Marlins' Dan Straily tops players for Saturday, April 22; Indians' Carrasco rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank April 23, 2017

Marlins pitcher Dan Straily 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 2017 season as of April 22:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	5.0
2	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	4.7
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
5	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	4.0
6	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	4.0
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	3.7
8	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
10	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2

What are those numbers after players' names?

Straily struck out 14 over seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits, in the 6-3, 11-inning win over the Padres. Straily picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the game was tied when he exited.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 7-0 win over the White Sox.

Carrasco earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season and rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Willson Contreras of the Cubs hit a grand slam, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 12-8 win over the Reds.

This was Contreras’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Contreras made his Major League debut June 17, 2016, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,776th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Carter of the Yankees hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 11-5 win over the Pirates.

Scoring—Straily earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Carrasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Contreras and Carter 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.

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

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

  
    Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/22
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    `MIA 6, SD 3 (F/11)
    Dan Straily
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    14
  

    AL
    12.0
    CLE 7, CHW 0
    Carlos Carrasco (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    6.0
    CHC 12, CIN 8
    Willson Contreras, C
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    STL 4, MIL 1
    Lance Lynn (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    `PHI 4, ATL 3 (F/10)
    Jerad Eickhoff
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    5.1
    WSH 3, NYM 1
    Gio Gonzalez (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    2
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

    
    4.1
    TB 6, HOU 3
    Austin Pruitt (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    COL 12, SF 3
    Mark Reynolds, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ARI 11, LAD 5
    Yasmany Tomas, LF
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    NYY 11, PIT 5
    Chris Carter, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    OAK 4, SEA 3
    Ryan Madson (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 5, TOR 4
    Andrelton Simmons, SS
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `TEX 2, KC 1
    Nick Martinez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    1.0
    DET 5, MIN 4
    Nicholas Castellanos, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    BAL 4, BOS 2
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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

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 (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	3.7	16.1	44.8	50.2	-8.7
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	fla nl	3.0	10.0	20.7	20.7	-4.0
Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	2.7	2.7	58.6	58.6	2.7
Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b	col nl	2.5	6.5	21.2	53.9	-1.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	2.0	6.5	11.5	11.5	-2.5
Pruitt, Austin 3773	pi cp mr	tb al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Carter, Chris 2828	1b ph	nyy al	1.5	11.0	29.9	30.9	-8.0
Contreras, Willson 3776	ca	chi nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Eickhoff, Jerad 3566	pi sp	phi nl	1.0	9.0	14.0	14.0	-7.0
Tomas, Yasmany 3489	lf	ari nl	1.0	8.7	12.2	12.2	-6.7
Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	1.0	7.0	58.1	87.5	-5.0
Castellanos, Nick 3349	3b	det al	1.0	6.5	14.7	14.7	-4.5
Madson, Ryan 1841	pi cp	oak al	1.0	4.0	4.0	24.7	-2.0
Simmons, Andrelton 3165	ss	ana al	1.0	2.5	8.0	8.0	-0.5
Martinez, Nick 3430	pi sp	tex al	1.0	1.0	4.7	4.7	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Friday, April 21; Harper, Holland rise into Box-Toppers top 10

Shawn Plank April 22, 2017

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Kluber pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out nine and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the White Sox.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 21:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	5.0
2	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	4.7
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
5	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	4.0
6	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	4.0
7	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
9	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kluber led AL players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 21.2. This was Kluber’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor for 2017.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Trevor Cahill allowed one run and three hits over seven innings, striking out six, in the 5-3 win over the Marlins.

National League Batter of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright homered and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 6-3 win over the Brewers.

This is the first time this season that a pitcher has earned Player of the Game honors for batting. It was done eight times in 2016 (including twice by Wainwright) and seven times in 2015. Wainwright has earned Player of the Game honors four times in his career for batting: July 24, 2012, May 2, 2016 and Sept. 5, 2016. He’s earned NL Batter of the Day three times (the only time he didn’t was Sept. 5, 2016).

Wainwright had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 for batting, which was the same as his Box-Toppers game score for pitching (5IP 6H 2R 0BB 9K W). But in cases of game score ties, batters beat pitchers, so Wainwright the batter beat out Wainwright the pitcher on the tiebreaker to earn Player of the Game honors.

Wainwright also now has 113.5 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 48th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list: Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). He now trails 47th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).

American League Batter of the Day—Joey Gallo of the Rangers hit two homers, going 2-for-3 and driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Two players rise into Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:

Bryce Harper of the Nationals (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Mets) rises to fifth place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 4.0 for the season.
Rockies closing pitcher Greg Holland (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 6-5 win over the Giants) rises to sixth place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 4.0 for the season.

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

Blue Jays pitcher Ryan Tepera (3IP H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 8-7, 13-inning win over the Angels) made his Major League debut May 10, 2015, and was playing in his 59th career game. He is the 3,774th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Sept. 7, 2015, and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,775th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cahill earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Wainwright and Gallo 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/21
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    CLE 3, CHW 0
    Corey Kluber (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    NL
    7.0
    SD 5, MIA 3
    Trevor Cahill (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    5.0
    PHI 4, ATL 3
    Jeremy Hellickson (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    5
  

    
    5.0
    TOR 8, LAA 7 (F/13)
    Ryan Tepera (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    STL 6, MIL 3
    Adam Wainwright, P
    3
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    TEX 6, KC 2
    Joey Gallo, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    PIT 6, NYY 3
    Juan Nicasio (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 13, LAD 5
    Daniel Descalso, PH-1B
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 2, BOS 0
    Dylan Bundy (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 6, CIN 5 (F/11)
    Carl Edwards Jr. (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 6, TB 3
    Ken Giles (S,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    COL 6, SF 5
    Greg Holland (S,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    WSH 4, NYM 3 (F/11)
    Bryce Harper, RF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 6, DET 3
    Eddie Rosario, LF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    OAK 3, SEA 1
    Sean Manaea (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	4.0	7.0	31.4	31.4	1.0
Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	4.0	4.0	34.0	37.0	4.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	bal al	3.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	-3.0
Gallo, Joey 3485	3b	tex al	3.0	3.0	4.5	4.5	3.0
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	2.0	23.2	67.4	67.4	-19.2
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	2.0	15.1	36.1	46.8	-11.1
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi sp mr	sd nl	1.7	4.7	19.4	41.9	-1.3
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	1.5	11.7	62.8	113.5	-8.7
Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi mr sp	pit nl	1.0	10.0	22.4	26.4	-8.0
Manaea, Sean 3637	pi sp	oak al	1.0	7.7	7.7	7.7	-5.7
Giles, Ken 3402	pi cp mr	hou al	1.0	4.0	9.0	9.0	-2.0
Rosario, Eddie 3542	lf	min al	1.0	4.0	5.5	5.5	-2.0
Descalso, Daniel 2855	ph 1b	ari nl	1.0	2.0	8.7	11.2	0.0
Edwards, Carl Jr. 3775	pi mr	chi nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Tepera, Ryan 3774	pi mr	tor al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers weekly player rankings

Shawn Plank April 21, 2017

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw rises to lead Box-Toppers weekly player rankings. Royals' Jason Vargas continues to lead American League players.

