Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2021. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Friday, April 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 2 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 4.7 |
| 3 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh rf | bos al | 4.7 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Barnes, Matt 3466 | pi mr cp | bos al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | pi sp | fla nl | 4.0 |
| 7 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.7 |
| 8 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.7 |
| 9 | Civale, Aaron 4173 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 10 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Also Friday, Padres pitcher Yu Darvish rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—deGrom pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out 15 and walking none, in the 6-0 win over the Nationals.
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to fourth in season player rankings, first among National League pitchers, passing previous leader, Trevor Rogers of the Marlins. While deGrom and Rogers both have 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, deGrom ranks higher because he has more 2020 points—8.7 vs. 1.0.
deGrom recorded a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +22.0, highest for any Player of the Game winner so far in 2021 and the highest for any Player of the Game winner since Sept. 1, 2019, when Astros pitcher Justin Verlander also had a +22.0 Box-Toppers game score, pitching a no-hitter (CG 0H 0R BB 14K W in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays).
The previous highest game score by a Player of the Game winner in 2021 was +19.0 in a no-hitter by Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove on April 9 (CG 0H 0R 0BB 10K W in the 3-0 win over the Rangers). The highest game score for a Player of the Game winner in 2020 was +21.0 in a no-hitter by White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito on Aug. 25 (CG 0H 0R BB 13K W in the 4-0 win over the Pirates).
deGrom also now has 109.4 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 61st place among all players since 1995, when tracking began. With his 2.0 points Friday, he passes seven players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3), Carlos Beltran (108.6), Gio Gonzalez (108.6), Billy Wagner (108.7), Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (108.8) and Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber (109.4). deGrom now trails 60th-ranked player Jeff Kent (110.2). Passing Cueto and Kluber, deGrom now ranks 14th among active, signed players in career points, eighth among active NL pitchers.
Active season streaks
Here are the 14 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Angels | 2001‑2020 | 202.8 |
| 18 | Miguel Cabrera | dh | Tigers | 2003‑2020 | 153.4 |
| 16 | Edwin Encarnacion | dh | Free agent | 2005‑2020 | 88.2 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Astros | 2007‑2021 | 211.8 |
| 15 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 2006‑2020 | 206.6 |
| 15 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Nationals | 2006‑2020 | 176.3 |
| 15 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Twins | 2006‑2020 | 77.2 |
| 15 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 3b 1b | Diamondbacks | 2007‑2021 | 63.7 |
| 14 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2021 | 238.9 |
| 14 | Johnny Cueto | pi sp | Giants | 2008‑2021 | 108.8 |
| 14 | J.A. Happ | pi sp | Twins | 2008‑2021 | 87.0 |
| 14 | Kurt Suzuki | ca | Angels | 2007‑2020 | 45.0 |
| 13 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 2009‑2021 | 204.2 |
| 13 | Evan Longoria | 3b | Giants | 2008‑2020 | 55.0 |
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher J.A. Happ struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Pirates.
Happ has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2021. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Phillies and has 87.0 career Box-Toppers points, eighth among active AL pitchers.
His best season was 2018 with the Blue Jays and Yankees, when he had 15.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL pitchers. He ranked third among AL pitchers in 2016 with the Blue Jays when he had 14.7 points. In 2019, he had 8.7 points with the Yankees, 25th among AL pitchers. In 2020, he had 4.0 points with the Yankees, 18th among AL pitchers.
Happ’s 14-season streak earning Box-Toppers points is tied for the ninth-longest active streak (see Active season streaks chart elsewhere on this page).
National League Batter of the Day—Jake Marisnick of the Cubs homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 15-2 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Yermin Mercedes of the White Sox doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.
Mercedes earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to second place among AL batters, behind J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (4.7).
Rankings—Padres pitcher Yu Darvish rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Darvish (7IP 4H R 3BB 9K W in the 6-1 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Streak—Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2021 Friday.
Stanton (2HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Indians) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2010 with the Marlins and now has 62.9 career points, seventh among active AL batters. His best season was 2017 with the Marlins when he had 14.2 points, second among NL batters. In each of his last two seasons, 2019 and 2020, he had just 1.0 point per season, his lowest single-season total.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Red Sox pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura (1.1IP H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 6-5 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut April 2 and was playing in his ninth career game.
Sam Hilliard of the Rockies (1-1 R 0BI in the 5-4 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 27, 2019, and was playing in his 78th career game.
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Marisnick and Mercedes 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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Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG).| 4/23 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +22.0 | NYM 6, WSH 0 | Jacob deGrom, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | |
| +10.0 | SF 5, MIA 3 | Alex Wood, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| AL | +7.1 | MIN 2, PIT 0 | J.A. Happ, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| +7.0 | SD 6, LAD 1 | Yu Darvish, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| +6.2 | STL 5, CIN 4 | Kwang Hyun Kim, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | CHC 15, MIL 2 | Jake Marisnick, CF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.2 | KC 6, DET 2 | Mike Minor, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | CHW 9, TEX 7 | Yermin Mercedes, DH | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | ATL 5, ARI 4 | Huascar Ynoa, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +3.1 | BOS 6, SEA 5 | Hirokazu Sawamura, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.2 | `OAK 3, BAL 1 | Yusmeiro Petit, (Hld 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 5, TB 3 | Marcus Semien, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYY 5, CLE 3 | Giancarlo Stanton, DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | HOU 5, LAA 4 (F/10) | Yuli Gurriel, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | COL 5, PHI 4 | Sam Hilliard, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 Player of the Game winners
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 (’21). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’20-21), the period 2016-2021 (’16-21) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2021 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2020 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’21 | ’20‑21 | ’16‑21 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.0 | 12.7 | 74.0 | 109.4 | ‑4.7 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 | 12.7 | 51.9 | 97.1 | ‑6.7 |
| Mercedes, Yermin 4367 | dh | chi al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Ynoa, Huascar 4343 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +0.3 |
| Petit, Yusmeiro 2337 | pi cp mr | oak al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 29.7 | +2.0 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 23.7 | 42.1 | +2.0 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | min al | 1.7 | 5.7 | 50.5 | 87.0 | ‑2.3 |
| Marisnick, Jake 3428 | cf | chi nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 8.7 | 11.7 | +1.5 |
| Minor, Mike 2894 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 3.7 | 27.1 | 54.2 | ‑1.7 |
| Semien, Marcus 3302 | 2b ss | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 22.7 | 26.2 | ‑1.0 |
| Gurriel, Yuli 3796 | 1b 3b | hou al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 12.9 | 12.9 | ‑1.0 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | dh lf | nyy al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 30.2 | 62.9 | +0.0 |
| Kim, Kwang Hyun 4305 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +0.0 |
| Hilliard, Sam 4390 | ph | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Sawamura, Hirokazu 4389 | pi mr | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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