Reds' Brandon Finnegan tops players for Thursday, Aug. 4; Blue Jays' Happ rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 4:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Finnegan pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 7-0 win over the Cardinals.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Drew Smyly struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the Royals. Smyly did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited the game with the Rays trailing 2-0.

National League Batter of the Day—Denard Span of the Giants hit a 10th-inning, go-ahead home run in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Phillies. Span also went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Billy Butler of the Athletics hit a 10th-inning, pinch-hit single and scored a run, in the 8-6, 10-inning win over the Angels.

This was Butler’s first Player of the Game honor of 2016 and he has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. Butler earned his first points in 2007 with the Royals and has 47.6 career points, 28th among active AL batters. His best season was 2012 with the Royals when he had 9.7 points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 1.5 points with the Athletics.

Rankings—Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Happ (6IP 4H R BB 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He displaces Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (11.0 Box-Toppers points) from the top 10 season player rankings list and ranks third among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Finnegan earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smyly earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Span and Butler each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/4	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	CIN 7, STL 0	Brandon Finnegan (W,7-8)	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	0	4
AL	7.0	`TB 3, KC 2	Drew Smyly	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	1	10
	5.0	TOR 4, HOU 1	J.A. Happ (W,15-3)	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	1	6
	4.1	BOS 3, SEA 2 (11)	Craig Kimbrel (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	SF 3, PHI 2 (10)	Denard Span, CF	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	LAD 4, COL 2	Kenley Jansen (S,32)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.1	CLE 9, MIN 2	Dan Otero (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	ATL 5, PIT 2	Jim Johnson (S,7)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	NYM 4, NYY 1	Jay Bruce, RF	4	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	1.0	OAK 8, LAA 6 (10)	Billy Butler, PH-DH	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	CHW 6, DET 3	Tim Anderson, SS	0	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.2	TEX 5, BAL 3	A.J. Griffin (W,5-1)	-	-	-	-		5.2	5	3	3	0	6

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	11.0	24.1	39.5	47.5	-2.1
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	7.5	10.7	30.7	57.8	4.3
Smyly, Drew 3009	pi sp	tb al	6.4	12.4	34.5	34.5	0.4
Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	lad nl	5.0	9.0	35.4	35.4	1.0
Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	5.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	2.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	4.0	10.0	53.7	54.7	-2.0
Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	tex al	3.7	3.7	18.4	18.4	3.7
Span, Denard 2502	cf	sf nl	3.0	3.0	11.7	25.7	3.0
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi mr cp	atl nl	2.0	4.0	14.0	19.7	0.0
Otero, Dan 3365	pi mr	cle al	2.0	3.7	4.7	4.7	0.3
Anderson, Tim 3659	ss	chi al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Butler, Billy 2330	dh ph	oak al	1.5	3.0	28.2	47.6	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Red Sox' Clay Buchholz (8IP R 5K) tops players for Monday, June 29

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Buchholz pitched eight innings and allowed one run on five hits, striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 29.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.4
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
4	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
5	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	11.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	11.1
7	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	10.7
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.4
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	9.7
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Buchholz had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 6, tied with Indians pitcher Cody Anderson who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Rays. However, Buchholz won Player of the Game on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts than Anderson (five vs. two).

National League Player of the Day—Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-4 win over the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day—Billy Butler of the Athletics homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Rockies.

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 a batter (Jonathan Lucroy).

Notable—Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the nine who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Wilson has 8.4 Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among all players, seventh among AL pitchers. Wilson (6IP 5H R 5K W in the 4-1 win over the Yankees) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game.

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

• Tucker Barnhart of the Reds (2B 4-5 R 2BI in the 11-7 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut April 3, 2014, and was playing in his 45th career game. He is the 3,519th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. 
• Nick Ahmed of the Diamondbacks (HR 2-3 R 2BI in the 10-6 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut June 29, 2014, and was playing in his 94th career game. He is the 3,520th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. 