Nationals, week's hottest team, rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings

Shawn Plank April 21, 2017

Washington Nationals rise to lead Box-Toppers team rankings and were the week's hottest team. Red Sox top AL teams. Reds drop from 1st to 6th.

Red Sox' Chris Sale tops players for Thursday, April 20, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank April 21, 2017

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 20:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	5.0
2	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	4.7
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
5	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
7	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
10	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Sale struck out 13 over eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and walking one, in the 4-1, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays. Sale picked up the no decision and did not earn the win because when he exited, the game was in a scoreless tie.

Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to third in season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits, in the 3-2 win over the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Ryon Healy of the Athletics doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 9-6 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Brewers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, in the 7-5 win over the Cardinals.

Scoring—Sale 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. Healy and Shaw 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/20
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    16.0
    `BOS 4, TOR 1 (F/10)
    Chris Sale
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    
    14.0
    `BAL 2, CIN 1 (F/10)
    Wade Miley
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    
    8.2
    HOU 2, LAA 1
    Lance McCullers Jr. (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    6.0
    TB 8, DET 1
    Erasmo Ramirez (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    NL
    5.0
    WSH 3, ATL 2
    Stephen Strasburg (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    10
  

    
    4.0
    TEX 1, KC 0 (F/13)
    Dario Alvarez (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.2
    SD 4, ARI 1
    Clayton Richard (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    9
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    3.1
    CLE 6, MIN 2
    Trevor Bauer (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    2
    2
    3
    7
  

    BAT
    3.0
    OAK 9, SEA 6
    Ryon Healy, 1B
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    MIL 7, STL 5
    Travis Shaw, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 6, NYM 4
    Tommy Joseph, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	4.7	18.1	86.1	91.1	-8.7
Richard, Clayton 2584	pi sp	sd nl	3.0	5.0	13.2	32.6	1.0
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	2.7	17.8	76.9	85.6	-12.4
Healy, Ryon 3685	1b 3b	oak al	2.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	-0.5
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	2.0	8.1	14.8	14.8	-4.1
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	bal al	2.0	8.0	38.4	38.4	-4.0
Ramirez, Erasmo 1786	pi cp sp	tb al	2.0	5.7	14.7	16.7	-1.7
Shaw, Travis 3544	3b 1b	mil nl	1.5	8.5	12.7	12.7	-5.5
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	1.0	12.4	30.5	30.5	-10.4
Joseph, Tommy 3681	1b	phi nl	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Alvarez, Dario 3663	pi cp	tex al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Royals' Vargas tops players for Wednesday, April 19; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers season points lead

Shawn Plank April 20, 2017

Royals pitcher Jason Vargas is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 19:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	5.0
2	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
4	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
6	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
7	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
9	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	3.0
10	Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regains first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Vargas pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.

Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He trails Kershaw, who also now has 5.0 Box-Toppers points, but ranks ahead on a tiebreaker because he had more 2016 points than Vargas—24.4 vs. 1.0.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Jhoulys Chacin pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Chacin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 14-4 win over the Braves. Harper also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five total runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Mitch Haniger of the Mariners doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Marlins.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Kershaw (7IP 5H 2R BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, regaining the season points lead for the third time this season. Kershaw passes previous leader, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (4.7 points), who drops to third place.

Kershaw also now has 188.7 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, trailing third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1). Kershaw is the active leader in career Box-Toppers points, ahead of Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (187.0).

Streaks—Two players extended their streaksearning Box-Toppers points for 10 or more consecutive seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano (5.1IP 4H 0R BB 6K W in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. Liriano earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Twins, but his consecutive seasons streak earning points began in 2008 with the Twins. He has 104.2 career Box-Toppers points, 65th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 64th-ranked player Carlos Beltran of the Astros (104.9). Liriano’s best season was 2013 with the Pirates when he had 16.7 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers.
Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (7.2IP 2H 0R 4BB 3K W in the 2-0 win over the Reds) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and has 80.5 career points, 12th among active AL pitchers. His best year was 2013, when he had 14.5 Box-Toppers points with the Indians, ninth among AL pitchers.

Debut—Rays closing pitcher Austin Pruitt made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Pruitt (3.1IP H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 8-7 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut April 2 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,773rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chacin earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Harper and Haniger 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/19
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    KC 2, SF 0
    Jason Vargas (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    NL
    9.0
    SD 1, ARI 0
    Jhoulys Chacin (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    8.0
    WSH 14, ATL 4
    Bryce Harper, RF
    4
    3
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.1
    TB 8, DET 7
    Austin Pruitt (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    7.0
    LAD 4, COL 2
    Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    10
  

    
    6.1
    TOR 3, BOS 0
    Francisco Liriano (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    NYM 5, PHI 4
    Jay Bruce, RF
    4
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    SEA 10, MIA 5
    Mitch Haniger, RF
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    BAL 2, CIN 0
    Ubaldo Jimenez (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    0
    0
    4
    3
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 5, LAA 1
    Josh Reddick, RF-LF
    4
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    STL 2, PIT 1
    Dexter Fowler, CF
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 7, MIL 4
    Addison Russell, SS
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    OAK 9, TEX 1
    Khris Davis, LF
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 9, CHW 1
    Starlin Castro, 2B
    2
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	5.0	29.4	129.1	188.7	-19.4
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0	6.0	31.4	52.2	4.0
Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7	9.4	16.1	31.5	-2.0
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	3.0	6.0	30.4	30.4	0.0
Davis, Khris 3242	lf	oak al	2.5	9.2	19.2	19.2	-4.2
Haniger, MItch 3772	rf	sea al	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	2.0	10.5	27.7	60.8	-6.5
Castro, Starlin 2767	2b	nyy al	2.0	9.0	17.5	27.5	-5.0
Reddick, Josh 2936	rf lf	hou al	2.0	5.5	25.4	26.4	-1.5
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	tor al	1.0	9.0	58.7	104.2	-7.0
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	1.0	5.7	37.6	80.5	-3.7
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	chi nl	1.0	4.5	7.0	7.0	-2.5
Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	stl nl	1.0	2.5	16.5	19.0	-0.5
Pruitt, Austin 3773	pi cp	tb al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Tuesday, April 18, rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank April 19, 2017

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.

