Rangers' Yu Darvish tops players for Friday, Sept. 30; Cardinals' Martinez tops NL players

Shawn Plank October 1, 2016

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 30:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	16.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Darvish struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Rays.

Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season. He becomes the 50th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to 47th place among all players, 19th among American League pitchers.

This is Darvish’s fourth season with 10 or more points. In 2012, he had 16.8 points, in 2013—16.0 and in 2014—12.5. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 and did not play.

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Pirates.

Martinez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday. Martinez ranks 29th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Ben Zobrist of the Cubs hit two home runs, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Francisco Lindor of the Indians hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, scoring twice, in the 7-2 win over the Royals.

Notable—David Ortiz of the Red Sox rises to 23rd place in career Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Ortiz (HR 2-4 R 3BI in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 145.9 for his career. With his point Friday, he passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 22nd-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7). Ortiz now rises to seventh place among active players in career Box-Toppers points. He has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 18th among AL batters. Ortiz is retiring after this season.

Debut—Angels pitcher Daniel Wright made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Wright (6IP 6H R 0BB 5K W in the 7-1 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut May 24 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,753rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Martinez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Zobrist and Lindor each earn 1.5 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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/30
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    TEX 3, TB 1
    Yu Darvish (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    12
  

    NL
    10.0
    STL 7, PIT 0
    Carlos Martinez (W,16-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    5.2
    DET 6, ATL 2
    Daniel Norris (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    BAT
    5.0
    CHC 7, CIN 3
    Ben Zobrist, 2B-LF
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    SF 9, LAD 3
    Brandon Belt, 1B
    3
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    CLE 7, KC 2
    Francisco Lindor, SS
    2
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CHW 7, MIN 3
    Carlos Rodon (W,9-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    3
    2
    3
    10
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 8, NYY 1
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 5, PHI 1
    Jay Bruce, RF
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 5, OAK 1
    Robinson Cano, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 7, WSH 4
    Christian Yelich, CF
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 7, HOU 1
    Daniel Wright (W,1-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    3.0
    COL 4, MIL 1
    Adam Ottavino (S,7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 5, TOR 3
    David Ortiz, DH
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    ARI 5, SD 3
    Chris Owings, SS
    3
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	12.4	26.1	27.1	27.1	-1.3
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	10.4	10.4	55.6	55.6	10.4
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	8.5	11.7	31.7	58.8	5.3
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	8.0	16.1	16.1	16.1	-0.1
Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	8.0	14.5	43.5	75.4	1.5
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.0	12.5	43.9	145.9	3.5
Belt, Brandon 2943	1b	sf nl	7.0	8.5	20.5	20.5	5.5
Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	cle al	7.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	6.0
Yelich, Christian 3334	lf cf	fla nl	5.5	8.0	15.5	15.5	3.0
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	4.5	7.0	9.5	9.5	2.0
Zobrist, Ben 2216	2b rf lf	chi nl	4.0	5.0	23.0	32.0	3.0
Ottavino, Adam 3054	pi cp	col nl	3.0	5.0	7.0	7.0	1.0
Owings, Chris 3347	ss cf	ari nl	3.0	4.0	6.5	6.5	2.0
Norris, Daniel 3548	pi sp	det al	2.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	-2.0
Wright, Daniel 3753	pi sp	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Orioles' Ubaldo Jimenez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 29; Giants' Cueto rises to 8th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank September 30, 2016

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 29:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	16.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Also Thursday, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Jimenez pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, three walks and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out five, in the 9-4 win over the Padres. Urias did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game in a scoreless tie and did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win.

American League Batter of the Day—Byron Buxton of the Twins tripled, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-6 win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Cueto (7IP 9H 2R BB 11K W in the 7-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia extends his career Box-Toppers points lead among active players after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Sabathia (7.1IP 4H R 2BB 8K W in the 5-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 185.0 career points, most among active players, just ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (183.7). Sabathia ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fourth-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). (See the updated top 20 list of player career points rankings on the homepage.) Sabathia has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, now his best season since 2012 with the Yankees when he had 15.1 points.

Also notable—Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova earned Player of the Game honors Thursday in Major League Baseball’s first tie game in more than a decade.

Nova (5.1IP 4H R 0BB 5K ND in the 1-1, six-inning tie versus the Cubs) earned Player of the Game because he had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+4.1) of any player on either team. The highest-ranked Cubs player was starting pitcher Rob Zastryzny (3.2IP 2H R 2BB 4K ND, Box-Toppers game score +2.2).

Rain forced the game’s delay and it was eventually suspended and declared a tie—with player statistics counting—since the outcome would not affect either team in the standings. It is the first tie since June 30, 2005, when the Astros and Reds tied, 2-2. Player of the Game that day was shortstop Felipe Lopez of the Reds.

Weekly reports—Friday’s usual Box-Toppers team rankings and player rankings reports will be delayed until Monday, after the final games of the season are played.

Scoring—Jimenez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urias earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Buxton earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/29
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.2
    BAL 4, TOR 0
    Ubaldo Jimenez (W,8-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    1
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    7.1
    NYY 5, BOS 1
    CC Sabathia (W,9-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    5.1
    `SEA 3, OAK 2
    Ariel Miranda
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    NL
    5.0
    `LAD 9, SD 4
    Julio Urias
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    4.1
    `PIT 1, CHC 1 (6)*
    Ivan Nova (Pirates)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    4.0
    SF 7, COL 2
    Johnny Cueto (W,18-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    9
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    BAT
    3.0
    MIN 7, KC 6
    Byron Buxton, CF
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `ATL 5, PHI 2
    Josh Collmenter
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    2.0
    `WSH 5, ARI 3
    Joe Ross
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    2.0
    TB 5, CHW 3
    Alex Colome (S,36)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    `STL 4, CIN 3
    Alex Reyes
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

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

    
    
    * Game ends in official tie with statistics counting toward players' totals.
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	16.4	29.2	80.4	99.8	3.6
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	9.0	14.0	17.7	17.7	4.0
Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	8.0	9.0	30.1	31.1	7.0
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	6.0	11.7	46.5	185.0	0.3
Urias, Julio 3652	pi sp	lad nl	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	4.7	13.4	41.6	79.5	-4.0
Buxton, Byron 3604	cf	min al	4.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	3.7
Reyes, Alex 3706	pi sp mr	stl nl	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999	pi cp mr sp	bos al	3.0	3.0	12.7	12.7	3.0
Miranda, Ariel 3738	pi sp	sea al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Collmenter, Josh 2863	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	4.0	34.0	34.0	-2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rockies' Tyler Chatwood tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 28; White Sox' Gonzalez tops AL players

Shawn Plank September 29, 2016

Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 28:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7
8	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Chatwood pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out five, in the 1-0 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—John Jaso of the Pirates hit for the cycle (single, double, triple and three-run homer) in the 8-4 win over the Cubs. Jaso went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gomez of the Rangers hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning, three-run homer in the 8-5 win over the Brewers. Gomez also doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice. This was the second straight day Gomez earned Player of the Game honors. He has 4.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 2.5 earned in the past two days.

