Chicago Cubs, week's hottest team, maintain 1st place in Box-Toppers team rankings

Shawn Plank August 12, 2016

Cubs expand narrow lead over 2nd-place Dodgers. Red Sox top AL teams.

Dbacks' Braden Shipley tops players for Thursday, Aug. 11; Astros' Altuve rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank August 12, 2016

Diamondbacks pitcher Braden Shipley is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 11:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Jose Altuve of the Astros became the first batter in nearly two months to land a spot among Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Altuve, the Box-Toppers points leader among American League batters, rises to 10th place among all players.

Player of the Day—Shipley pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Mets.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Chris Devenski pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out five, in the 10-2 win over the Twins.

This was Devenski’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Devenski made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 32nd career game. He is the 3,702nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Indians hit a three-run homer and two doubles, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14-4 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Hernan Perez of the Brewers homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 11-3 win over the Braves.

Rankings—Jose Altuve of the Astros rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Altuve (2B 4-5 3R 3BI in the 15-7 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.5 for the season. He extends his Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters (second place Manny Machado of the Orioles has 10.2 points).

Altuve is the first batter in the overall top 10 in Box-Toppers points since June 14, when Machado was among the top 10 with 8.7 points. Altuve’s 12.5 points for the season also matches the 12.5 points Adrian Beltre of the Rangers had in 2015 to lead AL batters at the end of the season.

Debut—Yankees pitcher Luis Cessa made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Cessa (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,703rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Shipley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Devenski earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Napoli and Perez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/11
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    ARI 9, NYM 0
    Braden Shipley (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    AL
    8.0
    HOU 10, MIN 2
    Chris Devenski (W,1-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    7.0
    CLE 14, LAA 4
    Mike Napoli, 1B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    PIT 4, SD 0
    Jameson Taillon (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    6.0
    KC 2, CHW 1
    Danny Duffy (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    HOU 15, MIN 7
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    3
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    BAL 9, OAK 6
    Mark Trumbo, RF
    4
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 4, BOS 2
    Luis Cessa (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    COL 12, TEX 9
    Adam Ottavino (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    MIL 11, ATL 3
    Hernan Perez, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 4, STL 3 (11)
    Mike Montgomery (W,4-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

  
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5	19.5	29.0	29.0	5.5
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	9.7	13.7	28.7	28.7	5.7
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	bal al	8.2	10.7	33.9	33.9	5.7
Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	cle al	5.0	9.5	37.2	56.2	0.5
Taillon, Jameson 3658	pi sp	pit nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Montgomery, Mike 3513	pi cp mr sp	chi nl	4.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	0.0
Perez, Hernan 3577	3b ss ph	mil nl	3.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	2.5
Shipley, Braden 3695	pi sp	ari nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Devenski, Chris 3702	pi sp	hou nl	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Ottavino, Adam 3054	pi cp	col nl	1.0	3.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Cessa, Luis 3703	pi mr	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bioexodus: Alex Rodriguez leaves field after long career with taint, but as active career Box-Toppers points leader

Shawn Plank August 11, 2016

Alex Rodriguez is expected to play in his final game Friday. He leads active players in career Box-Toppers points and ranks fourth among all players in points since 1995, first among batters.

Padres' Edwin Jackson tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 10; Blue Jays' Happ rises to 9th in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank August 11, 2016

Padres pitcher Edwin Jackson is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	12.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after both earned Player of the Game honors.

Plus, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez passes Roger Clemens on the career Box-Toppers points list, rising to 11th place.

Player of the Day—Jackson pitched seven scoreless innings,allowing two hit and three walks and striking out seven, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and two walks, in the 7-0 win over the Rays.

Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, rising to ninth in season player rankings, third among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Indians.

American League Batter of the Day—Gary Sanchez of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice, in the 9-4 win over the Red Sox.

This was Sanchez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Sanchez made his Major League debut Oct. 3, 2015, and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,701st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Carpenter (HR 3B 2-3 2R BI in the 3-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 34th among all players. This was his first Player of the Game honor and first Box-Toppers point since June 28, when he took the lead among NL batters.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	182.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	181.3
7	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	179.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
10	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
11	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	165.7
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	156.1
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (as of July 15, 2016's All-Star break)

Notable—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez passes Roger Clemens in Box-Toppers “all-time” rankings, rising to 11th place, after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Hernandez (7IP 3H R 4BB 8K ND in the 3-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 165.7 career points. He rises to 11th place among all players and eighth place among all pitchers (passing Clemens’s 164.8) in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Hernandez now trails 10th-place player Johan Santana (166.6).

While Hernandez passes Clemens on the “all-time” list, it should be noted that Clemens’s career began in 1984, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, and so he would likely have more Box-Toppers points (rough estimates based on projections put his career total at about 320 Box-Toppers points).

Hernandez’s meteoric rise up Box-Toppers “all-time” rankings has been slowed somewhat this year by injury. He only has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this year and has not earned points since May 21, when he inched within 0.1 point of Clemens’s career total. From 2009 to 2015, Hernandez had seven straight seasons with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, including two with more than 20 and five with 18 or more. He had 20.8 points in 2014 and 19.4 in 2015. Despite his consistently high totals, Hernandez has never led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in any season.

Also notable—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson became the 21st player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Hellickson (5IP 3H R BB 7K ND in the 6-2 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.1 for the season, rising to 21st place among all players and 12th among NL pitchers. It is Hellickson’s first 10-point season. His previous season high was 9.0 Box-Toppers points in 2012 with the Rays.

Scoring—Jackson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Werth and Sanchez each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/10
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    SD 4, PIT 0
    Edwin Jackson (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    8.0
    `ARI 3, NYM 2 (12)
    Robbie Ray
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    7.0
    CHC 3, LAA 1
    Jason Hammel (W,12-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    AL
    7.0
    TOR 7, TB 0
    J.A. Happ (W,16-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    `SEA 3, DET 1
    Felix Hernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    4
    8
  

    
    6.0
    `PHI 6, LAD 2
    Jeremy Hellickson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    WSH 7, CLE 4
    Jayson Werth, LF
    3
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    KC 3, CHW 2 (14)
    Dillon Gee (W,4-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    OAK 1, BAL 0
    Ross Detwiler (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    SF 1, MIA 0
    Jeff Samardzija (W,10-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    3
    0
    0
    3
    3
  

    BAT
    2.0
    NYY 9, BOS 4
    Gary Sanchez, DH
    5
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    STL 3, CIN 2
    Matt Carpenter, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 5, COL 4
    Matt Bush (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 4, ATL 3
    Tyler Thornburg (S,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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.
  