Scherzer struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hit and three walks, in the 3-1 win over the Braves.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 18:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
3	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
4	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0
6	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
7	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	3.0
8	Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	3.0
9	Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp	ana al	3.0
10	Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season. He also now has 134.7 career points and rises to 30th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs struck out five over six innings, allowing two runs (none earned) and three hits, in the 4-2 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.

Streak—Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 consecutive seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Encarnacion (HR 1-3 2R 3BI in the 11-4 win over the Twins) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Reds and has 68.1 career points, ninth among active AL batters. His best season was 2015 with the Blue Jays, when he had 10.4 Box-Toppers points, fifth among AL batters.

Rankings—Angels closing pitcher Cam Bedrosian rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Bedrosian (2IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 5-2 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 3.0 for the season.

Notable—Starling Marte of the Pirates was suspended Tuesday for 80 games for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. Marte currently ranks 10th in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 3.0 Box-Toppers points. He was NL Batter of the Day on April 9 and April 15.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Triggs earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Arenado and Betts 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/18
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    WSH 3, ATL 1
    Max Scherzer (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    7.0
    MIA 5, SEA 0
    Wei-Yin Chen (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    0
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    AL
    6.0
    OAK 4, TEX 2
    Andrew Triggs (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    5.1
    CHW 4, NYY 1
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    4.1
    ARI 11, SD 2
    Shelby Miller (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    COL 4, LAD 3
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CIN 9, BAL 3
    Adam Duvall, LF
    4
    1
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TB 5, DET 1
    Matt Andriese (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    BOS 8, TOR 7
    Mookie Betts, RF
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 9, MIL 7
    Miguel Montero, C
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 11, MIN 4
    Edwin Encarnacion, DH
    3
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 5, HOU 2
    Cam Bedrosian (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 6, NYM 2 (F/10)
    Aaron Altherr, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 2, KC 1 (F/11)
    Mark Melancon (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    1.0
    `STL 2, PIT 1
    Matt Bowman (H,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0	28.7	106.9	134.7	-22.7
Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp	ana al	3.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Triggs, Andrew 3723	pi sp	oak al	2.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	1.7
Duvall, Adam 3573	lf	cin nl	2.0	8.5	10.0	10.0	-4.5
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	1.5	12.2	22.2	22.2	-9.2
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	bos al	1.5	7.7	12.7	12.7	-4.7
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	1.0	10.1	38.9	38.9	-8.1
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	cle al	1.0	9.0	44.1	68.1	-7.0
Melancon, Mark 2792	pi cp	sf nl	1.0	4.0	20.0	25.0	-2.0
Altherr, Aaron 3563	lf ph	phi nl	1.0	3.5	4.5	4.5	-1.5
Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	3.0	39.1	39.1	-1.0
Chen, Wei-Yin 3026	pi sp	fla nl	1.0	3.0	28.1	28.1	-1.0
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	chi nl	1.0	3.0	16.7	32.9	-1.0
Andriese, Matt 3505	pi sp mr	tb al	1.0	3.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0
Bowman, Matt 3699	pi mr	stl nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' A.J. Griffin tops players for Monday, April 17; Cardinals' Lynn tops NL players

Shawn Plank April 18, 2017

Rangers pitcher A.J. Griffin is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Griffin struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Athletics.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 17:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
3	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
4	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
5	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
6	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	3.0
7	Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	3.0
8	Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0
9	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0
10	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 2-1 win over the Pirates.

National League Batter of the Day—Freddie Freeman of the Braves hit two home runs and two doubles in the 5-4 win over the Padres. Freeman went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Judge of the Yankees hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, driving in three total runs, in the 7-4 win over the White Sox.

Streak—Ryan Braun of the Brewers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Braun (HR 2B 3-4 2R 3BI in the 6-3 win over the Cubs) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Brewers and has 89.2 career points, second among active NL batters (trailing Ryan Howard of the Braves with 98.7). Braun’s best season was 2012 with the Brewers when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters.

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

Red Sox pitcher Craig Kimbrel (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Rays) rises to sixth place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 3.0 for the season.
Astros pitcher Chris Devenski (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K ND in the 3-0 win over the Angels) rises to seventh place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 3.0 for the season.

Scoring—Griffin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lynn earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Freeman and Judge 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/17
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    TEX 7, OAK 0
    A.J. Griffin (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    NL
    8.0
    STL 2, PIT 1
    Lance Lynn (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    8.0
    SEA 6, MIA 1
    Ariel Miranda (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    6.0
    `ARI 4, LAD 2
    Robbie Ray
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    1
    4
    10
  

    
    6.0
    `HOU 3, LAA 0
    Chris Devenski
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    ATL 5, SD 4
    Freddie Freeman, 1B
    4
    2
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIL 6, CHC 3
    Ryan Braun, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 4, TB 3
    Craig Kimbrel (S,6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    2.0
    NYY 7, CHW 4
    Aaron Judge, RF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CLE 3, MIN 1
    Danny Salazar (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	3.0	11.0	55.7	61.7	-5.0
Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	3.0	6.7	6.7	6.7	-0.7
Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	2.0	8.7	12.7	12.7	-4.7
Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	tex al	2.0	7.7	22.4	22.4	-3.7
Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	1.7	1.7	57.6	57.6	1.7
Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	1.5	9.0	34.7	40.2	-6.0
Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	1.0	13.5	36.3	36.3	-11.5
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	1.0	11.5	37.0	89.2	-9.5
Miranda, Ariel 3738	pi sp	sea al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Royals' Ian Kennedy tops players for Sunday, April 16; Braves' Colon tops NL players

Shawn Plank April 17, 2017

Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Kennedy struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Angels. Kennedy picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win or save because when he exited, the game was in a scoreless tie.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 16:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
3	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
4	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
5	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
6	Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0
7	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0
8	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	3.0
9	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	2.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon allowed one hit and one run in seven innings, striking out six, in the 9-2 win over the Padres.

Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 151.2 for his career. He ranks 19th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, trailing 18th-ranked player Greg Maddux (151.7). (It should be noted that Maddux made his debut in 1986 and had seven 15-plus win seasons before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and so, based on very rough extrapolations, would likely have about 250 career Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked.)

National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs, including a game-winning, walk-off, three-run homer, in the 6-4 win over the Phillies. Harper also hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5, driving in five total runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Greg Bird of the Yankees homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Cardinals.

Rankings—Rockies closing pitcher Greg Holland rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Holland (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.