Notable—Two batters with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (HR 2-3 R 3BI in the 6-3, five-inning win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 144.9 for his career. He rises to 23rd among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing two players on the “all-time” list—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0) and David Ortiz of the Red Sox (144.9). (Though Ortiz and Cabrera are tied, Cabrera holds the tiebreaker and ranks higher because he has more 2016 Box-Toppers points—12 vs. 7.) Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7). Cabrera also rises from ninth to seventh place in career points among active players, second among active batters behind only Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3).

Cabrera also has the highest season Box-Toppers point total (12.0) of any of the 15 who earnedPlayer of the Game honors Wednesday. Cabrera ranks 31st among all players, fourth among AL batters, behind Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7), Mike Trout of the Angels (12.5) and Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5).

Mark Teixeira of the Yankees (GS 1-3 R 4BI in the 5-3 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 101.3 for his career. Teixeira rises to 70th place among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7) and Jason Schmidt (101.2). He trails 69th-ranked player Tim Wakefield (101.4). Teixeria, who is retiring at season’s end, has 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.

Also notable—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres, who made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Wednesday, one of two players who earned Box-Toppers points two days in a row. (The other was AL Batter of the Day Carlos Gomez.)

Renfroe (HR 2-4 2R 4BI in the 6-5 win over the Dodgers) now has 2.5 Box-Toppers points.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with their first career Player of the Game honors:

Dansby Swanson of the Braves (3B 2B 2-3 3R 2BI in the 12-2 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 17 and was playing in his 34th career game. He is the 3,751st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Angels pitcher A.J. Achter (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 8-6 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Sept. 3, 2014, and was playing in his 44th career game. He is the 3,752nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Chatwood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gonzalez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Jaso and Gomez each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/28
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    COL 2, SF 0
    Tyler Chatwood (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    AL
    10.1
    CHW 1, TB 0
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    3
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    7.0
    PIT 8, CHC 4
    John Jaso, 1B
    4
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `KC 5, MIN 2
    Jason Vargas
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    TEX 8, MIL 5
    Carlos Gomez, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 6, LAD 5
    Hunter Renfroe, RF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ATL 12, PHI 2
    Dansby Swanson, SS
    3
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ARI 3, WSH 0 (6)
    Shelby Miller (W,3-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 12, HOU 4
    Leonys Martin, CF
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 6, CLE 3 (5)
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 5, BOS 3
    Mark Teixeira, 1B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 3, TOR 2
    Hyun Soo Kim, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 5, MIA 2
    Jeurys Familia (S,50)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 8, OAK 6
    A.J. Achter (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 2, STL 1
    Raisel Iglesias (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    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.
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	12.0	16.7	65.3	144.9	7.3
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	9.1	15.8	37.9	37.9	2.4
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	8.0	16.0	16.0	16.0	0.0
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	7.0	7.0	16.7	16.7	7.0
Jaso, John 2705	1b	pit nl	5.5	5.5	10.5	16.5	5.5
Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf	tex al	4.5	10.5	21.0	32.0	-1.5
Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	4.0	11.5	32.2	101.3	-3.5
Iglesias, Raisel 3467	pi sp cp	cin nl	3.0	5.7	5.7	5.7	0.3
Renfroe, Hunter 3749	rf	sd nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	ari nl	2.0	12.0	38.1	38.1	-8.0
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	bal al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	1.0	2.0	35.5	47.2	0.0
Martin, Leonys 3053	cf	sea al	1.0	1.0	7.5	7.5	1.0
Achter, A.J. 3752	pi mr	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Swanson, Dansby 3751	ss	atl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Justin Verlander tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 27; Nationals' Scherzer extends Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank September 28, 2016

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 27:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7
8	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. But Scherzer (25.7 Box-Toppers points) is now just 1.3 points ahead of second-place player Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.4), meaning Kershaw could still pass Scherzer for the season points title in his scheduled start Saturday. The season ends Sunday.

In addition Tuesday, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Verlander pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 12-0 win over the Indians.

Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.7 for the season, rising to 12th place among all players and fourth place among American League pitchers.

Verlander also rises to 28th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he now has 139.3 points, passing 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). He trails 27th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Moore struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 12-3 win over the Rockies.

Moore earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He becomes the 49th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to 33rd place among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in the 7-1 win over the Dodgers. Renfroe went 2-for-4.

This was Renfroe’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Renfroe made his Major League debut Sept. 21 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,749th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Tim Anderson of the White Sox homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-6 win over the Rays.

Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer’s 2016 point total of 25.7 now is tied for the 20th-best in a single season. 
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Rank
    Player
    Team
    Pos
    Year
    BTP
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2000
    33.7
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    33.7
  

    3
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2000
    33.5
  

    4
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    1999
    31.5
  

    4
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2014
    31.5
  

    6
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    1999
    31.4
  

    7
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2001
    29.4
  

    8
    Jake Arrieta
    Cubs
    pi sp
    2015
    29.1
  

    9
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2002
    28.8
  

    10
    Curt Schilling
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    28.4
  

    11
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1997
    27.4
  

    12
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2004
    26.8
  

    13
    Pedro Martinez
    Expos
    pi sp
    1997
    26.7
  

    13
    CC Sabathia
    Indians/Brewers
    pi sp
    2008
    26.7
  

    15
    Randy Johnson
    Mariners/Astros
    pi sp
    1998
    26.4
  

    16
    John Smoltz
    Braves
    pi sp
    1996
    26.1
  

    16
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2011
    26.1
  

    18
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1998
    25.8
  

    18
    Corey Kluber
    Indians
    pi sp
    2014
    25.8
  

    20
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2006
    25.7
  

    20
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2015
    25.7
  

    20
    *Max Scherzer
    Nationals
    pi sp
    2016
    25.7
  

    23
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    
    * Current season
  
 

Box-Toppers points leader—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his lead in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Scherzer now has 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 23rd time in Box-Toppers’ 22-season history that a player has earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a season.

Scherzer (6IP 6H 2R 2BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) is now 1.3 points ahead of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.4). Kershaw is scheduled to start Saturday, meaning he could pass Scherzer if he earns NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7 points) or overall Player of the Day (worth 2.0 points). However, Scherzer is also in line to make his final start of the season Sunday.

Scherzer took the Box-Toppers points lead from Kershaw on Aug. 25. Kershaw had been in the lead since May 7 and raced to a commanding lead with 20.0 points by the end of June, but went on the disabled list for two months after that, allowing Scherzer to catch and pass him.

Scherzer’s 25.7 points now ranks tied for 20th among the highest single-season Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Two other players achieved 25.7 in a single season—Johan Santana of the Twins in 2006 and Kershaw in 2015. (See the Best seasons chart.)

Scherzer also now has 131.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4).

Rankings—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Syndergaard (6IP 5H R 0BB 8K W in the 12-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.7 for the season, passing Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (15.7) on the season top 10 list and now trails sixth-place player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (17.8). Syndergaard ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco now has 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Nolasco (8IP 5H R 2BB 4K W in the 8-1 win over the Athletics) ranks 32nd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.

Debut—Raul A. Mondesi of the Royals made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Mondesi (BB R 0-0 in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Oct. 30, 2015, and was playing in his 46th career game. He is the 3,750th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Mondesi is the son of outfielder Raul R. Mondesi, who played from 1993 to 2005. The elder Mondesi earned 59.9 career Box-Toppers points from 1995, when tracking began, through 2003, when he last earned points.

Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moore earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Renfroe and Anderson each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/27
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.2
    DET 12, CLE 0
    Justin Verlander (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    12
  

    NL
    10.2
    SF 12, COL 3
    Matt Moore (W,12-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    BAT
    7.0
    SD 7, LAD 1
    Hunter Renfroe, RF
    4
    2
    2
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    NYM 12, MIA 1
    Noah Syndergaard (W,14-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    6.0
    TOR 5, BAL 1
    Aaron Sanchez (W,14-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    3
    10
  

    
    5.0
    STL 12, CIN 5
    Jhonny Peralta, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    LAA 8, OAK 1
    Ricky Nolasco (W,8-14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 4, ARI 2
    Max Scherzer (W,19-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    10
  

    BAT
    3.0
    CHW 13, TB 6
    Tim Anderson, SS
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 7, PHI 6
    Tyler Flowers, C
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 6, BOS 4
    Tyler Austin, 1B
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 8, SEA 4
    George Springer, RF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `CHC 6, PIT 4
    Trevor Cahill (H,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 6, MIL 4
    Carlos Gomez, LF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    KC 4, MIN 3 (11)
    Raul Mondesi, 2B
    0
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7	46.7	111.3	131.7	4.7
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7	27.1	27.1	27.1	6.3
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	14.7	21.1	84.3	139.3	8.3
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	11.4	13.4	34.1	87.2	9.4
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	11.4	11.4	36.9	36.9	11.4
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	tor al	9.7	11.7	13.7	13.7	7.7
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	6.5	7.5	10.5	10.5	5.5
Anderson, Tim 3659	ss	chi al	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf cf	tex al	3.0	9.0	19.5	30.5	-3.0
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr sp	chi nl	3.0	4.0	27.1	40.2	2.0
Flowers, Tyler 3101	ca	atl nl	2.5	3.5	11.0	11.0	1.5
Austin, Tyler 3732	1b	nyy al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Renfroe, Hunter 3749	rf	sd nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Peralta, Jhonny 1815	3b ss	stl nl	1.0	1.0	12.0	39.4	1.0
Mondesi, Raul A. 3750	2b	kc al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Reds' Adam Duvall tops players for Monday, Sept. 26; Angels' Weaver tops AL players

Shawn Plank September 27, 2016

Adam Duvall of the Reds is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 26:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Duvall hit two homers, including a three-run shot, in the 15-2 win over the Cardinals. Duvall went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in five runs.

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out three, in the 2-1 win over the Athletics. Weaver did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Athletics tied the game after he exited.

Weaver earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 127.8 for his career, rising to 35th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes Roy Oswalt (127.2) and A.J. Burnett (127.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 34th-ranked player Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). Weaver has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, his lowest point total in his 11-year career.

American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit two homers and a double in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Astros. Cano went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.

Cano earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, the highest point total of any of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. He ranks 20th among AL batters.

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

Kluber—Corey Kluber, ranked fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings, started in the Indians’ win Monday but failed to earn Player of the Game honors.

Kluber (4IP 5H 2R BB 3K ND in the 7-4 win over the Tigers) had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0. Player of the Game was middle reliever Andrew Miller (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 4K W) who had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.2.

Kluber has 21.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, fifth among all players and first among AL players.

Streak—Justin Morneau of the White Sox has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Monday.

Morneau (HR 2-3 R 3BI in the 7-1 win over the Rays) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Twins and has 74.3 career points, fourth among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2006 with the Twins, when he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.

Scoring—Duvall earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Weaver earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cano earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/26
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    CIN 15, STL 2
    Adam Duvall, LF
    6
    4
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    MIL 8, TEX 3
    Jonathan Villar, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    6.0
    `LAA 2, OAK 1
    Jered Weaver
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    5.0
    ARI 14, WSH 4
    Zack Godley (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.2
    CLE 7, DET 4
    Andrew Miller (W,10-1; H,24)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 12, PIT 2
    Javier Baez, 2B-SS
    5
    1
    2
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    SEA 4, HOU 3 (11)
    Robinson Cano, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 7, NYM 3
    Justin Bour, 1B
    3
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 7, TB 1
    Justin Morneau, DH
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 7, TOR 5
    Adam Warren (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	7.0	13.5	42.5	74.4	0.5
Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp mr	cle al	7.0	11.0	15.0	22.0	3.0
Duvall, Adam 3573	lf	cin nl	6.5	8.0	8.0	8.0	5.0
Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	4.7	12.4	67.0	127.8	-3.0
Villar, Jonathan 3233	ss 2b ph	mil nl	4.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	4.0
Warren, Adam 3169	pi mr	nyy al	3.0	6.7	10.7	10.7	-0.7
Bour, Justin 3433	1b ph	fla nl	2.5	11.0	12.5	12.5	-6.0
Baez, Javier 3395	2b ss	chi nl	2.0	2.0	4.5	4.5	2.0
Godley, Zack 3538	pi mr sp	ari nl	1.0	4.7	4.7	4.7	-2.7
Morneau, Justin 1900	dh 1b	chi al	1.0	3.0	19.7	74.3	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Jose Fernandez 1992-2016: Most prominent player to die in Box-Toppers’ 22 seasons

Shawn Plank September 26, 2016

No player so highly ranked (or so promising) has died in Box-Toppers’ 22-season history. Fernandez ranked 3rd in Box-Toppers points but ranked 1st among players in improvement over 2015 with a 17.7-point gain.

White Sox' Carlos Rodon tops players for Sunday, Sept. 25; Cubs' Lester rises to 4th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank September 26, 2016

White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 25:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Also Sunday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Plus, Sunday: Jose Fernandez, 24, died in a Miami boating accident. Two of his friends also died. The Miami Marlins pitcher ranked third in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 22.4 Box-Toppers points. Box-Toppers will have more on Fernandez in a coming, separate post.

Player of the Day—Rodon struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and walking three, in the 3-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Robert Gsellman struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 17-0 win over the Phillies.

This was Gsellman’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Gsellman made his Major League debut Aug. 23 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,748th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Alex Gordon of the Royals hit a homer and two doubles, going 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-9 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit a game-tying, eighth-inning, pinch-hit, two-run homer in the 10-7 win over the Pirates.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Lester (6.2IP 3H 0R BB 7K W in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season.

Lester now has 143.2 career Box-Toppers points, 26th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 25th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (143.9) on the “all-time” list.