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7	25.8	41.2	49.2	-0.4
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	10.1	15.1	38.8	41.8	5.1
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	chi nl	9.0	18.7	42.1	55.2	-0.7
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b 1b 2b	stl nl	8.5	14.0	28.5	28.5	3.0
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	sf nl	5.7	15.1	43.8	44.8	-3.7
Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	4.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	0.7
Werth, Jayson 1664	lf	dc nl	3.5	6.5	20.5	47.7	0.5
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	3.0	22.4	88.4	165.7	-16.4
Thornburg, Tyler 3195	pi cp mr	mil nl	3.0	3.0	9.0	9.0	3.0
Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	kc al	2.0	3.0	29.8	30.8	1.0
Jackson, Edwin 1812	pi sp	sd nl	2.0	2.0	21.0	42.8	2.0
Bush, Matt 3673	pi mr cp	tex al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Sanchez, Gary 3701	dh	nyy al	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Detwiler, Ross 2971	pi sp	oak al	1.0	2.0	10.0	10.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' John Lackey rises to 9th in player rankings Tuesday; Astros' Altuve retakes Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters

Shawn Plank August 10, 2016

Cubs pitcher John Lackey is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Jose Altuve of the Astros retakes the Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Lackey allowed one run over eight innings, giving up three hits and one walk, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Angels.

Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season. Cubs pitchers now occupy the eighth, ninth and 10th place spots in Box-Toppers season player rankings:

8. Jon Lester, 13.4 Box-Toppers points
9. Lackey, 12.4
10. Jake Arrieta, 11.7

Lackey rises to seventh place among National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Lackey also rises to 40th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, Lackey now has 120.2 Box-Toppers points, passing Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 39th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

Lackey had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +8.0, the same as Marlins pitcher Tom Koehler, Player of the Game in the 2-0 win over the Giants (7IP 2H 0R 3BB 6K W). But Lackey held the tiebreaker, winning overall Player of the Day, because he pitched more innings—eight vs. seven.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out four, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.

Nationals’ starting pitcher in the game, Max Scherzer (18.7 Box-Toppers points), had a chance to pass season player rankings leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0). While Scherzer’s Box-Toppers game score of +10 (7IP 3H 2R ER BB 10K) was high enough to earn him Player of the Day honors Tuesday, he did not earn Player of the Game honors because the Nationals did not win and Scherzer himself picked up the loss, his seventh of the season (12-7).

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 7-5 win over the Twins.

Altuve earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season, rising to 11th place in season player rankings and first among AL batters, passing previous leader Manny Machado of the Orioles (10.2). Machado had just retaken the AL batting lead from Altuve on Sunday.

National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Phillies.

Notable—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rises to 56th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Beltre (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 7-5 win over the Rockies) now has 108.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1) and Kevin Millwood (108.3). He trails 55th-ranked player Billy Wagner (108.7).

Beltre has 6.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, 14th among AL batters.

Debut—Athletics pitcher Zach Neal made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Neal (5.1IP 2H R 0BB K W in the 2-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 11 and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,700th 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 Bauer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Altuve and Kendrick each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    8.0
    CHC 5, LAA 1
    John Lackey (W, 9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    8.0
    MIA 2, SF 0
    Tom Koehler (W, 9-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    AL
    4.1
    CLE 3, WSH 1
    Trevor Bauer (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    TB 9, TOR 2
    Erasmo Ramirez (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    BAT
    3.0
    HOU 7, MIN 5
    Jose Altuve (2B)
    4
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    OAK 2, BAL 1
    Zach Neal (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    2
    1
    1
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 5, NYY 3
    Dustin Pedroia (2B)
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    LAD 9, PHI 3
    Howie Kendrick (LF)
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 7, STL 4
    Billy Hamilton (CF)
    3
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 2, MIL 1
    Mauricio Cabrera (S, 3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.1
    CHW 7, KC 5 (10)
    Dan Jennings (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    SEA 6, DET 5 (15)
    Kyle Seager (3B)
    7
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PIT 6, SD 4
    David Freese (3B)
    5
    3
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 7, COL 5
    Adrian Beltre (3B)
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    ARI 5, NYM 3
    Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	12.4	22.1	41.8	120.2	2.7
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	11.5	18.5	28.0	28.0	4.5
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	9.4	18.8	27.5	27.5	0.0
Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	6.5	19.0	44.9	108.3	-6.0
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	6.0	11.0	25.0	25.0	1.0
Koehler, Tom 3159	pi sp	fla nl	5.0	9.0	17.0	17.0	1.0
Ramirez, Erasmo 1786	pi sp mr cp	tb al	3.7	10.7	12.7	14.7	-3.3
Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b lf	lad nl	3.0	7.0	19.0	33.0	-1.0
Cabrera, Mauricio 3689	pi cp mr	atl nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	2.5	12.7	37.9	37.9	-7.7
Hamilton, Billy 3287	cf	cin nl	2.0	4.0	8.5	8.5	0.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	bos al	2.0	2.0	22.4	34.5	2.0
Freese, David 2710	1b 3b	pit nl	2.0	2.0	22.2	24.2	2.0
Jennings, Dan 3591	pi cp	chi al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Neal, Zach 3700	pi sp	oak al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' Hisashi Iwakuma tops players for Monday, Aug. 8; Dodgers' Grandal tops NL players

Shawn Plank August 9, 2016

Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma 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 2016 season as of Aug. 8:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Iwakuma pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.

Iwakuma earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, most of any of the nine who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Iwakuma ranks 85th among all players, 29th among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 9-4 win over the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Vogt of the Athletics homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 3-2 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the NL Player of the Day was batter Yasmani Grandal.

