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Leaders in runs batted in generally did well in Box-Toppers points, especially RBI leaders in the American League.
However, the overall leader in RBIs, Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers, who drove in 116 runs, had one of the lower Box-Toppers point totals among RBI leaders.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw led the Majors in wins in 2014 and also led all players in Box-Toppers points.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber was co-leader in wins in the American League and also led all AL players in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreNelson Cruz of the Orioles led all players in home runs and was among American League batting leaders in Box-Toppers points. In general, home run hitters did very well in Box-Toppers points in 2014.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw had the lowest earned run average by far of any pitcher in 2014. He also had the highest Box-Toppers point total by far of any player in 2014.
In fact, Box-Toppers point totals tend to correlate well with ERA leaders—the top three ERA leaders in both leagues are among the top 10 overall players and the top 10 ERA leaders in both leagues are among the top 100 overall players.
Read MoreIn baseball’s major 2014 postseason awards, the winners chosen by baseball writers were the same as leaders in Box-Toppers points in five of six cases—the only exception was American League Most Valuable Player. Writers unanimously chose Mike Trout of the Angels, while Box-Toppers points leader among AL batters was Jose Abreu of the White Sox.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014, was voted National League Most Valuable Player Thursday.
Center fielder Mike Trout of the Angels was the unanimous choice for American League Most Valuable Player, though Trout ranked seventh among AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ two top-ranked pitchers won each league’s Cy Young Award Wednesday.
Overall Box-Toppers points leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers easily won the National League Cy Young Award for top pitcher in a unanimous vote. The race in the American League was tighter, but Corey Kluber of the Indians, who led all AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, edged out Felix Hernandez of the Mariners to win the AL Cy Young Award.
Read MoreBaseball’s Most Valuable Player Awards generally go to the top batter in each league.
But this year, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked batters—Jose Abreu of the White Sox and Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies—won’t win the awards; they weren’t even named as finalists. And in the National League, the award will likely go to a pitcher.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ leading rookies easily won each league’s Rookie of the Year Award Monday.
First baseman Jose Abreu of the White Sox won the American League award unanimously and Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom won the National League award with 26 out of 30 first place votes.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers pitching points leaders in both leagues are among the finalists for baseball’s Cy Young Awards to be announced this week. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers leads the National League with 31.5 Box-Toppers points. And Corey Kluber of the Indians leads the American League with 25.8 Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreOnly four of this year’s 18 Silver Slugger-award winners announced this week would receive the honor if it were measured by Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreThe rookies with the most Box-Toppers points in each league—Jose Abreu of the White Sox and Jacob deGrom of the Mets—are among the finalists for baseball’s Rookie of the Year honors.
Read MoreBatters with the most Box-Toppers points tend to hit for power and play on teams that win a lot of games. The 2014 batting average leaders in both the American and National leagues did neither. Both batting average leaders were largely singles hitters and played on teams that finished well below .500. And as a consequence, neither batting average leader scored many Box-Toppers points in 2014.
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How impressive was Madison Bumgarner’s postseason performance?
The ace starting pitcher earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times in the Giants’ World Series-winning playoff run. That means he was top player in 15 percent of the 32 postseason games played. He was top player in 29 percent of the 17 postseason games the Giants played. He was top player in 42 percent of the 12 postseason games the Giants won. And he was top player in 71 percent of the seven games in which he appeared.
By comparison, Bumgarner earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 15 times in his 33 regular season starts. Bumgarner ranked third among all players in regular season Box-Toppers points with 22.6 (see Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings), so his regular season was pretty impressive. But if he were to maintain his pace this October throughout a regular season, he would have something like 45.0 Box-Toppers points for a season. That would shatter the all-time record for Box-Toppers points in a single season of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).
See a recap of who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in all 32 of the 2014 postseason games in the chart below. Bumgarner’s five top player honors are highlighted in red text.
Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors were far and away the most by any player in the 2014 postseason. Four other players were each Player of the Game twice during the postseason:
• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.
• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.
• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.
• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.
Nineteen players each earned Player of the Game honors once during the 2014 postseason.