Scoring—Rodon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gsellman earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Gordon and Werth each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/25
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    CHW 3, CLE 0
    Carlos Rodon (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    11
  

    
    11.1
    `BOS 3, TB 2 (10)
    Eduardo Rodriguez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    13
  

    NL
    10.0
    NYM 17, PHI 0
    Robert Gsellman (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    
    9.2
    CHC 3, STL 1
    Jon Lester (W,19-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    7.0
    KC 12, DET 9
    Alex Gordon, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    7.0
    OAK 7, TEX 1
    Jharel Cotton (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    6.0
    `TOR 4, NYY 3
    Marco Estrada
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    CIN 4, MIL 2
    Brandon Finnegan (W,10-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 2, ARI 1
    Dylan Bundy (W,10-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 4, MIN 3
    Nelson Cruz, DH
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    WSH 10, PIT 7
    Jayson Werth, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    `LAD 4, COL 3 (10)
    Brandon McCarthy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 4, LAA 1
    Joe Musgrove (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    1.2
    SD 4, SF 3
    Brad Hand (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    0.0
    stl-chc
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1	34.1	80.3	143.2	10.1
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	11.0	19.0	43.1	43.1	3.0
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	7.0	15.1	15.1	15.1	-1.1
Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	7.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	4.0
Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224	dh	sea al	6.5	8.5	34.2	53.7	4.5
Werth, Jayson 1664	lf	dc nl	6.0	9.0	23.0	50.2	3.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	bal al	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
Hand, Brad 2907	pi mr	sd nl	5.0	6.0	10.0	10.0	4.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	bos al	4.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	-1.3
Musgrove, Joe 3705	pi sp	hou al	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
McCarthy, Brandon 2082	pi sp	lad nl	2.7	4.7	27.8	36.5	0.7
Cotton, Jharel 3733	pi sp	oak al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Gsellman, Robert 3748	pi sp	nym nl	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Gordon, Alex 2328	lf	kc al	1.5	6.0	22.0	31.5	-3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' Darvish tops players for Saturday, Sept. 24; Kershaw edges closer to '16 Box-Toppers leader Scherzer, rises to 6th in career points, passing Pujols

Shawn Plank September 25, 2016

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 24:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw edged to within 0.3 points of season Box-Toppers points leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, after earning National League Player of the Day. Kershaw also rises to sixth place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, passing Albert Pujols of the Angels.

Player of the Day—Darvish struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Athletics.

National League Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six and walking none in the 14-1 win over the Rockies.

Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 24.4 for the season. He maintains his rank of second among all players, behind Scherzer (24.7). Kershaw had the chance to regain the points lead if he had earned overall Player of the Day honors, worth 2.0 Box-Toppers points. While he would have tied Scherzer at 24.7 points, Kershaw held the tiebreaker—he had more 2015 Box-Toppers points (25.7 vs. 21.0).

Kershaw led in Box-Toppers points much of the season (from May 7 to Aug. 24) despite being on the disabled list nearly two months from late June to late August. Kershaw had 20.0 Box-Toppers points when he went on the disabled list in late June. Scherzer passed him on Aug. 25 with 20.7 points.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	184.0
6	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	183.7
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	168.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	156.1
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (as of July 15, 2016's All-Star break)

Kershaw also now has 183.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails fifth-ranked player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (184.0), by just 0.3 points. Sabathia is the active leader in points and Kershaw now rises to second among active players.

Kershaw had passed Pujols earlier this season to rise to sixth place in career points but after Kershaw went on the disabled list, Pujols regained the sixth-place spot. On June 11, Kershaw passed Pujols with 176.3 points, but on July 25, Pujols regained sixth place with 180.3 points. Kershaw, now with 183.7 points, reclaims sixth place.

National League Batter of the Day—Yadier Molina of the Cardinals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the Cubs.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Trout of the Angels doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Astros.

Trout earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 12.5 for the season. He rises to 25th among all players and second among AL batters, behind Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7).

Notable—Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello earned his league-leading 22nd win of the season Saturday but did not earn Player of the Game honors. While he leads in wins, he has just 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 82nd among all players and 29th among AL pitchers. (From Sept. 17: Why does wins leader Rick Porcello have so few Box-Toppers points?)

Porcello (6.1IP 8H 3R BB 9K W in the 6-4 win over the Rays) had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +0.1. Player of the Game was Dustin Pedroia (HR 2-4 R 4BI) who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0. Pedroia has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season—4.0 of them have been earned in a game in which Porcello has earned the win.

Scoring—Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kershaw earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Molina and Trout each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/24
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    TEX 5, OAK 0
    Yu Darvish (W,6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    10.2
    BAL 6, ARI 1
    Wade Miley (W,9-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    7
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    NL
    10.0
    LAD 14, COL 1
    Clayton Kershaw (W,12-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    8.0
    `TOR 3, NYY 0
    Marcus Stroman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    6.1
    WSH 6, PIT 1
    Reynaldo Lopez (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    STL 10, CHC 4
    Yadier Molina, C
    4
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    LAA 10, HOU 4
    Mike Trout, CF
    3
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PHI 10, NYM 8
    Darin Ruf, LF
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 6, TB 4
    Dustin Pedroia, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIN 3, SEA 2
    Tyler Duffey (W,9-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    4
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 6, ATL 4
    A.J. Ramos (S,39)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    CIN 6, MIL 1
    Dan Straily (W,14-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    CHW 8, CLE 1
    Carlos Sanchez, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    KC 7, DET 4
    Kendrys Morales, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    SF 9, SD 6 (10)
    Kelby Tomlinson, 2B
    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.
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4	50.1	150.2	183.7	-1.3
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	12.5	24.5	49.0	49.0	0.5
Morales, Kendrys 2142	dh	kc al	8.5	13.2	23.2	39.2	3.8
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	8.4	8.4	53.6	53.6	8.4
Duffey, Tyler 3558	pi sp	min al	7.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	3.0
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	cin nl	7.0	7.0	17.7	17.7	7.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	6.7	9.4	23.1	23.1	4.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	bal al	6.0	13.0	36.4	36.4	-1.0
Molina, Yadier 1967	ca ph	stl nl	4.0	5.0	17.7	34.7	3.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	bos al	4.0	4.0	24.4	36.5	4.0
Tomlinson, Kelby 3619	2b ph	sf nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Ramos, A.J. 3210	pi cp	fla nl	2.0	7.0	12.0	12.0	-3.0
Lopez, Reynaldo 3712	pi sp mr	dc nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Sanchez, Carlos 3589	2b	chi al	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Ruf, Darin 3575	lf	phi nl	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Friday, Sept. 23, rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 24, 2016

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 23:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his spot of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for the season, rising to seventh place in season player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers.

With Arrieta rising back into Box-Toppers top 10 list, he displaces Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (14.7 points) from the list, who falls to 11th.

Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1. This was Arrieta’s first Player of the Game honor in a month—he was Player of the Day on Aug. 23.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher James Paxton struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 10-1 win over the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians homered, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-2 win over the Giants.

Myers earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL batters, 1.0 point behind leader Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7).

Rankings—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his rank of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Hamels (7IP 6H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.8 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (21.2).

Hamels now has 144.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (143.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz of the Red Sox (144.9). Hamels also rises to eighth place in career points among active players.

Hamels has earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and in each season has earned 10 or more points. The 17.8 points he’s earned in 2016 is his best season; his previous best was 2011 with the Phillies when he had 15.8.

Notable—Two other players who have more than 10 Box-Toppers points for the season earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer (7IP 8H R 0BB 9K W in the 8-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He ranks 23rd among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
Red Sox pitcher Drew Pomeranz (5IP 4H R 0BB 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 28th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.

