Cardinals' Michael Wacha tops players for Tuesday, July 19; Dodgers' Kershaw extends Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank July 19, 2017

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
5	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
6	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
9	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi nl	10.0
10	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Wacha pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Brad Peacock struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk in the 6-2 win over the Mariners.

American League Batter of the Day—Nicholas Castellanos of the Tigers homered twice and tripled, going 4-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 9-3 win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 9-7 win over the Padres.

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

Kershaw (7IP 7H 0R BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season, leading second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (19.0 Box-Toppers points).

Kershaw is on pace to earn about 38.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, which would break the single-season record of 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002. Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

Kershaw also now has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.

Remarkably, Kershaw has more career Box-Toppers points than the combined total of the 14 others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday. The 14 other players have 190.5 career Box-Toppers points combined. Kershaw still beats them by more than 10.0 with 205.8. Granted, none of the other 14 has significantly high career Box-Toppers point totals—Bryce Harper of the Nationals has the most with 34.4, which ranks 540th among all players since 1995.

Notable—Phillies pitcher Pat Neshek Tuesday earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly three years.

Neshek (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 5, 2014. Despite his lack of recent Player of the Game honors and Box-Toppers points, Neshek was selected to be a 2017 National League All-Star.

Debut—Red Sox pitcher Hector Velazquez made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday after earning his first career Player of the Game honor.

Velazquez (4IP 2H 0R BB 3K W in the 5-4, 15-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut May 18 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,853rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Peacock earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castellanos and Parra 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.

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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/18
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    STL 5, NYM 0
    Michael Wacha (W, 7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    AL
    10.0
    HOU 6, SEA 2
    Brad Peacock (W, 8-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    DET 9, KC 3
    Nicholas Castellanos (3B)
    5
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    LAD 1, CHW 0
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 15-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    `TB 4, OAK 3
    Erasmo Ramirez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    4.0
    COL 9, SD 7
    Gerardo Parra (LF)
    3
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 5, TOR 4 (F/15)
    Hector Velazquez (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    WSH 4, LAA 3
    Bryce Harper (RF)
    4
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 11, CIN 2
    Rey Fuentes (PH-CF)
    2
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 12, TEX 1
    Dylan Bundy (W, 9-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    2.0
    NYY 6, MIN 3
    Didi Gregorius (SS)
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 5, MIA 2
    Pat Neshek (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 4, MIL 3
    Felipe Rivero (S, 8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    1.0
    CHC 5, ATL 1
    Javier Baez (2B)
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    SF 2, CLE 1 (F/10)
    Sam Dyson (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    0
  


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	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.1	46.5	146.2	205.8	-2.3
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	7.0	10.0	34.4	34.4	4.0
Parra, Gerardo 2746	rf lf	col nl	6.5	9.0	21.0	27.5	4.0
Peacock, Brad 2968	pi sp	hou al	6.4	6.4	13.1	15.8	6.4
Baez, Javier 3395	2b 3b	chi nl	5.2	7.2	9.7	9.7	3.2
Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	5.0	7.0	24.7	24.7	3.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	bal al	4.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	-2.0
Castellanos, Nicholas 3349	3b	det al	3.5	9.0	17.2	17.2	-2.0
Ramirez, Erasmo 1786	pi cp sp mr	tb al	3.0	6.7	15.7	17.7	-0.7
Dyson, Sam 3399	pi cp mr	sf nl	3.0	3.0	6.0	6.0	3.0
Rivero, Felipe 3579	pi cp	pit nl	3.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	3.0
Gregorius, Didi 3184	ss	nyy al	2.0	4.0	8.5	8.5	0.0
Neshek, Pat 2196	pi mr	phi nl	1.0	1.0	4.0	12.0	1.0
Fuentes, Reymond 3301	cf ph	ari nl	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0
Velazquez, Hector 3853	pi cp	bos al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Stephen Strasburg tops players for Monday, July 17, rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 18, 2017

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth 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 July 17:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
5	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
6	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
9	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi nl	10.0
10	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Strasburg struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Reds.

Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising from eighth to fifth place in season player rankings, fourth place among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi allowed one run and one hit over seven innings, striking out five and walking two, in the 3-2 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Gregory Polanco of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day—Steve Pearce of the Blue Jays homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Red Sox.

Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester became the 21st player since 1995 to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Lester (7IP 3H R BB 6K W in the 4-3 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 150.2 career points, 21st-most since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 20th-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (150.7), who just passed Lester on the “all-time” list on Saturday.

Lester has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 14th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Polanco and Pearce 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/17
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    WSH 6, CIN 1
    Stephen Strasburg (W, 10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    
    7.0
    CHC 4, ATL 3
    Jon Lester (W, 6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    AL
    7.0
    TB 3, OAK 2
    Jake Odorizzi (W, 6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    4.2
    DET 10, KC 2
    Jordan Zimmermann (W, 6-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    7
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    PIT 4, MIL 2
    Gregory Polanco (RF)
    4
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIA 6, PHI 5 (F/10)
    Giancarlo Stanton (RF)
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    STL 6, NYM 3
    Tommy Pham (LF)
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    COL 9, SD 6
    Trevor Story (SS)
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 9, HOU 7 (F/10)
    Edwin Diaz (S, 17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    `MIN 4, NYY 2
    Adalberto Mejia
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    5
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    2.0
    TOR 4, BOS 3
    Steve Pearce (LF-1B)
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    `BAL 3, TEX 1
    Chris Tillman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    4
    3
  

    
    1.0
    CLE 5, SF 3
    Cody Allen (S, 17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  


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	+/-
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4	27.5	86.6	95.3	-2.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	7.0	29.1	74.6	150.2	-15.1
Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	5.1	11.5	31.2	31.2	-1.3
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp	sea al	5.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	-2.0
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5	11.0	35.2	43.7	-2.0
Polanco, Gregory 3361	rf	pit nl	4.5	10.0	17.0	17.0	-1.0
Mejia, Adalberto 3812	pi sp	min al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Pearce, Steve 2371	lf 1b	tor al	3.5	5.5	17.5	19.5	1.5
Pham, Thomas 3596	lf	stl nl	3.5	5.0	6.5	6.5	2.0
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	2.0	10.0	41.8	45.8	-6.0
Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	cle al	2.0	9.0	18.0	18.0	-5.0
Story, Trevor 3607	ss	col nl	1.0	7.5	7.5	7.5	-5.5
Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	det al	1.0	4.0	54.4	61.4	-2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Jose Quintana tops players for Sunday, July 16, rises to 9th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 17, 2017

Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
5	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
9	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi nl	10.0
10	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Quintana, making his debut for the Cubs after being traded from the White Sox during the All-Star break, struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 8-0 win over the Orioles.

Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, rising to ninth place among all players, sixth place among National League pitchers. Quintana is the 10th player this season to reach 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Mike Fiers struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two hits, four hits and no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-4 win over the Reds.

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

Notable—Two players with 100.0 or more career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (6IP 2H 0R 5BB 3K W in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 191.0 career points, fifth-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fourth-ranked player Curt Schilling (194.1). Sabathia has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 13th among AL pitchers.
Red Sox pitcher David Price (8IP 7H 0R 0BB 8K W in the 3-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 109.9 career points, rising to 55th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jeff Kent (109.7) and Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (109.7). Price has 3.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 46th among AL pitchers.

Debut—Nick Williams of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Williams (HR 2-4 R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 30 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,852nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fiers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphyearns 1.5 points for being NL 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/16
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    16.0
    CHC 8, BAL 0
    Jose Quintana, W (5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    12
  

    AL
    10.0
    HOU 5, MIN 3
    Mike Fiers (W, 6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    11
  

    
    9.0
    BOS 3, NYY 0
    David Price (W, 5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    7.0
    LAD 3, MIA 2
    Rich Hill (W, 6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    WSH 14, CIN 4
    Daniel Murphy (2B)
    4
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    ATL 7, ARI 1
    Jaime Garcia (W, 3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    7
  

    
    4.0
    SEA 7, CHW 6 (F/10)
    Edwin Diaz (S, 16)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    SD 7, SF 1
    Trevor Cahill (W, 4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    8
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    3.1
    `LAA 4, TB 3
    Parker Bridwell
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    3.0
    PHI 5, MIL 2
    Nick Williams (RF)
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    COL 13, NYM 4
    Gerardo Parra (RF)
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    OAK 7, CLE 3
    Sean Manaea (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    3
    8
  

    
    2.2
    `KC 4, TEX 3
    Ian Kennedy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    NYY 3, BOS 0
    CC Sabathia (W, 8-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    5
    3
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 4, STL 3
    Wade LeBlanc (W, 4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    `DET 6, TOR 5 (F/11)
    Bruce Rondon
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi nl	10.0	20.4	45.2	45.2	-0.4
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	7.7	22.1	26.1	45.8	-6.7
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi sp	sd nl	6.4	9.4	24.1	46.6	3.4
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	6.0	13.5	34.5	38.5	-1.5
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	6.0	12.0	38.5	191.0	0.0
Manaea, Sean 3637	pi sp	oak al	5.4	12.1	12.1	12.1	-1.3
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	5.0	15.0	46.1	71.5	-5.0
Parra, Gerardo 2746	rf	col nl	5.0	7.5	19.5	26.0	2.5
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	4.4	9.4	30.5	30.5	-0.6
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp	sea al	4.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	-3.0
Price, David 2593	pi sp	bos al	3.7	16.1	78.1	109.9	-8.7
LeBlanc, Wade 2669	pi cp mr sp	pit nl	3.0	6.0	6.0	13.0	0.0
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	atl nl	2.0	10.0	28.1	45.8	-6.0
Bridwell, Parker 3844	pi sp	ana al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Rondon, Bruce 3245	pi mr	det al	1.0	1.0	5.0	5.0	1.0
Williams, Nick 3852	rf	phi nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Saturday, July 15, rises to 20th in ‘all-time’ career Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 16, 2017

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in second place in season player rankings and rising to 20th in career points on Box-Toppers “all-time” list.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
5	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
9	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
10	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Jay Bruce of the Mets retakes the lead among National League batters in Box-Toppers points after he earns Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks, in the 10-7 win over the Reds.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.0 for the season. He remains in second place in Box-Toppers points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.1), who also leads all NL pitchers.

Scherzer now has 150.7 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Chipper Jones (149.0) and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (149.2). He now trails 19th-ranked player, Twins pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2). Scherzer is the 20th player to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points.

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	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	204.8
4	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	190.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	184.3
8	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	171.4
9	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
10	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	167.5
11	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
12	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
13	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
14	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
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	min al	151.2
20	Max Scherzer	pi sp	dc nl	150.7

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

Passing Lester, Scherzer is now seventh among active players in career Box-Toppers points, sixth among active pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Royals. Hamels picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.

Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 148.7 career points, rising to 23rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 22nd-ranked player Chipper Jones (149.0).

Hamels has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 25th among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Matt Chapman of the Athletics hit two home runs and doubled in the 5-3 win over the Indians. Chapman went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs.

This was Chapman’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Chapman made his Major League debut June 15 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,849th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Lane Adams of the Braves hit a pinch-hit, sixth-inning, three-run double in the 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Adam’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Adams made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 39th career game. He is the 3,850th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Wood (6IP 3H 0R BB 4K W in the 7-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (21.1) and Scherzer (19.0).

Notable—Jay Bruce of the Mets regains the season Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Bruce (HR 1-4 2R 3BI in the 9-3 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He passes previous leader Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers (7.7). Bruce ranks 19th among all players in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Debut—Jabari Blash of the Padres also made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Blash (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut April, 4, 2016, and was playing in his 54th career game. He is the 3,851st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/15
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    WSH 10, CIN 7
    Max Scherzer (W, 11-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    10
  

    AL
    7.2
    `TEX 1, KC 0
    Cole Hamels
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    6.2
    `MIL 3, PHI 2
    Jimmy Nelson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    6.0
    DET 11, TOR 1
    Michael Fulmer (W, 10-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    6.0
    LAD 7, MIA 1
    Alex Wood (W, 11-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    OAK 5, CLE 3
    Matt Chapman (3B)
    3
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `NYY 4, BOS 1 (F/16)
    Luis Severino
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    ATL 8, ARI 5
    Lane Adams (PH)
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 10, BAL 3
    Jason Heyward (RF)
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    `MIN 4, HOU 2
    Taylor Rogers (H, 22)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    SD 5, SF 3
    Jabari Blash (RF)
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 9, COL 3
    Jay Bruce (RF)
    4
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `SEA 4, CHW 3
    Nick Vincent (H, 13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.1
    STL 4, PIT 0
    Lance Lynn (W, 8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    8
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    0.2
    TB 6, LAA 3
    Alex Cobb (W, 8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    3
    4
  