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

Braves pitcher Brandon Cunniff (2IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-3, 12-inning win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut April 7, 2015, and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,698th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Cardinals pitcher Matt Bowman (2IP H 0R BB 2K ND in the 5-4 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut April 6 and was playing in his 39th career game. He is the 3,699th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/8
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    SEA 3, DET 0
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 13-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    7.0
    MIN 3, HOU 1
    Tyler Duffey (W, 7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    3.0
    OAK 3, BAL 2
    Stephen Vogt (C)
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    3.0
    LAD 9, PHI 4
    Yasmani Grandal (C)
    3
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SF 8, MIA 7 (14)
    George Kontos (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 4, MIL 3 (12)
    Brandon Cunniff (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 7, TB 5
    Devon Travis (2B)
    5
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `STL 5, CIN 4
    Matt Bowman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 4, COL 3
    Elvis Andrus (SS)
    3
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	6.0	19.1	54.2	54.2	-7.1
Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca	lad nl	5.7	7.7	15.7	15.7	3.7
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	5.7	5.7	13.2	16.2	5.7
Duffey, Tyler 3558	pi sp	min al	5.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	1.0
Vogt, Stephen 3503	ca 1b	oak al	4.0	6.5	6.5	6.5	1.5
Kontos, George 3106	pi cp mr	sf nl	3.0	5.0	7.7	7.7	1.0
Travis, Devon 3436	2b	tor al	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Bowman, Matt 3699	pi mr	stl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Cunniff, Brandon 3698	pi mr	atl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' Yu Darvish tops players for Sunday, Aug. 7; Orioles' Machado regains AL batting Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank August 8, 2016

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Manny Machado of the Orioles regained the Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 7:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Darvish pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 5-3, 11-inning win over the Astros. Darvish did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because after he exited, the Astros tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.

American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles hit three homers, going 3-for-6 and driving in seven runs, in the 10-2 win over the White Sox.

Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.2 for the season. He becomes the 20th player with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season and the second batter. He passes Jose Altuve of the Astros (10.0) to retake the Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters. Machado ranks 19th among all players, the highest-ranked batter.

National League Batter of the Day—Martin Prado of the Marlins doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-7 win over the Rockies.

  
    Ichiro Suzuki
Suzuki joined the 3,000-hit club Sunday. Here are his career season-by-season Box-Toppers points totals:

    Yr
    Team
    BTP
  
    2001
    SEA
    4.0
  
    2002
    SEA
    2.5
  
    2003
    SEA
    4.2
  
    2004
    SEA
    5.0
  
    2005
    SEA
    6.0
  
    2006
    SEA
    3.5
  
    2007
    SEA
    8.0*
  
    2008
    SEA
    3.5
  
    2009
    SEA
    5.5
  
    2010
    SEA
    1.0
  
    2011
    SEA
    2.0
  
    2012
    SEA/NYY
    2.5
  
    2013
    NYY
    2.0
  
    2014
    NYY
    1.0
  
    2015
    MIA
    1.0
  
    2016
    MIA
    2.0
  
    Total
    
    53.7
  
* Best season, 9th among AL OF

16 straight seasons w/B-T pts, tied for 13th-longest streak since ’95

272nd among all players since ’95

7th among active NL OF

Notable—Ichiro Suzuki of the Marlins picked up his 3,000th Major League hit, a triple, Sunday in the 10-7 win over the Rockies. (Teammate Martin Prado was Player of the Game.)

Suzuki has 53.7 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 272nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He ranks 57th among all outfielders since 1995, ninth among all active outfielders and seventh among active NL outfielders.

Suzuki has earned Box-Toppers points in each of his 16 Major League seasons, tied for the 13th-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history. While Suzuki has consistently earned Box-Toppers points, he doesn’t earn very many since he doesn’t frequently hit for power, with few home runs and RBIs. His best season was 2007 with the Mariners when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL outfielders.

He’s had fewer than 3.0 Box-Toppers points in eight seasons—half his Major League career, including three seasons with only 1.0 point, just enough to keep the consecutive season streak with Box-Toppers points alive. In 2015, he had 1.0 point and so far in 2016, he has 2.0 points.

Only two other players in the 3,000-hit club earned nearly all their hits while being tracked by Box-Toppers (which began in 1995):

Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees has 3,114 hits (including 11 earned in 1994 before Box-Toppers tracking). Rodriguez has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, most among all batters since 1995 and most among all active players. Rodriguez Sunday announced he will play his final game for the Yankees this Friday.
Derek Jeter, who played his entire career for the Yankees from 1995 to 2014 (all tracked by Box-Toppers), has 3,465 hits. Jeter, who like Suzuki, didn’t hit primarily for power, has 76.4 Box-Toppers points, 62nd-most among all batters since 1995 and second among all shortstops (behind Miguel Tejada with 102.3).

Scoring—Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hendricks earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Machado and Prado each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/7
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    `TEX 5, HOU 3 (11)
    Yu Darvish
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    7.1
    SEA 3, LAA 1
    James Paxton (W,4-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    5
    1
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    BAL 10, CHW 2
    Manny Machado, 3B
    6
    3
    3
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.1
    CHC 3, OAK 1
    Kyle Hendricks (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    6.0
    NYY 3, CLE 2
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 6, TB 3
    Miguel Sano, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIA 10, COL 7
    Martin Prado, 3B
    3
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 1, SF 0
    Tanner Roark (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    4.0
    LAD 8, BOS 5
    Kenley Jansen (S,34)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    `PHI 6, SD 5
    Hector Neris (H,21)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    KC 7, TOR 1
    Kendrys Morales, DH
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 9, MIL 3
    Phil Gosselin, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 7, PIT 3
    Dan Straily (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    4
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 3, DET 1
    Jeurys Familia (S,39)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 6, STL 3
    Jim Johnson (S,8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

