5 of 11 top RBI leaders among Box-Toppers’ top 100 players in 2021

Five of the top 11 runs batted in leaders were among the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points in 2021. All five were also among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers rankings.

Runs batted in leaders’ Box-Toppers points

Here is how 2021 runs batted in (RBI) leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are ranked by RBIs. Also shown are their 2021 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.

Player Team RBI BTP Rank
1 Salvador Perez Royals 121 4.5 222
2 Jose Abreu White Sox 117 8.0 75
3 Teoscar Hernandez Blue Jays 116 4.5 214
4 Adam Duvall Braves 113 8.0 76
4 Rafael Devers Red Sox 113 7.5 84
6 Matt Olson Athletics 111 8.0 79
6 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Blue Jays 111 3.7 264
8 Austin Riley Braves 107 8.5 72
9 Ozzie Albies Braves 106 7.0 103
9 Manny Machado Padres 106 5.9 151
9 Austin Meadows Rays 106 1.0 651
BTP: Box-Toppers points

However, Salvador Perez of the Royals, who led all players with 121 RBIs, had just 4.5 Box-Toppers points in 2021, 222nd among all players and 44th among American League batters.

The five top 11 RBI leaders who were also among the top 100 in Box-Toppers points include:

  • Jose Abreu of the White Sox, second with 117 RBIs, earned 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 75th overall and sixth among AL batters.

  • Adam Duvall of the Braves, tied for fourth with 113 RBIs, earned 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 76th overall and seventh among National League batters.

  • Rafael Devers of the Red Sox, tied for fourth with 113 RBIs, earned 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 84th overall and eighth among AL batters.

  • Matt Olson of the Athletics, tied for sixth with 111 RBIs, earned 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 79th overall and seventh among AL batters.

  • Austin Riley of the Braves, eighth with 107 RBIs, earned 8.5 Box-Toppers points, most among the top 11 RBI leaders. Riley ranked 72nd in overall Box-Toppers rankings, sixth among NL batters.

RBI leader Perez ranked low in Box-Toppers points because he won Player of the Game honors only four times in 2021, May 14, July 2, Sept. 28 and Sept. 29. He earned 1.0 point for each Player of the Game honor and 0.5 bonus points on Sept. 29 for being AL Batter of the Day. He had three RBIs in his games on May 14 and Sept. 29 and one each on July 2 and Sept. 28.

Perez played in 161 games in 2021, including 74 Royals wins. He hit RBIs in 69 games, including 44 Royals wins. In those 44 wins, he hit four RBIs in three games, three RBIs in nine games, two RBIs in 11 games and one RBI in 21 games. Perez hit five RBIs in one game, Sept. 4 against the White Sox, but since the Royals lost that game, Perez wasn’t eligible to earn Player of the Game honors.

Another Royals player won Player of the Game honors in the other team wins. In fact, Perez was not Box-Toppers’ top-ranked Royals batter. Two other Royals batters had more Box-Toppers points than Perez—Whit Merrifield (5.0) and Andrew Benintendi (4.7).

Perez is one of six of the 11 RBI leaders to rank outside Box-Toppers overall top 100 players. The others are:

  • Teoscar Hernandez of the Blue Jays, third with 116 RBIs, earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points, 214th overall and 39th among AL batters.

  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays, tied for sixth with 111 RBIs, earned 3.7 Box-Toppers points, 264th overall and 59th among AL batters.

  • Ozzie Albies of the Braves, tied for ninth with 106 RBIs, earned 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 103rd overall and 15th among NL batters.

  • Manny Machado of the Padres, tied for ninth with 106 RBIs, earned 5.9 Box-Toppers points, 151st overall and 25th among NL batters.

  • Austin Meadows of the Rays, tied for ninth with 106 RBIs, earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, 651st overall and 162nd among AL batters. Meadows had the fewest Box-Toppers points of any of the top 11 RBI leaders. He earned Player of the Game honors only once in 2021, on April 9, a game in which he had no RBIs. Meadows hit RBIs in 44 Rays’ wins, but did not earn Player of the Game honors in any of those.

How Box-Toppers points leaders fared in RBIs

Jose Ramirez of the Indians led all batters in Box-Toppers points with 13.0, 21st overall. Ramirez had 103 RBIs in 2021, 14th among all players.

The 10 batters who led batters in Box-Toppers points all ranked among the top 30 in RBIs. Only one, Austin Riley, ranked in the top 10 in both RBIs and among all batters in Box-Toppers points. Here are the RBI totals and rankings for the other nine top batters in Box-Toppers points:

  • 2. Nick Castellanos, Reds, 11.5 Box-Toppers points, 100 RBIs, tied for 18th.

  • 3. J.D. Martinez, Red Sox, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 99 RBIs, tied for 21st.

  • 4. Brandon Lowe, Rays, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, 99 RBIs, tied for 21st.

  • 5. Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres, 10.2 Box-Toppers points, 97 RBIs, tied for 28th.

  • 6. Joey Votto, Reds, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 99 RBIs, tied for 21st.

  • 7. Aaron Judge, Yankees, 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 98 RBIs, tied for 25th.

  • 8. Nolan Arenado, Cardinals, 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 105 RBIs, 12th.

  • 9. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals, 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 99 RBIs, tied for 21st.

  • 10. Austin Riley, Braves, 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 107 RBIs, eighth.

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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