| Rank | Date | BTP | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | HR | 2B |
| 122 | 8/21 | 1.7 | 11.0 | Mets | Yoenis Cespedes, CF-LF | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 123 | 8/15 | 2.0 | 11.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., RF | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 124 | 8/29 | 2.0 | 11.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 5 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 125 | 5/7 | 2.0 | 11.0 | Dodgers | Yasmani Grandal C | 4 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 187 | 9/12 | 1.7 | 10.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 243 | 7/26 | 1.5 | 9.0 | Red Sox | David Ortiz, DH | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 244 | 5/26 | 1.7 | 9.0 | Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson 3B | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 245 | 7/26 | 1.5 | 9.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 331 | 7/30 | 1.7 | 8.0 | Reds | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 332 | 8/22 | 2.0 | 8.0 | Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 333 | 9/26 | 1.5 | 8.0 | Giants | Jarrett Parker, LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 334 | 7/26 | 1.0 | 8.0 | Angels | Mike Trout, CF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 335 | 8/1 | 1.7 | 8.0 | Red Sox | Travis Shaw, 3B | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 336 | 8/12 | 1.5 | 8.0 | Twins | Miguel Sano, DH | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 337 | 7/18 | 1.5 | 8.0 | Cardinals | Randal Grichuk, CF-LF-RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 338 | 9/18 | 2.0 | 8.0 | Cubs | Starlin Castro, 2B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets had the best single-game performance as a batter in the 2015 season as measured by Box-Toppers game score.
On Aug. 21, Cespedes hit three home runs—a grand-slam, a two-run homer and a solo shot—in the 14-9 win over the Rockies. Cespedes also hit a double and went 5-for-6, scoring five times and driving in seven runs.
Cespedes had a Box-Toppers game score of +11, one of four batters to achieve that score during the season; Cespedes had the best game score based on Box-Toppers tiebreakers.
There were 16 batters who had a Box-Toppers game score of +8 or more during the season shown in the chart. While they had the best single-game performances among batters in 2015, pitchers often had better game scores. In fact, pitchers earned the top 121 Box-Toppers game scores of 2015. Batters are shown in the chart with their overall rank among the 2,429 games played in 2015. For example, Cespedes, who had the top game score for a batter, had the 122nd-best overall Box-Toppers game score.
All 16 batters on the list hit at least one home run in their game with the high Box-Toppers game score. Twelve of the players hit two home runs and three each hit three home runs.
Cespedes had the highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter in 2015 based on tiebreakers—he either had more at bats or more home runs than the other batters with a Box-Toppers game score of +11. The three others who had game scores of +11, ranked by tiebreaker are:
- Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox, who on Aug. 15, hit two homers and three doubles, going 5-for-6, scoring five times and driving in seven runs, in the 22-10 win over the Mariners. Bradley finished behind Cespedes’ because he had fewer home runs—two vs. three.
- Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays, who on Aug. 29, hit three home runs, scored four times and drove in nine runs, in the 15-1 win over the Tigers. Encarnacion finished behind both Cespedes and Bradley because he had fewer at bats—five vs. six.
- Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers, who on May 7, hit two three-run homers and drove in eight runs, going 4-for-4 and scoring three times, in the 14-4 win over the Brewers. Grandal finished behind Encarnacion because he had fewer at bats—four vs. five.
Of the four batters who had a single-game Box-Toppers game score of +11, three earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day and earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the game because they had that day’s highest game score. The exception was Cespedes, who had the highest season score for a batter based on tiebreakers. Cespedes earned National League Player of the Day on Aug. 21 and earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points. He finished behind overall Player of the Day, Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, who pitched a no-hitter and had a higher Box-Toppers game score of +16, the 27th-best single-game score of the season.
For comparison, here are the pitchers who ranked just above and just below Cespedes in Box-Toppers game score for the season:
- Ranked 121st with a Box-Toppers game score of +11.1 was Phillies pitcher Aaron Harang on April 8. Harang pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox. He had the fourth-highest Box-Toppers game score of April 8 and earned NL Player of the Day honors.
- Ranked 126th with a Box-Toppers game score +11.0 was Tigers pitcher David Price on June 6. Price pitched a complete game, allowing one run, five hits and striking out 11, in the 7-1 win over the White Sox. Price had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of June 6 and earned AL Player of the Day honors.
Top batters scoring Box-Toppers bonus points
Of the 16 batters who had a Box-Toppers game score of +8 or more in 2015, only five had the highest game score of the day to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors and receive 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Five others had their league’s highest game score of the day to earn league Player of the Day honors and receive 1.7 Box-Toppers points. Five others had their league’s highest game score for a batter of the day to earn league Batter of the Day honors and receive 1.5 Box-Toppers points. And one of the 16 batters received no bonus Box-Toppers points, earning only 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
That one player was Mike Trout of the Angels, who on July 26, had a Box-Toppers game score of +8, the 12th-highest score for a batter in 2015, but the fifth-highest score among players on July 26. The players ranking ahead of Trout and earning Box-Toppers bonus points were:
- Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.2.
- AL Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon who had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.2.
- AL Batter of the Day—David Ortiz of the Red Sox who had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, the sixth-highest score for a batter in 2015.
- NL Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies who had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, the eighth-highest score for a batter in 2015.
Josh Donaldson appears twice among top 10 batting games
Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays is the only player to appear on the list twice with the seventh and 10th best Box-Toppers game scores for a batter in 2015:
On May 26, Donaldson had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, as he hit two home runs, including a walk-off, three-run homer in the 10-9 win over the White Sox. Donaldson also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring five times and driving in four. He earned AL Player of the Day honors, picking up 1.7 Box-Toppers points.
On Aug. 22, Donaldson had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0, as he homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 15-3 win over the Angels. He earned Player of the Day honors, picking up 2.0 Box-Toppers points.
Donaldson had 9.9 total Box-Toppers points for the season, seventh among AL batters (and third among Blue Jays batters), but he won the AL Most Valuable Player award.
Breaking ties
There are eight players tied with a Box-Toppers game score of +8. Those ties are first broken by who has the most at bats, followed by these criteria:
- Most hits
- Most runs batted in
- Most runs scored
- Most home runs
- Most triples
- Most doubles
For the first five players with a Box-Toppers game score of +8, those tiebreaking statistics can be seen in the chart. But for the final three, further tiebreakers were employed that aren’t reflected in the chart—but are in the box score.
Miguel Sano, Randal Grichuk and Starlin Castro have exactly the same batting line (3-for-3, two runs, six RBIs, two homers). But Sano beat Grichuk and Castro because he had a sacrifice fly. And Grichuk was hit by a pitch, a tiebreaker which put him ahead of Castro.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers points are a measure of how much a player provides key contributions to his team’s wins. Specifically, 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.