Bumgarner also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in all 32 postseason games. On Oct. 1, in the NL Wild Card Game, Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0—he pitched a complete game 8-0 shutout over the Pirates, striking out 10.
Bumgarner also had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the postseason’s 32 Players of the Game (+13.0 in his World Series Game 5 shutout of the Royals, 5-0). In fact, Bumgarner had five of the 10 highest Box-Toppers game scores of all 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees (see the chart of the top 10 at the bottom of the post).
Three of Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors came during the World Series as the Giants defeated the Royals four games to three.
Wade Davis had the highest Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game honoree among Royals players in the postseason. His game score of +6.0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ranks as 10th-highest in the 2014 postseason among Player of the Game honorees.
Pitchers monopolized the top 10 chart for highest Box-Toppers game score among Player of the Game honorees. The highest game score among batters was +3.0 by Hunter Pence of the Giants when he was Player of the Game in World Series Game 4.
The lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +1.0 by Travis Ishikawa in Game 3 of the NLCS. The second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +2.0 by Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who hit a pinch-hit home run in Game 2 of the NLCS. Taveras was killed in a car accident Oct. 26, 12 days after the game.
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.
Listings below are chronological, starting from the first Wild Card Game on Sept. 30 to the final World Series Game on Oct. 29—32 games in all (out of a total of 43 possible games if all series went the distance). On days where more than one game was played, players are listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. There is a different background color for each postseason round—Wild Card round in yellow, League Division Series round in green, League Championship Series round in blue and World Series in red. Madison Bumgarner’s name is highlighted in red text in his five Player of the Game postseason honors.
| Date | Round | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/30 | ALWC | 2.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/1 | NLWC | 14.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 10/2 | ALDS | 3.0 | Orioles | Nelson Cruz DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/2 | ALDS | 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10/3 | ALDS | 4.0 | `Royals | Yordano Ventura | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10/3 | NLDS | 3.2 | Giants | Jake Peavy (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 10/3 | NLDS | 3.0 | Cardinals | Matt Carpenter 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/3 | ALDS | 3.0 | Orioles | Delmon Young PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 10.0 | `Dodgers | Zack Greinke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 9.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 10/5 | ALDS | 8.1 | Orioles | Bud Norris (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 10/5 | ALDS | 3.0 | Royals | Norichika Aoki RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/6 | NLDS | 7.0 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10/6 | NLDS | 3.0 | Nationals | Doug Fister (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 10/7 | NLDS | 3.2 | `Giants | Ryan Vogelsong | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 10/7 | NLDS | 2.0 | Cardinals | Matt Adams 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/10 | ALCS | 6.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10/11 | NLCS | 9.2 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 10/11 | ALCS | 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/12 | NLCS | 2.0 | Cardinals | Oscar Taveras PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/14 | ALCS | 3.0 | `Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10/14 | NLCS | 1.0 | Giants | Travis Ishikawa LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/15 | NLCS | 5.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 10/15 | ALCS | 4.1 | Royals | Jason Vargas (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 10/16 | NLCS | 2.0 | Giants | Travis Ishikawa LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/21 | WS | 6.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10/22 | WS | 3.0 | Royals | Omar Infante 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/24 | WS | 3.0 | `Royals | Wade Davis (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10/25 | WS | 3.0 | Giants | Hunter Pence RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/26 | WS | 13.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10/28 | WS | 3.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10/29 | WS | 7.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Here are the top 10 Box-Toppers game scores for 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees, representing the most dominating performances in the 32 playoff games. Madison Bumgarner of the Giants had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in the 2014 postseason (+14.0) and also had five of the top 10 game scores among 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees.
| Date | Round | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/1 | NLWC | 14.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 10/26 | WS | 13.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 10.0 | `Dodgers | Zack Greinke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 10/11 | NLCS | 9.2 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 10/4 | NLDS | 9.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 10/5 | ALDS | 8.1 | Orioles | Bud Norris (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 10/6 | NLDS | 7.0 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10/29 | WS | 7.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10/21 | WS | 6.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10/10 | ALCS | 6.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Madison Bumgarner won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the third time in this World Series and led the Giants to its third title in five years.