Scoring—Buchholz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lucroy earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Butler earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/29	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	6.0	Red Sox	Clay Buchholz (W, 6-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	0	5
	6.0	Indians	Cody Anderson (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	1	1	0	2
	5.0	Astros	Lance McCullers (W, 4-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	2	6
BAT	4.0	Athletics	Billy Butler DH	4	3	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	3.0	Brewers	Jonathan Lucroy C	5	2	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Reds	Tucker Barnhart C	5	1	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rangers	Mitch Moreland 1B	5	2	2	3	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Nick Ahmed SS	3	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Angels	C.J. Wilson (W, 6-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	3	5

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

On Friday, Aug. 8, two teams that seemed destined to meet in the World Series began a regular season interleague series.

Yes, the Baltimore Orioles faced the St. Louis Cardinals. The Orioles, up five games in the American League East and the Cardinals, a game out in the National League Central.

 Incidentally, two other teams faced each other in another interleague series beginning that night. But these were two ragtag teams struggling to hold on to their Wild Card spots, both in second place in their division. Few people were likely touting this as a possible World Series preview, few even could find intrigue in matching up two teams from different leagues with no trace of geographical or historical rivalry of any kind.

But it was on the schedule, so the San Francisco Giants traveled to Kansas City to face the Royals in a three-game series. A little more than two months later, these two unlikely teams have made their way to the World Series to face each other again.

The Royals swept the three-game series in August. Here is a series recap with Box-Toppers Players of the Game for each game:

Friday, Aug. 8: Royals 4, Giants 2

Player of the Game: Billy Butler of the Royals hit a home run and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs. Butler earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game and finished the season with 2.5 Box-Toppers points. 

Madison Bumgarner was starting pitcher for the Giants and picked up the loss. He pitched a complete game (eight innings) and allowed seven hits and four runs, striking out five. Bumgarner finished the season with 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Complete Box-Toppers results for Aug. 8.

Saturday, Aug. 9: Royals 5, Giants 0

Player of the Game: Royals pitcher James Shields pitched a complete game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out five. Shields earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game and finished the season with 13.7 Box-Toppers points.

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson (6IP 6H 3R K) picked up the loss.

Complete Box-Toppers results for Aug. 9.

Sunday, Aug. 10: Royals 7, Giants 4

Player of the Game: Norichika Aoki of the Royals went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in a run. Aoki earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game and finished the season with 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (3.1IP 7H 6R 2K) picked up the loss.

Complete Box-Toppers results for Aug. 10.

That same weekend, as mentioned previously, the Orioles and the Cardinals met—two teams that seemed more likely to go to the World Series, but two teams that would both go on to lose their league championship series. For what it’s worth, the Orioles took two out of three in that series.

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.

Top player from each game

Here are the Players of the Game from each of the three games played between the Giants and Royals in August. The Royals swept the series, 3-0.

Date	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
8/8	3.0	Royals	Billy Butler 1B	3	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
8/9	9.0	Royals	James Shields (W, 11-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	5
8/10	3.0	Royals	Norichika Aoki RF	2	2	2	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Previously: Box-Toppers World Series preview: Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Dodgers' Greinke tops players for Friday, July 25, Rays' Price climbs to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Rays pitcher David Price rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 in the 8-1 win over the Giants. Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season. He is in 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings and is in fifth place among National League pitchers.

Price rose from 10th to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning American League Player of the Day honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Price (8IP 3R 10K W in the 6-4 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Tigers (17.1 Box-Toppers points).

Luis Valbuena of the Cubs is NL Batter of the Day. Valbuena hit a two-run homer and scored three times in the 7-6 win over the Cardinals.

Billy Butler of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Butler hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the 6-4 win over the Indians.

Notable: Jose Abreu of the White Sox became the 19th player this season to earn 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season, after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Abreu hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5 with two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Twins. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season, putting him in 17th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He extends his lead in Box-Toppers points among AL batters—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers is in second place with 8.5.

