The Cleveland Indians, on a 22-game winning streak, have risen to top Box-Toppers weekly team rankings, while the once-dominant Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen from first to third place.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers' top 10 team rankings, through the games of Thursday, Sept. 14. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams accumulated from Sept. 8 to Sept. 14. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Sept. 7.| 9/14 | Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago |
| 1 | Indians | 126.7 | 8.7 | 3 |
| 2 | Nationals | 125.9 | 4.7 | 2 |
| 3 | Dodgers | 125.2 | 2.0 | 1 |
| 4 | Astros | 117.5 | 3.0 | 4 |
| 5 | Dbacks | 108.1 | 4.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Yankees | 108.0 | 6.0 | 7 |
| 7 | Red Sox | 106.3 | 4.0 | 6 |
| 8 | Cubs | 105.3 | 4.0 | 8 |
| 9 | Mariners | 96.3 | 5.5 | 10 |
| 10 | Royals | 96.0 | 3.5 | 9 |
| 11 | Rockies | 95.1 | 5.7 | 11 |
| 12 | Brewers | 94.8 | 5.7 | 12 |
| 13 | Orioles | 88.9 | 1.0 | 13 |
| 14 | Twins | 88.7 | 3.7 | 14 |
| 15 | Angels | 85.5 | 2.0 | 15 |
| 16 | Cardinals | 85.4 | 5.0 | 17 |
| 17 | Rangers | 82.6 | 1.0 | 16 |
| 18 | Rays | 80.5 | 2.0 | 18 |
| 19 | Pirates | 79.0 | 2.0 | 19 |
| 20 | Reds | 76.5 | 2.5 | 21 |
| 21 | Marlins | 75.5 | 1.0 | 20 |
| 22 | Blue Jays | 71.9 | 4.7 | 22 |
| 23 | Braves | 68.7 | 4.5 | 24 |
| 24 | Mets | 68.0 | 2.0 | 23 |
| 25 | Padres | 66.6 | 2.5 | 25 |
| 26 | Giants | 66.1 | 2.5 | 26 |
| 27 | Athletics | 60.7 | 6.0 | 27 |
| 28 | Phillies | 58.9 | 5.0 | 28 |
| 29 | Tigers | 44.4 | 1.0 | 29 |
| 30 | White Sox | 32.1 | 6.2 | 30 |
The Indians are also Box-Toppers hottest team for the second week in a row. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals have risen to lead National League teams, ending the Dodgers’ 11-week reign atop the NL.
However, the race among the top three teams is tight, with only 1.5 Box-Toppers points separating the first place Indians from the third-place Dodgers. It is a major turnaround from just three weeks ago: On Aug. 24, the Dodgers had a 21.8-point lead over the American League-leading Indians.
Indians players have accumulated 126.7 Box-Toppers points so far this season, including 8.7 in the past week, most of any team. They rise from third place to first in overall team rankings. The Indians have baseball’s second-best winning percentage (.619), behind the Dodgers (.644).
The Indians are led by pitchers Carlos Carrasco (19.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth among all players) and Corey Kluber (19.0 points, ranked seventh). Top batter is Edwin Encarnacion (12.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among AL batters). Twenty-two different Indians players have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season.
The Indians have added 29.0 Box-Toppers points during the 22-game winning streak that began on Aug. 24. During that same span, the Dodgers have won just five of 21 games, earning 5.0 Box-Toppers points.
The Nationals rise past the Dodgers to lead National League teams in Box-Toppers rankings, maintaining their overall second-place rank, with 125.9 Box-Toppers points, just 0.8 points behind the Indians. The Nationals earned 4.7 points in the past week. The Nationals were atop Box-Toppers overall team rankings, moving ahead of the Dodgers on Sunday, and held on to the top spot Monday and Tuesday before the Indians passed them on Wednesday.
The Nationals are led by pitcher Max Scherzer (23.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked third). Top batter is Anthony Rendon (8.0 Box-Toppers points, eighth among NL batters). Twenty-five different Nationals players have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season. The Nationals have the second-best winning percentage in the NL (.610), behind the Dodgers (.644).
The Dodgers slip from first to third place in team rankings with 125.2 points, earning 2.0 points over the past week and just 4.0 points over the past three weeks.
The Chicago White Sox remain the lowest-ranked team in 30th place with 32.1 Box-Toppers points, earning 6.2 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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