Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 22, solidifies lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 23, 2015

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his lead in player rankings.

Also Tuesday, Mike Trout of the Angels took the lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 22.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 4-0 win over the Brewers.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 25.1 for the season. He becomes the 21st player with 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.

With his points Tuesday, he takes a 2.4-point lead over second-place player and fellow NL pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. That means Kershaw would need to earn Box-Toppers points in each of what would likely be his final two starts of the season to have a chance to pass Arrieta. Kershaw has led NL pitchers for the past four seasons. Only one player has led his league category in Box-Toppers points in more consecutive seasons since 1995—Randy Johnson led NL pitchers five straight years from 1998 to 2002.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing three hits, in the 11-2 win over the Royals.

Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks 20th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Cody Asche of the Phillies homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Marlins.

  
    Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Tuesday became the 21st player in 21 seasons with 25 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st on the list.
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Rank
    Player
    Team
    Pos
    Year
    BTP
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2000
    33.7
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    33.7
  

    3
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2000
    33.5
  

    4
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    1999
    31.5
  

    4
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2014
    31.5
  

    6
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    1999
    31.4
  

    7
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2001
    29.4
  

    8
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2002
    28.8
  

    9
    Curt Schilling
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    28.4
  

    10
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1997
    27.4
  

    11
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2004
    26.8
  

    12
    Pedro Martinez
    Expos
    pi sp
    1997
    26.7
  

    12
    CC Sabathia
    Indians/Brewers
    pi sp
    2008
    26.7
  

    14
    Randy Johnson
    Mariners/Astros
    pi sp
    1998
    26.4
  

    15
    John Smoltz
    Braves
    pi sp
    1996
    26.1
  

    15
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2011
    26.1
  

    17
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1998
    25.8
  

    17
    Corey Kluber
    Indians
    pi sp
    2014
    25.8
  

    19
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2006
    25.7
  

    20
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    21
    *Jake Arrieta
    Cubs
    pi sp
    2015
    25.1
  

    
    * Current season
  
 
  
  

American League Batter of the Day—Delino DeShields of the Rangers went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-6 win over the Athletics.

Rankings—Mike Trout of the Angels took the lead among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Trout (HR 1-3 R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He passes Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5) to lead AL batters. Trout ranks 25th among all players.

Notable—Two others who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Tuesday achieved notable milestones:

Giants pitcher Chris Heston rose to 12th place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Heston (4.1IP 2H 0R 7K ND in the 4-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 29th among all players.
Cardinals pitcher John Lackey maintained his rank of 55th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Lackey (7IP 9H R 7K W in the 3-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 107.8 for his career. He trails 54th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1). He has 9.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked 17th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Asche and DeShields each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/22
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    16.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,20-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    AL
    13.0
    Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,9-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    
    9.0
    `Tigers
    Daniel Norris
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    8.0
    Dbacks
    Robbie Ray (W,5-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Twins
    Ervin Santana (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    Braves
    Matt Wisler (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    4.1
    `Giants
    Chris Heston
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    2
    0
    0
    5
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Phillies
    Cody Asche, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Orioles
    Brad Brach (MR) (H,12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rangers
    Delino DeShields, CF
    2
    2
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cardinals
    John Lackey (W,13-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    9
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    3.0
    `Pirates
    Joakim Soria (MR) (H,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Carlos Beltran, RF
    3
    1
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (S,36)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    1.0
    Angels
    Mike Trout, CF
    3
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

White Sox' Samardzija tops players for Monday, Sept. 21; Price, Keuchel both rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Shawn Plank September 22, 2015

White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija, pitching a one-hitter, is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 21.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Monday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings, maintaining his lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Plus, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to second among AL pitchers, fifth overall and becomes the fifth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Samardzija pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Tigers. Samardjiza allowed only one baserunner when he allowed a single in the fifth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the 9-5 win over the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day—Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox hit a grand slam, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Rays.

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 was batter Jorge Soler.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to third place and maintained his lead among AL pitchers. Price (7IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season. Price now trails two players in Box-Toppers season player rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (23.1) and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7).
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to fifth place and second place among AL pitchers, behind Price. Keuchel (7.2IP 6H R 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.4 for the season. Keuchel becomes the fifth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, Keuchel passes Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke (19.7) and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (19.4) in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Scoring—Samardjiza earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Soler earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/21
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    White Sox
    Jeff Samardzija (W,10-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    11.0
    Blue Jays
    David Price (W,17-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    4.2
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,18-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Xander Bogaerts, SS
    5
    2
    2
    5
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    4.0
    Cubs
    Jorge Soler, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    White Sox
    Erik Johnson (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Starling Marte, LF
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Jonathon Niese (W,9-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    Dbacks
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Twins' Duffey tops players for Sunday, Sept. 20; Pirates' Cole rises to 8th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 21, 2015

Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Player of the Day—Duffey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Angels.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 20.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Julio Teheran struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Phillies. Teheran was perfect through six innings. He earned no decision, not picking up the win, because he exited the game with the score tied 1-1.