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	19.0	44.7	122.9	150.7	-6.7
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	13.0	14.0	32.4	32.4	12.0
Nelson, Jimmy 3299	pi sp	mil nl	9.0	12.0	22.4	22.4	6.0
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	8.0	16.5	33.7	66.8	-0.5
Severino, Luis 3567	pi sp	nyy al	7.7	9.7	12.7	12.7	5.7
Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	6.7	6.7	62.6	62.6	6.7
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	5.7	18.4	18.4	18.4	-7.0
Cobb, Alex 2916	pi sp	tb al	5.4	5.4	35.8	36.8	5.4
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	4.7	22.5	73.7	148.7	-13.1
Adams, Lane 3850	ph	atl nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Chapman, Matt 3849	3b	oak al	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Heyward, Jason 2695	rf	chi nl	1.0	2.0	12.5	19.5	0.0
Vincent, Nick 3203	pi mr	sea al	1.0	2.0	5.0	5.0	0.0
Rogers, Taylor 3648	pi mr	min al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Blash, Jabari 3851	rf	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Jacob deGrom tops players for Friday, July 14, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 15, 2017

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th 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 July 14:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
9	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
10	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

deGrom struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 14-2 win over the Rockies.

deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, rising to 10th place in player rankings, seventh place among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers hit two homers, including a ninth-inning, three-run shot, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins. Puig went 2-for-4, driving in four total runs.

Puig earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 Box-Toppers points for 2017, which is his highest single-season total of his five-season career. His previous best seasons were 2015 and 2016 when he had 3.5 each season. He had just 1.5 points in 2013 and just 1.0 point in 2014.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 5-3 win over the Royals.

Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 113.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 49th place 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). Beltre now trails 48th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).

Passing Sosa, Beltre now ranks 15th among all batters since 1995, trailing 14th-ranked Torii Hunter (115.9). Beltre also ranks 15th among active players in career Box-Toppers points, trailing 14th-ranked player, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (117.5). He ranks third among active batters in career points, behind second-ranked Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9).

Beltre has 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Puig and Beltre each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/14
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    NYM 14, COL 2
    Jacob deGrom (W, 10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    2
    1
    1
    11
  

    
    8.1
    WSH 5, CIN 0
    Gio Gonzalez (W, 8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    AL
    8.0
    OAK 5, CLE 0
    Sonny Gray (W, 5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    6.0
    SEA 4, CHW 2
    James Paxton (W, 8-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    9
  

    BAT
    4.0
    LAD 6, MIA 4
    Yasiel Puig (RF)
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 5, STL 2
    Josh Bell (1B)
    3
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `BOS 5, NYY 4
    Matt Barnes
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    3.0
    TEX 5, KC 3
    Adrian Beltre (3B)
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 9, BAL 8
    Wade Davis (S, 17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 10, MIN 5
    Marwin Gonzalez (LF)
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 9, PHI 6
    Ryan Braun (LF)
    4
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 7, DET 2
    Jose Bautista (RF)
    3
    2
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 4, ARI 3
    Jim Johnson (S, 20)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    TB 2, LAA 1 (F/10)
    Alex Colome (S, 26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    SF 5, SD 4
    Gorkys Hernandez (LF)
    4
    1
    4
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


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	+/-
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	9.7	19.4	54.8	54.8	0.0
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	8.0	12.4	19.1	19.1	3.6
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	atl nl	6.0	10.0	21.0	27.7	2.0
Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	5.7	6.7	38.5	38.5	4.7
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	5.0	14.0	22.7	22.7	-4.0
Puig, Yasiel 3193	rf	lad nl	4.5	8.0	14.0	14.0	1.0
Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	3.0	9.0	60.1	89.5	-3.0
Barnes, Matt 3466	pi mr cp	bos al	3.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	3.0
Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	2.5	12.0	45.9	113.8	-7.0
Bautista, Jose 2169	rf	tor al	2.5	3.5	26.5	65.4	1.5
Gonzalez, Marwin 3078	lf	hou al	2.5	3.5	8.0	8.0	1.5
Hernandez, Goryks 3758	cf lf	sf nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	2.0	12.5	38.0	90.2	-8.5
Davis, Wade 2681	pi cp	chi nl	2.0	6.0	21.0	28.0	-2.0
Bell, Josh E. 3682	1b	pit nl	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

More pitchers lead their team in 2017 Box-Toppers points than batters at the All-Star break

Shawn Plank July 14, 2017

A look at who leads each of the 30 teams in 2017 Box-Toppers points at the All-Star break.

Nationals, Astros each have most players (seven) in Box-Toppers top 100 of 2017 at All-Star break

Shawn Plank July 13, 2017

A look at the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points at the midseason break. League-leading teams—Nationals, Astros, Dodgers—have the most players on the list.

Mariners' Robinson Cano is Box-Toppers Player of the Game as AL wins 2017 All-Star Game

Shawn Plank July 12, 2017

Robinson Cano of the Mariners is Box-Toppers 2017 All-Star Player of the Game.

Cano hit a 10th-inning, go-ahead homer in the American League’s 2-1 win over the National League. Cano went 1-for-2, striking out while entering the game in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter.

Cano was also named All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.

Cano had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +1.0. One other player, Astros pitcher Chris Devenski, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND), but did not qualify to earn Player of the Game honors because he did not earn the win or save and did not pitch at least three innings.

Seven AL players had Box-Toppers game scores Tuesday of +1.0, but Cano beat them on tiebreakers. He automatically beat the four pitchers with game scores of +1.0 (Chris Sale of the Red Sox, Craig Kimbrel of the Red Sox, Andrew Miller of the Indians and Brandon Kintzler of the Twins), since batters always best pitchers in game score ties. He beat two batters with game scores of +1.0 (Miguel Sano of the Twins and Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles) because he had more at bats—Cano had two at bats, while both Sano and Schoop had one.

