Rangers pitcher Lance Lynn is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2019 season through the games of Sept. 29.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 32.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 27.5 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.1 |
| 5 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 18.8 |
| 6 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 18.1 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 17.9 |
| 8 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 17.7 |
| 9 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 17.4 |
| 10 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Also Sunday, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Cole now has 32.2 Box-Toppers points for the season, the fourth-highest single-season total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and most in any season since 2002.
Player of the Day—Lynn struck out 10 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Yankees.
Lynn earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season, 16th among all players and seventh among American League pitchers.
Lynn becomes the 15th player to reach 15 or more Box-Toppers points this season. It is his third season to reach 15 points. In 2012, he had 17.7 points with the Cardinals, eighth among all players and sixth among National League pitchers. In 2013, he had 16.1 points with the Cardinals, seventh among NL pitchers. Lynn had 3.0 points in 2018 with the Twins and Yankees.
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 | *Gerrit Cole | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 32.2 |
| 5 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 5 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 31.5 |
| 7 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 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 | *Justin Verlander | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 27.5 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 14 | Blake Snell | Rays | pi sp | 2018 | 27.2 |
| 15 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 16 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 16 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 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 |
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Cubs.
Flaherty earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.5 for the season, 11th among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.
Flaherty becomes the 16th player with 15 or more Box-Toppers points this season. It is his first season to reach 15. In his first season in 2018, he had 13.1 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Teoscar Hernandez of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Dominic Smith of the Mets hit a walk-off, three-run home run in the 7-6, 11-inning win over the Braves. Smith went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in three runs.
Rankings—Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Cole (5IP 4H R 2BB 10K W in the 8-5 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 32.2 for the season. He ranks ahead of teammate Justin Verlander (27.5), who is second place overall and among AL pitchers.
Cole’s 32.2 Box-Toppers points is now the fourth-highest single-season Box-Toppers point total since player tracking began in 1995. It is also the highest single-season point total since Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks had 33.7 in 2002. Only two players have earned more Box-Toppers points in a season in Box-Toppers previous 24 seasons of tracking—Randy Johnson, who set the all-time record of 33.7 in both 2000 and 2002 and Pedro Martinez, who had 33.5 points in 2000.
Cole clinched Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors for 2019 last Sunday. While teammate Verlander held the overall Box-Toppers points lead most of the season, Cole took the lead Sept. 8 and opened up an eventual 4.7-point advantage over Verlander.
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the final day of the season, each earning their first career Player of the Game honor:
Rockies pitcher DJ Johnson (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K ND in the 4-3, 13-inning win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Sept 9, 2018, and was playing in his 35th career game.
Mariners pitcher Justin Dunn (2IP 0H 0R BB 3K ND in the 3-1 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Sept. 12 and was playing in his fourth career game.
Royals pitcher Gabe Speier (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 5-4 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Sept. 5 and was playing in his ninth career game.
Scoring—Lynn earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Flaherty earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Hernandez and Smith each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| 9/29 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.1 | TEX 6, NYY 1 | Lance Lynn (W, 16‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | +10.0 | STL 9, CHC 0 | Jack Flaherty (W, 11‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| +7.0 | HOU 8, LAA 5 | Gerrit Cole (W, 20‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| +7.0 | CIN 3, PIT 1 | Tyler Mahle (W, 3‑12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | WSH 8, CLE 2 | Joe Ross (W, 4‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +6.0 | `COL 4, MIL (F/13) | DJ Johnson | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | TOR 8, TB 3 | Teoscar Hernandez LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +4.0 | NYM 7, ATL 6 (F/11) | Dominic Smith 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | BOS 5, BAL 4 | Brandon Workman (W, 10‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `LAD 9, SF 0 | Rich Hill | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | `SEA 3, OAK 1 | Justin Dunn | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | `KC 5, MIN 4 | Gabe Speier | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.2 | `ARI 1, SD 0 | Jon Duplantier | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +1.0 | CHW 5, DET 3 | Wellington Castillo DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | MIA 4, PHI 3 | Starlin Castro 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | 32.2 | 50.2 | 88.4 | 93.1 | +14.2 |
| Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 16.5 | 29.6 | 29.6 | 29.6 | +3.4 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 15.0 | 18.0 | 48.8 | 82.6 | +12.0 |
| Hernandez, Teoscar 3713 | cf lf | tor al | 5.0 | 7.5 | 10.7 | 10.7 | +2.5 |
| Duplantier, Jon 4096 | pi cp mr | ari nl | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | +4.7 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 13.7 | 44.8 | 64.5 | -5.7 |
| Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -2.0 |
| Ross, Joe 3499 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 | +4.0 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | 2b 3b | fla nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 22.5 | 34.5 | 0.0 |
| Castillo, Wellington 3251 | dh ca ph | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 16.5 | 18.5 | +2.0 |
| Workman, Brandon 3241 | pi sp cp | bos al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | +2.0 |
| Smith, Dominic 3890 | 1b | nym nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| Dunn, Justin 4267 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Johnson, DJ 4269 | pi mr | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Speier, Gabe 4268 | pi mr | kc al | 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.