Bumgarner, who pitched five scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits, striking out four and earning the save, is top player in the decisive Game 7. The Giants beat the Royals in the game 3-2 and won the series 4-3. The Giants previously won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.
Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, highest of any Giants player. He had been Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 and Game 5—both games he started. In Game 7, pitching on two-days’ rest, the Giants ace entered the game in unfamiliar territory for him— in relief in the fifth inning with the Giants already leading 3-2.
In the Giants four wins in the World Series, Bumgarner—who won World Series Most Valuable Player—was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in three of them. The only game in which Bumgarner was not Player of the Game was in Game 4, the Giants’ second win of the series. The honor that game went to Hunter Pence.
Bumgarner also earned Player of the Game honors five times during the postseason. Previously, he was Player of the Game:
• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.
• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.
• Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.
• Oct. 26 in the World Series Game 5 win over the Royals.
Bumgarner was top player in nearly half the games the Giants won this postseason—five of 12. No other player earned Player of the Game honors more than twice during the postseason. The players who won it twice:
• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.
• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.
• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.
• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.
During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He was the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.
Bumgarner had originally been credited with a win in the game, even though he entered the game with the Giants already leading. That was corrected by official scorers within an hour after the game, giving the win to Jeremy Affeldt and the save to Bumgarner who was a five-inning closer. Affeldt, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, was the pitcher of record when the Giants took the lead.
Had Bumgarner been pulled in favor of a closer—possibly Santiago Casilla—in the ninth inning, he still likely would have won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, even though Casilla would have been credited with the save and Bumgarner would have earned a no decision (no win or save). Under Box-Toppers rules, non-decision-earning pitchers are eligible to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch three or more innings. After eight innings, Bumgarner pitched four innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0.
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. 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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top four Giants players in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Pablo Sandoval was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Only four Giants players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or above.
| 1029 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 7.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2.0 | Giants | Pablo Sandoval 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Giants | Jeremy Affeldt (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Giants | Michael Morse DH | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Lorenzo Cain led an offensive onslaught in World Series Game 6 as the Royals beat the Giants 10-0, pushing the series to a decisive seventh game Wednesday. Cain is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cain doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs as the Royals evened the series 3-3.
Cain had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Royals player in Tuesday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 2 win over the Orioles on Oct. 11.
During the regular season, Cain had 2.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 421st among all players, 107th among AL batters and 50th among AL outfielders.
Royals starting pitcher in Game 6, Yordano Ventura, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the same as Cain’s. But under Box-Toppers rules, in cases of game score ties, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers. Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked five and struck out four, earning the win.
Giants starting pitcher in Game 6, Jake Peavy, who picked up the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of −13.9. He gave up five runs and six hits over 1 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two.
The baseball season ends Wednesday:
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Royals: Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113rd among all players, 40th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.
This is a rematch of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the Royals 3-2. Guthrie picked up the win (5IP 4H 2R 0K) and Hudson picked up the loss (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K). Royals middle relief pitcher Wade Davis was Box-Toppers Player of the Game.
Guthrie has started twice this postseason and Hudson has started three times. Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this postseason.
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top seven Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 6, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Lorenzo Cain, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Starting pitcher Yordano Ventura also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, but under Box-Toppers rules, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers in cases of game score ties.
| 1028 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Tim Collins | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Omar Infante 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Norichika Aoki RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2014 regular season are led by overall top player for the second straight season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
Nine teams each have two different players on the teams and a total of 20 teams are represented on the American League and National League teams.
The All-Star teams are comprised of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the NL and nine (including the designated hitter) in the AL—are the top four starting pitchers in each league, the top player who was predominately a middle-reliever and the top closing pitcher.
Kershaw was Box-Toppers Player of the Season, the top overall player, with 31.5 Box-Toppers points. Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is the top AL player with 25.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked second overall.
The top AL batter is White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu with 15.5 points, ranked 14th overall. The top NL batter is Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki with 11.6 points, ranked 39th overall. (Tulowitzki was out with injuries nearly half the season, but still surpassed all other NL batters in Box-Toppers points—second among NL batters is Giants catcher Buster Posey with 8.5 points.)