While Devenski had the highest Box-Toppers game score among AL pitchers, Kimbrel (1IP 0H 0R 2BB 2K W) was the highest-ranking pitcher qualified to earn Player of the Game honors because he earned the win.

Cano has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 20th among AL batters and second among AL second basemen, behind Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles (4.5). In 2016, Cano had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5). Cano has 79.4 career Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth among active AL batters. He made his Box-Toppers debut in 2005 with the Yankees and has earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons.

Overall Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.1), was selected to the NL All-Star team but did not pitch in the game since he pitched in his regular start only two days earlier.

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who started for the NL team and ranks second in overall 2017 Box-Toppers points (17.0), had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +2.0 (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K ND).

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, who started for the AL team and leads AL players in 2017 Box-Toppers points (13.1), ranking third overall, had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +1.0 (2IP 3H 0R 0BB 2K ND).

Aaron Judge of the Yankees, who has the most Box-Toppers points among AL batters in the All-Star Game (8.2), went 0-for-3 in the All-Star Game and had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.0, tied for the lowest among AL players. A night earlier, Judge won the All-Star Home Run Derby.

Ryon Healy of the Athletics has the most Box-Toppers points among AL batters (8.7), but was not selected for the All-Star Game.

Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers, who leads NL batters in Box-Toppers points (7.7), went 0-for-3 in the All-Star Game and had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.0.

Top player for the NL team was Yadier Molina of the Cardinals, who hit a sixth-inning, game-tying, solo homer and had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.

Scoring—Just as All-Star Game statistics don’t count in a player’s regular season statistics, no Box-Toppers points are awarded for the All-Star Game.

  
    Box-Toppers game scores of AL All-Star players
Here are all the players who played for the the winning American League team in Tuesday's All-Star Game, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Robinson Cano is Box-Toppers Player of the Game (POG) with a game score of +1.0. Astros pitcher Chris Devenski had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) but did not qualify to earn Player of the Game because he did not earn the win or save and did not pitch at least three innings. Seven AL players had Box-Toppers game scores of +1.0, but Cano beat them on tiebreakers.
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/11
    Score
    AL All-Stars
    Team
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    
    2.0
    Chris Devenski
    Astros
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    POG
    1.0
    Robinson Cano (PH-2B)
    Mariners
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Miguel Sano (3B)
    Twins
    1
    0
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Jonathan Schoop (2B)
    Orioles
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Chris Sale
    Red Sox
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    Craig Kimbrel (W, 0-0)
    Red Sox
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    1.0
    Andrew Miller (S, 0)
    Indians
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Brandon Kintzler (H, 0)
    Twins
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    0.0
    Jose Ramirez (3B)
    Indians
    2
    0
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Yonder Alonso (1B)
    Athletics
    2
    0
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Justin Smoak (1B)
    Blue Jays
    1
    0
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Dellin Betances
    Yankees
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    0.0
    Jason Vargas
    Royals
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    0.0
    Roberto Osuna
    Blue Jays
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    -1.0
    Justin Upton (RF)
    Tigers
    2
    0
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -1.0
    Michael Brantley (LF)
    Indians
    2
    0
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -1.0
    Ervin Santana (B, 0)
    Twins
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    1
    1
    0
    1
  

    
    -2.0
    Jose Altuve (2B)
    Astros
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Mike Moustakas (3B)
    Royals
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Carlos Correa (SS)
    Astros
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Francisco Lindor (SS)
    Indians
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Corey Dickerson (DH)
    Rays
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Nelson Cruz (PH)
    Mariners
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Salvador Perez (C)
    Royals
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Gary Sanchez (C)
    Yankees
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Mookie Betts (CF)
    Red Sox
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -2.0
    Avisail Garcia (CF)
    White Sox
    2
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -3.0
    Aaron Judge (RF)
    Yankees
    3
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    -3.0
    George Springer (LF)
    Astros
    3
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


POG—2017 All-Star Game Player of the Game.

No Box-Toppers points are awarded for the All-Star Game.


  

Athletics' Ryon Healy ‘most worthy but unchosen’ player for the 2017 All-Star Game

Shawn Plank July 10, 2017

A look at the All-Star Game rosters through the Box-Toppers lens, including a look at the worthy left in the lurch and players whose selection Box-Toppers deems questionable.

Yankees' Aaron Judge, Dodgers' Cody Bellinger lead Home Run Derby participants in 2017 Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 10, 2017

How 2017 All-Star Home Run Derby participants fare in Box-Toppers points.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw remains atop Box-Toppers 2017 player rankings for 9th week

Shawn Plank July 10, 2017

Dodgers' Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points for ninth straight week (21.1). Red Sox' Sale takes over lead among AL pitchers, Dodgers' Bellinger takes lead among NL batters.

Los Angeles Dodgers extend their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings; hottest team 2 weeks in a row

Shawn Plank July 10, 2017

Dodgers top team rankings for third straight week and are hottest team for second straight week. Astros top AL teams for the eighth straight week.

Rockies' Kyle Freeland tops players for Sunday, July 9; Kershaw extends lead in season Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 10, 2017

Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland is Sunday’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 July 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
9	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his lead in season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises to eighth place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 after earning American League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Freeland pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, three walks and striking out nine, in the 10-0 win over the White Sox. Freeland had a no-hitter intact until giving up a hit with one out in the ninth inning.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics.

Hernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 171.4 career points, rising to eighth in career points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, he passes Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” list and now trails seventh-ranked player Albert Pujols (184.3).

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	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	204.8
4	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	190.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	184.3
8	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	171.4
9	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
10	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	167.5
11	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
12	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
13	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
14	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
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	min al	151.2
20	Jon Lester	pi sp	chi nl	149.2

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

Hernandez has just 2.7 Box-Toppers points on the season and had just 6.0 in 2016, after seven straight seasons of 10 or more points. Hernandez earned 0.7 Box-Toppers bonus points Sunday; the last time he earned bonus points was Sept. 10, 2015, when as Player of the Day, he earned an extra 1.0 Box-Toppers bonus point.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit two homers and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 19-1 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—Francisco Cervelli of the Pirates hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 14-3 win over the Cubs.

