Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2025
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Monday’s Sidelights Sidebar
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▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Juan Soto of the Mets is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Reds pitcher Hunter Greene, Rays pitcher Shane Baz and Cody Freeman of the Rangers.
Player of the Day
Soto hit a grand slam, tripled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 10-8 win over the Tigers.
Soto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 81st among all players and 10th among National League batters.
Soto becomes the 11th batter in 2025 to win overall Player of the Day honors. Pitchers have won all other days of the season. In 2024, only five batters won overall Player of the Day honors.
American League Player of the Day
Rays pitcher Shane Baz struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks, in the 10-2 win over the Mariners.
Baz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, 52nd among all players and 25th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Cody Freeman of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 7-5, 10-inning win over the Diamondbacks.
This was Freeman’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Freeman made his Major League debut July 18 and was playing in his 15th career game.
National League Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Juan Soto.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Monday, Sept. 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 20.4 |
| 2 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 3 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 18.1 |
| 4 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 5 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 16.1 |
| 6 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 15.7 |
| 7 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 8 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 14.4 |
| 9 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 14.0 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 14.0 |
Notable
Reds pitcher Hunter Greene has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among Monday’s 13 Player of the Game winners.
Greene (6.1IP 5H R BB 7K ND in the 5-4 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.4 for the season, 38th among all players and 14th among NL pitchers.
Also notable
Trevor Story of the Red Sox (HR 3-4 R 2BI) was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s 6-4 win over the Guardians.
Monday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers post reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores is on Substack:
⬛ Two career Box-Toppers points leaders record Monday’s two lowest game scores
Andrew Heaney, 34, signed to minor league deal by #Dodgers. He earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with #Pirates before being released, which is now 19th among NL pitchers & 2nd among all LAD players (behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 15.7).
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Sep 2, 2025 at 8:23 AM
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He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season, 63rd among all players and seventh among AL batters.
Correction: Story’s reported Box-Toppers point total has been inaccurate since July 4. On that day, I miscalculated and gave him an extra Box-Toppers point—he should have had 3.5 rather than the 4.5 I reported. Subsequently, each of the three times since he’s won Player of the Game honors, his Box-Toppers point total was incorrectly inflated by 1.0:
On July 29, he earned 1.0 point, giving him 4.5 (not the 5.5 reported).
On Aug. 2, he earned 1.5 points, giving him 6.0 (not the 7.0 reported).
And on Aug. 16, he earned 1.0 point, giving him 7.0 (not the 8.0 reported).
I apologize for the error and will work forward to keep my Story straight.
Debut
In addition to Freeman, three other players made their Box-Toppers debut Monday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Nationals pitcher Andrew Alvarez (5IP H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 2-0 win over the Marlins) was also making his Major League debut.
Drew Gilbert of the Giants (HR 4-4 2R 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 8 and was playing in his 18th career game.
Jeremiah Jackson of the Orioles (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 4-3 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut Aug. 1 and was playing in his 27th career game.
Scoring
Soto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Baz earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Freeman earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Monday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) 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.
For additional updates, follow Box-Toppers on Bluesky or Twitter (X).
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).| 9/1 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +7.0 | NYM 10, DET 8 | Juan Soto RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | WSH 2, MIA 0 | Andrew Alvarez (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +6.0 | `CHC 7, ATL 6 (F/10) | Aaron Civale | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +5.1 | `CIN 5, TOR 4 | Hunter Greene | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | SF 8, COL 2 | Drew Gilbert RF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| AL | +5.0 | TB 10, SEA 2 | Shane Baz (W, 9‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| +3.2 | ATH 11, STL 3 | Luis Morales (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +3.1 | CHW 6, MIN 5 | Jordan Leasure (S, 5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 10, MIL 8 | Harrison Bader CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | TEX 7, ARI 5 (F/10) | Cody Freeman 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | HOU 8, LAA 3 | Luis Garcia (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 6, CLE 4 | Trevor Story SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | BAL 4, SD 3 | Jeremiah Jackson RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 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.
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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. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2025 (’25). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’24-’25), the period 2020-2025 (’20-25) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2025 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2024 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greene, Hunter 4651 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.4 | 19.1 | 30.8 | 30.8 | -0.3 |
| Baz, Shane 4560 | pi sp | tb al | 8.7 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 14.4 | +4.7 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | bos al | 8.0 | 9.0 | 23.7 | 45.7 | +7.0 |
| Soto, Juan 3994 | rf | nym nl | 7.0 | 18.0 | 37.5 | 51.0 | -4.0 |
| Civale, Aaron 4173 | pi sp mr | chi nl | 4.0 | 11.1 | 36.5 | 39.5 | -3.1 |
| Leasure, Jordan 5175 | pi mr cp | chi al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Bader, Harrison 4071 | lf cf | phi nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 13.0 | +3.0 |
| Morales, Luis 5268 | pi sp | oak al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | +2.7 |
| Freeman, Cody 5276 | 2b | tex al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Garcia, Luis 4423 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 23.7 | 23.7 | +1.0 |
| Alvarez, Andrew 5274 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Gilbert, Drew 5275 | rf | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Jackson, Jeremiah 5277 | rf | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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 2025 (’25), this year and last year (’24-25), over a six-year period (’20-25) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 51.3 | 278.8 |
| PIT | Mlodzinski, Carmen 4894 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| NYM | McLean, Nolan 5255 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| DET | Gipson-Long, Sawyer 4940 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 11.7 | 21.4 | 53.2 | 90.7 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 7.7 | 16.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| CLE | Cecconi, Slade 4913 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| BOS | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 16.1 | 26.8 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| MIA | Mazur, Adam* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 14.0 | 25.7 | 34.4 | 34.4 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 31.2 | 31.2 |
| LAA | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| KC | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 23.7 | 32.2 |
| ATL | Wentz, Joey 4639 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 7.0 | 27.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| MIN | Woods Richardson, Simeon 4974 | 4.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| ATH | Severino, Luis 3567 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 22.1 | 67.9 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| NYY | Fried, Max 4011 | 11.7 | 25.1 | 67.6 | 78.6 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 10.7 | 26.1 | 61.8 | 67.5 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 8.0 | 19.0 | 57.6 | 59.3 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 22.7 | 42.1 |
| BAL | Wells, Tyler 4428 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 4.7 | 13.4 | 60.0 | 144.4 |
| TEX | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Crismatt, Nabil 4449 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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