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

Adam Frazier of the Pirates (3-R HR 2B 3-4 R 3BI in the 6-1 win over the Cubs) made his Major League debut June 24, 2016, and was playing in his 77th career game. He is the 3,771st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Mitch Haniger of the Mariners (3-R HR 1-3 R 4BI in the 8-7 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Aug. 16, 2016, and was playing in his 47th career game. He is the 3,772nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kennedy earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Harper and Bird 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/16
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    `KC 1, LAA 0
    Ian Kennedy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    NL
    9.0
    ATL 9, SD 2
    Bartolo Colon (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    BAL 11, TOR 4
    Dylan Bundy (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    5.1
    `MIA 4, NYM 2
    Dan Straily
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    0
    0
    0
    5
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    WSH 6, PHI 4
    Bryce Harper, RF
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    ARI 3, LAD 1
    Taijuan Walker (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    NYY 9, STL 3
    Greg Bird, 1B
    3
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 6, CHC 1
    Adam Frazier, LF
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 8, TEX 7
    Mitch Haniger, RF
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 4, CLE 1
    Alex Avila, C
    2
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 4, CIN 2
    Neftali Feliz (S,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 7, TB 5
    Craig Kimbrel (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 3, MIN 1 (F/10)
    Nate Jones (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    COL 4, SF 3
    Greg Holland (S,7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	3.0	3.0	33.0	36.0	3.0
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	atl nl	2.7	11.1	52.0	151.2	-5.7
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	2.0	12.0	43.1	68.5	-8.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	2.0	10.0	54.7	60.7	-6.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	bal al	2.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	-4.0
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	1.5	4.5	28.9	28.9	-1.5
Bird, Greg 3562	1b	nyy al	1.5	1.5	4.5	4.5	1.5
Walker, Taijuan 3453	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	8.7	22.4	22.4	-6.7
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	fla nl	1.0	8.0	18.7	18.7	-6.0
Jones, Nate 3125	pi mr	chi al	1.0	5.0	13.0	13.0	-3.0
Feliz, Neftali 2651	pi cp mr	mil nl	1.0	2.0	8.0	19.7	0.0
Avila, Alex 2642	ca	det al	1.0	2.0	8.5	18.0	0.0
Frazier, Adam 3771	lf	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Haniger, MItch 3772	rf	sea al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Ervin Santana tops players for Saturday, April 15, rises to lead Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank April 16, 2017

Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to take the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 15:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
3	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
4	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
5	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
6	Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0
7	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0
8	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	2.7
10	Garcia, Avisail 3256	rf	chi al	2.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia rises to fifth place on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list (since record keeping began in 1995), moving ahead of Alex Rodriguez.

Player of the Day—Santana pitched a one-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 6-0 win over the White Sox.

Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season and rising to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He passes previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (4.0).

Santana also now has 102.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 69th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes six players on the “all-time” list: Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7), Jason Schmidt (101.2), Mark Teixiera (101.3) and Tim Wakefield (101.4). Santana now trails 68th-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out four and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians hit a pair of three-run homers and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six, in the 13-6 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-7 win over the Cubs.

Marte earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first 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	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	187.7
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	187.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	157.1
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	149.5
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Santana (7.1IP 3H R BB 6K W in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 187.0 for his career. With the point, he passes former teammate Alex Rodriguez, who also has 187.0 career points, but Sabathia ranks ahead because he has more 2017 points—2.0 vs. 0.0.

Sabathia now trails fourth-ranked player on the “all-time” list, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (187.7), who only passed Sabathia on Friday. Sabathia had briefly been the highest-ranked active player in career Box-Toppers points until being passed by Kershaw Friday. He now only trails Kershaw by 0.7 points.

In two days, Rodriguez has moved from fourth place to sixth place on the “all-time” list after being passed by Kershaw on Friday and Sabathia on Saturday. He had been in fourth place since April 2, 2011.

Rankings—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Sale (7IP 3H R 3BB 12K W in the 2-1 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

For the first time this season, all players in the season top 10 list have earned Player of the Game honors more than once in 2017.

Debut—Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut May 29, 2013, and was playing in his 393rd career game. He is the 3,770th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Hernandez and Marte both had Box-Toppers game scores Saturday of +2.0, but Marte won NL Batter of the Day honors over Hernandez on a tiebreaker—he had one stolen base in his game and Hernandez had none.

Scoring—Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chatwood earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Marte 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/15
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    MIN 6, CHW 0
    Ervin Santana (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    14.0
    SEA 5, TEX 0
    James Paxton (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    11.0
    BOS 2, TB 1
    Chris Sale (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    12
  

    NL
    10.0
    COL 5, SF 0
    Tyler Chatwood (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    9.0
    CLE 13, DET 6
    Jose Ramirez, 2B
    4
    3
    4
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    `TOR 2, BAL 1
    Marco Estrada
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    7.1
    NYY 3, STL 2
    CC Sabathia (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.1
    LAD 8, ARI 4
    Alex Wood (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 10, OAK 6
    Will Harris (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 4, SD 2
    Jim Johnson (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 5, NYM 4
    AJ Ramos (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    KC 3, LAA 2
    Joakim Soria (W,1-0; BS,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    BAT
    2.0
    PIT 8, CHC 7
    Starling Marte, CF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 4, WSH 2
    Cesar Hernandez, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 7, MIL 5
    Zack Cozart, SS
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7	8.7	41.5	102.0	0.7
Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0	5.5	15.0	15.0	0.5
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	2.7	16.1	84.1	89.1	-10.7
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	8.0	34.5	187.0	-4.0
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	2.0	6.4	13.1	13.1	-2.4
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	1.7	8.7	15.4	18.4	-5.3
Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	cle al	1.5	3.0	6.5	6.5	0.0
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	1.0	12.0	41.1	44.1	-10.0
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	atl nl	1.0	5.0	16.0	22.7	-3.0
Ramos, A.J. 3210	pi cp	fla nl	1.0	3.0	13.0	13.0	-1.0
Cozart, Zack 3012	ss	cin nl	1.0	3.0	12.0	12.0	-1.0
Wood, Alex 3246	pi mr sp	lad nl	1.0	2.0	20.4	20.4	0.0
Soria, Joakim 2258	pi mr cp	kc al	1.0	2.0	10.7	46.7	0.0
Harris, Will 3093	pi mr cp	hou al	1.0	2.0	7.7	7.7	0.0
Hernandez, Cesar 3770	2b	phi nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Friday, April 14, rising in 3 Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank April 15, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises in three significant Box-Toppers player rankings:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 14:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
2	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
3	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
4	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
5	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0
6	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
7	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
8	Garcia, Avisail 3256	rf	chi al	2.5
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
10	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

He takes the overall season Box-Toppers points lead (earning 2.0 points, giving him 4.0 for the season), passing previous leader Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (3.0).
He takes the lead in career Box-Toppers points among active players with 187.7, passing previous leader Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (186.0).
He rises to fourth place among all players in Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Kershaw’s 187.7 career points puts him past Alex Rodriguez (187.0).

Kershaw struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

It is the second time this season Kershaw has led players in season Box-Toppers points, also leading from April 3 to 8. It is also the second time this season Kershaw has led active players in career Box-Toppers points. He briefly passed Sabathia for the lead on April 3 before Sabathia regained the lead the next day.