Nine teams each had two players make the teams. In the AL, the Mariners, Angels, Orioles, Indians and Tigers each had two players. In the NL, the Giants, Braves, Marlins and Cardinals each had two players.
Three players from the All-Star teams are still active in the World Series:
• Wade Davis of the Royals, who led AL middle relief pitchers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.
• Madison Bumgarner of the Giants, who ranked second among NL pitchers with 22.6 points.
• Buster Posey of the Giants, who led NL catchers with 8.5 points.
Six players were on Box-Toppers’ 2013 All-Star teams and returned to the 2014 teams:
• AL 2B: Robinson Cano, last year with the Yankees, this year with the Mariners (12.5 points in 2013, 6.5 in 2014).
• AL OF: Adam Jones, Orioles (8.0 points in 2013, 11.5 in 2014).
• AL Starting pitcher: Max Scherzer, Tigers (18.1 points in 2013, 22.1 in 2014).
• NL Starting pitcher: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (21.7 points in 2013, 31.5 in 2014).
• NL Starting pitcher: Adam Wainwright, Cardinals (20.2 points in 2013, 18.7 in 2014).
• NL Closing pitcher: Craig Kimbrel, Braves (12.7 points in 2013, 11.0 in 2014).
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.
Here are the Box-Toppers All-Stars by position for both leagues. It includes players with the highest Box-Toppers points (BTP) by position in each league. Also included is the players' overall rank among all players.
| Pos | American League | Team | BTP | Rank | National League | Team | BTP | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Jose Abreu | White Sox | 15.5 | 14 | Lucas Duda | Mets | 8.5 | 79 | ||
| 2B | Robinson Cano | Mariners | 6.5 | 135 | Jedd Gyorko | Padres | 7.2 | 103 | ||
| SS | Erick Aybar | Angels | 6.0 | 155 | Troy Tulowitzki | Rockies | 11.6 | 39 | ||
| 3B | Josh Donaldson | Athletics | 10.5 | 40 | Aramis Ramirez | Brewers | 5.0 | 194 | ||
| CA | Brian McCann | Yankees | 6.5 | 136 | Buster Posey | Giants | 8.5 | 76 | ||
| OF | Adam Jones | Orioles | 11.5 | 40 | Justin Upton | Braves | 8.2 | 80 | ||
| OF | Nelson Cruz | Orioles | 8.5 | 77 | Marcell Ozuna | Marlins | 8.0 | 88 | ||
| OF | Mike Trout | Angels | 8.5 | 78 | Matt Holliday | Cardinals | 7.5 | 97 | ||
| DH | Edwin Encarnacion | Blue Jays | 9.5 | 63 | ||||||
| SP | Corey Kluber | Indians | 25.8 | 2 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 31.5 | 1 | ||
| SP | Max Scherzer | Tigers | 22.1 | 5 | Madison Bumgarner | Giants | 22.6 | 3 | ||
| SP | Felix Hernandez | Mariners | 20.8 | 6 | Johnny Cueto | Reds | 22.4 | 4 | ||
| SP | David Price | Tigers | 19.1 | 7 | Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | 18.7 | 8 | ||
| MR | Wade Davis | Royals | 7.0 | 117 | Michael Dunn | Marlins | 6.0 | 159 | ||
| CP | Carlos Carrasco | Indians | 10.7 | 52 | Craig Kimbrel | Braves | 11.0 | 45 |
Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game shutout, leading the Giants Sunday to a World Series Game 5 win, moving them within one game of the title and earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
Bumgarner allowed four hits, walked none and struck out eight in the 5-0 win over the Royals. The Giants now have a 3-2 game lead in the best-of-seven World Series.
Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, the most of any Giants player. The second-highest Box-Toppers game score was +3.0, by Juan Perez (who went 1-for-1 with a run and two RBIs).
This was the fourth time this postseason Bumgarner earned Player of the Game honors, the most of any player in the postseason. No other player has been Player of the Game more than twice. Bumgarner was Player of the Game previously:
• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.
• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.
• Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.
During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He is the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.
The World Series takes a day off Monday and resumes Tuesday in Kansas City:
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Giants: Jake Peavy, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 165th among all players, 58th among NL pitchers.
