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
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Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Friday, Sept. 5.| 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 | 20.1 |
| 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 |
Other Player of the Game winners Friday include Braves pitcher Chris Sale, Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, Rangers pitcher Merrill Kelly, Colson Montgomery of the White Sox, Ian Happ of the Cubs, Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez and Brewers pitcher Quinn Priester.
Player of the Day
Freeland struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Padres.
Freeland earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 296th among all players and 84th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out five over eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 7-1 win over the Yankees.
Gausman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season, 18th among all players and ninth among AL pitchers.
Gausman also now has 110.2 career Box-Toppers points, 71st among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.7 points Friday, he passes four players on the “all-time” career points list: Gio Gonzalez (108.6), Carlos Beltran (108.6), Billy Wagner (108.7) and Jeff Kent (110.2). (It should be noted that Kent began his career prior to the start of Box-Toppers in 1995. If his entire career from 1992 were tracked, Box-Toppers estimates he would have about 125 career points.)
Gausman now trails 70th-ranked player Tom Glavine (110.6). (Glavine also began his career prior to the 1995 advent of Box-Toppers. If his entire career from 1987 were tracked, Box-Toppers estimates he would have about 170 career points.)
Gausman ranks 13th among active, signed players in career points and fifth among active AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Colson Montgomery of the White Sox homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day
Ian Happ of the Cubs homered and went 1-for-2, scoring four times and driving in one run, in the 11-5 win over the Nationals.
Notable
In addition to Gausman, three other Friday Player of the Game winners have more than 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025:
Sánchez has 13.7 Box-Toppers points
Phillies pitcher Christopher Sánchez (7IP 6H R BB 5K W in the 9-3 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season, 13th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.
Kelly has 12.7 Box-Toppers points
Rangers pitcher Merrill Kelly (7IP 5H R BB 7K ND in the 4-3, 12-inning win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season, 16th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
Priester has 10.0 Box-Toppers points
Brewers pitcher Quinn Priester (7IP 6H 2R BB 6K W in the 5-2 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 34th among all players and 14th among NL pitchers.
Priester becomes the 34th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his first season with 10 or more points. In 2024, his only previous season earning points, Priester had 1.0 point with the Pirates and Red Sox.
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 | 278.8 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Rangers | 256.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 248.0 |
| 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 | 180.8 |
| 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 |
Also notable
Braves pitcher Chris Sale now has 180.8 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Sale (6.2IP 4H R 0BB 9K ND in the 4-1 win over the Mariners) ranks 11th among all players in career Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. He trails 10th-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Sale ranks ninth among all pitchers since 1995. He ranks fourth among active, signed players in career points and third among active NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (278.8) and Justin Verlander of the Giants (248.0).
Sale also now has 8.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 21st among NL pitchers. It is his first Player of the Game honor in more than two months. He last earned Player of the Game honors June 18, the day he suffered a fractured left rib cage that put him on the injured list until the end of August. This was his second start since coming off the injured list.
Scoring
Freeland earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Montgomery and Happ each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Friday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers
Career Box-Toppers points—Active NL pitchers 1—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 278.8 2—Justin Verlander #SFGiants 248.0 3—Chris Sale #Braves 180.8* 4—Yu Darvish #Padres 144.4 5—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 125.1 6—Sonny Gray #STLCards 124.3 *Earns 1.0 B-T point Friday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/9/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Sep 6, 2025 at 8:42 AM
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.
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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).| 9/5 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +16.0 | COL 3, SD 0 | Kyle Freeland (W, 4‑14) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| +9.2 | `ATL 4, SEA 1 | Chris Sale | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| AL | +6.0 | TOR 7, NYY 1 | Kevin Gausman (W, 9‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| +6.0 | `TEX 4, HOU 3 (F/12) | Merrill Kelly | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | `BAL 2, LAD 1 | Dean Kremer | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | CHW 7, DET 5 | Colson Montgomery SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +4.0 | CHC 11, WSH 5 | Ian Happ LF | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | ARI 10, BOS 5 | Geraldo Perdomo SS | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 9, MIA 3 | Cristopher Sánchez (W, 12‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +2.2 | KC 2, MIN 1 | Michael Wacha (W, 9‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +2.0 | SF 8, STL 2 | Jung Hoo Lee CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATH 10, LAA 4 | Lawrence Butler CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYM 5, CIN 4 | Mark Vientos 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CLE 7, TB 1 | Steven Kwan LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 5, PIT 2 | Quinn Priester (W, 12‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
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 | 13.7 | 25.1 | 29.1 | 29.1 | +2.3 |
| Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | tex al | 12.7 | 14.7 | 45.7 | 53.7 | +10.7 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 12.1 | 22.1 | 68.2 | 110.2 | +2.1 |
| Priester, Quinn 5059 | pi sp | mil nl | 10.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | +9.0 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | kc al | 9.1 | 19.5 | 46.0 | 80.7 | -1.3 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.4 | 27.5 | 38.2 | 180.8 | -10.7 |
| Perdomo, Geraldo 4601 | ss | ari nl | 6.5 | 6.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | +6.5 |
| Kremer, Dean 4330 | pi sp | bal al | 5.7 | 14.4 | 35.5 | 35.5 | -3.0 |
| Lee, Jung Hoo 5139 | cf | sf nl | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | +5.5 |
| Happ, Ian 3798 | lf | chi nl | 4.5 | 12.0 | 19.5 | 25.5 | -3.0 |
| Montgomery, Colson 5235 | ss 3b | chi al | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +4.5 |
| Kwan, Steven 4573 | lf | cle al | 3.5 | 7.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 0.0 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 24.7 | 44.1 | +1.0 |
| Vientos, Mark 5024 | 3b | nym nl | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -2.0 |
| Butler, Lawrence 5052 | cf | oak al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 5.0 | 12.7 | 63.9 | 76.6 |
| NYY | Gil, Luis 4498 | 0.0 | 17.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| WSH | Lord, Brad 5234 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 42.5 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 14.7 | 16.7 | 50.6 | 50.6 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 47.8 | 54.2 |
| CHW | Perez, Martin 3213 | 1.7 | 7.4 | 22.2 | 41.9 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 20.4 | 41.5 | 71.6 | 71.6 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 58.6 | 68.3 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 6.7 | 18.4 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| NYM | Tong, Jonah* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 10.0 | 20.0 | 43.7 | 43.7 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 8.7 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 15.7 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 22.1 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 30.8 | 30.8 |
| ATL | Waldrep, Hurston 5248 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 12.4 | 24.4 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 53.5 | 150.2 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 11.7 | 21.4 | 47.5 | 47.5 |
| KC | Kolek, Stephen 5046 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| SF | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 42.4 | 248.0 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 5.7 | 14.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| COL | Brown, McCade* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 36.8 | 57.5 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 6.7 | 19.1 | 22.8 | 22.8 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| LAA | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 6.7 | 17.4 | 40.8 | 44.8 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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