Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2022 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani maintains second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, but loses his status to be ranked among batters since he’s now earned an overwhelming share of his Player of the Game honors as a starting pitcher.
Plus, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday—Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias rises to fifth place and Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to seventh.
Player of the Day—Bieber struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 5-2 win over the Tigers.
Bieber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 16th among all players and seventh among American League pitchers.
Bieber becomes the 22nd player this season with 10.0 Box-Toppers points. It is his third season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. His best season was 2019, also with Cleveland, when he had 18.1 Box-Toppers points, sixth among all players and fourth among AL pitchers. In 2020, also with Cleveland, he led all players with 11.4 points, first among all players and one of only two players to reach 10.0 points in the pandemic-shortened season. In 2021, Bieber had 6.7 points, also with Cleveland, 38th among AL pitchers.
Bieber had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +10.0, same as Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo (8IP 3H 0R 2BB 7K ND), who was Player of the Game in the 1-0, 13-inning win over the Yankees. But Bieber won Player of the Day honors over Castillo because Bieber earned the win in his game, while Castillo picked up a no-decision.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 10-3 win over the Twins.
Urias earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising from seventh to fifth in season player rankings. Urias ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins (15.4 points).
National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Rockies hit a three-run homer and went 5-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 16-5 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—Aledmys Diaz of the Astros hit a grand slam and went 1-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Rangers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2022. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Tuesday, Aug. 9.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 19.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 18.0 |
| 3 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 16.7 |
| 4 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 15.4 |
| 5 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 14.4 |
| 7 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 13.4 |
| 8 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 13.0 |
| 9 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 12.7 |
| 10 | Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 12.2 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Back to top
Ohtani—Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani maintains second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Ohtani (6IP 4H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 5-1 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.0 for the season, trailing only Astros pitcher Justin Verlander (19.0 points). Ohtani also ranks second among AL pitchers behind Verlander.
However, with this Player of the Game honor, Ohtani is no longer included among batters this season in Box-Toppers rankings. Previously, Ohtani’s 17.0 Box-Toppers points held the overwhelming lead among AL batters, ahead of second-place Jose Ramirez of the Guardians (9.7 points), who now rises to the lead in the category.
But Ohtani has now earned such an overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors this season as a pitcher that he no longer qualifies to be ranked among batters. This was Ohtani’s 12th Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the season, his ninth as a starting pitcher (earning a total of 14.0 total points). He has earned three Player of the Game honors as a designated hitter (earning 4.0 total points). To qualify to rank at a certain position in Box-Toppers points, a player must earn more than 25 percent of their Player of the Game honors at that position. Ohtani has now earned exactly 25 percent at designated hitter (three of 12) and so is currently not qualified to rank among batters.
In 2021, Ohtani earned 16.1 Box-Toppers points but was ranked only as a pitcher because he earned such an overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors as a pitcher (nine of 12). However, during 2021, Ohtani qualified to be ranked as a batter from July 2 to Sept. 3, a period in which he earned more than 25 percent of his season’s Player of the Game honors as a batter.
Rankings—Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises from ninth to seventh in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Musgrove (7IP 6H R 0BB 4K ND in the 7-4 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins (15.4) and Julio Urias of the Dodgers (14.4).
Notable—Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Wheeler (6IP 5H R 3BB 8K W in the 4-1 win over the Marlins) ranks sixth among NL pitchers in 2022 Box-Toppers points.
Also notable—Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco now has 107.1 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Carrasco (6.2IP 7H 2R BB 9K W in the 6-2 win over the Reds) now ranks 71st among all players in career points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Tuesday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Frank Thomas (106.2), Francisco Liriano (106.2), James Shields (106.4) and White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn (107.1). (Carrasco ranks ahead of Lynn in career points because he has more 2022 points—7.0 vs. 3.0.) Carrasco now trails 70th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1). Carrasco ranks 17th among active players in career points, ninth among active NL pitchers.
His 7.0 points in 2022 is 22nd among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Bieber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urias earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Grichuk and Diaz each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Player of the Game winners (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.