Greinke receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Price receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Valbuena and Butler each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Friday, click here

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

725	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	Dodgers	Zack Greinke (W, 12-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	1	10
	7.2	`Mets	Zack Wheeler	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	3	2	1	2	9
	7.0	Nationals	Tanner Roark (W, 10-6)								7.0	3	1	1	1	6
	6.1	Marlins	Brad Hand (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	3	0	0	2	4
BAT	4.0	Cubs	Luis Valbuena 3B	2	3	1	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	4.0	Rays	David Price (W, 11-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	8	3	3	0	10
	3.2	`Orioles	Brian Matusz	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	1	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Rockies	Josh Rutledge SS	4	1	2	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Phillies	Domonic Brown LF	4	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Royals	Billy Butler PH	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rangers	Jerome Williams (W, 2-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	0	4
	2.2	`Angels	Tyler Skaggs	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	5	1	1	1	5
	2.0	White Sox	Jose Abreu 1B	5	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Yankees	Ichiro Suzuki RF	3	1	1	3	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Padres	Jesse Hahn (W, 6-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	3	4

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers' batting leader Miguel Cabrera wins AL MVP; NL leader Goldschmidt finishes behind McCutchen for NL MVP

Box-Toppers' top-ranked batter Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers was named American League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

But the National League leading batter in Box-Toppers points, Paul Goldschmidt, finished in second place in NL MVP voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who finished 71st among NL players and 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points, was voted NL MVP.

Cabrera had 16.9 Box-Toppers points for the season, first among all batters, third among all AL players and eighth among all players. He was consistently the only batter in the overall player top 10 list during the season. He led all players in Box-Toppers points four different times during the season, most recently from June 28 to June 30.

Cabrera was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots, winning his second straight MVP award. However, in 2012, Cabrera ranked third among AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.7, behind Adrian Beltre (13.5) and Chris Davis (12.0). Cabrera ranked third in 2012 despite his Triple Crown season.

McCutchen, voted NL MVP, had 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots and was voted on all 30 ballots no lower than third place. However, as the 22nd-ranked NL batter in Box-Toppers points, he wouldn’t have even appeared on Box-Toppers’ 10-spot ballot.

Box-Toppers’ top NL batter Goldschmidt had 13.7 Box-Toppers points and received 15 of the writers’ second place votes, enough to secure the NL MVP runner-up spot.

So what went wrong here? Why do the writers so unanimously see McCutchen as the MVP and Box-Toppers so ... does not? (In fact, McCutchen is not even the highest-ranked batter in Box-Toppers points on his team—that honor goes to Pedro Alvarez, with 7.7 points.)

McCutchen’s batting average is .317. He hit 21 homers and 84 RBIs, scored 97 runs and stole 27 bases. Goldschmidt’s numbers were just as good, often better—.302 average, 36 homers, 125 RBIs. But McCutchen’s team made the postseason. Goldschmidt’s didn’t. Plus, words being used to describe McCutchen are “all-around player,” a “heart-and-soul” guy—intangibles. By their very nature, it’s hard to measure intangibles.

But Box-Toppers measures tangibles. The player who most helps his team win the most games earns the most Box-Toppers points. And to be fair, Box-Toppers doesn’t measure defensive play—for batters, it relies on what they produce at the plate. So it is possible that a lot of McCutchen’s valuableness gets missed that way.

Though in the previous two seasons, McCutchen has fared better in Box-Toppers points than he did in 2013. In 2011, he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, in eighth place among NL batters. And in 2012, he had 8.5, finishing just out of the top 10 among NL batters.

So, by Box-Toppers standards, Goldschmidt very simply more often helped his team win more games than did McCutchen.

A couple of other players were voted by writers to higher spots than would be recommended by their Box-Toppers point total:

• Mike Trout of the Angels was voted in second place in AL MVP voting with five first place votes. He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 144th place among all AL players and 62nd among all AL batters. (In 2012, he also finished second in AL MVP voting, but in 2012, he finished fifth among AL batters with 11.0 Box-Toppers points.)
• Yadier Molina of the Cardinals was voted in third place in NL MVP voting with two first place votes. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 126th place among all NL players and 52nd among all NL batters. However, Molina is rightly given credit for his defensive skills as a catcher and his role in shaping a pitching staff with four or five Cy Young-worthy starters. Box-Toppers doesn’t measure that.