Also notable—Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano now has 103.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Liriano (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K in the 9-0 win over the Yankees) rises to 66th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing Miguel Tejada (102.3) on the “all-time” list. He trails 65th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Liriano has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 24th among AL pitchers.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

Rafael Ortega of the Angels (PH 2B 1-1 3BI in the 10-6 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut Sept. 30, 2012, and was playing in his 60th career game. He is the 3,746th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Alen Hanson of the Pirates (2-3 2R in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut May 16 and was playing in his 18th career game. He is the 3,747th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Paxton earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Myers each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/23
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    CHC 5, STL 0
    Jake Arrieta (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    AL
    9.0
    SEA 10, MIN 1
    James Paxton (W,5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    7.0
    TOR 9, NYY 0
    Francisco Liriano (W,8-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    DET 8, KC 3
    Michael Fulmer (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    6.0
    TEX 3, OAK 0
    Cole Hamels (W,15-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    5.2
    NYM 10, PHI 5
    Hansel Robles (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CLE 10, CHW 4
    Jose Ramirez, 3B
    5
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    SD 7, SF 2
    Wil Myers, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 10, HOU 6
    Rafael Ortega, PH
    1
    0
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 2, TB 1
    Drew Pomeranz (W,11-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 5, COL 2
    Ross Stripling (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.0
    `BAL 3, ARI 2 (12)
    Mychal Givens
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 3, MIA 2
    Brandon Cunniff (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    MIL 5, CIN 4
    Chris Carter, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PIT 6, WSH 5 (11)
    Alen Hanson, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8	33.2	84.8	144.0	2.4
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7	44.8	72.5	75.5	-13.4
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	bos al	12.4	15.4	23.4	23.4	9.4
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	9.7	12.7	18.2	18.2	6.7
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	9.5	10.5	28.4	29.4	8.5
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	tor al	8.0	22.9	63.4	103.2	-6.9
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	4.4	5.4	11.1	11.1	3.4
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	bal al	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Cunniff, Brandon 3698	pi mr	atl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	cle al	1.5	4.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Robles, Hansel 3580	pi cp	nym nl	1.0	3.7	3.7	3.7	-1.7
Hanson, Alen 3747	2b	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Ortega, Rafael 3746	ph	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

With a week to go, Scherzer leads 5-player race for 2016 Box-Toppers points crown

Shawn Plank September 23, 2016

Nationals pitcher Scherzer leads Box-Toppers points for 5th week. Indians' Kluber secures 2016 Box-Toppers AL pitching crown. Rockies' Arenado takes narrow lead in wide-open race among NL batters.

Chicago Cubs maintain lead in penultimate (and next-to-last) Box-Toppers '16 team rankings report

Shawn Plank September 23, 2016

Cubs continue lead among teams in Box-Toppers rankings. Red Sox, hottest team of the week, rise to 2nd and continue lead among AL. Dodgers fall to 3rd.

Giants' Jeff Samardzija tops players for Thursday, Sept. 22; Tigers' Verlander tops AL players

Shawn Plank September 23, 2016

Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 22:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Padres.

Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He becomes the 47th player this season with 10 Box-Toppers points and ranks 35th among all players, 18th among National League pitchers. This is the second season Samardzija has reached 10 Box-Toppers points. In 2012, he had 12.7 points with the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 11 over six innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Twins.

Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, most among the 11 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. He ranks 21st among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.

Verlander also now has 137.3 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list.

National League Batter of the Day—Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 7-4 win over the Rockies. Grandal also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3 and driving in four runs, in the 5-2 win over the Royals.

Notable—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco became the 48th player with 10 Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Nolasco (7IP 5H 0R BB 5K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.

This is Nolasco’s fourth season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and his first since 2010. In both 2008 and 2009, he had 16.7 points each season with the Marlins. In 2010, he had 11.7 points, also with the Marlins.

Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Grandal and Santana each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/22
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    SF 2, SD 1
    Jeff Samardzija (W,12-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    BAT
    7.0
    LAD 7, COL 4
    Yasmani Grandal, C
    4
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    7.0
    DET 4, MIN 2
    Justin Verlander (W,15-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    11
  

    
    6.0
    LAA 2, HOU 0
    Ricky Nolasco (W,7-14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    4.2
    MIL 3, PIT 1
    Chase Anderson (W,9-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CLE 5, KC 2
    Carlos Santana, 1B
    3
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    DET 9, MIN 2
    Victor Martinez, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 6, MIA 3
    Matt Kemp, LF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TB 2, NYY 0
    Blake Snell (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 5, BAL 3
    Craig Kimbrel (S,29)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 9, PHI 8 (11)
    Jose Reyes, 3B
    5
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	12.7	19.1	82.3	137.3	6.3
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	sf nl	10.7	20.1	48.8	49.8	1.3
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	10.4	12.4	33.1	86.2	8.4
Martinez, Victor 1695	dh	det al	8.5	12.0	31.9	72.1	5.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	8.0	14.0	57.7	58.7	2.0
Kemp, Matt 2151	rf lf	atl nl	7.5	13.0	37.5	59.1	2.0
Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca	lad nl	7.2	9.2	17.2	17.2	5.2
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	7.0	11.0	16.0	16.0	3.0
Snell, Blake 3688	pi sp	tb al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Santana, Carlos 2757	dh 1b	cle al	2.5	7.0	21.7	22.7	-2.0
Reyes, Jose 1759	3b ss	nym nl	2.0	2.0	14.0	30.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Yankees' Gary Sanchez tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 21; Scherzer extends Box-Toppers lead, Kluber secures AL Player of Year, Arenado rises to lead NL batters

Shawn Plank September 22, 2016

Gary Sanchez of the Yankees is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 21:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, three players reached notable milestones after earning Player of the Game honors:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber all but secured his status as Box-Toppers American League Player of the Year, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Nolan Arenado of the Rockies rose to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Sanchez hit two home runs—including a three-run shot—in the 11-5 win over the Rays. Sanchez went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.

National League Player of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-1 win over the Cardinals.

Arenado earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising to first place among NL batters, passing previous leader Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5).

If Arenado’s lead with 10.7 points stands with a little more than week to go in the season, it will be the lowest point total to lead a category in Box-Toppers’ 22-season history. The record was set in 2015 when Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies led NL batters with 11.5 points. Interestingly, the previous record was 2014 when Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies led NL batters with 11.6. So if Arenado’s lead holds, not only will the low-point record be broken three years in a row, it will be broken each time by a batter from the Colorado Rockies.

Arenado becomes the 45th player (and ninth batter) in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Wednesday because both the overall Player of the Day (Gary Sanchez) and NL Player of the Day (Nolan Arenado) are batters.

Rankings—Two players among Box-Toppers top five in season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (6.2IP 4H 3R 2BB 8K W in the 8-3 win over the Marlins) extended his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 24.7 for the season. He is now 2.0 Box-Toppers points ahead of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7), meaning Kershaw still has a chance to pass Scherzer on his next start.

Scherzer now has 130.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list.

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (6.1IP 6H 2R 2BB 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Royals) all but secured his status as Box-Toppers American League Player of the Year. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.2 for the season, extending his lead among AL pitchers and is now 4.4 points ahead of second-place AL pitcher Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8). Hamels would need at least three starts to pass Kluber in Box-Toppers points—he likely only has two starts remaining in the season’s final 10 days.