Kershaw now trails the third-place player on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, Curt Schilling (194.1). With his 2.0 points Friday, he actually moved up two spots on the "all-time" list, passing both Sabathia and Rodriguez.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-2 win over the Athletics.

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	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	187.7
5	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
6	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	186.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	157.1
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	149.5
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.

Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season and rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL players.

Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, tied with Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Angels (7IP 3H R 2BB 6K W). But Keuchel won the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts—seven vs. six.

National League Batter of the Day—Manny Pina of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.

This was Pina’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pina made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2011, and was playing in his 45th career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Rays hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Red Sox.

Morrison earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.

Streak—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after both earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez has now earned Box-Toppers points for 13 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 2-1 win over the Rangers (7.1IP 6H R 0BB 3K W). Hernandez earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Mariners and has 169.7 career points, ninth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails eighth-place player Roy Halladay (170.7). Hernandez’s best season was 2014 with the Mariners when he had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, third among AL pitchers. Hernandez is the highest-ranked player in Box-Toppers career points (ranked ninth) who has never led his league category (AL pitching) in Box-Toppers points during a season.
Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 8-2 win over the Rockies (3-4 R 2BI). Pence earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 53.2 career points, eighth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 points, seventh among NL outfielders.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pina and Morrison 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/14
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.1
    LAD 7, ARI 1
    Clayton Kershaw (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    AL
    6.0
    HOU 7, OAK 2
    Dallas Keuchel (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    KC 7, LAA 1
    Danny Duffy (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    5.0
    DET 7, CLE 6
    Daniel Norris (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    
    4.0
    `WSH 3, PHI 2 (F/10)
    Stephen Strasburg
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    8
  

    BAT
    3.0
    MIL 10, CIN 4
    Manny Pina, C
    5
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    TB 10, BOS 5
    Logan Morrison, 1B
    5
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 6, TOR 4
    Wade Miley (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    3
    3
    0
    8
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 2, MIN 1
    David Robertson (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    SEA 2, TEX 1
    Felix Hernandez (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    6
    1
    1
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 4, CHC 2
    David Freese, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 8, COL 2
    Hunter Pence, RF
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 5, SD 2
    Ender Inciarte, CF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIA 3, NYM 2
    Miguel Rojas, SS-3B
    3
    2
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    NYY 4, STL 3
    Starlin Castro, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0	28.4	128.1	187.7	-20.4
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4	10.4	46.2	46.2	-3.6
Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2	5.2	15.2	20.7	1.2
Inciarte, Ender 3360	cf	atl nl	2.0	4.0	8.0	8.0	0.0
Pina, Manny 3769	ca	mil nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	1.0	16.1	75.2	83.9	-14.1
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	1.0	11.7	29.7	30.7	-9.7
Castro, Starlin 2767	2b	nyy al	1.0	8.0	16.5	26.5	-6.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	1.0	7.0	80.7	169.7	-5.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	bal al	1.0	7.0	37.4	37.4	-5.0
Robertson, David 2774	pi cp	chi al	1.0	6.0	23.0	27.0	-4.0
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	1.0	4.5	20.5	53.2	-2.5
Norris, Daniel 3548	pi sp	det al	1.0	3.0	7.0	7.0	-1.0
Freese, David 2710	3b	pit nl	1.0	3.0	19.2	25.2	-1.0
Rojas, Miguel 3642	ss 3b	fla nl	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Noah Syndergaard tops first Box-Toppers weekly player rankings report of 2017

Shawn Plank April 14, 2017

Mets' Syndergaard tops players in first weekly Box-Toppers player rankings report of the season. Royals' Vargas tops AL players.

Cincinnati Reds top first Box-Toppers team rankings report of 2017

Shawn Plank April 14, 2017

Reds top first weekly Box-Toppers team rankings of the season. Tigers top AL teams. Mets were the hottest team of the past week.

Royals' Jason Vargas tops players for Thursday, April 13, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank April 14, 2017

Royals pitcher Jason Vargas is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 13:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
2	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0
3	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
5	Garcia, Avisail 3256	rf	chi al	2.5
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
7	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
8	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	2.0
9	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
10	Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Vargas pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.

Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to second place among players in Box-Toppers points for 2017. He trails Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who also has 3.0 Box-Toppers points, but holds the tiebreaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2016—16.7 vs. 1.0.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Josh Smoker pitched three innings of extra-innings middle relief in the 9-8, 16-inning win over the Marlins. Smoker allowed no runs, one hit, one walk and struck out five, pitching the 12th, 13th and 14th innings. Smoker did not earn the win or save because the game was tied when he exited.

American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring twice, in the 11-5 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs homered and went 2-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 4-0 win over the Dodgers.

Rankings—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Garcia (3-4 R 3BI in the 10-4 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.5 for the season. He is the only batter in Box-Toppers’ top 10 season player rankings.

Scoring—Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smoker earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Sano and Rizzo 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/13
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.2
    KC 3, OAK 1
    Jason Vargas (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    10.0
    TEX 8, LAA 3
    Yu Darvish (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    
    8.0
    NYY 3, TB 2
    Luis Severino (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    NL
    6.0
    `NYM 9, MIA 8 (F/16)
    Josh Smoker
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    5.0
    MIL 5, CIN 1
    Jimmy Nelson (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIN 11, DET 5
    Miguel Sano, 3B
    2
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 10, CLE 4
    Avisail Garcia, RF
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    COL 3, SF 1
    Chris Rusin (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    2
    1
    1
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    1.0
    CHC 4, LAD 0
    Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    BAL 2, TOR 1
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.1
    `BOS 4, PIT 3
    Eduardo Rodriguez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    3
    2
    4
    8
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0	4.0	29.4	50.2	2.0
Garcia, Avisail 3256	rf	chi al	2.5	5.0	13.5	13.5	0.0
Nelson, Jimmy 3299	pi sp	mil nl	2.0	5.0	15.4	15.4	-1.0
Smoker, Josh 3725	pi mr cp	nym nl	1.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	-0.3
Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	1.5	4.5	28.5	28.5	-1.5
Sano, Miguel 3527	3b	min al	1.5	4.5	10.5	10.5	-1.5
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	1.0	11.4	56.6	56.6	-9.4
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	bos al	1.0	5.7	11.7	11.7	-3.7
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	1.0	5.5	10.5	10.5	-3.5
Rusin, Chris 3236	pi sp	col nl	1.0	3.7	6.7	6.7	-1.7
Severino, Luis 3567	pi sp mr	nyy al	1.0	3.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cardinals' Mike Leake tops players for Wednesday, April 12; Orioles' Mancini tops AL players

Shawn Plank April 13, 2017

Cardinals pitcher Mike Leake is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Leake pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 6-1 win over the Nationals.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 12:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
2	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
5	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	2.0
7	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
8	Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	2.0
9	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf	tex al	2.0
10	Boyd, Matthew 3550	pi sp	det al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Trey Mancini of the Orioles hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 12-5 win over the Red Sox.

