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Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Hicks was one of two players Monday to win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the third time in the 2024 spring training season, along with Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock.
Player of the Day
Hicks struck out 10 over five scoreless and hitless innings, allowing one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Athletics.
Hicks would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Hicks earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Blue Jays, 87th among AL pitchers.
He had a +14.0 Box-Toppers game score Monday, the highest by any Player of the Game winner this spring, ahead of the +12.1 game score recorded March 12 by Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (5.1IP 0H 0R BB 8K W in the 6-4 win over the Giants).
This was also Hicks’ third Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2024 spring training season. He also did it March 9 (3IP 0H 0R BB 6K ND in the 5-1 win over the Athletics) and March 20 (4.2IP 3H R 3BB 6K ND in the 5-2 win over the Angels). Hicks was overall Player of the Day on March 9.
American League Player of the Day
Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.
Schmidt would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Schmidt earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 111th among AL pitchers.
This was his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2024 spring training season. He also did it March 4 (4IP H 0R 0BB K ND in the 3-2 win over the Marlins).
National League Batter of the Day
Alek Thomas of the Diamondbacks homered, doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 6-0, six-inning win over the Guardians.
Thomas would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Thomas earned 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, playing in 125 regular season games. He had 2.5 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 92nd among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day
Alex Jackson of the Rays homered and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 6-3 win over the Phillies.
Jackson would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Jackson, 28, has played in 66 regular season Major League games over 2019-22 but has yet to earn his first career Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Notable
Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock earned his third Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2024 spring training season Monday.
Whitlock (6IP 3H R 0ER BB 6K W in the 9-2 win over the Rangers) also earned Player of the Game honors Feb. 29 (3IP 3H R 0BB 6K W in the 5-2 win over the Tigers) and March 15 (4.1IP 2H 0R BB 5K ND in the 8-5 win over the Twins).
Whitlock had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 70th among AL pitchers.
Monday’s games
In Monday’s 11 completed spring training games featuring matchups between two Major League teams, there were nine Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games.
Most notably, Braves pitcher Chris Sale (3IP 3H 0R BB 6K W in the 4-0 win over the Twins) had the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Monday’s Player of the Game winners. Sale earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Red Sox, 36th among AL pitchers. His 153.3 career Box-Toppers points ranks 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. It is second-most among active NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (270.4).
In two of Monday’s games, the Player of the Game winner was a player who has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in the regular season and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Hicks would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Schmidt would have earned 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Thomas and Jackson would have each earned 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart) would have earned 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).| 3/25 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +14.0 | SF 4, OAK 1 | Jordan Hicks (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| AL | +8.0 | NYY 3, NYM 0 | Clarke Schmidt (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| +7.0 | BOS 9, TEX 2 | Garrett Whitlock (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +6.2 | MIL 10, COL 1 | Colin Rea (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +5.0 | ATL 4, MIN 0 | Chris Sale (W, 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | ARI 6, CLE 0 (F/6) | Alek Thomas CF | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +3.0 | TB 6, PHI 3 | Alex Jackson PH‑C | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | LAA 6, LAD 0 | Logan O’Hoppe C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | SEA 4, SD 1 | Ty France 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PIT 4, TOR 3 | Jake Lamb 1B | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | STL 6, CHC 3 | R.J. Yeager PR‑3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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 would 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.
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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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2024. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for the period 2019-2023 (’19-23) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’24 | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | atl nl | 0.0 | 8.7 | 21.7 | 153.3 |
| Rea, Colin 3582 | pi sp | mil nl | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 8.7 |
| Whitlock, Garrett 4431 | pi sp | bos al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| Hicks, Jordan 3991 | pi cp | sf nl | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| France, Ty 4243 | 1b | sea al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 18.5 | 18.5 |
| Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | pi sp mr cp | nyy al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| O’Hoppe, Logan 4928 | ca pr | ana al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Thomas, Alek 4648 | cf | ari nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Lamb, Jake 3517 | lf dh 3b | pit nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 16.4 |
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.
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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’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 2024 (’24)†, last year (’23), over a five-year period (’19-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24† | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 53.9 | 104.1 |
| MIN | Varland, Louie 4758 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| BOS | Fitts, Richard* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Gray, Jon 3634 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 29.7 | 53.1 |
| STL | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 35.8 | 62.2 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Ashby, Aaron 4511 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| CLE | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| SEA | Lawrence, Casey 3873 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| OAK | Blackburn, Paul 3869 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 11.7 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAD | Paxton, James 3280 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 19.1 | 60.9 |
| LAA | Silseth, Chase 4605 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2024.
* Player has yet to earn any career 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.
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