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

Kershaw (CG 6H 2R 0BB 13K W in the 5-2 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season, leading second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (17.0 Box-Toppers points).

Kershaw also now has 204.8 career points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.

Scoring—Freeland earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hernandez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Correa and Cervelli 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/9
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.1
    COL 10, CHW 0
    Kyle Freeland (W, 9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    1
    0
    0
    3
    9
  

    
    12.0
    LAD 5, KC 2
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 14-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    13
  

    AL
    9.0
    SEA 4, OAK 0
    Felix Hernandez (W, 4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    BAT
    7.0
    HOU 19, TOR 1
    Carlos Correa (SS)
    5
    3
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    PHI 7, SD 1
    Jerad Eickhoff (W, 1-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    6.0
    MIA 10, SF 8 (F/11)
    Nick Wittgren (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    BAL 11, MIN 5
    Adam Jones (CF)
    4
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    STL 6, NYM 0
    Lance Lynn (W, 7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    BAT
    4.0
    PIT 14, CHC 3
    Francisco Cervelli (C)
    4
    1
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 5, NYY 3
    Travis Shaw (3B)
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    WSH 10, ATL 5
    Anthony Rendon (3B)
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 2, ARI 1
    Raisel Iglesias (S, 16)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    LAA 3, TEX 0
    Bud Norris (S, 13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    DET 5, CLE 3
    Jose Iglesias (SS)
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TB 5, BOS 3
    Steven Souza Jr. (RF)
    3
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


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	21.1	45.5	145.2	204.8	-3.3
Freeland, Kyle 3763	pi sp	col nl	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	5.7	5.7	61.6	61.6	5.7
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	hou al	5.5	13.2	20.4	20.4	-2.2
Shaw, Travis 3544	3b	mil nl	5.5	12.5	16.7	16.7	-1.5
Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	dc nl	5.5	11.0	17.5	17.5	0.0
Iglesias, Jose 3532	ss	det al	4.5	4.5	5.5	5.5	4.5
Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	4.0	9.7	15.2	15.2	-1.7
Norris, Bud 2638	pi cp	ana al	4.0	9.7	34.4	50.1	-1.7
Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	3.5	4.5	35.5	53.0	2.5
Iglesias, Raisel 3467	pi cp	cin nl	3.0	6.0	8.7	8.7	0.0
Cervelli, Francisco 3387	ca	pit nl	3.0	4.0	9.0	9.0	2.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	2.7	8.7	82.4	171.4	-3.3
Eickhoff, Jerad 3566	pi sp	phi nl	2.0	10.0	15.0	15.0	-6.0
Wittgren, Nick 3647	pi mr	fla nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Reds' Luis Castillo tops players for Saturday, July 8; Dodgers' Bellinger rises to lead NL batters in '17 Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 9, 2017

Reds pitcher Luis Castillo is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers rises to lead National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 8:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
9	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Castillo struck out eight over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Alex Cobb pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out three, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-1, scoring twice, in the 7-2 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Royals.

Bellinger earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to first among NL batters this season, passing previous leader Jay Bruce of the Mets (7.0).

Bellinger’s 7.7 Box-Toppers points is the most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday. He ranks 22nd among all players.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright rises to 42nd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Wainwright (6.2IP 5H R 0BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 117.5 career points. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Mark Buehrle (116.7) and Barry Zito (117.4) and now trails 41st-ranked player Carlos Delgado (117.7). Wainwright has 5.5 Box-Toppers points this season, 23rd among NL pitchers.

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

Clint Frazier of the Yankees (HR 3B 3-4 R 4BI in the 5-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut July 1 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,847th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Drew Robinson of the Rangers (HR 1-2 R 2BI in the 5-2 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,848th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Castillo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cobb earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Bellinger each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    10.2
    CIN 7, ARI 0
    Luis Castillo (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    AL
    7.2
    TB 1, BOS 0
    Alex Cobb (W, 7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    6.2
    STL 4, NYM 1
    Adam Wainwright (W, 10-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    6.0
    ATL 13, WSH 0
    Julio Teheran (W, 7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    5.1
    SD 2, PHI 1
    Jhoulys Chacin (W, 8-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    TOR 7, HOU 2
    Josh Donaldson (3B)
    1
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CLE 4, DET 0
    Mike Clevinger (W, 5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.2
    PIT 4, CHC 2
    Ivan Nova (W, 9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 5, MIL 3
    Clint Frazier (LF)
    4
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    LAD 5, KC 4 (F/10)
    Cody Bellinger (1B-RF)
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 5, COL 4
    David Robertson (S, 13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 5, LAA 2
    Drew Robinson (LF)
    2
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    OAK 4, SEA 3
    Sean Doolittle (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    BAL 5, MIN 1
    Manny Machado (3B)
    4
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    MIA 5, SF 4
    Marcell Ozuna (LF)
    4
    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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Bellinger, Cody 3781	1b rf lf	lad nl	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7
Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	7.0	15.0	30.7	38.1	-1.0
Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi sp	sd nl	6.7	12.4	19.1	34.5	1.0
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	5.5	15.7	66.8	117.5	-4.7
Cobb, Alex 2916	pi sp	tb al	4.4	4.4	34.8	35.8	4.4
Robertson, David 2774	pi cp	chi al	4.0	9.0	26.0	30.0	-1.0
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	lf	fla nl	3.7	8.7	22.2	22.2	-1.3
Clevinger, Mike 3707	pi sp	cle al	3.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	0.7
Machado, Manny 3087	3b	bal al	3.5	16.2	27.2	27.2	-9.2
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	3.0	13.7	49.5	49.5	-7.7
Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840	pi sp	cin nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Doolittle, Sean 3052	pi cp	oak al	2.0	3.0	15.0	15.0	1.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	1.5	11.2	41.1	41.1	-8.2
Frazier, Clint 3847	lf	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Robinson, Drew 3848	lf	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' Cole Hamels tops players for Friday, July 7; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 10th in career Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 8, 2017

Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 7:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
9	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Plus, three players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintained his spot in second place.
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rose from seventh to sixth place.
Greinke rose from ninth to seventh place.

Player of the Day—Hamels pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 10-0 win over the Angels.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 147.0 for his career, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—David Ortiz (145.9), Jim Thome (146.7) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9). Hamels now trails 23rd-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).