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

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	10.2	17.7	21.2	21.2	2.7
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	9.7	19.4	24.4	24.4	0.0
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	9.7	17.7	30.4	30.4	1.7
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	9.7	10.7	25.7	25.7	8.7
Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	lad nl	6.0	10.0	36.4	36.4	2.0
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	5.0	13.0	13.0	13.0	-3.0
Morales, Kendrys 2142	dh	kc al	4.0	8.7	18.7	34.7	-0.7
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	3.7	3.7	48.9	48.9	3.7
Prado, Martin 2511	3b	fla nl	3.0	9.0	22.5	29.0	-3.0
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp mr	atl nl	3.0	5.0	15.0	20.7	1.0
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	cin nl	3.0	3.0	13.7	13.7	3.0
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	2.7	3.7	9.4	9.4	1.7
Sano, Miguel 3527	rf 3b	min al	2.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	-4.0
Neris, Hector 3553	pi mr	phi nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Gosselin, Philip 3398	2b ph	ari nl	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Brewers' Ryan Braun tops players for Saturday, Aug. 6; Indians' Kluber extends Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers

Shawn Plank August 7, 2016

Ryan Braun of the Brewers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber maintained his fourth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to ninth place after both earned Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 6:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Braun hit two three-run homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 15-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

Braun earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.5 points for the season, rising to eighth among National League batters. It is also his best season since 2012, when he had 12.5 points. That was before his 2013 suspension for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. In 2013, he had 3.5 points, in 2014—4.5 and in 2015—5.0.

This was his first overall Player of the Day honor since April 30, 2012.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber struck out eight over eight innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 5-2 win over the Yankees.

Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.2 for the season. Kluber maintains his lead in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers (ahead of Cole Hamels of the Rangers with 14.1) and also maintains his fourth-place rank among all players.

American League Batter of the Day—Franklin Gutierrez of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-6 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Ryan Braun.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Arrieta (8IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. Arrieta ranks seventh among NL pitchers. Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1.

Notable—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to 24th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Cabrera (2B 2-4 3BI in the 6-5 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 141.9 for his career. With his point Saturday, he passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player, David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9).

Cabrera now has 9.0 Box-Toppers points on the season and rises to second place among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (10.0)

Debut—Padres pitcher Buddy Baumann made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with this first career Player of the Game honor.

Baumann (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 9-7 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut July 16 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,697th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Also notable—Royals pitcher Peter Moylan earned his first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Moylan (1.1IP 0H 0R 3K ND in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) last earned Player of the Game honors on Sept. 10, 2010, with the Braves. Moylan has 5.0 career Box-Toppers points since his debut in 2007.

Scoring—Braun earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gutierrez earns 1.5 points for being AL 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/6
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    MIL 15, ARI 6
    Ryan Braun, LF
    4
    3
    3
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    CHC 4, OAK 0
    Jake Arrieta (W,13-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    6.0
    ATL 13, STL 5
    Freddie Freeman, 1B
    3
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    6.0
    CLE 5, NYY 2
    Corey Kluber (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    COL 12, MIA 6
    Charlie Blackmon, CF
    5
    2
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    TB 7, MIN 3
    Chris Archer (W,6-15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    7
  

    
    4.2
    SD 9, PHI 7
    Buddy Baumann (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.1
    `KC 4, TOR 2
    Peter Moylan (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    LAD 3, BOS 0
    Ross Stripling (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    3.1
    CHW 4, BAL 2
    Nate Jones (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    SF 7, WSH 1
    Eduardo Nunez, 3B
    5
    3
    4
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    SEA 8, LAA 6
    Franklin Gutierrez, RF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 3, HOU 2
    Jonathan Lucroy, C
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 5, CIN 3
    Tony Watson (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    DET 6, NYM 5
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    4
    0
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2	29.6	60.4	60.4	2.8
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7	40.8	68.5	71.5	-17.4
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	9.0	13.7	62.3	141.9	4.3
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	6.5	11.5	42.5	84.2	1.5
Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.0	22.0	46.1	46.1	-10.0
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	3b 2b ss	sf nl	4.5	6.5	12.5	14.0	2.5
Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	4.0	7.0	35.2	35.2	1.0
Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	tex al	4.0	5.7	24.6	25.6	2.3
Watson, Tony 3215	pi cp mr	pit nl	3.0	4.0	7.0	7.0	2.0
Jones, Nate 3125	pi mr cp	chi al	3.0	4.0	11.0	11.0	2.0
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Blackmon, Charlie 2891	cf	col nl	2.5	5.0	10.5	10.5	0.0
Gutierrez, Franklin 2242	rf	sea al	2.5	3.5	7.5	22.5	1.5
Moylan, Peter 2266	pi mr	kc al	1.0	1.0	1.0	5.0	1.0
Baumann, Buddy 3697	pi mr	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cardinals' Jaime Garcia tops players for Friday, Aug. 5; Cubs' Lester bolsters 8th place spot in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank August 6, 2016

Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his eighth-place rank in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 5:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Braves.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine and allowing one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring three times, in the 13-7 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Cameron Rupp of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4 and driving in four total runs, in the 5-4 win over the Padres.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his eighth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Lester (7IP 6H 2R 0BB 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Lester now also has 134.5 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander now has 131.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Verlander (6IP 4H 2R BB 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) ranks 30th in career points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Verlander has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 20th among AL pitchers, and exceeding his 6.4 point total he earned in 2015.

Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wright earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Rupp each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/5
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    STL 1, ATL 0
    Jaime Garcia (W,8-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    AL
    14.0
    BOS 9, LAD 0
    Steven Wright (W,13-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    11.0
    HOU 5, TEX 0
    Dallas Keuchel (W,7-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    9.0
    WSH 5, SF 1
    Gio Gonzalez (W,7-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    NYY 13, CLE 7
    Starlin Castro, SS-2B
    3
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    DET 4, NYM 3
    Justin Verlander (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    9
  

    
    5.0
    CHC 7, OAK 2
    Jon Lester (W,12-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    4.1
    MIN 6, TB 2
    Ervin Santana (W,5-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 7, CHW 5
    Zach Britton (S,34)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    SEA 6, LAA 4
    Edwin Diaz (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    `MIA 5, COL 3
    David Phelps
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    PHI 5, SD 4
    Cameron Rupp, C
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `PIT 3, CIN 2
    Jameson Taillon
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 3, MIL 2 (11)
    Adam Loewen (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 4, KC 3
    Brett Cecil (W,1-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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.
  