There were several players who had high Box-Toppers point totals who did not receive MVP votes. Three of the Box-Toppers top 10 AL batters received no votes and seven of the Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters were shut out:

• Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all AL players and second among all AL batters. However, Soriano played in the National League for the Cubs at the start of the season and switched to the American League in July.
• Billy Butler of the Royals had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 33rd among all AL players and eighth among AL batters.
• Prince Fielder of the Tigers had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 39th among all AL players and 10th among AL batters.
• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all NL players and fourth among NL batters.
• Bryce Harper of the Nationals had 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all NL players and fifth among NL batters.
• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals had 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all NL players and sixth among NL batters.
• Will Venable of the Padres had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 36th among all NL players and seventh among NL batters.
• Daniel Murphy of the Mets had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 40th among all NL players and eighth among NL batters.
• Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all NL players and ninth among NL batters.
• Brandon Phillips of the Reds had 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 48th among all NL players and 10th among NL batters.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Here are the final Box-Toppers Player Rankings for 2013, showing the top 10 overall players, plus the top 10 in AL and NL pitching and AL and NL batting. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers season point totals.

Box-Toppers rankings of MVP Award candidates 

Here are the results of Most Valuable Player Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among all players in their league.

MVP vote
AL
Player	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Miguel Cabrera	3b	Tigers	23	7									385	16.9	3
Mike Trout	cf lf	Angels	5	19	3	1	1		1				282	3.5	144
Chris Davis	1b	Orioles	1	4	11	12	1		1				232	12.7	14
Josh Donaldson	3b	Athletics	1		14	9	3	3					222	9.5	31
Robinson Cano	2b	Yankees			1	5	9	2	6	5	2		150	12.5	17
Evan Longoria	3b	Rays					4	6	6	4	5	3	103	5.5	82
Dustin Pedroia	2b	Red Sox				1	5	5	5	4	2	1	99	3.5	145
Adrian Beltre	3b	Rangers					2	8	7	3	4	2	99	8.4	41
Manny Machado	3b	Orioles					2	1	2	5	5	7	57	1.0	316
David Ortiz	dh	Red Sox				2	1	2	2	1	2	2	47	12.4	18
Jason Kipnis	2b	Indians					1	1		3	3	5	31	8.0	44
Max Scherzer	pi sp	Tigers			1			2		1	1	2	25	18.1	1
Adam Jones	cf	Orioles					1			1			9	8.0	43
Edwin Encarnacion	1b dh	Blue Jays								1	2		7	8.7	38
Greg Holland	pi cp	Royals								1			3	11.0	22
Carlos Santana	ca	Indians								1			3	1.0	287
Coco Crisp	cf	Athletics									1	1	3	4.0	129
Jacoby Ellsbury	cf	Red Sox									1	1	3	5.5	83
Torii Hunter	rf	Tigers									1		2	4.0	125
Hisashi Iwakuma	pi sp	Mariners									1		2	16.1	7
Koji Uehara	pi cp	Red Sox										2	2	6.0	76
Yu Darvish	pi sp	Rangers										1	1	16.0	8
Felix Hernandez	pi sp	Mariners										1	1	14.8	9
Salvador Perez	ca 1b	Royals										1	1	2.5	195
Shane Victorino	rf	Red Sox										1	1	4.5	112
Notable AL snubs
Alfonso Soriano	lf	Yankees											0	12.9	12
Billy Butler	dh	Royals											0	9.0	33
Prince Fielder	1b	Tigers											0	8.5	39
NL
Player, Club	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Andrew McCutchen	cf	Pirates	28	1	1								409	6.0	71
Paul Goldschmidt	1b	D-Backs		15	9	1	3	2					242	13.7	12
Yadier Molina	ca	Cardinals	2	8	4	6	6		1		2	1	219	4.0	126
Matt Carpenter	2b	Cardinals		6	5	4	3	9	1	1	1		194	7.5	49
Freddie Freeman	1b	Braves				5	7	8	8	1	1		154	11.5	19
Joey Votto	1b	Reds			2	8	7	3	4		1	2	149	4.5	109
Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	Dodgers			8	4		4	5	4	1		146	21.7	1
Hanley Ramirez	ss	Dodgers			1	1	2	1	2	3	3	3	58	5.0	87
Carlos Gomez	cf	Brewers					1		3	6	2	3	43	3.0	162
Jay Bruce	rf	Reds					1	1	3		2	3	30	4.5	112
Craig Kimbrel	pi cp	Braves				1		1		3	3		27	12.7	18
Shin Soo Choo	cf	Reds						1	1	1	4	3	23	7.0	55
Jayson Werth	rf	Nationals							1	2	2	6	20	6.5	66
Andrelton Simmons	ss	Braves								2	4		14	1.5	261
Yasiel Puig	rf	Dodgers							1	2			10	1.5	259
Hunter Pence	rf	Giants								1	1	2	7	6.5	63
Troy Tulowitzki	ss	Rockies									2	1	5	4.0	124
Allen Craig	lf 1b	Cardinals								1		1	4	5.0	84
Adrian Gonzalez	1b	Dodgers								1		1	4	5.0	86
Buster Posey	ca	Giants								1			3	7.0	54
Adam Wainwright	pi sp	Cardinals								1			3	20.2	2
Michael Cuddyer	rf	Rockies										3	3	11.5	20
Matt Holliday	lf	Cardinals									1		2	6.5	62
Russell Martin	ca	Pirates										1	1	2.0	212
Notable NL snubs
Carlos Gonzalez	lf	Rockies											0	11.0	22
Bryce Harper	lf	Nationals											0	9.4	34
Ryan Zimmerman	3b	Nationals											0	9.2	35
Will Venable	rf cf	Padres											0	9.0	36
Daniel Murphy	2b	Mets											0	8.5	40
Pedro Alvarez	3b	Pirates											0	7.7	45
Brandon Phillips	2b	Reds											0	7.5	48