This was Mancini’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Mancini made his Major League debut Sept. 20, 2016, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,766th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Eugenio Suarez of the Reds doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Trey Mancini.

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

Aaron Judge of the Yankees (HR 2-3 2R 3BI in the 8-4 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut Aug. 13, 2016, and was playing in his 35th career game. He is the 3,767th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rangers pitcher Jose Leclerc (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 8-3 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut July 6, 2016, and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,768th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Leake earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Mancini earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Suarez earns 1.5 points for being NL 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/12
    Score
    Game
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    STL 6, WSH 1
    Mike Leake (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    MIL 2, TOR 0
    Chase Anderson (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    AL
    5.0
    BAL 12, BOS 5
    Trey Mancini, LF
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CHW 2, CLE 1
    Derek Holland (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    4
    4
  

    
    4.0
    DET 5, MIN 3
    Andrew Romine, CF
    3
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 8, TB 4
    Aaron Judge, RF
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 10, SEA 5
    Josh Reddick, RF-LF
    3
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    OAK 8, KC 3
    Andrew Triggs (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    CIN 9, PIT 2
    Eugenio Suarez, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 5, MIA 4
    Ender Inciarte, CF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SD 6, COL 0
    Ryan Schimpf, 3B
    2
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 2, CHC 0
    Brandon McCarthy (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    4
  

    
    2.2
    TEX 8, LAA 3
    Jose Leclerc (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 5, PHI 4
    Michael Conforto, CF
    4
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    SF 6, ARI 2
    Jarrett Parker, LF
    3
    0
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	2.0	7.0	37.4	46.6	-3.0
Mancini, Trey 3766	lf	bal al	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b	cin nl	1.5	10.0	15.5	15.5	-7.0
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	8.0	17.0	17.0	-6.0
Schimpf, Ryan 3686	3b 2b	sd nl	1.0	6.2	6.2	6.2	-4.2
Conforto, Michael 3622	cf	nym nl	1.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	-4.0
Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	chi al	1.0	5.0	27.1	46.8	-3.0
Reddick, Josh 2936	rf lf	hou al	1.0	4.5	24.4	25.4	-2.5
McCarthy, Brandon 2082	pi sp	lad nl	1.0	3.7	23.4	37.5	-1.7
Inciarte, Ender 3360	cf	atl nl	1.0	3.0	7.0	7.0	-1.0
Romine, Andrew 3666	cf dh	det al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Triggs, Andrew 3723	pi sp	oak al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Parker, Jarrett 3600	lf	sf nl	1.0	1.0	2.5	2.5	1.0
Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Leclerc, Jose 3768	pi cp	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Matthew Boyd tops players for Tuesday, April 11; Marlins' Ozuna tops NL players

Shawn Plank April 12, 2017

Tigers pitcher Matthew Boyd is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Boyd pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out six, in the 2-1 win over the Twins.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 11:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
2	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
5	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	2.0
7	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
8	Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	2.0
9	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf	tex al	2.0
10	Boyd, Matthew 3550	pi sp	det al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Boyd earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, and rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins hit two homers and went 2-for-2, driving in six runs, in the 8-4 win over the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox tripled, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-1 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Marcell Ozuna.

Rankings—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Carrasco (7IP 4H R 0BB 7K ND in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season.

Notable—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit three home runs and earned Player of the Game honors the 14-4 win over the Phillies. However, Cespedes had the fourth-highest Box-Toppers game score (+6.0) among all players and the second-highest among NL batters (Ozuna had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0). So, despite Cespedes’s three home runs, he did not earn Box-Toppers bonus points for being overall Player of the Day, NL Player of the Day or NL Batter of the Day. In addition to his home runs, Cespedes doubled and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in five runs.

It was the second time in his career Cespedes hit three home runs in a game. He also did it on Aug. 21, 2015, when he had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0, which was the highest game score for a batter in all of 2015.

Scoring—Boyd earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ozuna earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Vazquez earns 1.5 points for being AL 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/11
    Score
    Game
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    DET 2, MIN 1
    Matthew Boyd (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    NL
    8.0
    MIA 8, ATL 4
    Marcell Ozuna, LF
    2
    2
    2
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    `CLE 2, CHW 1 (F/10)
    Carlos Carrasco
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    6.0
    NYM 14, PHI 4
    Yoenis Cespedes, LF
    6
    3
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    WSH 8, STL 3
    Daniel Murphy, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.2
    ARI 4, SF 3
    Robbie Ray (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    0
    0
    5
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    BOS 8, BAL 1
    Christian Vazquez, C
    4
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CIN 6, PIT 2
    Scooter Gennett, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 7, SEA 5
    Evan Gattis, PH
    1
    0
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `MIL 4, TOR 3
    Corey Knebel (H,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    COL 3, SD 2
    Antonio Senzatela (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    5
  

    
    1.0
    LAA 6, TEX 5 (F/10)
    Carlos Perez, C
    1
    0
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	2.0	14.4	43.1	48.5	-10.4
Boyd, Matthew 3550	pi sp	det al	2.0	8.1	9.1	9.1	-4.1
Senzatela, Antonio 3760	pi sp	col nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	lf	fla nl	1.7	6.7	20.2	20.2	-3.3
Vazquez, Christian 3380	ca	bos al	1.5	2.5	5.5	5.5	0.5
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf	nym nl	1.0	9.0	40.9	40.9	-7.0
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	1.0	8.5	29.5	33.5	-6.5
Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	7.7	11.7	11.7	-5.7
Gattis, Evan 3179	ca ph	hou al	1.0	6.0	12.0	12.0	-4.0
Gennett, Scooter 3254	2b	cin nl	1.0	3.5	12.5	12.5	-1.5
Perez, Carlos 3484	ca	ana al	1.0	2.5	3.5	3.5	-0.5
Knebel, Corey 3757	pi mr	mil nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Yankees' Micheal Pineda tops players for Monday, April 10; Giants' Moore tops NL players

Shawn Plank April 11, 2017

Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Pineda struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. Pineda retired the first 20 Rays batters.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 10:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
2	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
5	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
6	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
7	Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	2.0
8	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf	tex al	2.0
9	Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	2.0
10	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Pineda receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season and rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Moore allowed one run and three hits over eight innings, striking out five, in the 4-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

National League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Nationals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14-6 win over the Cardinals.

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

Rankings—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Verlander (7IP 3H R 2BB 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

Verlander now has 142.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 26th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0).