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4	25.4	71.6	134.5	1.4
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	bos al	8.4	12.1	13.1	13.1	4.7
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	stl nl	8.0	17.4	35.1	43.8	-1.4
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	7.0	13.4	76.6	131.6	0.6
Rupp, Cameron 3556	ca	phi nl	6.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	5.5
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	6.0	27.4	41.8	41.8	-15.4
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss 2b	nyy al	5.5	10.0	23.0	24.0	1.0
Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	4.0	13.7	70.8	84.5	-5.7
Phelps, David 2994	pi mr	fla nl	4.0	7.4	20.8	20.8	0.6
Taillon, Jameson 3658	pi sp	pit nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	bal al	3.0	11.7	31.1	31.1	-5.7
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	3.0	8.4	46.8	96.3	-2.4
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp mr	sea al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	tor al	1.0	3.0	9.7	21.8	-1.0
Loewen, Adam 2212	pi cp	ari nl	1.0	2.0	3.0	5.7	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

As Kershaw sits, his lead narrows—Nationals' Max Scherzer could top Box-Toppers player rankings with next start

Shawn Plank August 5, 2016

Scherzer is 1.3 Box-Toppers points behind Kershaw and could end Kershaw's 3-month-long lead at next start. Indians' Corey Kluber takes points lead among AL pitchers.

Chicago Cubs hold slim edge over Los Angeles Dodgers in Box-Toppers team rankings report

Shawn Plank August 5, 2016

With trade deadline acquisitions, Dodgers are hottest team of the week. Other teams strengthened by trades include Mets, Blue Jays, Rangers, Giants, Twins, Orioles.

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

Shawn Plank August 5, 2016

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring—Finnegan earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smyly earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Span and Butler each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/4
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    CIN 7, STL 0
    Brandon Finnegan (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    AL
    7.0
    `TB 3, KC 2
    Drew Smyly
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    10
  

    
    5.0
    TOR 4, HOU 1
    J.A. Happ (W,15-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    4.1
    BOS 3, SEA 2 (11)
    Craig Kimbrel (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    SF 3, PHI 2 (10)
    Denard Span, CF
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 4, COL 2
    Kenley Jansen (S,32)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    CLE 9, MIN 2
    Dan Otero (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 5, PIT 2
    Jim Johnson (S,7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    NYM 4, NYY 1
    Jay Bruce, RF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    1.0
    OAK 8, LAA 6 (10)
    Billy Butler, PH-DH
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    CHW 6, DET 3
    Tim Anderson, SS
    0
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.2
    TEX 5, BAL 3
    A.J. Griffin (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    5
    3
    3
    0
    6
  

  
  

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' Iwakuma tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 3; Nationals' Scherzer edges closer to Kershaw's lead

Shawn Plank August 4, 2016

Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 3:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, ranked second among players in Box-Toppers points this season, got within striking distance of overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Iwakuma pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Red Sox.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing three runs, four hits and one walk, in the 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Scherzer earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 18.7 for the season, maintaining second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. With his points Wednesday, he now has the chance to pass overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points) on his next start.

Scherzer’s 1.3-point gap behind Kershaw is the closest any player has been to the leader since May 22, when Kershaw had 10.0 Box-Toppers points and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta trailed him in second place with 8.7 (Arrieta now has 10.7 points, 11th among all players). Kershaw has led all players since May 7, but last earned Box-Toppers points on June 20 before going on the disabled list June 27. On Wednesday, he was retroactively placed on the 60-day disabled list, eligible to return Aug. 27.

Scherzer also now has 124.7 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes Gary Sheffield (124.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 36th-ranked player, Angels pitcher Jered Weaver (125.1).

American League Batter of the Day—Joe Mauer of the Twins hit two doubles and tripled, going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 13-5 win over the Indians.

This was Mauer’s first Player of the Game honor in 2016 and he has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons, all with the Twins. He earned his first points in 2004 and has 70.6 career points, 11th among active AL batters. His best season was 2008 when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL batters. In 2015, he had 2.5 points.

National League Batter of the Day—Yangervis Solarte of the Padres homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 12-3 win over the Brewers.

Notable—Besides Scherzer, two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Albert Pujols of the Angels (HR 2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 8-6 win over the Athletics) now has 181.3 career Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began (see updated list of the overall top 20 players in career points). He now trails fifth-place player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (182.0), by only 0.7 points. Pujols has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 10th among AL batters.
Cubs pitcher John Lackey (7IP 7H 3R 0BB 8K ND in the 5-4 win over the Marlins) rises to 40th place in career Box-Toppers points (118.2) among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list, Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7) and now trails 39th-ranked player Cliff Lee (119.1). Lackey also becomes the 19th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points—he has 10.4 and ranks 14th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

Streak—Ryan Howard has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons—all with the Phillies—after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Wednesday.

Howard (HR 3-4 R BI in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Giants) earned his first points in 2005 and has 97.7 career points, second among active NL batters, trailing Matt Holliday of the Cardinals (97.8) by 0.1 point. Howard’s best season was 2009 when he had 15.4 points, third among NL batters. In 2015, he had 5.5 points.

Scoring—Iwakuma earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Scherzer earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Mauer and Solarte each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/3
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.1
    SEA 3, BOS 1
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,12-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    NL
    8.0
    WSH 8, ARI 3
    Max Scherzer (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    3
    3
    1
    11
  

