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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
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White Sox pitcher Shane Smith is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day on the last day of the regular season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Sunday, Sept. 28 (final).| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 22.1 |
| 2 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 21.1 |
| 3 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 4 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 19.8 |
| 5 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 18.0 |
| 6 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 7 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 17.7 |
| 8 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 17.4 |
| 9 | Luis Castillo | pi sp | Mariners | 16.1 |
| 10 | Ranger Suárez | pi sp | Phillies | 15.8 |
Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw—second on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list—won Player of the Game honors in his final regular season career start.
Other Player of the Game winners Sunday include Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez, Braves pitcher Chris Sale, Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays, Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera and Jackson Merrill of the Padres.
Player of the Day
Smith struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 8-0 win over the Nationals.
Smith earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 117th among all players and 46th among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez struck out eight over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Twins. Sánchez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Sánchez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 15.4 for the season, 11th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 13-4 win over the Rays. Kirk also doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs.
Kirk earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 17th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day
Jackson Merrill of the Padres hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 280.8 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Rangers | 256.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 250.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 183.8 |
| 12 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Retired | 179.3 |
| 13 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Retired | 175.1 |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Retired | 174.2 |
| 15 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 18 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 165.0 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 20 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Retired | 160.9 |
Kershaw wins Player of the Game in final career start
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in his final regular season career start.
Kershaw (5.1IP 4H 0R BB 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season, 28th among NL pitchers.
He finishes his career with 280.8 career Box-Toppers points, second-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He finishes just 1.7 points behind Randy Johnson, who earned 282.5 career points from 1995 until his 2009 retirement. (It should be noted that Johnson began his career in 1988, before the advent of Box-Toppers tracking. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his Box-Toppers point total at 380.)
Kershaw’s seemingly inevitable rise to pass Johnson’s 1995-2009 point total is something that has long been a focus for Box-Toppers.
In a Nov. 29, 2016, post, Box-Toppers projected that Kershaw, then with 183.7 career Box-Toppers points, sixth-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, would pass Johnson by the end of the 2020 season. Over the previous six seasons, from 2011 to 2016, Kershaw averaged 25 Box-Toppers points per season and was en route to recording a record seven straight seasons with 20 or more points (2011-2017).
But after 2017, Kershaw did not reach 20 Box-Toppers points in a season again, although he had four 10.0-point seasons from 2019 to 2023. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he had 7.7 points, which was ninth among all players and fifth among National League pitchers. In 2024, he had just 2.0 points in an injury-riddled season.
In 2018, the Box-Toppers projection for Kershaw passing Johnson moved from 2020 to 2021. In 2019, that projection moved to 2022. In 2020, it moved to 2023.
Kershaw has led active players in career points since April 14, 2017. He rose to third place on the “all-time” career points list on May 23, 2017, and rose to second place on June 27, 2021. Here’s a look at Kershaw’s rise to second place on the career points list.
Sale now has 183.8 career points
Braves pitcher Chris Sale now has 183.8 career Box-Toppers points—11th-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Sale (5.2IP 4H R 2BB 9K W in the 4-1 win over the Pirates) trails 10th-ranked player on the “all-time” career points list, Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Sale ranks ninth among all pitchers since 1995.
Sale also ranks fourth among active players in career points, third among active NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (280.8) and Justin Verlander of the Giants (250.0).
Sale has 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 31st among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Also notable
Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Cabrera (5IP 2H 0R 5BB 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now ranks 29th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Scoring
Smith earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Sánchez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Kirk and Merrill each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Sunday’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.
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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).| 9/28 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | CHW 8, WSH 0 | Shane Smith (W, 7‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | +11.2 | `PHI 2, MIN 1 (F/10) | Cristopher Sánchez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| +10.1 | SF 4, COL 0 | Logan Webb W, 15‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| +9.1 | `KC 9, ATH 2 | Cole Ragans | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +7.1 | LAD 6, SEA 1 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 11‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +7.1 | CHC 2, STL 0 | Javier Assad (W, 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +7.0 | HOU 6, LAA 2 | Colton Gordon (W, 6‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +6.2 | ATL 4, PIT 1 | Chris Sale (W, 7‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | TOR 13, TB 4 | Alejandro Kirk C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | MIA 4, NYM 0 | Edward Cabrera (W, 8‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SD 12, ARI 4 | Jackson Merrill CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | MIL 4, CIN | Trevor Megill (W, 6‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | NYY 3, BAL 2 | Ben Rice 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CLE 9, TEX 8 (F/10) | Bo Naylor C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | BOS 4, DET 3 | David Hamilton 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | pi sp | phi nl | 15.4 | 26.8 | 30.8 | 30.8 | +4.0 |
| Cabrera, Edward 4641 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 | 13.7 | 23.8 | 23.8 | +9.7 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | atl nl | 11.4 | 30.5 | 41.2 | 183.8 | -7.7 |
| Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 | 20.0 | 58.6 | 60.3 | -2.0 |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.4 | 10.4 | 53.3 | 280.8 | +6.4 |
| Ragans, Cole 4889 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 | 19.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 | -5.0 |
| Kirk, Alejandro 4353 | ca | tor al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | +7.0 |
| Smith, Shane 5158 | pi sp | chi al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +7.0 |
| Megill, Tylor 4464 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 | 8.4 | 24.1 | 24.1 | +3.0 |
| Rice, Ben 5055 | 1b | nyy al | 4.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +3.0 |
| Merrill, Jackson 4977 | cf | sd nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -2.0 |
| Assad, Javier 4899 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | -4.0 |
| Naylor, Bo 4885 | ca dh ph | cle al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -1.0 |
| Gordon, Colton 5210 | pi sp | hou al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Hamilton, David 5030 | 2b ss | bos al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
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