Streaks—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday:

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers (6IP 4H R BB 7K ND). Lester earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox and has 144.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 24th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9). Lester also rises to eighth among active players in career Box-Toppers points. Lester’s best season was 2010 with the Red Sox when he led all players with 23.4 points. In 2016, he was fourth among all players with 22.1.
Jay Bruce of the Mets has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 4-3 win over the Phillies (2HR 2-3 3R 3BI). Bruce earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Reds and has 59.8 career Box-Toppers points, 10th among active NL batters. His best season was 2010 with the Reds when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points, third among active NL batters. In 2016, he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among NL batters.

Debut—Reds pitcher Cody Reed made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Reed (3IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K ND in the 7-1 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut June 18, 2016, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,765th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

  
    Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/10
    Score
    Game
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.2
    NYY 8, TB 1
    Michael Pineda (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    
    9.0
    SEA 6, HOU 0
    James Paxton (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    NL
    8.0
    SF 4, ARI 1
    Matt Moore (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    8.0
    OAK 2, KC 0
    Jharel Cotton (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    7.0
    `CIN 7, PIT 1
    Cody Reed
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    6.0
    WSH 14, STL 6
    Stephen Drew, SS
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `CHC 3, LAD 2
    Jon Lester
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    NYM 4, PHI 3
    Jay Bruce, RF
    3
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `DET 2, BOS 1
    Justin Verlander
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    SD 5, COL 3
    Wil Myers, 1B
    4
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7	17.4	62.6	142.0	-12.0
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	8.0	24.4	36.1	-4.0
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	1.7	14.1	37.6	39.6	-10.7
Drew, Stephen 2210	ss 2b	dc nl	1.5	1.5	17.5	37.5	1.5
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	1.0	23.1	68.6	144.2	-21.1
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	1.0	10.7	19.2	19.2	-8.7
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	1.0	9.5	26.7	59.8	-7.5
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	1.0	5.4	12.1	12.1	-3.4
Cotton, Jharel 3733	pi sp	oak al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0
Reed, Cody 3765	pi mr	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Syndergaard tops players for Sunday, April 9, rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings

Shawn Plank April 10, 2017

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead all players in season Box-Toppers points.

Syndergaard struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 5-2 win over the Marlins.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
2	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
5	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
6	Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	2.0
7	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf	tex al	2.0
8	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	2.0
9	Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	2.0
10	Puig, Yasiel 3193	rf	lad nl	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, passing previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (2.0).

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four, in the 4-1 win over the White Sox.

Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season and rising to second place in season Box-Toppers rankings.

Santana also becomes the 75th player since Box-Toppers inception in 1995 to reach 100 career Box-Toppers points. With his points Sunday, he has exactly 100.0 and ranks 75th among all players since 1995. He passes five players on the “all-time” list—Ryan Howard of the Braves (98.7), Jim Edmonds (98.8), White Sox pitcher James Shields (99.4), Giants pitcher Matt Cain (99.7) and Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (99.8). Santana now trails 74th-ranked player Larry Walker (100.1).

American League Batter of the Day—Joey Gallo of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 8-1 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit a walk-off 10th-inning home run in the 6-5 win over the Braves. Marte also went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs.

Notable—Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday are among the top 10 players in season Box-Toppers rankings:

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rises to fourth place with 2.0 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors in the 7-4 win against Brewers (7IP 3H 3R 2BB 10K W).
Astros pitcher Chris Devenski rises to ninth place with 2.0 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Royals (4IP 3H R 0BB 7K W).

Currently, 12 players have 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. Ties are broken among those players based on how many Box-Toppers points the players had in 2016. For example, Kershaw ranks highest among those 13 players because he had 24.4 Box-Toppers points in 2016, while Arrieta, who ranks third, had 15.7.

Scoring—Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gallo and Marte 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/9
    Score
    Game
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    NYM 5, MIA 2
    Noah Syndergaard (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    7.0
    CIN 8, STL 0
    Scott Feldman (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    CHC 7, MIL 4
    Jake Arrieta (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    3
    3
    2
    10
  

    AL
    6.0
    MIN 4, CHW 1
    Ervin Santana (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    6.0
    HOU 5, KC 4 (F/12)
    Chris Devenski (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    5.0
    `PHI 4, WSH 3
    Jeremy Hellickson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    BAT
    4.0
    TEX 8, OAK 1
    Joey Gallo, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TB 7, TOR 2
    Steven Souza, RF
    2
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 7, DET 5
    Matt Barnes (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    PIT 6, ATL 5 (F/10)
    Starling Marte, CF
    5
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 3, CLE 2
    Patrick Corbin (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 7, BAL 3
    Dellin Betances (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    LAD 10, COL 6
    Corey Seager, SS
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 5, SD 3
    Buster Posey, C
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    LAA 10, SEA 9
    Jefry Marte, PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0	19.7	30.1	30.1	-13.7
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7	6.7	39.5	100.0	-1.3
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0	17.7	72.5	77.5	-13.7
Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	2.0	5.7	5.7	5.7	-1.7
Marte, Starling 3122	lf	pit nl	1.5	4.0	13.5	13.5	-1.0
Gallo, Joey 3485	3b	tex al	1.5	1.5	3.0	3.0	1.5
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	1.0	14.1	35.1	45.8	-12.1
Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	1.0	6.7	12.2	12.2	-4.7
Betances, Dellin 3333	pi mr	nyy al	1.0	5.0	13.7	13.7	-3.0
Seager, Corey 3587	ss	lad nl	1.0	5.0	6.5	6.5	-3.0
Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp cp	ari nl	1.0	4.7	33.5	33.5	-2.7
Posey, Buster 2745	ca 1b	sf nl	1.0	4.5	29.5	34.0	-2.5
Marte, Jefry 3529	1b ph	ana al	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	0.0
Feldman, Scott 2632	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	17.7	25.7	1.0
Barnes, Matt 3466	pi mr	bos al	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Padres' Chacin tops players for Saturday, April 8; Greinke rises to 14th in Box-Toppers ‘all-time' rankings

Shawn Plank April 9, 2017

Padres pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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	released	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	186.0
6	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	185.7
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	168.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	157.1
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	149.5
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.

Also Saturday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Chacin pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Kendall Graveman allowed one run and two hits over seven innings, striking out five, in the 6-1 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Phillies tripled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 17-3 win over the Nationals.

Kendrick has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Angels and has 35.5 career points, fifth among active AL second basemen. His best season was 2009 with the Angels when he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL second basemen.

American League Batter of the Day—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Twins.

Greinke—Zack Greinke rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (6.2IP 5H R 0BB 6K W in the 11-2 win over the Indians).

