The Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the sixth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox regain the lead among American League teams and the Toronto Blue Jays are the week’s hottest team.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2021 team rankings through games of Thursday, Sept. 2. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team accumulated this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams accumulated from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank on Aug. 26.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodgers | 119.5 | +4.7 | 1 |
| 2 | Brewers | 106.8 | +6.0 | 2 |
| 3 | White Sox | 105.8 | +5.2 | 4 |
| 4 | Yankees | 103.6 | +3.0 | 3 |
| 5 | Braves | 98.8 | +1.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Red Sox | 98.7 | +4.5 | 7 |
| 7 | Giants | 97.4 | +3.0 | 6 |
| 8 | Phillies | 96.4 | +7.5 | 11 |
| 9 | Rays | 96.1 | +6.0 | 10 |
| 10 | Astros | 95.5 | +3.0 | 8 |
| 11 | Padres | 95.4 | +5.0 | 9 |
| 12 | Mets | 91.0 | +4.5 | 12 |
| 13 | Blue Jays | 90.3 | +7.9 | 13 |
| 14 | Athletics | 87.7 | +5.7 | 14 |
| 15 | Mariners | 84.5 | +3.0 | 15 |
| 16 | Reds | 84.3 | +3.5 | 16 |
| 17 | Indians | 82.5 | +5.4 | 17 |
| 18 | Cardinals | 79.4 | +4.5 | 18 |
| 19 | Rockies | 76.5 | +3.0 | 19 |
| 20 | Angels | 75.2 | +2.5 | 20 |
| 21 | Tigers | 65.6 | -1.7 | 21 |
| 22 | Marlins | 60.5 | +4.0 | 24 |
| 23 | Twins | 60.5 | +3.0 | 22 |
| 24 | Royals | 58.8 | +2.0 | 23 |
| 25 | Diamondbacks | 46.0 | +0.0 | 25 |
| 26 | Nationals | 43.9 | -0.5 | 26 |
| 27 | Pirates | 42.6 | +1.0 | 27 |
| 28 | Orioles | 42.2 | +1.0 | 28 |
| 29 | Rangers | 42.0 | +4.0 | 29 |
| 30 | Cubs | 40.0 | +4.0 | 30 |
Dodgers players have accumulated 119.5 Box-Toppers points in 2021, picking up 4.7 points in the past week. They lead the second-place overall team, the Milwaukee Brewers (106.8).
The Dodgers have a winning percentage of .634, tied for the best winning percentage among all teams with the San Francisco Giants, which are seventh in Box-Toppers team rankings with 97.4 points. The Dodgers and Giants are tied for the lead in the National League West.
The Dodgers are led by pitcher Max Scherzer with 19.1 Box-Toppers points, second overall and first among National League pitchers. The Dodgers top batter is Max Muncy with 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 11th among NL batters. So far this season, 28 different players on the Dodgers roster have earned Player of the Game honors.
The Chicago White Sox regain the lead among AL teams with 105.8 Box-Toppers points, passing last week’s leader, the New York Yankees (103.6). The White Sox picked up 5.2 points in the past week, rising from fourth to third overall. The Yankees picked up 3.0 points in the past week, falling from third to fourth overall.
Before the Yankees took the lead last week, the White Sox had led AL teams for 11 straight weeks and 15 of the previous 16 weeks. The White Sox have now led 16 of the past 18 weeks
The White Sox have the third-best winning percentage among AL teams (.582), behind the Tampa Bay Rays (.627) and the Houston Astros (.586). The Rays are ninth in Box-Toppers team rankings (96.1 Box-Toppers points) and the Astros are 10th (95.5).
The White Sox are led by pitchers Lance Lynn and Dylan Cease, both with 10.7 Box-Toppers points. Lynn ranks seventh among AL pitchers and Cease ranks eighth. Top batter among the White Sox is Jose Abreu with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, sixth among AL batters. So far this season, 26 different players on the White Sox roster have earned Player of the Game honors.
The Toronto Blue Jays are the week’s hottest team, gaining 7.9 Box-Toppers points in the past week, most of any team, maintaining their 13th-place spot in team rankings. The Blue Jays picked up 5.4 points winning four of their six games in the past week. They picked up the remaining points by signing outfielder Gregory Polanco this week, who had earned 2.5 points this season with the Pirates before being released.
The Philadelphia Phillies had the biggest climb in Box-Toppers team rankings, rising three spots from 11th to eighth place with 98.4 Box-Toppers points, picking up 7.5 points in the past week, most among NL teams.
Two teams each fell two spots in team rankings, tied for the biggest decline among all teams in the past week:
The Houston Astros fell from eighth to 10th place with 95.5 points, picking up 3.0 in the past week.
The San Diego Padres fell from ninth to 10th place with 95.4 points, picking up 5.0 in the past week.
Two teams had net losses in Box-Toppers points this week:
The Detroit Tigers lost 1.7 points, giving them 65.6 points, maintaining their 21st-place ranking. The Tigers picked up 2.0 points in two wins this week, but released pitcher Erasmo Ramirez, who had earned 2.7 points this season and first baseman Renato Nunez, who had earned 1.0 point this season.
The Washington Nationals lost 0.5 points, giving them 43.9 points, maintaining their 26th-place ranking. The Nationals earned 1.0 point in one win this week but released infielder Starlin Castro, who had earned 1.5 points this season.
The Chicago Cubs maintained 30th and last place this week with 40.0 Box-Toppers points, picking up 4.0 points in the past week.
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.
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