Blog
The New York Yankees enter 2026 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team, but their lead is a precarious one.
While the Yankees’ current roster combined for a league-leading 128.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025—narrowly edging out the Chicago Cubs (125.8 points)—the raw totals don't tell the whole story.
Read More
Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Gausman pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing seven hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Brock Stewart pitched five scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Cubs. Stewart did not earn the win, picking up the no decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
This was Stewart’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Stewart made his Major League debut June 29 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,722nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit three home runs and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 9-6 win over the Twins.
Donaldson earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Donaldson ranks 34th among all players and fourth among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Joe Panik of the Giants hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 13-4 win over the Braves.
Debut—Two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stewart earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Panik each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/28 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | BAL 5, NYY 0 | Kevin Gausman (W,6-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| NL | 9.0 | `LAD 1, CHC 0 | Brock Stewart | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | LAA 5, DET 0 | Tyler Skaggs (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | TOR 9, MIN 6 | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | SF 13, ATL 4 | Joe Panik, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | TB 10, HOU 4 | Chris Archer (W,8-17) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 5.0 | TEX 2, CLE 1 | Derek Holland (W,6-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | PIT 3, MIL 1 | Ivan Nova (W,11-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | COL 5, WSH 3 | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | OAK 7, STL 4 | Andrew Triggs (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | CHW 4, SEA 1 | Carlos Rodon (W,5-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `PHI 5, NYM 1 | Vince Velasquez | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 11, CIN 2 | Welington Castillo, C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | KC 10, BOS 4 | Matt Strahm (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | SD 3, MIA 1 | Ryan Schimpf, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 9.7 | 19.6 | 39.6 | 39.6 | -0.2 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 9.0 | 25.0 | 49.1 | 49.1 | -7.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 9.0 | 17.5 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 0.5 |
| Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 7.4 | 13.1 | 20.8 | 20.8 | 1.7 |
| Panik, Joe 3401 | 2b | sf nl | 5.5 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 1.5 |
| Schimpf, Ryan 3686 | 2b | sd nl | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 | 6.0 | 27.1 | 28.1 | 4.0 |
| Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | -4.1 |
| Castillo, Wellington 3251 | ca | ari nl | 4.0 | 7.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 0.5 |
| Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | tex al | 4.0 | 6.7 | 38.8 | 45.8 | 1.3 |
| Skaggs, Tyler 3183 | pi sp | ana al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 2.7 |
| Stewart, Brock 3722 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Strahm, Matt 3724 | pi mr | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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.