National League Batter of the Day—Yunel Escobar of the Nationals doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-3 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Forsythe of the Rays hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-6 win over the Orioles.

Rankings—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Cole (7IP 6H 3R 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Two of Sunday's Players of the Game achieved notable milestones:

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Hudson (6IP 4H 0R 3K in the 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 157.0 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Clayton Kershaw (156.3) on the “all-time” list—Kershaw had caught and briefly passed Hudson on the “all-time” list only on Sept. 14. Hudson trails 12th-ranked player John Smoltz (160.9) and regains his spot as fifth among active players, third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (179.0) and Felix Hernandez (162.7). Hudson has 4.0 Box-Toppers points so far in what is expected to be his final season.
Justin Upton of the Padres rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Upton (2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 10-4 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season. He ranks 49th among all players.
Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, ranked sixth in Box-Toppers player rankings (19.4 points) failed to earn Player of the Game honors in his start Sunday against the Rangers, despite earning the win. Hernandez (5.2IP 4H 2R 5K W in the 9-2 win) had a Box-Toppers game score of -2.8. Player of the Game was Robinson Cano (2-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0.

Scoring—Duffey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Teheran earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Escobar and Forsythe each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/20
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Twins
    Tyler Duffey (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    NL
    8.1
    `Braves
    Julio Teheran
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    8.0
    Astros
    Collin McHugh (W,17-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    8.0
    Royals
    Danny Duffy (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Nationals
    Yunel Escobar, 3B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.2
    Indians
    Josh Tomlin (W,6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rays
    Logan Forsythe, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Rich Hill (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    3
    3
    0
    10
  

    
    4.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,17-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    3
    3
    0
    9
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Adam Lind, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Robinson Cano, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Greg Bird, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Cardinals
    Trevor Rosenthal (S,46)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Justin Upton, LF
    5
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Tim Hudson (W,8-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    3
  

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

  
  

Rangers' Hamels tops players for Saturday, Sept. 19; Kershaw fails to unseat Arrieta for player rankings lead

Shawn Plank September 20, 2015

Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth place among American League pitchers in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 19.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw failed to retake the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after falling to the Pirates. Kershaw (22.7 Box-Toppers points) remains in second place behind Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (23.1), with whom he has traded leads every two or three days since Sept. 2. Arrieta’s lead is now safe at least until Kershaw’s next start later this week.

Player of the Day—Hamels struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing one run and seven hits, in the 10-1 win over the Mariners.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.7 for the season, rising to 17th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

Hammels also rises to 34th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. With his points Saturday, Hamels has 124.5 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jered Weaver (123.1) and Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield, who started his career in 1988, seven years prior to the start of Box-Toppers record keeping, would likely have about 150 career Box-Toppers points based on rough projections, if his entire career were tracked.) Hamels now trails 33rd-ranked player Justin Verlander (124.6), who also passed Weaver and Sheffield on Friday.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out five, in the 6-0 win over the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—Victor Martinez of the Tigers homered, doubled and drove in three runs, in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in a run, in the 10-2 win over the Padres.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw failed to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Saturday in his start, preventing him from retaking the player rankings lead.

Kershaw (7IP 7H 3H 8K L in the 3-2 loss to the Pirates) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Player of the Game was Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano.

Had Kershaw won Player of the Game honors, he would have passed Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta for the Box-Toppers season points lead and it would have been the seventh lead change in September between Kershaw (22.7 Box-Toppers points) and Arrieta (23.1 Box-Toppers points). Kershaw has led NL pitchers the past four seasons in Box-Toppers points—with days and starts dwindling to only a few this season, his chances for a fifth straight season leading NL pitchers is diminishing.

Notable—Several other Player of the Game honorees from Saturday achieved notable Box-Toppers milestones:

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano rose to 16th place among all players and ninth place among NL pitchers. Liriano (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.9 for the season.
Angels pitcher Garrett Richards rose to 29th place among all players and 15th among AL pitchers. Richards (8.2IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season.
Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda becomes the 40th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Pineda (5.1IP 4H 0R 4K W in the 5-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising to 33rd among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.
Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox (2-4 R 3BI in the 7-6 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season, rising to sixth among AL batters.
Bryce Harper of the Nationals (1-3 R 3BI in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season, rising to fifth among NL batters.

