Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, increasing his lead in season player rankings and becoming just the fourth player to reach 30 Box-Toppers points in a season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2019 season through the games of Sept. 24.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 31.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 26.5 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.7 |
| 4 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 17.8 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 17.4 |
| 7 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 17.4 |
| 8 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 16.7 |
| 9 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.4 |
| 10 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Cole struck out 14 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Mariners.
Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 31.2 for the season, increasing his lead over second-place player, teammate Justin Verlander (26.5). Cole also leads AL pitchers ahead of Verlander.
Cole solidifies his status as Box-Toppers Player of the Year, which he clinched Sunday when Verlander failed to earn Player of the Game honors. He now leads Verlander by 4.7 points. With one start remaining, Verlander’s highest potential season point total is now 28.5. Even if third-ranked player Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg earned Player of the Day honors each of the final five days of the season, adding 10.0 Box-Toppers points to his total, he would only have 29.7, falling 1.5 points short of Cole.
Best seasons
Randy Johnson holds the record for most Box-Toppers points in a single season with 33.7, which he achieved twice—in 2000 and 2002. 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.| 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 | *Gerrit Cole | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 31.2 |
| 8 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 9 | Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 10 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 11 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 13 | Blake Snell | Rays | pi sp | 2018 | 27.2 |
| 14 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 15 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 15 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 17 | *Justin Verlander | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 26.5 |
| 18 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 19 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 19 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 21 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 21 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 23 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 23 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2015 | 25.7 |
| 24 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2016 | 25.7 |
| 26 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| 27 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | pi sp | 2017 | 25.1 |
| 27 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2018 | 25.1 |
| 29 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2017 | 25.0 |
Cole becomes just the fourth player to reach 30 Box-Toppers points in a season since player tracking began in 1995. It is the seventh instance of a player earning 30 points in a season (Randy Johnson did it three times, Pedro Martinez did it twice and Clayton Kershaw did it once). Cole’s 31.2 Box-Toppers points is now the seventh-highest single-season total since 1995. It is the highest since Kershaw had 31.5 in 2014. Prior to Kershaw, no player had reached 30 since 2002, when Johnson had 33.7. So Cole’s 31.2 points is the second-highest single-season point total in the past 17 seasons.
This was likely Cole’s last regular season appearance.
Cole’s Box-Toppers game score Tuesday was +19.0, which is the sixth-highest for a Player of the Game winner this season. (The best is +22.0 by Verlander, pitching a no-hitter on Sept. 1. Cole had the season’s second-best Box-Toppers game score of +20.0 on Sept. 8.)
Cole has increased his Box-Toppers point total by 13.2 over last year (31.2 in 2019 vs. 18.0 in 2018). That is the second-biggest increase among all players, behind rookie Padres pitcher Chris Paddack (+15.8 points).
National League Player of the Day—Michael Conforto of the Mets hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 5-4, 11-inning win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Dwight Smith of the Orioles homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-4 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the NL Player of the Day is batter Michael Conforto.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger rises from 10th to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Clevinger (7IP 5H 0R BB 10K W in the 11-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season, fifth among AL pitchers.
Debut—Rockies pitcher Sam Howard made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Howard (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 8-5, 16-inning win over the Giants) made his Major League debut June 10, 2018, and was playing in his 22nd career game.
Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Conforto earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Smith earns 1.5 points for being AL 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 (BTG)| 9/24 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +19.0 | HOU 3, SEA 0 | Gerrit Cole (W, 19‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |
| +11.0 | CLE 11, CHW 0 | Mike Clevinger (W, 13‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| +8.0 | MIN 4, DET 2 | Jake Odorizzi (W, 15‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| NL | +5.0 | NYM 5, MIA 4 (F/11) | Michael Conforto RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | LAD 6, SD 3 | Tony Gonsolin (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | BAL 11, TOR 4 | Dwight Smith LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | COL 8, SF 5 (F/16) | Sam Howard (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.1 | `TB 2, NYY 1 (F/12) | Chaz Roe | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | WSH 6, PHI 5 | Trea Turner SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | WSH 4, PHI 1 | Tanner Rainey (W, 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | KC 9, ATL 6 | Bubba Starling CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 12, TEX 10 | Xander Bogaerts SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 4, CIN 2 | Brent Suter (W, 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | `ARI 3, STL 2 (F/19) | Jon Duplantier | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | LAA 3, OAK 2 | David Fletcher SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | PIT 9, CHC 2 | Erik Gonzalez LF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` 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 Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’19). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’18-19), the period 2014-2019 (’14-19) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2019 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2018 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’19 | ’18‑19 | ’14‑19 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 31.2 | 49.2 | 87.4 | 92.1 | +13.2 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 17.4 | 31.1 | 45.5 | 45.5 | +3.7 |
| Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 | 19.4 | 54.6 | 56.6 | +5.4 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | rf | nym nl | 8.7 | 15.2 | 26.2 | 26.2 | +2.2 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 8.2 | 13.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 | +2.7 |
| Smith, Dwight Jr. 4112 | lf | bal al | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 | +7.2 |
| Duplantier, Jon 4096 | pi cp mr | ari nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
| Fletcher, David 4111 | ss lf 2b | ana al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Turner, Trea 3730 | ss | dc nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 11.2 | 11.2 | -1.0 |
| Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | pi mr sp | lad nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Rainey, Tanner 4153 | pi mr | dc nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Starling, Bubba 4192 | rf cf | kc al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Suter, Brent 3843 | pi mr sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -2.0 |
| Roe, Chaz 3597 | pi mr | tb al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Gonzalez, Erik 3960 | lf 3b | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Howard, Sam 4262 | pi mr | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Box-Toppers
Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.
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.