This will be the second time Kluber has led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in a season. He also did it in 2014 when he had 25.8 points and also won the AL Cy Young Award. In 2015 he had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL pitchers. Kluber also rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Notable—Two other players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points on the season earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Mike Trout of the Angels (HR 1-4 R 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to third among AL batters, behind leader Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7) and Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5).
Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda (5IP 3H 2R 2BB 6K W in the 9-3 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 46th player in 2016 with 10 or more points and ranks 46th among all players, 19th among NL pitchers.

Also notable—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez now has 168.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Hernandez (7IP 2H 0R 3BB 4K ND in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays) maintains his ninth-place rank in career Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers player tracking began in 1995. He trails eighth-place player Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” list. (See Box-Toppers career top 20 list on the home page.) Hernandez has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. If that total stands, it would be his lowest season total in his 12-year career. His previous low was 7.4 in 2008 with the Mariners.

Scoring—Sanchez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arenado earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/21
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    NYY 11, TB 5
    Gary Sanchez, C
    4
    3
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `SEA 2, TOR 1 (12)
    Felix Hernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    4
  

    NL
    5.0
    COL 11, STL 1
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 5, BAL 1
    Clay Buchholz (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 4, MIL 1
    Chad Kuhl (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.1
    CLE 4, KC 3
    Corey Kluber (W,18-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 6, OAK 5
    Evan Gattis, DH
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 3, SD 2
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 9, SF 3
    Kenta Maeda (W,16-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    2
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    2.2
    WSH 8, MIA 3
    Max Scherzer (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    3
    3
    2
    8
  

    
    2.0
    CHC 9, CIN 2
    Miguel Montero, C
    5
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 8, CHW 3
    Tommy Joseph, 1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    `ATL 4, NYM 3
    Chaz Roe
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    LAA 5, TEX 4
    Mike Trout, CF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7	45.7	110.3	130.7	3.7
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2	34.6	65.4	65.4	7.8
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	11.0	23.0	47.5	47.5	-1.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	10.7	19.2	20.7	20.7	2.2
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	6.0	25.4	91.4	168.7	-13.4
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	5.0	11.0	39.2	58.9	-1.0
Gattis, Evan 3179	ca	hou al	5.0	9.0	11.0	11.0	1.0
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	4.5	14.7	39.9	39.9	-5.7
Sanchez, Gary 3701	ca dh	nyy al	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Joseph, Tommy 3681	1b ph	phi nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Kuhl, Chad 3687	pi sp	pit nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	chi nl	1.0	6.5	20.7	30.9	-4.5
Roe, Chaz 3597	pi mr	atl nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 20, ranks 3rd in Box-Toppers season player rankings

Shawn Plank September 21, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in third place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 20:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Nationals.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 22.4 for the season. He moves to within 0.3 points of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) and within 1.3 points of season Box-Toppers points leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7). That means with one or two more starts remaining this season, Fernandez has a chance to rise to the overall lead for the first time this year.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 8-1 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Odubel Herrera of the Phillies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-6 win over the White Sox.

American League Batter of the Day—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Angels.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (7IP 6H R 0BB 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season, rising from fifth to fourth place in season rankings.

Lester now also has 142.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 26th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0). Lester now ranks 10th among all active players in career points, seventh among active pitchers.

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (5IP 6H 2R BB 8K W in the 10-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season, rising to 10th in season player rankings. He rises to third among AL pitchers, behind Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (20.2) and Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (16.8). Happ displaces Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill (14.4) from the top 10 list.

Debut—Giants pitcher Steven Okert made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Okert (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,745th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Herrera and Mazara each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/20
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    MIA 1, WSH 0
    Jose Fernandez (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    12
  

    AL
    9.0
    DET 8, MIN 1
    Matt Boyd (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    7.2
    HOU 2, OAK 1 (10)
    Chris Devenski (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    6.1
    `NYY 5, TB 3
    Michael Pineda
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    5
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    
    4.2
    CLE 2, KC 1
    Andrew Miller (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.1
    BOS 5, BAL 2
    Eduardo Rodriguez (W,3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    PHI 7, CHW 6
    Odubel Herrera, CF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    STL 10, COL 5
    Randal Grichuk, CF
    4
    4
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 5, ARI 2
    Adam Rosales, 2B
    2
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 6, CIN 1
    Jon Lester (W,18-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    3.2
    `SF 2, LAD 0
    Steven Okert (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 5, NYM 4
    Adonis Garcia, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 6, MIL 3
    Tony Watson (S,14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    TEX 5, LAA 4
    Nomar Mazara, RF
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 10, SEA 2
    J.A. Happ (W,20-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4	27.1	53.1	53.1	17.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1	33.1	79.3	142.2	9.1
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7	27.8	43.2	51.2	1.6
Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf lf	tex al	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Boyd, Matt 3550	pi sp	det al	6.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	5.1
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	6.0	16.7	34.1	34.1	-4.7
Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp	cle al	6.0	10.0	14.0	21.0	2.0
Garcia, Adonis 3613	3b	atl nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Watson, Tony 3215	pi cp	pit nl	4.0	5.0	8.0	8.0	3.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	bos al	3.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	-2.3
Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr sp	hou nl	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Herrera, Odubel 3449	cf	phi nl	3.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	-0.5
Grichuk, Randal 3474	cf	stl nl	1.0	10.5	10.5	10.5	-8.5
Rosales, Adam 2647	2b	sd nl	1.0	3.0	6.0	11.7	-1.0
Okert, Steven 3745	pi mr	sf nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Blue Jays' Marco Estrada tops players for Monday, Sept. 19; Dodgers' Kershaw moves within 1.0 point of Scherzer for season Box-Toppers lead

Shawn Plank September 20, 2016

Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 19:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Monday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, edged within 1.0 Box-Toppers point of season leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Estrada pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit and three walks, in the 3-2 win over the Mariners.

Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 43rd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 43rd among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Giants. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited the Dodgers trailed 1-0, before scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win.

Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 22.7 for the season, maintaining his spot in second place among all players and among NL pitchers. He moves within 1.0 Box-Toppers point of overall leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7). Scherzer assumed the lead on Aug. 25. Previously, Kershaw led from May 7.

Madison Bumgarner, who started the game for the Giants, was in line to win Player of the Game (and overall Player of the Day) until the Dodgers made their ninth-inning comeback. Bumgarner (7IP H 0R 0BB 10K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of +16.0 (Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0). But because the bullpen blew the lead and the Giants lost, Bumgarner earns no Box-Toppers points, despite the impressive performance.

Bumgarner has 13.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 18th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.

Kershaw now has 182.0 career Box-Toppers points, seventh-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails sixth-ranked player Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.0) by just 0.3 points. He trails fifth-ranked player (and active career pitching leader) CC Sabathia of the Yankees (184.0) by just 2.0 points. (See the updated list of the top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 on the home page.)

National League Batter of the Day—Freddie Freeman of the Braves homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Elvis Andrus of the Rangers homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 3-2 win over the Angels.

