notable—Aramis Ramirez of the Pirates earned Player of the Game honors and now has 105.8 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 56th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Ramirez (HR 1-4 R 3BI in the 4-3 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He trails 55th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2 Box-Toppers points). Ramirez has 6.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 14th among NL batters.
Debut—Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Morgan (6IP 4H 2R 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut June 21 and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,572nd player to to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Encarnacion earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bruce earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/29 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 5 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | Reds | Jay Bruce, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Athletics | Stephen Vogt, C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Indians | Yan Gomes, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Yankees | Luis Severino (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 3.1 | `Royals | Franklin Morales (MR) (H,8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Stephen Piscotty, LF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Andre Ethier, RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Mike Fiers (W,7-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Phillies | Adam Morgan (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Pirates | Aramis Ramirez, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Nationals | Ian Desmond, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Red Sox | Jean Machi (S,3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Friday, Aug. 28, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Aug. 28 and rises to second place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 28.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 5 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 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 |
Also, Kershaw rises to 16th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 and Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels rises to 35th among all players since 1995.
Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.7 for the season and rising to second place among all players, behind overall leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
Kershaw also has 152.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 16th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Friday, Kershaw passes one player on the “all-time” list, Greg Maddux (151.7 Box-Toppers points). (It should be noted that Maddux made his debut in 1986 and had seven 15-plus win seasons before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995 and so, based on very rough extrapolations, would likely have about 250 career Box-Toppers points.) Kershaw now trails 15th-place player, Barry Bonds (153.2 points).
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 4-1 win over the Orioles.
Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 122.5 for his career, rising to 35th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Friday, Hamels passes Jered Weaver (122.1 Box-Toppers points). He trails 34th-place player Justin Verlander (122.9 points).
This was Hamels first Player of the Game honor since his trade from the Phillies.
Hamels now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks 20th among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Didi Gregorius of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-5, driving in six runs, in the 15-4 win over the Braves.
National League Batter of the Day—Martin Prado of the Marlins homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Nationals.
Notable—In addition to Kershaw and Hamels, one other player with more than 10 Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker (6.1IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 2-0 win over the White Sox). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 21st among all players and 12th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gregorius and Prado each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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
| 8/28 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,11-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| AL | 10.0 | Rangers | Cole Hamels (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | |
| 8.1 | Mariners | Taijuan Walker (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Phillies | Aaron Nola (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Yankees | Didi Gregorius, SS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Brewers | Taylor Jungmann (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | Roberto Osuna (S,16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S,29) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W,9-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Marlins | Martin Prado, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Aaron Hill, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Pirates | Gregory Polanco, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Marlon Byrd, RF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Mets' Jacob deGrom holds Box-Toppers player rankings lead for 5th week, as of Aug. 27
Mets' Jacob deGrom leads player rankings. Yoenis Cespedes takes the lead among NL batters. David Price keeps lead among AL pitchers and Mike Trout still leads AL batters.
Read MorePittsburgh Pirates remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings for 3rd week, as of Aug. 27
Pirates top team rankings for third week. Royals top AL teams. Mets were the hottest team of the week.
Read MoreGiants' 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Tigers' Verlander tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 26; Price, Hernandez rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, pitching a complete-game one-hit shutout, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Aug. 26.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 26.| 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 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 16.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
Verlander now has 122.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 34th place among all players since 1995.
In addition Wednesday:
- Blue Jays pitcher David Price maintained his lead among American League pitchers and his second-place overall rank in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to seventh place in player rankings.
- Two other players besides Verlander who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday have more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Hernandez and Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon.
Player of the Day—Verlander allowed one hit in the ninth inning, striking out nine and walking two, in the 5-0 shutout of the Angels.
Verlander earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 122.9 for his career, rising to 34th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes Jered Weaver (122.1) on the “all-time” list and trails 33rd-ranked player, Gary Sheffield (124.1). Verlander has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 9-4 win over the Phillies.
Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 138.1 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 23rd among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Colon trails 22nd-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.1). Colon has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Barnes of the Rockies homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Escobar of the Twins hit two solo home runs, going 2-for-4, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.
Rankings—Two players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:
- Blue Jays pitcher David Price (6IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 12-4 win over the Rangers) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.1 for the season. He maintains his lead among AL pitchers and is second to overall leader Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (8IP 3H 2R 7K W in the 8-2 win over the Athletics) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.4 for the season, rising to seventh among all players and fourth among AL pitchers. Hernandez, who led all players in Box-Toppers points for much of the season, was in danger in recent days of falling out of Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, falling to 10th place before Wednesday’s Player of the Game honor.
Hernandez also now has 159.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Hernandez trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Hernandez ranks fourth among active players in Box-Toppers points and second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (187.0).
Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to second place in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. McCutchen (HR 2-5 R 4BI in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. He trails NL batting leader Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9 Box-Toppers points).
Debut—Indians pitcher Jeff Manship made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Manship (1IP 0H 0R K W in the 6-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 15, 2009, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,571st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Barnes and Escobar 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
| 8/26 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Tigers | Justin Verlander (W,2-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| NL | 8.0 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W,11-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 7.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Red Sox | Rick Porcello (W,6-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | David Price (W,13-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Brandon Barnes, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Padres | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Giants | Santiago Casilla (S,31) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | Indians | Jeff Manship (MR) (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Orioles | Ryan Flaherty, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S,40) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.2 | Dodgers | Brett Anderson (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Astros' Keuchel tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 25, rises to 6th in player rankings; Cubs' Arrieta rises to 4th
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, Aug. 25 and rises to sixth place in player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning NL Player of the Day honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 25.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 5 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 16.7 |
| 7 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 9 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 10 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
Player of the Day—Keuchel pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 15-1 win over the Yankees.
Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.7 for the season, rising to sixth place in player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind David Price of the Blue Jays and Chris Sale of the White Sox (both with 17.1 Box-Toppers points).
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 8-5 win over the Giants.
Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 17.1 for the season, rising to fourth place in player rankings. He ranks second among NL pitchers behind Jacob deGrom of the Mets (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
American League Batter of the Day—Michael Brantley of the Indians hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-6 win over the Brewers.
National League Batter of the Day—DJ LaMahieu of the Rockies went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 5-1 win over the Braves.
Scoring—Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Brantley and LeMahieu 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
| 8/25 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,15-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| NL | 8.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,16-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Indians | Michael Brantley, LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `White Sox | Zach Duke (MR) (H,21) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | Mets | Jeurys Familia (S,34) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Erick Aybar, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dodgers | Jimmy Rollins, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Miguel Sano, DH | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Roberto Osuna (S,15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Austin Jackson, CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Marlins | Justin Bour, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Yankees' Nathan Eovaldi (8IP 0R 7K) tops players for Monday, Aug. 24
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 24.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 24.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
Also Monday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earned Player of the Game honors, giving him 118.1 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 38th place among all players since 1995.
Player of the Day—Eovaldi pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 1-0 win over the Astros. Eovaldi picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because he exited with the game tied 0-0.
National League Player of the Day—Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing four hits, in the 5-2 win over the Marlins.
National League Batter of the Day—Wilmer Flores of the Mets homered twice, doubled and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 16-7 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Rusney Castillo of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and a two-run double and went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the White Sox.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose to 38th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (8IP 4H 0R 6K ND in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 118.1 for his career. With his point Monday, he passed two players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list—Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7). He trails 37th-place player Cliff Lee (119.1).
Lester also had the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of any of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Lester has 9.0 Box-Toppers points for the season and ranks 33rd among all players on the season, 15th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Eovaldi earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Flores and Castillo each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/24 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | `Yankees | Nathan Eovaldi | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| NL | 7.0 | Pirates | J.A. Happ (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 5.2 | `Cubs | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Mets | Wilmer Flores, 2B | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Rusney Castillo, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Reds | Eugenio Suarez, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Jonny Gomes, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Omar Infante, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Cardinals | Matt Carpenter, 3B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Mets' Logan Verrett (8IP R 4H 8K) tops players for Sunday, Aug. 23
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Mets pitcher Logan Verrett is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Sunday, Aug. 23.
Verrett struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 5-1 win over the Rockies.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
American League Player of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays homered and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-5 win over the Angels.
Encarnacion earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season, rising to third among AL batters, behind Mike Trout of the Angels (10.0 Box-Toppers points) and Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays (9.9 points).
National League Batter of the Day—Stephen Piscotty of the Cardinals homered twice, hit a triple and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 10-3 win over the Padres.
This was Piscotty’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Piscotty made his Major League debut July 21 and was playing in his 30th career game. He is the 3,570th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall AL Player of the Day is a batter, Edwin Encarnacion.
Notable—Kris Bryant of the Cubs had the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Bryant (2HR 3-4 4R 3BI in the 9-3 win over the Braves) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 42nd among all players and fourth among NL batters.
Debut—In addition to Piscotty, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday—Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola had his first career Player of the Game honor. Nola (8IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut July 21 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,569th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Nola had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, the same as Mets pitcher Logan Verrett, Sunday’s overall Player of the Day. But Verrett won Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he had more strikeouts than Nola—eight vs. six.
