Box-Toppers predicts the Los Angeles Dodgers will defeat the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 World Series.
The predictions are based on the accumulated Box-Toppers points totals of each player on the team’s 2014 roster. So for example, the Dodgers had two of the three highest-ranked players in Box-Toppers points in 2013—pitcher Clayton Kershaw led all players with 21.7 and pitcher Zack Greinke was in third place with 19.4. Both are returning. In addition, the Dodgers signed pitcher Danny Haren and so the 10.4 Box-Toppers points he earned in 2013 with the Nationals are added to the Dodgers’ accumulated point total.
The Tigers, which Box-Toppers predicts will win the American League title, had three players among the top 10 in Box-Toppers points in 2013—pitcher Max Scherzer (18.1, first among AL players), pitcher Anibal Sanchez (17.1) and third baseman Miguel Cabrera (16.9, first among AL batters).
Both the Dodgers and the Tigers reached their league championship series in 2013, but lost. In 2014, Box-Toppers predicts a script-flip of sorts. The two teams that lost their LCS match-ups last year will win and the teams that won those series will lose. Box-Toppers picks last year’s overall champion, the Red Sox, to lose to the Tigers in the AL Championship Series and the Cardinals to lose to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
Last year, Box-Toppers also picked the Dodgers to win the World Series. It was a pick that looked terrible for nearly half the season as the Dodgers struggled out of the gate and nearly fired manager Don Mattingly. But late in the season, the Dodgers grabbed the overall top spot in Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings before finishing the season at No. 2, just behind the Tigers.
Box-Toppers pick for 2013 AL champion did not fare as well—the Toronto Blue Jays finished last in the AL East, eight games under .500. This year, Box-Toppers predicts they will again finish last in the division.
In addition, Box-Toppers last year picked the eventual champion Red Sox to finish fourth in the AL East, largely based on their late-season swoon in 2012. Last year’s NL champ Cardinals were picked to finish in second in the NL Central, failing to secure a playoff spot.
Here are an overview of the picks:
Here are the prospective divisional winners in the AL:
• East: Red Sox
• Central: Tigers
• West: Rangers
• Wild cards: Rays, Orioles
And in the NL:
• East: Nationals
• Central: Cardinals
• West: Dodgers
• Wild cards: Reds, Braves
Box-Toppers' 2014 Preseason Predictions
Box-Toppers picks the Dodgers to beat the Tigers in the 2014 World Series. Here is the predicted order of finish of all 30 teams in their divisions.| 2014 PICKS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | |||
| EAST | CENTRAL | WEST | |
| 1 | Red Sox* | Tigers* | Rangers* |
| 2 | Rays** | Indians | Athletics |
| 3 | Orioles** | Royals | Angels |
| 4 | Yankees | Twins | Mariners |
| 5 | Blue Jays | White Sox | Astros |
| NL | |||
| EAST | CENTRAL | WEST | |
| 1 | Nationals* | Cardinals* | Dodgers* |
| 2 | Braves** | Reds** | Giants |
| 3 | Mets | Pirates | D-Backs |
| 4 | Phillies | Brewers | Padres |
| 5 | Marlins | Cubs | Rockies |
* Division winner, **Wild card
ALCS: Tigers over Red Sox
NLCS: Dodgers over Cardinals
World Series: Dodgers over Tigers