* Rank among players (batters and pitchers) in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

Source: Baseball Writers Association of America

Astros' Peacock, Orioles' Gonzalez top players for Thursday, Sept. 5

Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is Thursday's Player of the Day. Peacock struck out nine over seven innings in the 3-2 win over the Athletics.

Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez is American League Player of the Day. Gonzalez gave up one run over seven innings and struck out six in the 3-1 win over the White Sox. 

Todd Frazier of the Reds is National League Batter of the Day. Frazier hit two homers and went 3-for-4 in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals. 

Billy Butler of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Butler went 5-for-5 in the 13-inning, 7-6 win over the Mariners. Butler earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season. He has the most Box-Toppers points for the season among all seven of Thursday's Players of the Game and is in 49th place overall.

Peacock receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Gonzalez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Frazier and Butler each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

905	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	6.0	Astros	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brad Peacock (W, 4-5)	7.0	5	2	2	1	9
AL	6.0	Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Miguel Gonzalez (W, 9-7)	7.0	4	1	1	1	6
BAT	3.0	Reds	Todd Frazier 3B	4	2	3	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Craig Breslow (W, 5-2)	2.0	0	0	0	1	2
BAT	2.0	Royals	Billy Butler DH	5	1	5	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	`Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tony Sipp (H, 2)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.1	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jerome Williams (W, 6-10)	6.1	6	2	2	2	7

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Madison Bumgarner tops players for Friday, June 14; Indians' Justin Masterson regains Box-Toppers points lead

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Friday's Player of the Day and Indians pitcher Justin Masterson regained the Box-Toppers season points lead among players.

Bumgarner struck out 10 and allowed two hits over seven scoreless innings in the 6-0 win over the Braves. 

Masterson meanwhile passed Miguel Cabrera atop Box-Toppers points standings as he earned Player of the Game honors in the 2-1 win over the Nationals. Masterson struck out 10 over seven innings and left with a no-decision. He earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 11.7 for the season.  (See updated list of Top 10 players for 2013 on the home page.)

Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle is American League Player of the Day. Buehrle struck out seven over seven scoreless innings in the 8-0 win over the Rangers.

Freddy Galvis of the Phillies is National League Batter of the Day. Galvis hit two triples and drove in four runs in the 8-7 win over the Rockies. 

Billy Butler of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Butler went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs in the 7-2 win over the Rays. 

Bumgarner receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Buehrle receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Galvis and Butler each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