Scoring—Verrett earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Encarnacion earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Piscotty earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/23 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Mets | Logan Verrett (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | Phillies | Aaron Nola (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Cardinals | Stephen Piscotty, LF-RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Cubs | Kris Bryant, 3B | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | `Athletics | Kendall Graveman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.1 | Indians | Cody Allen (S,26) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Anthony Rendon, 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Tommy Milone (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Astros | Lance McCullers | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S,39) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Chris Gimenez, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.2 | Dbacks | Chase Anderson (W,6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Blue Jays' Josh Donaldson (HR 2B 4-5 3R 6BI) tops players for Saturday, Aug. 22
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Saturday, Aug. 22.
Donaldson homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 15-3 win over the Angels.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 22.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
Donaldson earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.9 for the season and rises to second among American League batters, behind Mike Trout of the Angels (10.0 Box-Toppers points). Donaldson ranks 28th among all players.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Ian Kennedy pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing seven hits, in the 8-0 win over the Cardinals.
National League Batter of the Day—Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks hit two home runs and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-7 win over the Reds.
Goldschmidt earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season and rises to sixth place among NL batters. He ranks 55th among all players.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Josh Donaldson.
Notable—Two players with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points on the season earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:
- Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 14.0 Box-Toppers points. Cole (7IP 3H R 8K ND in the 3-2 win over the Giants) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday and ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
- Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir rose to 17th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 12.7 Box-Toppers points. Kazmir (6IP 6H R 8K W in the 3-1 win over the Dodgers) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday and ranks ninth among AL pitchers.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Yankees pitcher Luis Severino (6IP 3H R 6K W in the 6-2 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Aug. 5 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,567th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Darnell Sweeney of the Phillies (HR 1-1 R BI in the 4-2 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Aug. 20 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,568th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Donaldson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kennedy earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Goldschmidt earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/22 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 8.0 | Padres | Ian Kennedy (W,8-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 8.0 | `Pirates | Gerrit Cole | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Dbacks | Paul Goldschmidt, 1B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Astros | Scott Kazmir (W,7-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | Rays | Alex Colome (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Michael Taylor, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | Luis Severino (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W,8-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.1 | Twins | Casey Fien (MR) (W,4-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Curtis Granderson, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Darnell Sweeney, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Nate Jones (MR) (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Hector Rondon (S,23) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Astros' Mike Fiers pitches no-hitter, tops players for Friday, Aug. 21; Price, Sale rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, pitching a no-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Aug. 21.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 21.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
Also Friday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third. Plus, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets took the lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers points.
Player of the Day—Fiers threw 134 pitches in the 3-0 no-hitter over the Dodgers. He struck out 10 and walked three.
Fiers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season. They were his first Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Brewers.
National League Player of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit three home runs—a grand-slam, a two-run homer and a solo shot—in the 14-9 win over the Rockies. Cespedes also hit a double and went 5-for-6, scoring five times and driving in seven runs.
Cespedes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 9.9 for the season and rising to first among NL batters. He passes previous leader Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5 Box-Toppers points). Cespedes has 3.2 of his Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Tigers.
American League Batter of the Day—Blake Swihart of the Red Sox doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Royals.
This was Swihart’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Swihart made his Major League debut May 2 and was playing in his 59th career game. He is the 3,565th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is a batter—Yoenis Cespedes.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:
- Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to second place. Price (8IP 6H 2R 9K W in the 9-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.1 for the season. He maintains his lead among AL pitchers and trails only Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
- White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place. Sale (7IP 4H 3R 14K W in the 11-4 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.1 for the season. While he has the same 2015 Box-Toppers point total as Price, he loses the tie-breaker and ranks second among AL pitchers because he had fewer points than Price in 2014—17.4 vs. 19.1.
Notable—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (6IP 5H R 11K W in the 7-3 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.0 for the season. He ranks 12th among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.
Debut—In addition to Swihart, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Friday—Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff (6IP 5H 0R 5K W in the 7-1 win over the Marlins), who also was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,566th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Fiers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cespedes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Swihart earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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
| 8/21 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | Astros | Mike Fiers (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| NL | 11.0 | Mets | Yoenis Cespedes, CF-LF | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 9.2 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W,12-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 7.0 | Padres | Andrew Cashner (W,5-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Blue Jays | David Price (W,12-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Blake Swihart, C | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Phillies | Jerad Eickhoff (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Twins | Kevin Jepsen (S,6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | A.J. Pollock, CF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Shawn Tolleson (S,24) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Kyle Lohse (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Jason Motte (MR) (W,8-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.2 | Rays | Drew Smyly (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Marlon Byrd, RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Mets' Jacob deGrom holds Box-Toppers player rankings lead for 4th week, as of Aug. 20
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