Debut—Braves pitcher Ryan Weber made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Weber (7IP 2H R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Sept. 8 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,598th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Corbin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Martinez and Blackmon each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/19
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Rangers
    Cole Hamels (W,10-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    12
  

    NL
    7.0
    Dbacks
    Patrick Corbin (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Orioles
    Wei-Yin Chen (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    6.0
    `Braves
    Ryan Weber
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    4.1
    Yankees
    Michael Pineda (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Tigers
    Victor Martinez, DH
    2
    1
    2
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Angels
    Andrew Heaney
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    3.1
    Cubs
    Trevor Cahill (MR) (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    2
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rockies
    Charlie Blackmon, CF
    4
    3
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    Evan Gattis, DH
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Reds
    J.J. Hoover (MR) (H,18)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.2
    Angels
    Garrett Richards (W,14-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    5
    2
    2
    4
    7
  

    
    2.2
    White Sox
    Carlos Rodon (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Bryce Harper, RF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Cubs' Starlin Castro (2HR 6RBI) tops players for Friday, Sept. 18; 4 top 10 pitchers fail to earn Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 19, 2015

Starlin Castro of the Cubs is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also, despite four top 10 pitchers from Box-Toppers player rankings starting Friday, none of them earned Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 18.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Castro hit a three-run homer and a two-run homer, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 8-3 win over the Cardinals.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out seven over 8 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Royals. Verlander did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision because the Royals tied the game after he exited with a 3-2 lead.

Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 124.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 33rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Friday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jered Weaver (123.1) and Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield, who started his career in 1988, seven years prior to the start of Box-Toppers record keeping, would likely have about 150 career Box-Toppers points based on rough projections, if his entire career were tracked.) Verlander now trails 32nd-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).

Among Friday’s 14 Players of the Game, Verlander has the most Box-Toppers points this season—6.4, ranking 111th among all players and 43rd among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Athletics hit two homers and went 3-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day Friday because the overall Player of the Day was batter Starlin Castro.

Notable—Four pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Friday but none of them earned Player of the Game honors:

Fifth-ranked Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, 19.7 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors, though the Dodgers beat the Pirates 6-2. Greinke (7IP 4H 2R 3K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Justin Ruggiano of the Dodgers (2-3 R BI) won Player of the Game honors with a Box-Toppers game score of +1.
Eighth-ranked White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, 17.1 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 12-1 loss to the Indians. Sale (7IP 8H 7R 9K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Carlos Santana of the Indians (1-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.
Ninth-ranked Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, 17.0 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 2-0 loss to the Diamondbacks. Bumgarner (8IP 5H 2R 7K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Player of the Game was Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa (5.2IP H 0R 5K W) with a Box-Toppers game score of +5.2.
Tenth-ranked Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, 17.0 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors, though the Nationals beat the Marlins, 5-4 in 10 innings. Scherzer (7IP 5H 2R 6K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. Player of the Game was Nationals closing pitcher Casey Janssen (0.2IP 0H 0R K W) with a Box-Toppers game score of +1.2.

Scoring—Castro earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/18
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Cubs
    Starlin Castro, 2B
    3
    2
    3
    6
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.2
    Dbacks
    Rubby De La Rosa (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    1
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    AL
    5.2
    `Tigers
    Justin Verlander
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    5
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Athletics
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    3
    2
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rockies
    Chad Bettis (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Juan Uribe, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Braves
    Arodys Vizcaino (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Tom Wilhelmsen (S,12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Grady Sizemore, LF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Indians
    Carlos Santana, 1B
    4
    1
    1
    4
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.2
    Nationals
    Casey Janssen (W,2-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Blue Jays
    Justin Smoak, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Dodgers
    Justin Ruggiano, LF
    3
    1
    2
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Reds
    Brandon Finnegan (W,4-0)
    5
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Cubs' Jake Arrieta, in tight race with Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, leads Box-Toppers player rankings—for now

Shawn Plank September 18, 2015

Jake Arrieta & Clayton Kershaw keep swapping player ranking leads with Jake leading for now. Price, Prince take lead in AL categories. Gonzo still leads NL batters.

Pittsburgh Pirates hold on to Box-Toppers team rankings lead for 2nd straight week

Shawn Plank September 18, 2015

Pirates hold slim edge over Royals for top overall team. Rangers have hot week. Cards rise to 3rd.

Cardinals' Lackey tops players for Thursday, Sept. 17; Angels' Trout rises to 2nd among AL batters

Shawn Plank September 18, 2015

Cardinals pitcher John Lackey is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits, in the 6-3 win over the Brewers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 17.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Lackey rises to 55th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 106.8 for his career. With his points Thursday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Aramis Ramirez (105.8) and Frank Thomas (106.2). (Thomas began his career in 1990, five years before Box-Toppers record keeping began. If his entire career were tracked, based on rough projections, Thomas would likely have about 145 career Box-Toppers points.) Lackey now trails 54th-place player Lance Berkman (108.1).

Lackey has 8.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 52nd among all players, 20th among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Omar Infante of the Royals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in seven runs, in the 8-4 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-6 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Omar Infante.