Greinke earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season, and now has 157.1 career points, passing Tim Hudson (157.0) on the “all-time” list. Greinke now trails 13th-ranked player John Smoltz (160.9).

Greinke also has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Royals, but earned none in 2006, so his 11-season streak begins in 2007 with the Royals. His best season was 2009 with the Royals when he had 21.5 Box-Toppers points to lead all players.

Notable—Three players Saturday became the first to earn Player of the Game honors twice in the 2017 season, which began last week:

Angels pitcher Cam Bedrosian (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 4K Sv in the 5-4 win over the Mariners). He was also Player of the Game Tuesday.
Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens (1.0IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 5-4 win over the Yankees). He was also Player of the Game Monday.
Rockies pitcher Greg Holland (1.0IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 4-2 win over the Dodgers). He was also Player of the Game Tuesday.

All three players now have 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. Based on tiebreakers, Bedrosian ranks seventh among all players for the season, Givens ranks ninth and Holland ranks 10th.

Debut—Albert Almora Jr. of the Cubs made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Almora (3-4 R 2BI in the 11-6 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 7, 2016, and was playing in his 49th career game. He is the 3,764th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Chacin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Graveman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kendrick and Garcia 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    7.2
    SD 2, SF 1
    Jhoulys Chacin (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    AL
    7.0
    OAK 6, TEX 1
    Kendall Graveman (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    6.0
    STL 10, CIN 4
    Michael Wacha (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    5.2
    ARI 11, CLE 2
    Zack Greinke (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    MIA 8, NYM 1
    Adam Conley (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

    
    4.2
    LAA 5, SEA 4
    Cam Bedrosian (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    PHI 17, WSH 3
    Howie Kendrick, LF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CHW 6, MIN 2
    Avisail Garcia, RF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    TB 3, TOR 2 (F/11)
    Erasmo Ramirez (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 6, ATL 4
    Gregory Polanco, LF
    4
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 4, BOS 1
    Jose Iglesias, SS
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 5, NYY 4
    Mychal Givens (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    COL 4, LAD 2
    Greg Holland (S,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    CHC 11, MIL 6
    Albert Almora Jr., CF
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    KC 7, HOU 3
    Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	2.0	7.7	14.4	29.8	-3.7
Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp	ana al	2.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	bal al	2.0	4.0	5.0	5.0	0.0
Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	2.0	2.0	32.0	35.0	2.0
Graveman, Kendall 3444	pi sp	oak al	1.7	7.7	12.4	12.4	-4.3
Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b lf 1b	phi nl	1.5	5.5	19.5	35.5	-2.5
Garcia, Avisail 3256	rf	chi al	1.5	4.0	12.5	12.5	-1.0
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	10.7	80.0	157.1	-8.7
Conley, Adam 3594	pi sp	fla nl	1.0	7.7	10.7	10.7	-5.7
Polanco, Gregory 3361	lf	pit nl	1.0	6.5	13.5	13.5	-4.5
Ramirez, Erasmo 1786	pi cp	tb al	1.0	4.7	13.7	15.7	-2.7
Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	1.0	3.0	20.7	20.7	-1.0
Cuthbert, Cheslor 3683	3b	kc al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Iglesias, Jose 3532	ss	det al	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0
Almora, Albert Jr. 3764	cf	chi nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' Nomar Mazara tops players for Friday, April 7; Scherzer earns his 1st point of 2017

Shawn Plank April 8, 2017

Nomar Mazara of the Rangers is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer—who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016—earned his first Box-Toppers point of the season after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Mazara hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 10-5 win over the Athletics.

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Amir Garrett pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four, in the 2-0 win over the Cardinals.

This was Garrett’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. He is the 3,672nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Garrett had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of 6.0, tied with two other Friday Players of the Game—Mazara and Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson. Mazara won the tiebreaker over Garrett because in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters top pitchers. Garrett won the tiebreaker over Nelson because Garrett earned the win in his game, while Nelson picked up the no-decision.

National League Batter of the Day—Yangervis Solarte of the Padres doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Nomar Mazara.

Debut—Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors (6IP 4H R 2BB 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers). Freeland was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,763rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Streak—Seth Smith of the Orioles has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Smith (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-5 win over the Yankees) made his Box-Toppers debut in 2008 with the Rockies and has 39.2 career Box-Toppers points, ninth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Rockies when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters.

Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer now has 132.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 7K W in the 7-6 win over the Phillies). Scherzer ranks 31st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4).

Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 25.7. This was his first point of the year. He now leads all players in Box-Toppers points over 2016 and 2017 with 26.7, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (26.4).

Scoring—Mazara earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garrett earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Solarte earns 1.5 points for being NL 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/7
    Score
    Game
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    6.0
    TEX 10, OAK 5
    Nomar Mazara, RF
    5
    2
    3
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.0
    CIN 2, STL 0
    Amir Garrett (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    6.0
    `MIL 2, CHC 1 (F/11)
    Jimmy Nelson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    4.2
    LAA 5, SEA 1
    Jesse Chavez (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    4.0
    COL 2, LAD 1
    Kyle Freeland (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    4.0
    `DET 6, BOS 5
    Michael Fulmer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.2
    WSH 7, PHI 6
    Max Scherzer (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    3.0
    SD 7, SF 6
    Yangervis Solarte, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 7, NYM 2
    Derek Dietrich, 3B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    KC 5, HOU 1
    Jason Vargas (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 5, ATL 4
    Ivan Nova (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    2.1
    TB 10, TOR 8
    Alex Colome (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    BAL 6, NYY 5
    Seth Smith, RF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ARI 7, CLE 3
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 3, CHW 1
    Phil Hughes (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    3
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf	tex al	2.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	-5.0
Garrett, Amir 3762	pi sp	cin nl	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Solarte, Yangervis 3304	3b	sd nl	1.5	4.5	10.5	10.5	-1.5
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	1.0	26.7	104.9	132.7	-24.7
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	1.0	13.7	13.7	13.7	-11.7
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	1.0	10.0	18.7	18.7	-8.0
Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	1.0	9.0	24.7	32.1	-7.0
Smith, Seth 2489	rf	bal al	1.0	6.0	18.5	39.2	-4.0
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	1.0	5.5	36.9	40.9	-3.5
Nelson, Jimmy 3299	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	4.0	14.4	14.4	-2.0
Dietrich, Derek 3199	3b	fla nl	1.0	3.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	1.0	2.0	27.4	48.2	0.0
Chavez, Jesse 2780	pi sp	ana al	1.0	1.0	20.1	21.1	1.0
Hughes, Phil 2272	pi sp	min al	1.0	1.0	30.5	49.2	1.0
Freeland, Kyle 3763	pi sp	col nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Top 10 players

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

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

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

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Top player from each game

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

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All-time leaders

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

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

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

All-time leaders

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

Top player from each game

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

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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.