The Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings for the third week.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2020 season team rankings, through the games of Thursday, Sept. 3. 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. 28 to Sept. 3. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Aug. 27.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodgers | 36.3 | 6.2 | 1 |
| 2 | Padres | 31.5 | 7.5 | 6 |
| 3 | Cubs | 30.8 | 6.0 | 5 |
| 4 | White Sox | 30.0 | 6.5 | 7 |
| 5 | Indians | 29.6 | 6.2 | 8 |
| 6 | Braves | 29.1 | 7.7 | 9 |
| 7 | Rays | 28.9 | 1.5 | 2 |
| 8 | Athletics | 28.3 | 1.0 | 3 |
| 9 | Blue Jays | 27.7 | 9.0 | 11 |
| 10 | Twins | 27.1 | 2.0 | 4 |
| 11 | Yankees | 23.7 | 5.0 | 12 |
| 12 | Astros | 23.7 | 4.0 | 10 |
| 13 | Phillies | 23.6 | 8.7 | 20 |
| 14 | Reds | 21.4 | 4.0 | 13 |
| 15 | Giants | 20.1 | 3.5 | 14 |
| 16 | Mets | 19.7 | 4.0 | 16 |
| 17 | Tigers | 18.7 | 4.5 | 22 |
| 18 | Rockies | 18.5 | 2.0 | 15 |
| 19 | Brewers | 18.0 | 3.0 | 19 |
| 20 | Cardinals | 17.9 | 4.4 | 23 |
| 21 | Marlins | 17.5 | 2.0 | 17 |
| 22 | Angels | 17.4 | 3.9 | 24 |
| 23 | Diamondbacks | 15.5 | 0.0 | 18 |
| 24 | Mariners | 15.4 | 2.0 | 25 |
| 25 | Rangers | 14.2 | 1.0 | 26 |
| 26 | Nationals | 14.0 | 1.0 | 27 |
| 27 | Orioles | 14.0 | -0.7 | 21 |
| 28 | Red Sox | 13.0 | 1.5 | 29 |
| 29 | Royals | 13.0 | 0.0 | 27 |
| 30 | Pirates | 11.0 | 1.5 | 30 |
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox rise to lead American League teams and the Toronto Blue Jays are the week’s hottest team.
Dodgers players have accumulated 36.3 Box-Toppers points through the games of Sept. 3, picking up 6.2 points in the past week. They also have baseball’s best winning percentage (.744).
The Dodgers lead the second-place team, the San Diego Padres with 31.5 Box-Toppers points. The Padres rise from sixth to second place overall this week, picking up 7.5 points in the past week. Part of the Padres’ rise came from a net gain of 3.0 points by acquiring three players at the Aug. 31 trade deadline—closing pitcher Trevor Rosenthal from the Royals (2.0), pitcher Mike Clevinger from the Indians (1.0) and first baseman Mitch Moreland from the Red Sox (1.0). The Padres also sent pitcher Cal Quantrill (1.0 point) to the Indians .
The Dodgers are led by pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 6.7 Box-Toppers points, who ranks second among all players and first among NL pitchers. Mookie Betts leads Dodgers batters with 2.5 Box-Toppers points, 10th among NL batters. Nineteen different Dodgers players have earned Box-Toppers points so far this season.
The White Sox rise to lead AL teams with 30.0 Box-Toppers points, picking up 6.5 points in the past week, rising from seventh to fourth among all teams. They pass last week’s AL leader, the Tampa Bay Rays, who fall from second to seventh place overall with 28.9 points, picking up 1.5 points in the past week. The White Sox have the fourth-best winning percentage among AL teams (.622), trailing the Rays, the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians.
The White Sox are led by pitcher Lucas Giolito with 6.0 Box-Toppers points, sixth among all players and second among AL pitchers. Top batter is Eloy Jimenez with 4.5 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters. Thirteen different White Sox players have earned Box-Toppers points so far this season.
The Toronto Blue Jays are the week’s hottest team, picking up 9.0 Box-Toppers points in the past week, most of any team. The Blue Jays picked up 5.0 of the 9.0 points by acquiring two players prior to the Aug. 31 deadline—pitcher Taijuan Walker from the Mariners (4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020) and pitcher Ross Stripling from the Indians (1.0 point).
The Blue Jays rise from 11th to ninth in team rankings with 27.7 points.
The Philadelphia Phillies rise the furthest in team rankings, rising seven spots from 20th to 13th overall with 23.6 Box-Toppers points, earning 8.7 in the past week, most among NL teams.
The Minnesota Twins and the Baltimore Orioles fall the furthest in team rankings, both dropping six spots. The Twins fall from fourth to 10th place with 27.1 points, picking up 2.0 in the past week. The Orioles fall from 21st to 27th place with 14.0 points, losing a net 0.7 points in the past week. (The Orioles traded Tommy Milone, who had 2.7 Box-Toppers points in 2020, to the Braves.)
The Pittsburgh Pirates maintain 30th and last place in Box-Toppers team rankings for the third week with 11.0 Box-Toppers points, earning 1.5 points in the past week.
Trade deadline deals each season normally have a major effect on Box-Toppers team rankings. Not so in this pandemic-shortened season. There were only 15 players who earned Box-Toppers points in 2020 who were traded by this year’s trade deadline of Aug. 31. The Blue Jays had the largest net gain in points (+5.0) due to deadline trades, helping them to achieve the status as Box-Toppers’ hottest team of the week. The Padres had the next-biggest net gain in points (+3.0) due to deadline trades.
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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