    
    8.0
    TOR 3, HOU 1
    Marco Estrada (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    8.0
    TB 12, KC 0
    Jake Odorizzi (W,6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.1
    NYY 9, NYM 5
    Luis Severino (W,1-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    1
    1
    0
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    MIN 13, CLE 5
    Joe Mauer, 1B
    5
    2
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    SD 12, MIL 3
    Yangervis Solarte, 3B
    5
    4
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    COL 12, LAD 2
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    3
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    DET 2, CHW 1
    Shane Greene (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 8, OAK 6
    Albert Pujols, DH
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 8, PIT 4
    Ender Inciarte, CF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    BAL 3, TEX 2
    Kevin Gausman (W,3-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    2.0
    `CHC 5, MIA 4
    John Lackey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    3
    3
    0
    8
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 5, SF 4 (12)
    Ryan Howard, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    STL 5, CIN 4
    Brandon Moss, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7	39.7	104.3	124.7	-2.3
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	10.4	20.1	39.8	118.2	0.7
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	7.0	15.0	39.1	39.1	-1.0
Pujols, Albert 1438	dh 1b	ana al	7.0	14.0	44.0	181.3	0.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	6.5	15.0	16.5	16.5	-2.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	bal al	5.4	11.1	18.8	18.8	-0.3
Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	4.7	13.4	24.4	24.4	-4.0
Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	4.0	17.1	52.2	52.2	-9.1
Solarte, Yangervis 3304	3b	sd nl	3.0	8.0	9.0	9.0	-2.0
Greene, Shane 3381	pi sp	det al	3.0	6.0	13.0	13.0	0.0
Moss, Brandon 2520	rf lf 1b	stl nl	2.5	7.5	23.5	25.5	-2.5
Mauer, Joe 1869	1b	min al	1.5	4.0	26.0	70.6	-1.0
Howard, Ryan 2040	1b	phi nl	1.0	6.5	31.4	97.7	-4.5
Inciarte, Ender 3360	cf	atl nl	1.0	4.0	5.0	5.0	-2.0
Severino, Luis 3567	pi mr sp	nyy al	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Orioles' Dylan Bundy tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 2; Mets' deGrom tops NL players

Shawn Plank August 3, 2016

Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy 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 2016 season as of Aug. 2:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bundy pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out seven, in the 5-1 win over the Rangers.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 7-1 win over the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-8 win over the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—Max Kepler of the Twins homered and went 1-for-2, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-6 win over the Indians.

Tuesday was the second straight day Kepler earned AL Batter of the Day honors and the third time he’s done it in less than a week. In other words, he’s earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in that span (1.5 points for each AL Batter of the Day honor) on July 28, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2. Kepler has 6.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 14th among AL batters.

Notable—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to 25th among all players in career Box-Toppers points (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Cabrera (HR 2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 11-5 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 140.9 career points, passing Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (140.3) on the “all-time” list. Cabrera now trails 24th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).

Cabrera and Hamels have been passing each other in the career points list recently and with Tuesday’s honor, Cabrera again regains the 10th-place spot in career points among active players.

This was the second time in three days Cabrera has earned Player of the Game honors—he was AL Batter of the Day Sunday. Cabrera has 8.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising to fourth among AL batters.

Also notable—Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel is the season’s highest-ranked player among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Hammel (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 3K W in the 3-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks 33rd among all players and 17th among NL pitchers.

Hammel and another of Tuesday’s top players, Miguel Cabrera, both have 8.0 Box-Toppers points but Hammel ranks higher because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2015—9.7 vs. 4.7. Cabrera ranks 35th among all players.

Scoring—Bundy earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and deGrom earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Franco and Kepler each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/2
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    BAL 5, TEX 1
    Dylan Bundy (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    NL
    10.0
    NYM 7, NYY 1
    Jacob deGrom (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    7.0
    PHI 13, SF 8
    Maikel Franco, 3B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    COL 7, LAD 3
    Jon Gray (W,8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIN 10, CLE 6
    Max Kepler, RF
    2
    3
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TOR 2, HOU 1
    R.A. Dickey (W,8-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    4.0
    LAA 5, OAK 4
    Cam Bedrosian (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    DET 11, CHW 5
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 7, STL 5
    Joey Votto, 1B
    4
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 3, MIA 2
    Jason Hammel (W,11-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 5, BOS 4
    Edwin Diaz (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 3, SD 2
    Tyler Thornburg (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.1
    KC 3, TB 2
    Chris Young (W,3-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    1.0
    WSH 10, ARI 4
    Jayson Werth, LF
    5
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PIT 5, ATL 3
    Tony Watson (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	chi nl	8.0	17.7	41.1	54.2	-1.7
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	8.0	12.7	61.3	140.9	3.3
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	7.7	30.1	43.1	43.1	-14.7
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	6.5	11.5	28.2	60.2	1.5
Kepler, Max 3664	rf	min al	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	6.0	11.0	55.2	76.9	1.0
Young, Chris R. 1933	pi sp mr	kc al	4.7	12.7	28.8	78.8	-3.3
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp mr	bal al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp mr	ana al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Franco, Maikel 3510	3b	phi nl	2.5	5.7	5.7	5.7	-0.7
Werth, Jayson 1664	lf	dc nl	2.0	5.0	19.0	46.2	-1.0
Watson, Tony 3215	pi mr cp	pit nl	2.0	3.0	6.0	6.0	1.0
Thornburg, Tyler 3195	pi mr cp	mil nl	2.0	2.0	8.0	8.0	2.0
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi mr cp	sea al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Royals' Danny Duffy tops players for Monday, Aug. 1 with 2nd-highest Box-Toppers game score of season

Shawn Plank August 2, 2016

Royals pitcher Danny Duffy is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 1:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg maintained his seventh-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Duffy pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 16 and allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Rays.

Duffy had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +22.0, tied for the highest game score of the season. But Duffy ranks second on the season to Vince Velasquez of the Phillies, who on April 14, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +22.0, because Velasquez had more innings pitched—nine vs. eight. (See chart below for the top Box-Toppers game score of 2016.) Duffy’s is the fifth Box-Toppers game score this season of +20.0 or greater.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out six over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 14-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Strasburg earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 14.1 for the season, maintaining his seventh-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Max Kepler of the Twins hit three two-run homers and went 4-for-6, in the 12-5 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Travis Jankowski of the Padres went 3-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-3 win over the Brewers.

