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 |
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.
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.
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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
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 | +/- |
| 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 |