Passing Cabrera, Hamels now ranks eighth among active players in career points, trailing the seventh-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (148.7).

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	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	203.8
4	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	190.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	184.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	167.5
11	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
12	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
13	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
14	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
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	min al	151.2
20	Jon Lester	pi sp	chi nl	149.2

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

Hamels has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 6-3 win over the Reds.

Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising from ninth to seventh place in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers.

Greinke also rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when player tracking began. He now has 167.5 career Box-Toppers points and with his points Friday, passes two players on the “all-time” list—Johan Santana (166.6) and Manny Ramirez (167.2). Greinke now trails ninth-place player, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (169.7).

American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in five runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—Jesus Aguilar of the Brewers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Yankees. Aguilar also went 3-for-4 and drove in seven runs.

Rankings—In addition to Greinke, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (7.2IP 6H 4R BB 10K ND in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season, maintaining his second-place spot in season player rankings, behind overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.1). Scherzer now has 148.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 21st-ranked player Chipper Jones (149.0).
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (7IP 9H 2R BB 11K W in the 11-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising from seventh to sixth in season player rankings, third among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the Red Sox (13.1) and Ervin Santana of the Twins (12.4).

Debut—Twins pitcher Trevor Hildenberger made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Hildenberger (2.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 9-6 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut June 23 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,846th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    9.2
    TEX 10, LAA 0
    Cole Hamels (W, 4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    3
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    9.0
    HOU 12, TOR 2
    George Springer (CF)
    4
    4
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    9.0
    ARI 6, CIN 3
    Zack Greinke (W, 11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    8.0
    MIL 9, NYY 4
    Jesus Aguilar (1B)
    4
    2
    3
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    SEA 7, OAK 2
    James Paxton (W, 7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    2
    2
    3
    9
  

    
    6.0
    CHC 6, PIT 1
    Kris Bryant (3B)
    5
    3
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.1
    MIA 6, SF 1
    Dan Straily (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    1
    1
    0
    3
  

    
    5.0
    COL 12, CHW 4
    Nolan Arenado (3B)
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 4, PHI 3
    Austin Hedges (C)
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CLE 11, DET 2
    Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    9
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    
    3.1
    MIN 9, BAL 6
    Trevor Hildenberger (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    2
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.2
    `WSH 5, ATL 4 (F/10)
    Max Scherzer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    4
    4
    1
    10
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 6, STL 5
    Jose Reyes (SS)
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    LAD 4, KC 1
    Kenta Maeda (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    BOS 8, TB 3
    Dustin Pedroia (2B)
    5
    2
    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	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0	42.7	120.9	148.7	-8.7
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	11.4	23.8	52.5	57.9	-1.0
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	11.4	21.1	90.4	167.5	1.7
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	fla nl	8.7	15.7	26.4	26.4	1.7
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	7.0	17.0	17.0	17.0	-3.0
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	7.0	11.4	18.1	18.1	2.6
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	5.5	16.2	26.2	26.2	-5.2
Springer, George 3337	rf dh cf	hou al	5.0	11.5	15.5	15.5	-1.5
Hedges, Austin 3790	ca	sd nl	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	3.0	20.8	72.0	147.0	-14.8
Bryant, Kris 3465	3b lf	chi nl	2.5	13.0	21.5	21.5	-8.0
Reyes, Jose 1759	ss 3b	nym nl	2.5	4.5	13.5	32.5	0.5
Aguilar, Jesus 3787	1b	mil nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	bos al	1.0	6.0	19.0	38.5	-4.0
Hildenberger, Trevor 3846	pi mr	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Rich Hill tops players for Thursday, July 6; Indians' Encarnacion tops AL players

Shawn Plank July 7, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 6:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4
8	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Hill struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Hill did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the game was tied, 1-1.

It is the third straight day that a Dodgers pitcher has earned Box-Toppers overall Player of the Day honors. Clayton Kershaw did it Tuesday. Alex Wood did it Wednesday.

American League Player of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 11-2 win over the Padres.

Encarnacion earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.9 for the season, most among the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. Encarnacion ranks 18th among all players in season Box-Toppers points, third among AL batters, behind Ryon Healy of the Athletics (8.7) and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (8.2).

National League Batter of the Day—Domingo Santana of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-2 win over the Cubs.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Edwin Encarnacion.

Streak—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honors of the season Thursday.

Martin (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 7-4 win over the Astros) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Dodgers and now has 54.0 career points, second among active AL catchers, behind Brian McCann of the Astros (60.4). Martin’s best season was 2016 with the Blue Jays, when he had 10.5 points, sixth among AL batters.

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

Note—Friday’s usual Box-Toppers team power rankings report and player rankings report will be delayed until the All-Star break on Monday.

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/6
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    `LAD 5, ARI 4
    Rich Hill
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    AL
    5.0
    CLE 11, SD 2
    Edwin Encarnacion (1B)
    5
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    DET 6, SF 2
    Anibal Sanchez (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIL 11, CHC 2
    Domingo Santana (RF)
    5
    3
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 6, PHI 3
    Gregory Polanco (RF)
    4
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TB 4, BOS 1
    Wilson Ramos (C)
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    STL 4, MIA 3
    Michael Wacha (W, 6-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    6
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 5, WSH 2
    Jim Johnson (S, 19)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    TOR 7, HOU 4
    Russell Martin (C)
    5
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIN 6, BAL 4
    Eduardo Escobar (3B)
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    OAK 7, SEA 4
    Khris Davis (LF)
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 6, COL 3
    Zack Cozart (PH)
    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 the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	cle al	7.9	15.9	51.0	75.0	-0.1
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	6.7	21.1	25.1	44.8	-7.7
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	atl nl	5.0	9.0	20.0	26.7	1.0
Davis, Khris 3242	lf	oak al	3.5	10.2	20.2	20.2	-3.2
Santana, Domingo 3507	rf	mil nl	3.5	3.5	5.0	5.0	3.5
Polanco, Gregory 3361	rf lf	pit nl	3.0	8.5	15.5	15.5	-2.5
Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	3.0	5.0	22.7	22.7	1.0
Cozart, Zack 3012	ss ph	cin nl	2.0	4.0	13.0	13.0	0.0
Escobar, Eduardo 3135	ss 3b	min al	2.0	2.0	13.7	13.7	2.0
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	tor al	1.0	11.5	26.0	54.0	-9.5
Ramos, Wilson 2904	ca	tb al	1.0	2.5	14.0	17.0	-0.5
Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	1.0	1.0	33.2	66.3	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

A Box-Toppers look at 2017 All-Star Final Vote candidates

Shawn Plank July 6, 2017

Anthony Rendon of the Nationals, Justin Bour of the Marlins and Logan Morrison of the Rays have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the 10 players who are All-Star Game Final Vote candidates.

