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 |
* 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.
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
| 9/27 | 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
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 | +/- |
| 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 |