Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Sunday’s National League Player of the Day, becomes only the third player in the past 20 years to earn 30 Box-Toppers points in a single season.
Most BTP single season
Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now has the sixth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 30.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014 and has a chance to break the single-season record of 33.7 set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.| 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 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 6 | *Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 30.5 |
| 7 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 8 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 10 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Kershaw, who earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points, now has 30.5 for the season and with possibly two starts remaining, still has a chance to break the single-season record for Box-Toppers points of 33.7, set twice by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in 2000 and 2002.
If Kershaw has two starts remaining, he would need to earn at least NL Player of the Day in both starts—worth 1.7 points each—to pass Johnson’s record. He could have as many as 34.5 total points if he is Player of the Day (earning 2.0 points each) in both starts.
Kershaw joins Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only players who have earned 30 or more Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Johnson scored 30 three times (1999, 2000 and 2002) and Martinez did it twice with the Red Sox (1999 and 2000). So Sunday marked only the sixth time in 20 seasons that a player has passed the 30-point threshold.
Kershaw earned his 1.7 points Sunday by striking out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Giants. Kershaw extends his overall lead in Box-Toppers points for the season (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page), with 7.9 points more than the second-place player, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (22.6 Box-Toppers points).
With points earned Sunday, Kershaw moves from seventh to sixth place on the Box-Toppers “all-time” single-season points list, passing the 29.4 Randy Johnson earned in 2001 with the Diamondbacks.
Meanwhile, Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Archer struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays. Archer earned no decision because after he left, the Blue Jays tied the game before the Rays went ahead in the top of the 10th inning.
Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 32nd among all players and 18th among American League pitchers.
Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Bogaerts homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Royals.
Neil Walker of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day. Walker homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Cubs.
Notables: Athletics pitcher Jon Lester rose to 13th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Lester (6IP 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.
Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann rose to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Zimmermann (6.2IP 0R 5K W in the 3-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks ninth among NL pitchers.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to 43rd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Keuchel (7IP R W in the 6-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 21st among AL pitchers.
Archer and Keuchel on Sunday both passed 10.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. They are the 47th and 48th players this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Archer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts and Walker each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 914 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | `Rays | Chris Archer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Xander Bogaerts SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 5.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 19-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| 5.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W, 11-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Twins | Trevor May (W, 3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 5.0 | Athletics | Jon Lester (W, 15-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 4.2 | Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 12-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | Cardinals | Marco Gonzales (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 4.2 | `Orioles | Chris Tillman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Rangers | Luis Sardinas 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Pirates | Neil Walker 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Brewers | Matt Garza (W, 8-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | J.D. Martinez LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Zeke Spruill (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Steve Cishek (S, 35) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.