  
    All-Star Final Vote candidates
Here are the 2017 and 2016 Box-Toppers point (BTP) totals of the 2017 All-Star Game Final Vote candidates. Voters will choose one player from each league as the "final" player selected to the All-Star teams. Each league's players are listed from highest to lowest 2017 Box-Toppers point total.
 
    BTP
  
    AL player
    Pos
    Team
    ’17
    ’16
  
    Logan Morrison
    1b
    Rays
    4.2
    2.0
  
    Elvis Andrus
    ss
    Rangers
    3.5
    9.2
  
    Mike Moustakas
    dh 3b
    Royals
    3.0
    1.0
  
    Xander Bogaerts
    ss
    Red Sox
    2.5
    1.0
  
    Didi Gregorius
    ss
    Yankees
    1.0
    2.0
  
    BTP
  
    NL player
    Pos
    Team
    ’17
    ’16
  
    Anthony Rendon
    3b lf
    Nationals
    4.5
    5.5
  
    Justin Bour
    1b
    Marlins
    4.5
    2.5
  
    Mark Reynolds
    1b
    Rockies
    3.5
    4.0
  
    Kris Bryant
    3b lf
    Cubs
    1.5
    10.5
  
    Justin Turner
    3b lf
    Dodgers
    1.0
    2.5

But if players’ 2016 Box-Toppers point totals are taken into consideration, Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers would be considered leading candidates.

Voting ends today as fans pick one of the five players in each league to fill the final roster spots on the 2017 American League and National League All-Star teams.

In the AL, Logan Morrison of the Rays has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five AL candidates with 4.2. That puts him 15th among AL batters for the season and fourth among AL first basemen.

However, Elvis Andrus of the Rangers, who has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season, had 9.2 points in 2016, most of any of the five AL candidates. That ranked 10th among AL batters in 2016, second among AL shortstops. None of the other five AL candidates had more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.

In the NL, Anthony Rendon of the Nationals and Justin Bour of the Marlins have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five Final Vote candidates with 4.5. Rendon ranks 13th among NL batters and third among NL third basemen. Bour ranks 16th among NL batters and sixth among NL first basemen.

However, Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who has 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017, has the most 2016 points among the five NL candidates with 10.5. That ranked second among NL batters in 2016, behind Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7). Bryant was also NL Most Valuable Player in 2016.

Dodgers' Alex Wood tops players for Wednesday, July 6, rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 6, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth in season player rankings.

Wood struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 5:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4
8	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season and rising from eighth to fifth place in season Box-Toppers player rankings, third among National League pitchers, behind overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.1) and Max Scherzer of the Nationals (16.0).

American League Player of the Day—Rougned Odor of the Rangers homered and went 1-for-1, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins hit two homers, including a three-run shot, in the 9-6 win over the Cardinals. Stanton also went 3-for-4, driving in four total runs.

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 is batter Rougned Odor.

Streak—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Wednesday.

Garza (6.1IP 5H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Orioles) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Twins and has 72.8 career points, 17th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Rays, when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL pitchers. In 2016, he had 3.7 points with the Brewers.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with their first career Player of the Game honors:

Angels pitcher Parker Bridwell (6IP 4H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2016, and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,844th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Carlos Asuaje of the Padres (2B 3-4 0R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Sept. 21, 2016, and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,845th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odor earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Stanton 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/5
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    LAD 1, ARI 0
    Alex Wood (W, 10-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    BAT
    5.0
    MIA 9, STL 6
    Giancarlo Stanton (RF)
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    5.0
    TEX 8, BOS 2
    Rougned Odor (2B)
    1
    3
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    TOR 7, NYY 6
    Danny Barnes (W, 2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 7, TB 3
    Jon Jay (PH)
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    LAA 2, MIN 1
    Parker Bridwell (W, 3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    3.1
    MIL 4, BAL 0
    Matt Garza (W, 4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 10, ATL 4
    George Springer (RF-CF)
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    COL 5, CIN 3
    Pat Valaika (SS-2B)
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 5, PHI 2
    Felipe Rivero (S, 5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    KC 9, SEA 6 (F/10)
    Mike Moustakas (3B)
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    OAK 7, CHW 4
    Jed Lowrie (2B)
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    SD 6, CLE 2
    Carlos Asuaje (2B)
    4
    0
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    SF 5, DET 4
    Sam Dyson (S, 3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  


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	+/-
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0	13.0	31.4	31.4	11.0
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	3.5	10.0	34.2	42.7	-3.0
Springer, George 3337	rf cf dh	hou al	3.5	10.0	14.0	14.0	-3.0
Moustakas, Mike 2967	3b dh	kc al	3.0	4.0	23.2	25.2	2.0
Lowrie, Jed 2437	2b	oak al	3.0	4.0	18.5	30.0	2.0
Barnes, Danny 3807	pi mr	tor al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	2.7	9.2	13.7	13.7	-3.8
Valaika, Patrick 3793	ss 2b	col nl	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Dyson, Sam 3399	pi mr cp	sf nl	2.0	2.0	5.0	5.0	2.0
Rivero, Felipe 3579	pi cp	pit nl	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	2.0
Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	4.7	26.1	72.8	-2.7
Jay, Jon 2861	cf ph	chi nl	1.0	1.0	10.5	13.0	1.0
Asuaje, Carlos 3845	2b	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Bridwell, Parker 3844	pi sp	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, July 4, now has 20 Box-Toppers points in 7 straight seasons

Shawn Plank July 5, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, is the first player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 4:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4
7	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	10.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season, extending his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks second with 16.0 Box-Toppers points.