Notable—Mike Trout of the Angels rose to second place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Trout (2HR 2-3 3R 5BI in the 11-8 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to 29th place among all players.

Trout had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0 Thursday, the same as Omar Infante. But Infante won AL Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had more at bats than Trout—four vs. three. Had Trout earned AL Player of the Day honors instead of Infante and earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points, Trout would have had 11.7 points for the season, enough to pass AL batting leader Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5). But he didn’t.

Trout led AL batters in Box-Toppers points much of July and all of August, but was passed by other players in September. This was Trout’s first Box-Toppers point since July 26.

Debut—Orioles pitcher Chaz Roe made his Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Roe (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 4-3 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 1, 2013, and was playing in his 58th career game. He is the 3,597th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Infante earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Russell earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/17
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Cardinals
    John Lackey (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    AL
    7.0
    Royals
    Omar Infante, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    7
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Angels
    Mike Trout, CF
    3
    3
    2
    5
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Blue Jays
    Marco Estrada (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.1
    Orioles
    Chaz Roe (MR) (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.1
    Marlins
    A.J. Ramos (S,28)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Shin-Soo Choo, RF
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Athletics
    Sean Doolittle (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Cubs
    Addison Russell, SS
    4
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

  
  

Dodgers' Wood tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 16; Cubs' Arrieta retakes Box-Toppers points lead, Price leads AL pitchers

Shawn Plank September 17, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings, marking the sixth September lead change between him and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw in the topsy-turvy, see-saw race for Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors coming down to the season’s final days.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 16.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Plus, Blue Jays pitcher David Price Wednesday rose to lead American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points, rising to fourth place among all players.

In addition, Prince Fielder of the Rangers rose to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points Wednesday.

Player of the Day—Wood pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out five, in the 2-0 win over the Rockies.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 3-1 win over the Angels.

Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He becomes the 39th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to 27th place among all players, 14th place among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Prince Fielder of the Rangers homered twice and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 14-3 win over the Astros.

Fielder earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season. He rises to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays (10.4). He ranks 26th among all players.

Fielder also earned AL Batter of the Day honors Monday, meaning he has 3.0 Box-Toppers points in the past three days. Fielder has earned his Box-Toppers points in bursts this season. He earned 6.5 Box-Toppers points between May 13 and May 26 and has earned 4.0 points since Sept. 1.

National League Batter of the Day—Thomas Pham of the Cardinals hit two home runs and a triple, going 3-for-4 and driving in four runs, in the 5-4 win over the Brewers.

This was Pham’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pham made his Major League debut Sept. 9, 2014, and was playing in his 43rd career game. He is the 3,596th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

  
    Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  
    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  
    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  
    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  
    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  
    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  
    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  
    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  
    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  
    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  
    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7
  
    9/11
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    22.1
  
    9/14
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    22.7
  
    9/16
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    23.1

Overall leader—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta reclaimed the Box-Toppers points lead from Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Arrieta (8IP 6H 2R 5K ND in the 3-2, 12-inning win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 23.1 for the season. He passes Kershaw (22.7) for the third time in September.

AL pitching leader—Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Price (7IP 6H R 9K W in the 9-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.1 for the season. Price passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (19.4) for the lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. He rises to fourth place among all players. He also becomes the fourth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the first time in his career Price has reached 20.0 Box-Toppers points in a season. His previous best season was 2014 when he had 19.1 Box-Toppers points with the Rays and Tigers.

Notable—Two others who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday reached notable milestones:

Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (7IP 4H R 6K W in the 5-1 win over the Royals) rose to 21st place in Box-Toppers player rankings, 11th among AL pitchers, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season.
Giants pitcher Jake Peavy now has 135.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank at 25th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Peavy (6IP 7H 2R 8K W in the 5-3 win over the Reds) trails 24th-ranked player David Ortiz (137.9). Peavy has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debuts—in addition to Pham, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

Marlins pitcher Adam Conley (7IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 6-0 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,594th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Red Sox pitcher Henry C. Owens (7.2IP 6H 0R 4K W in the 10-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut Aug. 4 and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,595th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Fielder and Pham each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/16
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Dodgers
    Alex Wood (W,11-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    10.0
    Marlins
    Adam Conley (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    AL
    9.0
    Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    8.0
    Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    12
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Rangers
    Prince Fielder, DH
    5
    3
    3
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.2
    Red Sox
    Henry Owens (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cardinals
    Thomas Pham, LF-CF
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Blue Jays
    David Price (W,16-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    3
    9
  

    
    5.0
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    4.2
    `Tigers
    Daniel Norris
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.2
    1
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    4.1
    Padres
    Craig Kimbrel (S,37)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    Yankees
    Andrew Miller (S,34)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    `Cubs
    Jake Arrieta
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    2
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Jake Peavy (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    1.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Sanchez, 2B
    4
    2
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Nationals' Stephen Strasburg (8IP 0R H 14K) tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 15

Shawn Plank September 16, 2015

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 12th among National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Strasburg pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 14, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 15.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
7	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 26th place among all players. He becomes the 37th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

His Box-Toppers game score of 20.0 is only the sixth time a player has had a score that high this season. The highest Box-Toppers game score of the season was 25.0 by Indians pitcher Corey Kluber on May 13 (8IP H 0R 18K).