Notable—Two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Monday:

Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel (7IP 4H 2R BB 6K W in the 5-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season, 19th among all players and 14th among NL pitchers.
Carlos Martinez of the Cardinals became the seventh pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting (2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Rockies). It is the eighth time this season a pitcher has earned Player of the Game honors for batting (Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals did it twice). Martinez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He becomes the 44th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 33rd among all players and 17th among NL pitchers.

Porcello—Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello earned Player of the Game honors Monday while also picking up his Major League-leading 21st win.

Porcello (CG 4H 2R 0BB 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, but still has just 8.0 points for the season. Despite ranking first in wins, he ranks 76th among all players in Box-Toppers points, 26th among AL pitchers. (More on Porcello here: Why does wins leader Rick Porcello have so few Box-Toppers points?)

Porcello had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +8.0, his highest game score during any of his 21 wins. But it still wasn’t enough to earn him his first overall or league Player of the Day honor of the season (he lost Player of the Day Monday to Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays who had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0). So Porcello still hasn’t earned any Box-Toppers bonus points this season in the eight times he earned Player of the Game honors.

This was also Porcello’s first Player of the Game honor in a month. He last earned Player of the Game on Aug. 19, even though he has earned the win in three more games since then.

Scoring—Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kershaw earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Freeman and Andrus each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/19
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    TOR 3, SEA 2
    Marco Estrada (W,9-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    8.0
    BOS 5, BAL 2
    Rick Porcello (W,21-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    7
  

    NL
    8.0
    `LAD 2, SF 1
    Clayton Kershaw
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    ATL 7, NYM 3
    Freddie Freeman, 1B
    5
    2
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 5, CIN 2
    Jason Hammel (W,15-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    STL 5, COL 3
    Carlos Martinez, P
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SD 3, ARI 2
    Brandon Maurer (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 4, OAK 2
    Ken Giles (S,12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    TEX 3, LAA 2
    Elvis Andrus, SS
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    KC 8, CHW 3
    Kendrys Morales, DH
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIA 4, WSH 3
    Giancarlo Stanton, RF
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7	48.4	148.5	182.0	-3.0
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	chi nl	13.0	22.7	46.1	59.2	3.3
Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	10.7	24.4	25.4	25.4	-3.0
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	10.0	18.0	42.1	42.1	2.0
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	9.2	9.2	16.7	19.7	9.2
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	bos al	8.0	12.0	33.7	42.7	4.0
Morales, Kendrys 2142	dh	kc al	7.5	12.2	22.2	38.2	2.8
Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	7.5	10.5	38.7	38.7	4.5
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	6.5	12.0	33.7	39.2	1.0
Giles, Ken 3402	pi cp mr	hou nl	3.0	6.0	8.0	8.0	0.0
Maurer, Brandon 3157	pi mr cp	sd nl	2.0	4.0	5.0	5.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' Seth Smith tops players for Sunday, Sept. 18; Cardinals' Reyes tops NL players

Shawn Plank September 19, 2016

Seth Smith of the Mariners is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Smith hit two homers—a solo homer and a three-run shot—and went 2-for-2, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Astros.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 18:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, two walks and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Drury of the Diamondbacks hit a game-winning, 12th-inning single in the 10-9 win over the Dodgers. Drury also homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs.

This was Drury’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Drury made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2015, and was playing in his 141st career game. He is the 3,744th 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 Player of the Day was AL batter Seth Smith.

Notable—Hanley Ramirez of the Red Sox has the highest season Box-Toppers point total among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Ramirez (2HR 3-4 2R 4BI in the 5-4 win over the Yankees) has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 107th among all players and 22nd among AL batters.

Debuts—In addition to Drury, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut with their first career Player of the Game honors:

Angels pitcher Alex Meyer (5IP 2H 0R 3BB 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut June 26, 2015, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,742nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Mets pitcher Gabriel Ynoa (4.2IP 4H R BB 8K ND in the 3-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Aug. 13 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,743rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Smith earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Reyes earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Drury earns 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/18
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    SEA 7, HOU 3
    Seth Smith, RF
    2
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    7.0
    STL 3, SF 0
    Alex Reyes (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    7.0
    LAA 4, TOR 0
    Alex Meyer (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    5.2
    `NYM 3, MIN 2
    Gabriel Ynoa
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.2
    4
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    BOS 5, NYY 4
    Hanley Ramirez, DH
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `BAL 2, TB 1
    Wade Miley
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    ARI 10, LAD 9 (12)
    Brandon Drury, LF
    5
    3
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CIN 7, PIT 4
    Tucker Barnhart, C
    1
    0
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    KC 10, CHW 3
    Kendrys Morales, DH
    5
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 9, CLE 5
    J.D. Martinez, RF
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 6, WSH 2 (7)
    Adonis Garcia, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    OAK 5, TEX 2
    Khris Davis, DH
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    COL 6, SD 3
    Mark Reynolds, 1B
    2
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 3, CHC 1
    Tyler Thornburg (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    1.0
    MIA 5, PHI 4
    Derek Dietrich, 3B
    3
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b	bos al	7.0	7.0	29.7	57.6	7.0
Davis, Khris 3242	lf dh	oak al	6.7	10.7	16.7	16.7	2.7
Morales, Kendrys 2142	dh	kc al	6.5	11.2	21.2	37.2	1.8
Thornburg, Tyler 3195	pi cp	mil nl	6.0	6.0	12.0	12.0	6.0
Martinez, J.D. 2922	rf	det al	5.5	7.2	17.2	17.2	3.8
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	bal al	5.0	12.0	35.4	35.4	-2.0
Smith, Seth 2489	rf lf	sea al	5.0	6.0	24.0	38.2	4.0
Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b	col nl	4.0	8.0	28.2	51.4	0.0
Garcia, Adonis 3613	3b	atl nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Reyes, Alex 3706	pi mr sp	stl nl	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Dietrich, Derek 3199	2b 3b	fla nl	2.0	3.0	5.0	5.0	1.0
Barnhart, Tucker 3519	ca	cin nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Drury, Brandon 3744	lf	ari nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Meyer, Alex 3742	pi sp	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Ynoa, Gabriel 3743	pi sp	nym nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Shawn Plank September 18, 2016

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

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nolasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Braun and Semien each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/17
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    21.0
    COL 8, SD 0
    Jon Gray (W,10-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    16
  