This is the seventh consecutive season in which Kershaw has earned 20 or more Box-Toppers points, which is now one more than Randy Johnson, who earned 20 or more points in six straight seasons from 1997 to 2002. Johnson, the overall Box-Toppers points leader (278.8) earned 177.7 points in those six straight seasons. Kershaw has earned 170.3 in the seven straight seasons of earning 20 or more points each year (from 2011 to 2017).

Kershaw also now has 203.8 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-place player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads active players in career points.

American League Player of the Day—Andrew Benintendi of the Red Sox hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, driving in six total runs, in the 11-4 win over the Rangers. Benintendi also doubled, went 5-for-5 and scored four times.

Benintendi had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +10.0, the third-highest for a batter this season. The two higher Box-Toppers game scores by batters in 2017:

• +15.0—April 30 by Anthony Rendon of the Nationals (3HR 2B 6-6 5R 10BI in the 23-5 win over the Mets).

• +14.0—June 6 by Scooter Gennett of the Reds (4HR 5-5 10BI in the 13-1 win over the Cardinals).

Rendon and Gennett’s efforts seem to be the top two Box-Toppers game scores for batters since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 11-4 win over the Mets.

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

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

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    14.0
    LAD 4, ARI 3
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 13-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    11
  

    AL
    10.0
    BOS 11, TEX 4
    Andrew Benintendi (LF)
    5
    4
    5
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    MIL 6, BAL 2
    Jimmy Nelson (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    8.0
    PIT 3, PHI 0
    Jameson Taillon (W, 5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    BAT
    5.0
    WSH 11, NYM 4
    Daniel Murphy (2B)
    5
    1
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 16, ATL 4
    Josh Reddick (RF)
    6
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TOR 4, NYY 1
    J.A. Happ (W, 3-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    OAK 7, CHW 6
    Yonder Alonso (1B)
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 5, SF 3
    Justin Upton (LF)
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 8, COL 1
    Scooter Gennett (PH)
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 5, STL 2
    Jose Urena (W, 7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    2.1
    `SD 1, CLE 0
    Trevor Cahill
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    4
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 5, LAA 4
    Byron Buxton (CF)
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TB 6, CHC 5
    Tim Beckham (2B)
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    KC 7, SEA 3
    Eric Hosmer (1B)
    3
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


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	20.1	44.5	144.2	203.8	-4.3
Nelson, Jimmy 3299	pi sp	mil nl	8.0	11.0	21.4	21.4	5.0
Reddick, Josh 2936	rf lf	hou al	5.5	9.0	28.9	29.9	2.0
Gennett, Scooter 3254	2b	cin nl	5.5	8.0	17.0	17.0	3.0
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi sp	sd nl	5.4	8.4	23.1	45.6	2.4
Upton, Justin 2411	lf	det al	5.0	11.7	37.9	56.1	-1.7
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	4.5	12.0	33.0	37.0	-3.0
Benintendi, Andrew 3815	lf	bos al	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2
Taillon, Jameson 3658	pi sp	pit nl	4.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	-1.0
Urena, Jose 3492	pi sp	fla nl	3.0	5.7	6.7	6.7	0.3
Alonso, Yonder 2945	1b	oak al	3.0	5.0	14.5	16.0	1.0
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	2.0	16.7	42.2	53.2	-12.7
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	2.0	10.5	30.5	33.0	-6.5
Buxton, Byron 3604	cf	min al	2.0	6.7	7.7	7.7	-2.7
Beckham, Tim 3452	2b	tb al	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Phillies' Aaron Nola tops players for Monday, July 3; Nationals' Strasburg rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 4, 2017

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 3:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4
7	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	10.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Nola struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hit and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.

American League Batter of the Day—Max Kepler of the Twins homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Yadier Molina of the Cardinals hit two doubles and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 14-6 win over the Marlins.

Molina earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 for the season, tied for his highest single-season Box-Toppers point total just barely halfway into the season. He previously had 4.5 Box-Toppers points in both 2010 and 2012 with the Cardinals. Molina has been earning Box-Toppers points since 2004. He currently ranks 12th among among NL batters this season and second among NL catchers, behind Buster Posey of the Giants (5.5).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises from ninth to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Strasburg (7IP 2H 0R 3BB 6K ND in the 3-2 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He becomes the eighth player this season to reach 10 or more Box-Toppers points and has now reached 10 points in five seasons, including four in a row currently. Strasburg ranks third among NL pitchers in season Box-Toppers points, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (18.1) and Max Scherzer of the Nationals (16.0).

Debut—Brewers pitcher Brent Suter made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Suter (6IP 4H R 0ER BB 8K W in the 8-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut Aug. 19, 2016, and was playing in his 23rd career game. He is the 3,843rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kepler and Molina 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/3
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    PHI 4, PIT 0
    Aaron Nola (W, 6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    8.0
    MIL 8, BAL 1
    Brent Suter (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    8.0
    `WSH 3, NYM 2
    Stephen Strasburg
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    AL
    7.0
    NYY 6, TOR 3
    Masahiro Tanaka (W, 7-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    5.2
    KC 3, SEA 1
    Ian Kennedy (W, 3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    5.1
    CHW 7, OAK 2
    Carlos Rodon (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    2
    2
    3
    10
  

    
    5.0
    BOS 7, TEX 5 (F/11)
    Heath Hembree (W, 1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIN 9, LAA 5
    Max Kepler (RF)
    4
    1
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    STL 14, MIA 6
    Yadier Molina (C)
    3
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    COL 5, CIN 3
    Greg Holland (S, 27)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    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	+/-
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4	25.5	84.6	93.3	-4.7
Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	8.0	8.0	38.0	41.0	8.0
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	6.4	20.5	41.2	41.2	-7.7
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7	12.4	14.4	14.4	-1.0
Molina, Yadier 1967	ca	stl nl	4.5	8.5	18.0	39.2	0.5
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	4.0	14.0	45.1	70.5	-6.0
Kepler, Max 3664	rf	min al	1.5	8.0	8.0	8.0	-5.0
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	1.0	9.0	17.1	17.1	-7.0
Hembree, Heath 3620	pi cp	bos al	1.0	2.7	2.7	2.7	-0.7
Suter, Brent 3843	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

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

Box-Toppers game scores of AL All-Star players

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

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

All-time leaders

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-Star Final Vote candidates

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

Box-Toppers tag cloud

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.