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Padres pitcher Michael King is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo enters the season top 10 after earning American League Player of the Day honors, while veterans Sonny Gray and José Ramírez climbed the all-time leaderboards.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Sunday include Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, Gavin Sheets of the Padres and Edgar Quero of the White Sox.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease rises to seventh in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Corbin Burnes is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth in season player rankings.
Burnes struck out 13 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Reds.
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Box-Toppers is voting for four players for 2023 Hall of Fame induction on the internet writers’ ballot—Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Box-Toppers is voting for four players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2023 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players: Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Pivetta pitched a complete-game two-hitter, allowing one run and no walks, and striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Astros.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching a seven-inning no-hitter.
Also Sunday, Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff rises to fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreWhite Sox pitcher Dane Dunning is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Dunning struck out seven over five scoreless and hitless innings, allowing one walk, in the 5-2, 10-inning win over the Royals. Dunning did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Royals tied the game after he exited.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth in season player rankings.
Strasburg struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 11-4 win over the Dodgers.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to 10th place in season player rankings.
Strasburg struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and regains the lead in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to second place ranking in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Plus, three players in Box-Toppers “all-time” top 10 in career points earned Player of the Game honors Friday—Scherzer, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke.
Read MoreFour players—Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday. Key players overlooked: Curt Schilling, Jeff Kent, Johan Santana and the PED-clouded five of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2012.
Kershaw has 147.2 Box-Toppers points over the period 2012-2017, 18.3 points ahead of second-place player in that span, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (128.9). However, Kershaw’s lead in the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total is down from last year and is his narrowest lead since 2013.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past six seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons.
Kershaw leads all players in Box-Toppers points over 2012-2017 with 147.2, ahead of Scherzer, in second place with 128.9.
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During the 2017 season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has taken the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to third place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 100 players list.
Kershaw has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw leads all players with 22.1 points in 2017.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer hold dominant lead among players in Box-Toppers points over last several years. Using longer term measure, Chris Sale rises to lead AL pitchers, Yoenis Cespedes rises to lead NL batters.
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Los Angeles Dodgers edge out Washington Nationals as Box-Toppers' top preseason team. Champion Cubs slip to 5th after key player losses. Indians rank 1st among AL teams.
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Adam Duvall of the Reds is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 24.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 24.4 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | died* | 22.4 |
| 4 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 22.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.2 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 17.8 |
| 7 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.7 |
| 8 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
Duvall hit two homers, including a three-run shot, in the 15-2 win over the Cardinals. Duvall went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in five runs.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out three, in the 2-1 win over the Athletics. Weaver did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Athletics tied the game after he exited.
Weaver earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 127.8 for his career, rising to 35th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes Roy Oswalt (127.2) and A.J. Burnett (127.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 34th-ranked player Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). Weaver has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, his lowest point total in his 11-year career.
American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit two homers and a double in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Astros. Cano went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Cano earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, the highest point total of any of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. He ranks 20th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Adam Duvall.
Kluber—Corey Kluber, ranked fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings, started in the Indians’ win Monday but failed to earn Player of the Game honors.
Kluber (4IP 5H 2R BB 3K ND in the 7-4 win over the Tigers) had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0. Player of the Game was middle reliever Andrew Miller (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 4K W) who had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.2.
Kluber has 21.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, fifth among all players and first among AL players.
Streak—Justin Morneau of the White Sox has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Monday.
Morneau (HR 2-3 R 3BI in the 7-1 win over the Rays) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Twins and has 74.3 career points, fourth among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2006 with the Twins, when he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.
Scoring—Duvall earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Weaver earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cano earns 1.5 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.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/26 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | CIN 15, STL 2 | Adam Duvall, LF | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | MIL 8, TEX 3 | Jonathan Villar, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| AL | 6.0 | `LAA 2, OAK 1 | Jered Weaver | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 5.0 | ARI 14, WSH 4 | Zack Godley (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.2 | CLE 7, DET 4 | Andrew Miller (W,10-1; H,24) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 12, PIT 2 | Javier Baez, 2B-SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SEA 4, HOU 3 (11) | Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | MIA 7, NYM 3 | Justin Bour, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 7, TB 1 | Justin Morneau, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 7, TOR 5 | Adam Warren (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | +/- |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 7.0 | 13.5 | 42.5 | 74.4 | 0.5 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp mr | cle al | 7.0 | 11.0 | 15.0 | 22.0 | 3.0 |
| Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf | cin nl | 6.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 5.0 |
| Weaver, Jered 2178 | pi sp | ana al | 4.7 | 12.4 | 67.0 | 127.8 | -3.0 |
| Villar, Jonathan 3233 | ss 2b ph | mil nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 |
| Warren, Adam 3169 | pi mr | nyy al | 3.0 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | -0.7 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b ph | fla nl | 2.5 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -6.0 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b ss | chi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi mr sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -2.7 |
| Morneau, Justin 1900 | dh 1b | chi al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 19.7 | 74.3 | -1.0 |
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings and extending his lead among American League pitchers.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 3 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
Kluber struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 7-1 win over the Twins.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.2 for the season. He rises from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0). He extends his lead among AL pitchers, trailed by Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8).
Kluber becomes the fourth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the second time in his career Kluber has earned 20 or more points. In 2014, he had 25.8 points to lead AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers.
National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Astros.
American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 11-8 win over the Blue Jays.
Notable—Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy becomes the 38th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Kennedy (6IP H 0R 4BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 38th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.
It is Kennedy’s second season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2011, he had 19.4 points with the Diamondbacks, fifth among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 126.1 career Box-Toppers points—37th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Weaver (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rangers) now trails 36th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time" list. Weaver has 3.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urena earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Russell and Bradley 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.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/11 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | CLE 7, MIN 1 | Corey Kluber (W,16-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| NL | 8.2 | MIA 3, LAD 0 | Jose Urena (W,4-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7.0 | KC 2, CHW 0 | Ian Kennedy (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 6.1 | `MIL 2, STL 1 | Zach Davies | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | SF 5, ARI 3 | Matt Moore (W,10-11) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 5.0 | WSH 3, PHI 2 | Gio Gonzalez (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | LAA 3, TEX 2 | Jered Weaver (W,11-11) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CHC 9, HOU 5 | Addison Russell, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CIN 8, PIT 0 | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | BOS 11, TOR 8 | Jackie Bradley, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | NYM 10, ATL 3 | Yoenis Cespedes, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `COL 3, SD 2 (10) | Chad Bettis | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 3, DET 1 | Chris Tillman (W,16-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | TB 4, NYY 2 | Alex Colome (S,32) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 3, OAK 2 | Edwin Diaz (S,15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 | 33.6 | 64.4 | 64.4 | 6.8 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 10.0 | 16.7 | 60.5 | 66.5 | 3.3 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.7 | 9.7 | 35.2 | 35.2 | 9.7 |
| Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf | nym nl | 8.0 | 18.9 | 39.9 | 39.9 | -2.9 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 8.0 | 13.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 3.0 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 8.0 | 12.7 | 41.8 | 43.8 | 3.3 |
| Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 6.7 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 1.3 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 | 15.7 | 72.8 | 86.5 | -3.7 |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 5.5 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | -4.0 |
| Russell, Addison 3559 | ss | chi nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Weaver, Jered 2178 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 10.7 | 65.3 | 126.1 | -4.7 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | cin nl | 2.0 | 4.7 | 30.2 | 64.1 | -0.7 |
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.