This was Jankowski’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Jankowski made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2015, and was playing in his 114th career game. He is the 3,696th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Duffy earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Strasburg earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Kepler and Jankowski each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/1
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    22.0
    KC 3, TB 0
    Danny Duffy (W,7-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    16
  

    
    9.0
    `HOU 2, TOR 1 (14)
    Doug Fister
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    7.0
    MIN 12, CLE 5
    Max Kepler, RF
    6
    3
    4
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.1
    `BOS 2, SEA 1
    Eduardo Rodriguez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    NL
    5.0
    WSH 14, ARI 1
    Stephen Strasburg (W,15-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 5, MIA 0
    Kyle Hendricks (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    7
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 6, NYM 5 (10)
    Adam Warren (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    SD 7, MIL 3
    Travis Jankowski, CF
    3
    2
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1	28.1	74.2	81.9	0.1
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	8.7	12.7	27.7	27.7	4.7
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	8.0	17.7	22.7	22.7	-1.7
Kepler, Max 3664	rf	min al	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Fister, Doug 2688	pi sp	hou al	3.0	5.0	50.5	54.2	1.0
Warren, Adam 3169	pi mr sp	nyy al	2.0	5.7	9.7	9.7	-1.7
Jankowski, Travis 3696	cf	sd nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	bos al	1.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	-5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

  
    Highest Box-Toppers game scores of 2016
Here are the highest Box-Toppers game scores earned by Players of the Games in 2016. Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez had the highest score of +22.0 on April 14 when he was Player of the Day (and 2.0 Box-Toppers points). All but two players among the top 13 here earned Player of the Day honors. Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia and Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda earned Player of the Game honors (worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point) because they finished behind that day’s overall top player—Garcia finished behind Velasquez on April 14 and Garcia finished behind Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner on July 10.
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    

    Date
    Bonus
    Score
    Team
    Players
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    1
    4/14
    MLB
    22.0
    Phillies
    Vince Velasquez (W,2-0)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    16
  

    2
    8/1
    MLB
    22.0
    Royals
    Danny Duffy (W,7-1)
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    16
  

    3
    7/10
    MLB
    21.0
    Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (W,10-4)
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    14
  

    4
    5/1
    MLB
    20.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    14
  

    5
    4/14
    
    20.0
    Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia (W,1-0)
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    6
    5/11
    MLB
    19.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,4-2)
    9.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    20
  

    7
    5/12
    MLB
    18.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    8
    4/23
    MLB
    17.0
    Nationals
    Tanner Roark (W,2-2)
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    15
  

    9
    6/5
    MLB
    17.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,9-2)
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    14
  

    10
    4/15
    MLB
    16.0
    White Sox
    Chris Sale (W,3-0)
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    11
    6/8
    MLB
    16.0
    Mariners
    Taijuan Walker (W,3-6)
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    11
  

    12
    7/10
    
    16.0
    Dodgers
    Kenta Maeda (W,8-6)
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    13
  

    13
    4/19
    MLB
    16.0
    `Rays
    Drew Smyly
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    11
  

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



  
  

Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Sunday, July 31, rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank August 1, 2016

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead American League pitchers in season player rankings.

Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 8-0 win over the Athletics.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 31:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.5 for the season, rising to fourth among all players. He rises to first among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Cole Hamels of the Rangers (14.1).

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Cain pitched five scoreless innings, allowing no hits, four walks and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-0 win over the Astros.

Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 139.9 for his career, rising to 26th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, Cabrera passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (140.3).

Cabrera has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 10th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Mets homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Rockies.

Streak—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Sunday.

Garza (5IP 4H 2R BB 5K W in the 4-2 win over the Pirates) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Twins and has 69.1 career points, 18th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Rays when he had 12.7 points, ninth among AL pitchers. He had 1.7 points in 2015 with the Brewers.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/31
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    CLE 8, OAK 0
    Corey Kluber (W,10-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    DET 11, HOU 0
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.0
    SF 3, WSH 1
    Matt Cain (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    0
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    NYM 6, COL 4
    Neil Walker, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    LAD 14, ARI 3
    Yasmani Grandal, C
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 6, CHW 4
    Brian Dozier, DH
    4
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 5, KC 3
    Mitch Moreland, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 5, LAA 3
    Clay Buchholz (W,4-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 7, SEA 6 (12)
    Hector Rondon (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    3.0
    TB 5, NYY 3
    Alex Colome (S,25)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 3, SD 2
    Tony Cingrani (S,13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 4, PIT 2
    Matt Garza (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    2
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    1.0
    MIA 5, STL 4
    J.T. Realmuto, C
    3
    0
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    ATL 2, PHI 1
    Mauricio Cabrera (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    0.0
    BAL 6, TOR 2 (12)
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Correction made Feb. 27, 2017: Jonathan Schoop, Player of the Game in the Orioles 6-2, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays, was previously incorrectly listed as a pitcher. 
  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5	27.9	58.7	58.7	1.1
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	7.0	11.7	60.3	139.9	2.3
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	6.0	11.0	14.7	14.7	1.0
Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	chi nl	5.0	7.0	10.0	10.0	3.0
Realmuto, J.T. 3491	ca	fla nl	4.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	-0.5
Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca	lad nl	4.0	6.0	14.0	14.0	2.0
Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b	tex al	3.5	9.7	17.7	18.7	-2.7
Walker, Neil 2756	2b	nym nl	3.5	7.5	25.0	30.5	-0.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	3.5	6.0	8.5	8.5	1.0
Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	2.7	4.7	37.5	99.7	0.7
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp mr	bos al	2.0	8.0	36.2	55.9	-4.0
Dozier, Brian 3219	2b dh	min al	2.0	5.7	13.7	13.7	-1.7
Cingrani, Tony 3158	pi cp	cin nl	2.0	2.0	9.4	9.4	2.0
Cabrera, Mauricio 3689	pi cp mr	atl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	2.7	32.4	69.1	-0.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' Wade Miley tops players for Saturday, July 30; Marlins' Rea tops NL players

Shawn Plank July 31, 2016

Mariners pitcher Wade Miley is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 30:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
6	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Miley struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Colin Rea pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks and striking out four, in the 11-0 win over the Cardinals. Rea did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win, picking up a no decision. He exited in the fourth with elbow soreness.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Indians homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Cameron Rupp of the Phillies went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 9-5 win over the Braves.

Notable—Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ became the 18th player with 10 or more Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Happ (7IP 3H R 3BB 11K W in the 9-1 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, most of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday. Happ now ranks 17th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.

Also notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander now has 130.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Verlander (CG 5H 2R BB 11K W in the 3-2 win over the Astros) now ranks 30th among all players in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Verlander has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 26th among AL pitchers.

Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Braden Shipley made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Shipley (6IP 5H 0R BB 4K in the 4-2 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut July 25 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,695th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Miley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rea earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Napoli and Rupp each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/30
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    SEA 4, CHC 1
    Wade Miley (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    10.0
    DET 3, HOU 2
    Justin Verlander (W,11-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    
    10.0
    TOR 9, BAL 1
    J.A. Happ (W,14-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    11
  

    NL
    6.1
    `MIA 11, STL 0
    Colin Rea
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    MIL 5, PIT 3
    Chase Anderson (W,6-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    4.0
    ARI 4, LAD 2
    Braden Shipley (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    4.0
    TB 6, NYY 3
    Alex Colome (S,24)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    CLE 6, OAK 3
    Mike Napoli, 1B
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `TEX 2, KC 1
    Martin Perez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    3.0
    `LAA 5, BOS 2
    Cam Bedrosian (H,7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    `CHW 6, MIN 5 (10)
    Miguel Gonzalez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    2.0
    SD 2, CIN 1 (10)
    Brad Hand (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    BAT
    1.0
    PHI 9, ATL 5
    Cameron Rupp, C
    5
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    SF 5, WSH 3
    Brandon Belt, 1B
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    COL 7, NYM 2
    Daniel Descalso, PH
    0
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	10.0	23.1	38.5	46.5	-3.1
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	6.0	12.4	75.6	130.6	-0.4
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	6.0	10.0	15.0	15.0	2.0
Belt, Brandon 2943	1b	sf nl	6.0	7.5	19.5	19.5	4.5
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	5.7	12.4	34.5	34.5	-1.0
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	5.0	10.0	13.7	13.7	0.0
Rupp, Cameron 3556	ca	phi nl	5.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	4.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	sea al	4.0	11.0	34.4	34.4	-3.0
Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	cle al	3.5	8.0	35.7	54.7	-1.0
Hand, Brad 2907	pi mr cp sp	sd nl	3.0	4.0	8.0	8.0	2.0
Rea, Colin 3582	pi sp	fla nl	2.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	1.7
Perez, Martin 3213	pi sp	tex al	2.0	3.0	13.0	13.0	1.0
Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp mr	ana al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Descalso, Daniel 2855	ss ph	col nl	1.0	2.0	10.2	10.2	0.0
Shipley, Braden 3695	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Nolasco tops players for Friday, July 29; Scherzer, Lester rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Shawn Plank July 30, 2016

Twins pitcher Ricky Nolasco is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, two players—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester—rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 29:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
6	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Nolasco allowed one run over eight innings, giving up three hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the White Sox. Nolasco did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and two walks, in the 12-1 win over the Mariners.

Lester earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season and rising to eighth place in season player rankings, sixth among NL pitchers.

Lester displaces teammate, pitcher Jake Arrieta (10.7 Box-Toppers points), from the season player ranking top 10 list. Arrieta had been in the top 10 this season continuously since April 16 and led all players from April 21 to April 30 and from May 3 to May 6. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has led all players since May 7 (currently with 20.0 Box-Toppers points). Arrieta has not earned Box-Toppers points since June 17. He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1.

Lester now also has 133.5 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 28th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, Lester passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 27th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (138.4).

National League Batter of the Day—Tommy Pham of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Cameron Maybin of the Tigers doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 14-6 win over the Astros.

Rankings—Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Scherzer (7IP 5H R 2BB 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He rises from third to second in season player rankings, passing Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (16.4) and now trails overall leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points) by 3.0 points.

Scherzer also now has 123.0 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 38th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Scherzer trails 37th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

Scoring—Nolasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lester earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Pham and Maybin each earn 1.5 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

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/29
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    `MIN 2, CHW 1 (12)
    Ricky Nolasco
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    NL
    7.0
    CHC 12, SEA 1
    Jon Lester (W,11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.2
    MIL 3, PIT 1
    Junior Guerra (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    5.2
    TB 5, NYY 1
    Jake Odorizzi (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    6
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    STL 11, MIA 6
    Tommy Pham, CF
    4
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 4, SF 1
    Max Scherzer (W,11-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    4.0
    CIN 6, SD 0
    Brandon Finnegan (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    DET 14, HOU 6
    Cameron Maybin, CF
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 8, KC 3
    Rougned Odor, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 9, ARI 7
    Joc Pederson, CF
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 6, LAA 2
    Rick Porcello (W,14-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    COL 6, NYM 1
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    5
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 6, BAL 5
    Edwin Encarnacion, DH
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CLE 5, OAK 3
    Abraham Almonte, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    ATL 2, PHI 1
    Nick Markakis, RF
    3
    0
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

  
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0	38.0	102.6	123.0	-4.0
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4	24.4	70.6	133.5	0.4
Guerra, Junior 3633	pi sp	mil nl	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh	tor al	7.0	17.4	45.6	66.1	-3.4
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	bos al	6.0	10.0	31.7	40.7	2.0
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	min al	5.7	7.7	28.4	81.5	3.7
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	rf	col nl	5.5	17.0	45.7	58.7	-6.0
Markakis, Nick 2116	rf	atl nl	4.0	8.5	19.5	46.1	-0.5
Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	4.0	7.0	8.5	8.5	1.0
Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	3.7	12.4	23.4	23.4	-5.0
Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	3.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Maybin, Cameron 2672	cf	det al	3.0	4.0	11.5	15.5	2.0
Pederson, Joc 3621	cf	lad nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Pham, Thomas 3596	cf	stl nl	1.5	3.0	3.0	3.0	0.0
Almonte, Abraham 3554	cf ph	cle al	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw still leads Box-Toppers player rankings, but new leaders rise among AL batters, pitchers

Shawn Plank July 29, 2016

Jose Altuve of Astros rises to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points, Cole Hamels of the Rangers rises to lead AL pitchers. Kershaw maintains overall lead.

Chicago Cubs regain lead in Box-Toppers team rankings after acquiring Aroldis Chapman

Shawn Plank July 29, 2016

Cubs, week's hottest team, thanks to Chapman trade, regain lead after Red Sox hold it for one week. Red Sox, despite down week, still lead AL teams.

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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.