Royals: Yordano Ventura, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 75th among all players, 33rd among AL pitchers.
This is a rematch of Game 2 starting pitchers, won by the Royals, 7-2. Peavy earned the loss in that game.
Both pitchers have earned Player of the Game honors once during the postseason, both on Oct. 3 in each team’s League Division Series games—Peavy in NLDS Game 1 vs. the Nationals and Ventura in ALDS Game 2 vs. the Angels.
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top five Giants players in Sunday’s World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Juan Perez was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +3.
| 1026 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 13.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 3.0 | Giants | Juan Perez PR, LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Giants | Pablo Sandoval 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Giants | Hunter Pence RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Hunter Pence had three hits, three RBIs and two runs, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors Saturday, as the Giants evened the World Series with the Royals at two games apiece.
Pence went 3-for-5 in Game 4 in which the Giants defeated the Royals 11-4. Pence had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Giants player.
During the regular season, Pence had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 367th among all players, 82nd among National League batters and 35th among NL outfielders. This is the first time this postseason Pence has earned Player of the Game honors.
Coming Sunday:
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Royals: James Shields, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 22nd among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Madison Bumgarner, 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players, second among NL pitchers.
This is a rematch of Game 1 starting pitchers, won by the Giants, 7-1. Bumgarner was Player of the Game. Bumgarner has been Player of the Game three times this postseason, more than any other player. The other two times: NL Wild Card Game and NL Championship Series Game 1.
Shields has not earned Player of the Game honors this postseason.
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top seven Giants players in Saturday’s World Series Game 4, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Hunter Pence, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Yusmeiro Petit, who pitched the fourth through sixth innings and earned the win, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0. But under Box-Toppers rules, batters beat pitchers in cases of game score ties.
| 1025 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Giants | Hunter Pence RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Joe Panik 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Matt Duffy PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Michael Morse PH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Sergio Romo | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Hunter Strickland | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Reliever Wade Davis held the lead for the Royals, shutting down the Giants in the eighth inning and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors for Friday in Game 3 of the World Series.
Davis pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two, as the Royals beat the Giants 3-2 to take a 2-1 game lead in the best-of-seven series.
Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the highest of any Royals player in Friday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1 win over the Orioles. In the Royals’ 10 postseason wins this year, Davis is the first player from the team to earn Player of the Game honors more than once.
Davis did not earn a win or a save in the game and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a roundabout, but not uncommon fashion. Davis earned the honor because:
• He had a higher Box-Toppers game score than the winning or saving pitcher who otherwise would have been Player of the Game.
• He had the same or more innings pitched as that player.
In Game 3, Royals closer Greg Holland—who earned the save—would have been Player of the Day, pitching a scoreless ninth inning and striking out one. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. However, two other Royals pitchers (see the chart below) had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Holland:
• Brandon Finnegan (0.2IP 0R K, Box-Toppers game score +1.2). However, Finnegan would not qualify for Player of the Game because though his game score was higher than Holland’s, he had fewer innings pitched.
• Davis, who beat Holland for the honor because he had the same number of innings pitched (one) and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0 vs. +1.0).
During the regular season, Davis had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 117th among all players, 42nd among AL pitchers and first among AL middle relievers.
In close, low-scoring games, such as Game 3, Player of the Game honors often goes to relief pitchers who can hold the lead. In fact, only one Royals batter had a Box-Toppers game score of 0 or better—Alcides Escobar (2B 2-4 2R) had a game score of 0. Only five Royals (including four relief pitchers) had game scores of 0 or better.
Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, who earned the win, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3 (5IP 4H 2R 0K). Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson, who earned the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.8 (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K).
Coming Saturday:
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.
Vargas has started twice this postseason (ALDS Game 1 and ALCS Game 4) and Vogelsong has started twice (NLDS Game 4 and NLCS Game 4). Both have earned Player of the Game honors once:
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.
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Here are the top five Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Wade Davis, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Only five Royals players had game scores of 0 or better. Alcides Escobar was the Royals' highest-scoring batter, with a game score of 0.
| 1024 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1.2 | Royals | Brandon Finnegan (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.1 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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.