American League Player of the Day—Josh Reddick of Athletics hit a two-run homer an went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 17-6 win over the White Sox.

Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season and rising to 10th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Dee Gordon of the Marlins hit a two-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Josh Reddick.

Notable—Two other NL pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday achieved notable milestones:

Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (8IP 4H R 9K ND in the 3-1, 10-inning win over the Brewers) rose ninth place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Martinez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players.
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (CG 5H R 9K W in the 2-1 win over the Pirates) became the 38th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. Lester earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 15th among NL pitchers and 33rd among all players. Lester also rises to 37th place in career Box-Toppers point among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Lester has 119.1 career points and passes Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list (Lester beats Lee on a tiebreaker—he has more Box-Toppers points this season—10 vs. 0). Lester trails 36th-place player Cole Hamels (122.5).

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors.

Rockies pitcher Jairo Diaz (1IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 5-4, 16-inning win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Sept. 8, 2014, and was playing in his 18th career game. He is the 3,592nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Ramon Cabrera of the Reds (1-1 2BI in the 9-8, 10-inning win over the Giants) made his Major League debut Sept. 5 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,593rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gordon earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/15
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    20.0
    Nationals
    Stephen Strasburg (W,9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    14
  

    
    10.0
    Cubs
    Jon Lester (W,10-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    9.0
    `Cardinals
    Carlos Martinez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    AL
    5.0
    Athletics
    Josh Reddick, RF
    4
    3
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Marlins
    Dee Gordon, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Joe Smith (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Mark Melancon (S,46)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Rockies
    Jairo Diaz (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    5
    1
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Nick Franklin, SS
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Reds
    Ramon Cabrera, PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    Dbacks
    Brad Ziegler (S,26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Tigers
    Victor Martinez, DH
    4
    0
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Braves
    Todd Cunningham, PR
    0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.1
    Royals
    Kris Medlen (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    0
    0
    1
    0
  

    
    0.0
    Orioles
    Manny Machado, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Mariners' Walker tops players for Monday, Sept. 14; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers points lead for 3rd time in September

Shawn Plank September 15, 2015

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth place among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Also Monday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the Box-Toppers season points lead, marking the fifth lead change this month between him and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, a race for the lead coming down to the wire in the season’s final weeks.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 14.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
7	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Walker struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 10-1 win over the Angels.

Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher James Shields allowed one run over seven innings, striking out six and giving up four hits, in the 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit two home runs and went 2-for-6, driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day—Prince Fielder of the Rangers hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Astros.

Fielder earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 36th player (and sixth batter) this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 36th among all players and fourth among AL batters.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead for the third time this month after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

  
    Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  
    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  
    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  
    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  
    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  
    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  
    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  
    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  
    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  
    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  
    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7
  
    9/11
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    22.1
  
    9/14
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    22.7

Kershaw (7IP 3H R 5K W in the 4-1 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.7 for the season. Kershaw passes Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (22.1 Box-Toppers points) for the lead. Kershaw previously took the lead on Sept. 2 and Sept. 8, only holding it for three days each time when Arrieta passed him. Arrieta is slated to start Wednesday and could regain the lead.

Kershaw also rises to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Kershaw now has 156.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Mike Mussina (155.6) and Tim Hudson (156.0). (Mussina, who pitched for four seasons before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, would likely have about 190 Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked, based on rough projections.) Kershaw trails 12th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Passing Hudson, Kershaw rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers points among active players and third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (179.0) and Felix Hernandez (162.7).

Kershaw also had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 5.0, the same as NL Player of the Day James Shields of the Padres. But Shields won the tiebreaker because he had more strikeouts—six vs. five.

Notable—Two others who earned Player of the Game honors Monday achieved notable milestones:

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia extended his lead in career Box-Toppers points among active pitchers. Sabathia (6.2IP 3H 0R 6K ND in the 4-1 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 179.0 for his career. Sabathia ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks second among all active players, behind Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0). Sabathia has 5.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rose to 16th place in Box-Toppers player rankings, seventh among AL pitchers. Carrasco (6IP 5H R 9K W in the 8-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.0 for the season.