    
    11.0
    PHI 8, MIA 0
    Jeremy Hellickson (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    AL
    6.0
    LAA 6, TOR 1
    Ricky Nolasco (W,6-14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    HOU 2, SEA 1
    Mike Fiers (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    5.1
    BOS 6, NYY 5
    Craig Kimbrel (S,27)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    MIL 11, CHC 3
    Ryan Braun, LF
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    0.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    4.0
    CLE 1, DET 0 (10)
    Andrew Miller (W,8-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 7, CIN 3
    Juan Nicasio (W,10-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 10, CIN 4
    Wade LeBlanc (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    KC 3, CHW 2
    Wade Davis (S,25)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    OAK 11, TEX 2
    Marcus Semien, SS
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `NYM 3, MIN 2 (12)
    Josh Smoker
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 7, WSH 3
    Ender Inciarte, CF
    4
    3
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TB 5, BAL 2
    Evan Longoria, 3B
    4
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    LAD 6, ARI 2
    Joc Pederson, CF
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    STL 3, SF 2
    Kolten Wong, 2B
    1
    0
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	13.1	18.1	41.8	44.8	8.1
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	10.5	15.5	46.5	88.2	5.5
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	9.4	11.4	32.1	85.2	7.4
Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi mr sp	pit nl	9.0	10.0	25.4	25.4	8.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	7.0	13.0	56.7	57.7	1.0
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Longoria, Evan 2423	3b	tb al	6.5	9.5	26.0	47.0	3.5
Semien, Marcus 3302	ss	oak al	6.0	6.0	9.5	9.5	6.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	5.0	12.0	26.1	26.1	-2.0
Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp	cle al	5.0	9.0	13.0	20.0	1.0
Davis, Wade 2681	pi cp	kc al	4.0	8.0	23.0	26.0	0.0
Pederson, Joc 3621	cf	lad nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
LeBlanc, Wade 2669	pi sp cp	pit nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	10.0	3.0
Inciarte, Ender 3360	cf	atl nl	2.0	5.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0
Smoker, Josh 3725	pi cp mr	nym nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Wong, Kolten 3377	2b	stl nl	1.0	5.0	10.5	10.5	-3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    

    Date
    Bonus
    BTG
    Team
    Players
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    1
    4/14
    MLB
    22.0
    PHI 3, SD 0
    Vince Velasquez (W,2-0)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    16
  

    2
    8/1
    MLB
    22.0
    KC 3, TB 0
    Danny Duffy (W,7-1)
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    16
  

    3
    9/17
    MLB
    21.0
    COL 8, SD 0
    Jon Gray (W,10-8)
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    16
  

    4
    7/10
    MLB
    21.0
    SF 4, ARI 0
    Madison Bumgarner (W,10-4)
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    14
  

    5
    5/1
    MLB
    20.0
    LAD 1, SD 0
    Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    14
  

    6
    4/14
    
    20.0
    STL 7, MIL 0
    Jaime Garcia (W,1-0)
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    7
    5/11
    MLB
    19.0
    WSH 3, DET 2
    Max Scherzer (W,4-2)
    9.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    20
  

    8
    5/12
    MLB
    18.0
    LAD 5, NYM 0
    Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    9
    9/13
    MLB
    17.0
    SEA 8, LAA 0
    Taijuan Walker (W,6-10)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    11
  

    10
    4/23
    MLB
    17.0
    WSH 2, MIN 0
    Tanner Roark (W,2-2)
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    15
  

    11
    6/5
    MLB
    17.0
    MIA 1, NYM 0
    Jose Fernandez (W,9-2)
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    14
  

Why does wins leader Rick Porcello have so few Box-Toppers points?

Shawn Plank September 17, 2016

Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello has been beaten by teammates for Player of the Game in 13 of his 20 wins. Though he leads in wins, he ranks 102nd among players with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.

Astros' Collin McHugh tops players for Friday, Sept. 16; Box-Toppers leaders Scherzer, Kluber both win, but fail to earn top player honors

Shawn Plank September 17, 2016

Astros pitcher Collin McHugh is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 16:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, two pitchers with more than 20.0 Box-Toppers points this season started and both earned the win, but neither earned Player of the Game honors—Max Scherzer of the Nationals (23.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first) and Corey Kluber of the Indians (20.2 points, ranked fourth).

Player of the Day—McHugh pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out six, in the 6-0 win over the Mariners.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two walks and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Twins.

Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 147.5 for his career. He rises to 21st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing Jim Thome (146.7) on the “all-time” list and now trails 20th-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).

Colon now has 7.4 Box-Toppers points on the season, 31st among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Trea Turner of the Nationals homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Indians homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-4 win over the Tigers.

Notable—The overall Box-Toppers points leader, Max Scherzer, and the overall AL Box-Toppers points leader, Corey Kluber, both started games Friday and both earned the win, but neither earned Player of the Game honors and did not increase their season Box-Toppers point totals:

Scherzer (7IP 7H 2R 2BB 8K W in the Nationals’ 7-2 win over the Braves) had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +2.0, but he was beaten for Player of the Game by teammate Trea Turner who had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 and earned NL Batter of the Day honors. Scherzer has 23.7 Box-Toppers points in 2016.
Kluber (7IP 5H 4R 3BB 7K W in the Indians’ 11-4 win over the Tigers) had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of −2.0 and was beaten for Player of the Game by teammate Mike Napoli who had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 and earned AL Batter of the Day honors. Kluber has 20.2 Box-Toppers points in 2016.

Also notable—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday.

Sale (CG 8H 4R BB 10K W in the 7-4 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.

And finally—Phillies pitcher Frank Herrmann earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly five years Friday.

Herrmann (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K W in the 4-3, 13-inning win over the Marlins) last earned Player of the Game honors on Sept. 24, 2011, with the Indians. He had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2011 and now has 4.0 career points.

Scoring—McHugh earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Turner and Napoli each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/16
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    HOU 6, SEA 0
    Collin McHugh (W,11-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    NL
    8.0
    NYM 3, MIN 0
    Bartolo Colon (W,14-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    WSH 7, ATL 2
    Trea Turner, CF
    5
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    CLE 11, DET 4
    Mike Napoli, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    SF 8, STL 2
    Buster Posey, C
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 9, CIN 7 (10)
    Jung Ho Kang, 3B
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 5, MIL 4 (10)
    Aroldis Chapman (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 7, KC 4
    Chris Sale (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    8
    4
    3
    1
    10
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 3, ARI 2
    Kenta Maeda (W,15-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

    
    2.2
    BOS 7, NYY 4
    Craig Kimbrel (S,26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    COL 8, SD 7
    DJ LeMahieu, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 5, LAA 0
    R.A. Dickey (W,10-14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 4, MIA 3 (13)
    Frank Herrmann (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    1.0
    BAL 5, TB 4
    J.J. Hardy, SS
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 7, OAK 6
    Nomar Mazara, RF
    2
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	13.4	32.2	84.4	86.4	-5.4
McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	9.7	19.4	31.2	31.2	0.0
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	8.0	15.0	21.0	21.0	1.0
Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	chi nl	7.4	15.4	45.4	46.4	-0.6
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	nym nl	7.4	14.1	56.0	147.5	0.7
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	7.0	12.0	56.2	77.9	2.0
Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	cle al	6.5	11.0	38.7	57.7	2.0
Hardy, J.J. 2071	ss	bal al	6.2	6.2	27.6	54.8	6.2
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	6.0	12.0	55.7	56.7	0.0
Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf lf	tex al	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5
Posey, Buster 2745	ca 1b	sf nl	3.5	7.5	28.5	33.0	-0.5
Kang, Jung-Ho 3464	3b ss	pit nl	3.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	0.5
Turner, Trea 3730	2b cf	dc nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Herrmann, Frank 2902	pi cp	phi nl	1.0	1.0	4.0	4.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer maintains lead in Box-Toppers rankings for 4th week

Shawn Plank September 16, 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintains Box-Toppers player rankings lead. Other category leaders remain unchanged: AL pitchers—Kluber, Indians. AL batters—Machado, Orioles. NL batters—Bryant, Cubs.

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Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.