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).Back to top
| 8/9 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | CLE 5, DET 2 | Shane Bieber, (W 7‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| +10.0 | `SEA 1, NYY 0 (F/13) | Luis Castillo | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| NL | +8.0 | LAD 10, MIN 3 | Julio Urías, (W 12‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| +6.1 | KC 4, CHW 2 | Brady Singer, (W 5‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | COL 16, STL 5 | Randal Grichuk, CF‑RF | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | WSH 6, CHC 5 | Keibert Ruiz, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | PHI 4, MIA 1 | Zack Wheeler, (W 11‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| +4.0 | LAA 5, OAK 1 | Shohei Ohtani, (W 10‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| +3.2 | NYM 6, CIN 2 | Carlos Carrasco, (W 13‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 9, BOS 7 (F/11) | Austin Riley, 3B | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 6, PIT 4 | Christian Walker, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIL 5, TB 3 | Freddy Peralta, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | `SD 7, SF 4 | Joe Musgrove | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +2.2 | CHW 3, KC 2 | Davis Martin, (W 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +2.2 | BAL 6, TOR 5 | Nick Vespi, (W 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | HOU 7, TEX 5 | Aledmys Díaz, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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.
Back to top
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 in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’21-22), the period 2017-2022 (’17-22) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2022 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2021 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 18.0 | 34.1 | 48.6 | 48.6 | +1.9 |
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 | 33.5 | 41.5 | 47.2 | -4.7 |
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 13.4 | 29.5 | 45.5 | 49.2 | -2.7 |
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 11.7 | 32.8 | 54.5 | 66.2 | -9.4 |
| Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 10.7 | 17.4 | 53.3 | 53.3 | +4.0 |
| Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b | atl nl | 8.0 | 16.5 | 24.0 | 24.0 | -0.5 |
| Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 7.0 | 16.0 | 51.8 | 51.8 | -2.0 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 | 7.0 | 60.6 | 107.1 | +7.0 |
| Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.4 | 19.1 | 37.8 | 37.8 | -6.3 |
| Singer, Brady 4337 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | +3.0 |
| Grichuk, Randal 3474 | rf cf | col nl | 5.0 | 10.5 | 29.9 | 40.4 | -0.5 |
| Vespi, Nick 4619 | pi mr | bal al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Walker, Christian 3958 | 1b | ari nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | +3.0 |
| Ruiz, Keibert 4616 | ca | dc nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Diaz, Aledmys 3612 | 3b lf | hou al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 10.5 | 16.0 | +1.5 |
| Martin, Davis 4657 | pi mr sp | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top
A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2022 (’22), over a two-year period (’21-22), over a six-year period (’17-22) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21-22 | ’17-22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | Zeuch, T.J.* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 4.0 | 13.4 | 24.4 | 45.8 |
| TB | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 11.4 | 28.5 | 45.2 | 45.2 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| LAA | Toussaint, Touki 4110 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| OAK | Blackburn, Paul 3869 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 10.4 | 15.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| SEA | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 9.4 | 27.1 | 60.5 | 71.2 |
| SF | Junis, Jakob 3857 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| SD | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 4.0 | 19.7 | 41.5 | 48.2 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 15.4 | 25.1 | 34.5 | 34.5 |
| PHI | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 51.5 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 7.0 | 16.4 | 56.9 | 56.9 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 3.7 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| ATL | Wright, Kyle 4349 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 34.4 | 34.4 |
| CLE | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| DET | Hutchison, Drew 3038 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 26.0 |
| CHW | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | 4.4 | 9.4 | 16.4 | 116.2 |
| KC | Bubic, Kris 4413 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| TEX | Otto, Glenn 4584 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| HOU | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 86.3 | 225.6 |
| STL | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 42.2 | 77.4 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 32.4 | 32.4 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| ARI | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | 2.7 | 12.7 | 32.4 | 138.1 |
| MIN | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 9.4 | 15.8 | 52.0 | 84.8 |
| LAD | Pepiot, Ryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top