Debut—White Sox pitcher Dan Jennings made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Jennings (2IP 0H 0R 3K W in the 8-7 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut April 30, 2012, and was playing in his 160th career game. He is the 3,591st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shields earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Werth and Fielder each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/14
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Mariners
    Taijuan Walker (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    7.2
    `Yankees
    CC Sabathia
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    7.0
    `Orioles
    Kevin Gausman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Indians
    Carlos Carrasco (W,13-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    NL
    5.0
    Padres
    James Shields (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    5.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,14-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    5.0
    White Sox
    Dan Jennings (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Nationals
    Jayson Werth, LF
    6
    2
    2
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rangers
    Prince Fielder, DH
    4
    3
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Twins
    Tyler Duffey (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    7
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    2.1
    Giants
    George Kontos (MR) (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Hansel Robles (MR) (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    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.
  

  
  

Red Sox' Hill tops players for Sunday, Sept. 13; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 4th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 14, 2015

Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, marking the first time he’s earned Box-Toppers points in more than six years.

Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 10th.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 13.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
7	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Hill pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 10, in the 2-0, 13-inning win over the Rays. Hill did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because he exited with the game in a scoreless tie.

This was the first time Hill has earned Player of the Game honors since June 1, 2009, with the Orioles, when he was Player of the Day. Hill’s best season was 2007 with the Cubs when he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10, in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 19.7 for the season and rising to fourth place in player rankings. He also ranks fourth place among NL pitchers.

Greinke now also has 145.4 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 21st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 12-4 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Adams of the Cardinals hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the 9-2 win over the Reds.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Scherzer (8IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 5-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Scherzer also rises to 61st place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Sunday, Scherzer now has 102.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Adam Wainwright (101.8). He trails 60th-place player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

Debut—Dixon Machado of the Tigers made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Machado (2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 9-2 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut May 25 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,590th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Adams each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/13
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    `Red Sox
    Rich Hill
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    NL
    11.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W,17-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    
    10.0
    Yankees
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,12-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    8.2
    Twins
    Kyle Gibson (W,10-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Jed Lowrie, DH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Tigers
    Dixon Machado, SS
    3
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Adams, PH-1B
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Angel Pagan, CF
    4
    3
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Curtis Granderson, RF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Ryan Howard, 1B
    3
    1
    1
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Pedro Alvarez, 1B
    2
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    John Axford (S,23)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    Indians
    Chris Johnson, 1B
    4
    0
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Giants' Bumgarner, nearly perfect, tops players for Saturday, Sept. 12, rises to 9th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 13, 2015

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 12.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 8-0 win over the Padres. Bumgarner was perfect through 7 2/3 innings before allowing the only hit and only baserunner of the game.

Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Mike Moustakas of the Royals hit a grand slam and a three-run homer, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in nine runs, in the 14-6 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—Corey Seager of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Seager’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Seager made his Major League debut Sept. 3 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,587th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Mike Moustakas.

Notable—David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has 137.9 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Ortiz (2HR 3-4 2R 4BI in the 10-4 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and maintains his rank of 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Ortiz trails 23rd-place player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Ortiz ranks seventh among all batters since 1995. He ranks third among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0) and Albert Pujols (174.3). He has 4.5 Box-Toppers points this season. On Saturday, Ortiz became the 27th player to hit 500 career home runs.

Debuts—In addition to Seager, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

Athletics pitcher Sean Nolin (5.2IP 5H R 5K W in the 5-2 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut May 23, 2013, and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,588th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Carlos Sanchez of the White Sox (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut July 13, 2014, and was playing in his 132nd career game. He is the 3,589th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moustakas earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Seager earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/12
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    AL
    10.0
    Royals
    Mike Moustakas, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    9
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    9.0
    Reds
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,9-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    7.1
    Mariners
    Roenis Elias (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    1
    2
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    7.0
    `Phillies
    Jerad Eickhoff
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    6.1
    Pirates
    Jeff Locke (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Dodgers
    Corey Seager, SS
    4
    3
    4
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Jose Bautista, RF
    4
    3
    2
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Reds
    Aroldis Chapman (S,30)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Huston Street (S,35)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Ben Revere, LF
    6
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Jeurys Familia (S,40)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.2
    Athletics
    Sean Nolin (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    5
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Sanchez, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Rangers' Lewis tops players for Friday, Sept. 11; Cubs' Arrieta regains Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank September 12, 2015

Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, three days after losing the lead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 11.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lewis pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out four, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics. He allowed no hits until the eighth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 4-2 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Ahmed of the Diamondbacks hit a two-run homer, a double and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-4 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Steve Clevenger of the Orioles hit a grand slam and scored two runs in the 14-8 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Arrieta (8IP 6H R 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1. He passes previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.7). Arrieta and Kershaw have traded three-day turns with the Box-Toppers season points lead since since Sept. 2, with Arrieta leading twice and Kershaw leading twice.