614	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	14.0	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Madison Bumgarner (W, 6-4)	7.0	2	0	0	1	10
AL	9.0	Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mark Buehrle (W, 3-4)	7.0	4	0	0	1	7
	9.0	`Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Masterson	7.0	2	1	1	4	10
	9.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Rick Porcello (W, 4-3)	7.0	3	0	0	0	5
	9.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jeff Locke (W, 6-1)	7.0	2	0	0	1	5
	7.0	Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Eric Stults (W, 6-5)	9.0	2	1	1	1	3
	5.0	Astros	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Erik Bedard (W, 2-3)	6.0	3	1	0	3	6
	4.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jose Fernandez (W, 4-3)	7.0	6	3	2	2	10
MLB	3.0	Phillies	Freddy Galvis SS	5	2	2	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Edwin Jackson (W, 3-8)	6.0	5	1	1	3	7
	3.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ernesto Frieri (S, 15)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	`Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Aroldis Chapman	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Joe Saunders (W, 5-6)	7.0	5	1	1	2	4
	2.0	Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Tillman (W, 7-2)	6.0	3	0	0	4	3
MLB	1.0	Royals	Billy Butler DH	4	0	2	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Justin Masterson, throwing complete game shutout, is top player for Monday, May 13

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson is Monday's Player of the Day. Masterson pitched a complete game shutout, striking out nine, in the 1-0 win over the Yankees.

​Masterson moves up to second place in season Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and now has 7.7 points, behind season leader Yu Darvish (8.0).

Brewers pitcher Marco Estrada is National League Player of the Day. Estrada gave up one run over seven innings in the 5-1 win over the Pirates.​

Billy Butler of the Royals is American League Batter of the Day. Butler went 5-for-5 with five RBIs in the 11-4 win over the Angels.​

Brian McCann of the Braves is NL Batter of the Day. McCann went 2-for-3 and homered in the 10-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Standings update: Bryce Harper of the Nationals rose to ninth place among players for the season. Harper was Player of the Game in the 6-2 win over the Dodgers and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.9 for the season. He is the Box-Toppers points leader among NL batters.​

​Masterson receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Estrada receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Butler and McCann receive 1.5 each for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Monday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

513	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	11.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Masterson (W, 6-2)	9.0	4	0	0	3	9
BAT	7.0	Royals	Billy Butler DH	5	2	5	5	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	7.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			A.J. Griffin (W, 4-3)	7.0	6	1	1	0	8
NL	6.0	Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Marco Estrada (W, 3-2)	7.0	3	1	1	1	5
	6.0	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Adam Warren (S, 1)	4.0	2	0	0	0	4
	5.0	Tigers	Andy Dirks LF	4	2	3	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	4.0	Braves	Brian McCann C	3	2	2	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Twins	Aaron Hicks CF	3	3	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Travis Wood (W, 4-2)	7.0	2	0	0	3	2
	2.0	Cardinals	Matt Carpenter 2B, 3B	4	2	2	2	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Nationals	Bryce Harper RF	1	2	1	0	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Top players for Sunday, April 7

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson is Sunday's Player of the Day. Masterson threw seven innings, struck out eight and gave up two hits, three walks and no runs in the 13-0 win over the Rays.

Braves pitcher Tim Hudson is National League Player of the Day. Hudson struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings in the 5-1 over the Cubs.​

Billy Butler of the Royals was American League Batter of the Day. Butler hit a grand slam homer and drove in seven runs in a 9-8 win over the Phillies.​

Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals was National League Batter of the Day. Carpenter went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs in the 14-3 win over the Giants, the day the Giants received their World Series championship rings.

Masterson receives two Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Hudson receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Butler receives 1.5 points for AL Batter of the Day. Carpenter receives 1.5 points for NL Batter of the Day.

All of Sunday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive one Box-Toppers point:

407	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	10.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Masterson (W, 2-0)	7.0	2	0	0	3	8
	8.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Lester (W, 2-0)	7.0	5	0	0	0	6
	7.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brett Anderson (W, 1-1)	6.0	5	2	0	2	10
NL	6.2	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tim Hudson (W, 1-0)	6.2	3	1	1	2	7
BAT	6.0	Royals	Billy Butler 1B	4	1	2	7	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	6.0	Rangers	Ian Kinsler 2B	3	2	3	4	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	4.0	Cardinals	Matt Carpenter 2B	5	3	3	3	0	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			CC Sabathia (W, 1-1)	7.0	4	0	0	3	4
	3.1	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 1-1)	6.1	3	2	2	2	6
	3.0	Diamondbacks	Eric Hinske PH	1	1	1	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Glen Perkins (S, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Rockies	Jonathan Herrera SS	4	1	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Aroldis Chapman (S, 2)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Mets	Ruben Tejada SS	2	2	1	0	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	`White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Sale	7.0	5	3	3	2	7