The Los Angeles Dodgers finish the 2021 season with a substantial lead in Box-Toppers team rankings.
They lead the team rankings weekly report for the 10th straight time. Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox maintain the lead among American League teams and the San Francisco Giants are the hottest team of the week.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2021 final team rankings through games of Sunday, Oct. 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 Sept. 24 to Oct. 3. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank on Sept. 23.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodgers | 146.7 | +10.2 | 1 |
| 2 | White Sox | 124.9 | +9.2 | 3 |
| 3 | Giants | 124.6 | +10.5 | 4 |
| 4 | Brewers | 122.8 | +4.5 | 2 |
| 5 | Braves | 122.4 | +9.7 | 6 |
| 6 | Yankees | 119.8 | +7.0 | 5 |
| 7 | Rays | 116.4 | +7.9 | 9 |
| 8 | Blue Jays | 116.0 | +7.7 | 10 |
| 9 | Red Sox | 115.9 | +4.7 | 7 |
| 10 | Astros | 114.0 | +4.0 | 8 |
| 11 | Padres | 108.1 | +2.0 | 11 |
| 12 | Phillies | 106.6 | +3.0 | 12 |
| 13 | Cardinals | 105.4 | +8.5 | 16 |
| 14 | Mariners | 104.7 | +7.0 | 15 |
| 15 | Athletics | 103.4 | +4.0 | 13 |
| 16 | Mets | 103.0 | +4.0 | 14 |
| 17 | Reds | 98.7 | +5.7 | 17 |
| 18 | Indians | 96.7 | +5.7 | 18 |
| 19 | Rockies | 88.5 | +2.0 | 19 |
| 20 | Angels | 87.1 | +4.5 | 20 |
| 21 | Tigers | 81.3 | +3.7 | 21 |
| 22 | Twins | 77.2 | +5.0 | 23 |
| 23 | Royals | 75.0 | +5.5 | 24 |
| 24 | Marlins | 74.4 | +3.0 | 23 |
| 25 | Rangers | 57.7 | +5.5 | 27 |
| 26 | Pirates | 57.1 | +5.5 | 28 |
| 27 | Orioles | 56.2 | +3.0 | 26 |
| 28 | Nationals | 54.6 | +1.0 | 25 |
| 29 | Diamondbacks | 53.0 | +3.0 | 29 |
| 30 | Cubs | 52.5 | +6.0 | 30 |
Dodgers players accumulated 146.7 Box-Toppers points in the 2021 regular season that ended Sunday, picking up 10.2 points since the previous team rankings report Sept. 23. The Dodgers widen their lead over the second-place Chicago White Sox (124.9) to 21.8 points, their largest margin of the season.
The Dodgers have baseball’s second-best winning percentage (.654) behind the San Francisco Giants (.660), who rise from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers team rankings (124.6 points). The Dodgers finish one game behind the Giants in the National League West.
The Dodgers are led by pitcher Max Scherzer with 25.1 Box-Toppers points, who leads all players in Box-Toppers season player rankings. The Dodgers top batter is Max Muncy with 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 23rd among NL batters. During the season, 29 different players on the Dodgers roster earned Player of the Game honors.
White Sox lead AL teams
The Chicago White Sox lead among AL teams with 124.9 Box-Toppers points, picking up 9.2 points since the previous report Sept. 23, most among AL teams in that span. The White Sox rise from third to second place in Box-Toppers team rankings. This is the fifth straight week the White Sox have led AL teams. They have led AL teams for 20 of the past 22 weeks. The White Sox lead AL teams ahead of the second-place New York Yankees (119.8). The Yankees fell from fifth to sixth place overall, picking up 7.0 points since the last report Sept. 23.
The White Sox have the third-best winning percentage among AL teams (.574), behind the Tampa Bay Rays (.617) and the Houston Astros (.586). The Rays are seventh in Box-Toppers team rankings (116.4 Box-Toppers points) and the Astros are 10th (114.0).
The White Sox are led by pitcher Dylan Cease (14.4 Box-Toppers points), fifth among AL pitchers. Top batter among the White Sox is Jose Abreu with 8.0 Box-Toppers points, sixth among AL batters. During this season, 27 different players on the White Sox roster earned Player of the Game honors.
Hottest team: Giants
The San Francisco Giants are the hottest team since Sept. 23, gaining 10.5 Box-Toppers points, most of any team, rising from fourth to third place in team rankings with 124.6 points. Despite having the best record in baseball for most of the season, the Giants were never among the leaders in Box-Toppers team rankings, often ranking around 10th place. Their final third-place ranking is their highest of the season.
The Giants won eight of their nine games since Sept. 23. Players picked up 1.0 Box-Toppers point for each win and three players earned bonus points: Kevin Gausman earned 1.0 bonus point for being overall Player of the Day on Sept. 26, Alex Wood earned 1.0 bonus point for being overall Player of the Day on Sept. 29 and Logan Webb earned 0.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day Oct. 3.
The Giants finish a game ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West but did not gain much ground on them in Box-Toppers team rankings. Although the Giants were the hottest team since Sept. 23, picking up 10.5 points, the Dodgers were the second-hottest team in that period, picking up 10.2 points.
The St. Louis Cardinals had the biggest jump in team rankings Since Sept. 23, climbing three spots from 16th to 13th place with 105.4 Box-Toppers points, picking up 8.5 in the past week.
The Washington Nationals had the biggest decline in team rankings since Sept. 23, falling three spots from 25th to 28th place with 54.6 points, picking up 1.0 point. The Nationals won just one of their final eight games.
The Chicago Cubs maintained 30th and last place this week with 52.5 Box-Toppers points, picking up 6.0 points in the past week.
Though the Cubs finish last in Box-Toppers team rankings, there are six teams that have worse winning percentages than the Cubs (.438), including their NL Central counterparts, the Pittsburgh Pirates (.377), who rank 26th with 57.1 Box-Toppers points and the teams with the worst winning percentages, the Baltimore Orioles and the Arizona Diamondbacks, both at .321. The Orioles rank 27th (56.2 Box-Toppers points) and the Diamondbacks rank 29th (53.0).
Playoff picture
Though the Dodgers are far and away Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team, they are relegated to playing a one-game Wild Card Game to qualify for the NL Divisional Series. They will play the St. Louis Cardinals, who are Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranked playoff qualifier, in 13th place with 105.4 Box-Toppers points, behind three teams that did not qualify for the playoffs—the Toronto Blue Jays (eighth overall with 116.0 points), the San Diego Padres (11th overall with 108.1 points) and the Philadelphia Phillies (12th overall with 106.6 points). The Dodgers-Cardinals winner will face the top-seeded NL team, the Giants (third with 124.6 points) in the NL Divisional Series.
In the AL Wild Card Game, the Yankees (sixth with 119.8 points) face the Red Sox (ninth with 115.9). The winner will take on the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays (seventh with 116.4) in the AL Divisional Series.
In the other AL Divisional Series, the second-seeded Houston Astros (10th with 114.0 points) face the third seed Chicago White Sox (second with 124.9 points).
In the other NL Divisional Series, the second-seeded Milwaukee Brewers (fourth with 122.8 points) face the third seed Atlanta Braves (fifth with 122.4 points).
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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