Notable—Three other Players of the Game from Friday hit notable milestones:

  
    Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  
    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  
    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  
    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  
    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  
    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  
    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  
    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  
    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  
    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  
    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7
  
    9/11
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    22.1

Giants pitcher Jake Peavy now has 134.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Peavy (7IP 2H R 2K W in the 9-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He trails 24th-ranked player David Ortiz (136.9) and has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
Angels pitcher Jered Weaver rises to 36th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when record keeping began). Weaver (6IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 123.1 for his career. With his point Friday, he passes Justin Verlander (122.9) on the “all-time” list and trails 33rd-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1). Weaver has 7.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets became the 35th player (and fifth batter) with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. Cespedes (HR 2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 5-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.9 for the season. He rises to second place among NL batters —behind Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5)—and 26th among all players.

Scoring—Lewis earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bettis earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Ahemd and Clevenger each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/11
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Rangers
    Colby Lewis (W,15-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    AL
    7.0
    Rockies
    Chad Bettis (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Dbacks
    Nick Ahmed, SS
    4
    2
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Orioles
    Steve Clevenger, PH-C
    2
    2
    1
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,19-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    5.0
    Giants
    Jake Peavy (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Russell Martin, C
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Cubs
    Kyle Schwarber, LF
    4
    3
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Trevor Plouffe, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Mark Melancon (S,45)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Marlins
    Jarred Cosart
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Yoenis Cespedes, CF
    5
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    J.P. Arencibia, PH-C
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Jered Weaver (W,7-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    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.
  

  
  

Dodgers' Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings; Mariners' Hernandez now leads among AL pitchers

Shawn Plank September 11, 2015

Kershaw leads in Box-Toppers points. Mariners' Hernandez retakes lead among AL pitchers. Gonzalez, Encarnacion continue to lead NL, AL batters.

Pittsburgh Pirates regain top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings, Royals fall to 2nd

Shawn Plank September 11, 2015

Pirates regain top spot in team rankings with hot week. Royals fall to 2nd, maintain AL lead. Cardinals fall from 2nd to 6th.

Mariners' Hernandez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 10, rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 11, 2015

Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth in overall player rankings, first among American League pitchers.

Hernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight, in the 5-0 win over the Rangers.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.4 for the season. He regains the lead among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Dallas Keuchel of the Astros (19.4).

Hernandez led all players in Box-Toppers points much of the season—including all of May and much of June—but by August nearly fell out of the top 10 list before rebounding. Hernandez lost his lead among all players on July 26 and lost his lead among AL pitchers on Aug. 8.

Hernandez also rises to 11th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Hernandez now has 162.7 Box-Toppers points, passing John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted Smoltz began his career in 1988, so his first seven seasons weren’t recorded by Box-Toppers. Making rough extrapolations, Smoltz would likely have about 250 career Box-Toppers points if all his seasons were included.) Hernandez now trails 10th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8).

National League Player of the Day—Todd Frazier of the Reds homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-0 win over the Cardinals.

Frazier earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.9 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Todd Frazier.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Scoring—Hernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Frazier earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/10
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W,17-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    8
  

    NL
    4.0
    Reds
    Todd Frazier, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rockies
    Justin Miller (MR) (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    Indians
    Cody Allen (W,2-4; BS,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Juan Uribe, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Logan Schafer, CF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

  
  

Mariners' Nuno tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 9; Mets' deGrom is 3rd player with 20 Box-Toppers points in '15

Shawn Plank September 10, 2015

Mariners pitcher Vidal Nuno is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom became the third player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points and maintains his rank of third place in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 9.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Nuno pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 10, in the 6-0 win over the Rangers.

National League Player of the Day—Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ struck out 10 over six innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Reds.

Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season, rising to 20th in player rankings. He ranks 11th among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Ryan Hanigan of the Red Sox doubled twice and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 10-4 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—Michael Bourn of the Braves tripled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-1 win over the Phillies.

Rankings—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom became the third player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Gamed honors Wednesday. deGrom (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 5-3 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.4 for the season, maintaining his third-place ranking among players this season. He also ranks third among NL pitchers.

Notable—Angels pitcher Garrett Richards became the 34th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers poitns this season after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Richards (7.2IP 4H 2R 11K ND in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 31st among all players and 16th among AL pitchers.

Debut—Francisco Lindor of the Indians made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Lindor (HR 3B 3-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 76th career game. He is the 3,586 player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Nuno earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Hanigan and Bourn each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/9
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    Mariners
    Vidal Nuno (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    NL
    9.0
    Pirates
    J.A. Happ (W,9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    10
  

    
    8.0
    Marlins
    Tom Koehler (W,9-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    10
  

    
    7.2
    `Angels
    Garrett Richards
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    2
    2
    3
    11
  

    
    5.0
    Mets
    Jacob deGrom (W,13-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    5.0
    Orioles
    Ubaldo Jimenez (W,11-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    3
    3
    0
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Rays
    Jake Odorizzi (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Ryan Hanigan, C
    3
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Dbacks
    Zack Godley (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Cardinals
    Jonathan Broxton (MR) (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Braves
    Michael Bourn, CF
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Wil Myers, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Hank Conger, C
    4
    0
    2
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Twins
    Miguel Sano, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Indians
    Francisco Lindor, SS
    5
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Pirates' Liriano tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 8; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank September 9, 2015

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 8.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th. Also, two players with more than 150 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday—Kershaw and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson, who rose to 13th place among all players since 1995.

Player of the Day—Liriano struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.

Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.9 for the season. He rises to 16th place among all players and ninth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 7-4 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Cubs hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 8-5 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run double in the 4-2 win over the Twins.

Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season and rises to fifth among AL batters.

New leader—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

  
    Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  
    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  
    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  
    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  
    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  
    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  
    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  
    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  
    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  
    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  
    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7

Kershaw (7IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 6-4 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.7 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (21.1 points), who took the lead from Kershaw on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Kershaw also now has 155.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 15th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 14th-place player Mike Mussina (155.6).

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings Tuesday. Gray (7IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.8 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among all players in Box-Toppers since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Hudson (6IP 4H R 4K W in the 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 156.0 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Tuesday, he passes Mike Mussina (155.6) on the “all-time” list and trails 12th-place player Felix Hernandez (160.7). (Mussina started his career in 1991, before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, and would likely have an estimated 190 total Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked.) Hudson has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.

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

Padres pitcher Colin Rea (7IP 2H 0R 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 11 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,582nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Marlins pitcher Kyle Barraclough (1.2IP 0H 0R 4K W in the 6-4 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 7 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,583rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Tigers pitcher Drew VerHagen (2.1IP 1H 0R 2K ND in the 8-7 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 19, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,584th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Orioles pitcher T.J. McFarland (2.1IP 0H 0R K ND in the 2-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut Aug. 6, 2013, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,585th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Hosmer each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/8
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    AL
    7.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Rodon (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    7.0
    Phillies
    Aaron Nola (W,6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,13-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    6.0
    `Padres
    Colin Rea
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    4
  

    
    5.2
    Marlins
    Kyle Barraclough (MR)  (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cubs
    Starlin Castro, 2B
    4
    3
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Athletics
    Sonny Gray (W,13-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    Giants
    Tim Hudson (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    3.1
    `Tigers
    Drew VerHagen (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Blue Jays
    R.A. Dickey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Shawn Tolleson (S,31)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    `Orioles
    T.J. McFarland (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Kirk Nieuwenhuis, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    1.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    4
    1
    1
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

Red Sox' Jackie Bradley Jr. (2HR 4-4 4BI) tops players for Monday, Sept. 7

Shawn Plank September 8, 2015

Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Bradley hit two homers and went 4-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 11-4 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 Sept. 7.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bradley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks sixth among AL batters and 52nd among all players.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Hansel Robles pitched two scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits and striking out four, in the 8-5 win over the Nationals. Robles earned a no decision in the game, as he held the Mets’ lead in the seventh and eighth innings.

This was Robles’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Robles made his Major League debut April 24 and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,580th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Scott Van Slyke of the Dodgers hit a two-run double and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Angels.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was AL batter Jackie Bradley Jr.

Notable—Rockies pitcher Justin Miller earned his first Box-Toppers point in more than six years, earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Miller (1.1IP 0H 0R 4K ND in the 6-4 win over the Padres) last earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors July 11, 2009 with the Giants. Before that, it was nearly five years between Box-Toppers points for Miller—he was Player of the Game Sept. 8, 2004, with the Blue Jays. Miller first earned Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Blue Jays and has 6.0 career points.

Debut—Brewers pitcher Zach Davies also made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Davies (7IP 4H R 4K W in the 9-1 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Sept. 2 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,581st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bradley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Robles earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Van Slyke earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/7
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    6.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., RF
    4
    2
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.0
    `Mets
    Hansel Robles (MR) (H,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.1
    `Rockies
    Justin Miller (MR) (H,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Brewers
    Zach Davies (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Dbacks
    Patrick Corbin (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    4.1
    Reds
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    7
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Dodgers
    Scott Van Slyke, 1B
    5
    1
    4
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Twins
    Eduardo Escobar, SS
    3
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Indians
    Ryan Raburn, RF
    2
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Braves
    Williams Perez (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Tigers
    Rajai Davis, LF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Dexter Fowler, CF
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Greg Bird, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Rangers
    Yovani Gallardo (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    5
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    2.0
    Athletics
    Coco Crisp, PH-LF
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

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Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.