Detroit Tigers top final Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings, but race at top is tight

The Detroit Tigers are the top team in the final Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings report for the 2013 season.

However, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the second-ranked team (and top National League team) are only 0.7 Box-Toppers points behind the Tigers. In fact, the top four teams in the rankings are less than 2.0 Box-Toppers points apart. In other words, it is pretty tight, pretty close at the top.  

Tigers players have accumulated 123.4 Box-Toppers points to lead for the second straight week  and the Dodgers have 122.7 points. The third-place St. Louis Cardinals (122.4) are only 0.3 behind the Dodgers and the fourth-place Boston Red Sox (121.7) are only 0.7 behind the Cardinals.

All 30 teams are listed in this final report to provide a sense of how each team finished (sorry to fans in Houston and Chicago). 

The hottest team since the last Box-Toppers team rankings report (on Sept. 19) is the Cleveland Indians, picking up 12.1 Box-Toppers points and rising from ninth to sixth in rankings with 117.0 points. 

The hottest National League team since the last report is the Atlanta Braves, picking up 9.5 Box-Toppers points. However, they remain in 11th place with 111.0 points. 

The teams with the best actual winning percentages are the Red Sox and the Cardinals (both at .599, both win 97 wins). The Cardinals are in third in Box-Toppers points and the Red Sox are in fourth. Box-Toppers' top team, the Tigers, have the sixth-best record in baseball (.573). The Dodgers, in second in Box-Toppers rankings, are tied for the seventh-best record (.568).

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers, which are playing an extra regular season game Monday to determine the second AL wild card team, are both in the top 10 in team rankings. One team will earn 2.0 Box-Toppers Monday but that won't change their final ranking—they are both more than 2.0 points behind the team ahead of them in the rankings list. The Rays are in sixth with 117.1 points and the Rangers are in ninth with 113.0 points.

So can Box-Toppers team rankings determine who will win in the playoffs and World Series? Not necessarily. Last year, the top team in Box-Toppers rankings was the Dodgers—and they didn't even make the playoffs. (They got their points by acquiring players in mid-season, nearly all of whom failed to perform up to expectations with the Dodgers.) 

But based on simple rankings, it appears Box-Toppers would predict the Red Sox facing the Tigers in the AL Championship Series and Cardinals facing the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. And then, the Tigers would defeat the Dodgers in the World Series. 

But based on the teams that are hottest going into the playoffs, the teams with the most Box-Toppers points in the last 10 days would have the advantage. Using that logic, the Braves would beat the Cardinals in the NLCS and the Indians would beat the Athletics in the ALCS. In the World Series, the Indians, with 12.1 Box-Toppers points since Sept. 19, would defeat the Braves, with 9.5 points in that period.

In the preseason, Box-Toppers picked the Dodgers as World Series champions—which is still a possibility. However, Box-Toppers pre-season pick for AL champion, the Toronto Blue Jays, finished last in the AL East (and 22nd in Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings). Still, three of the four LCS pre-season picks are still alive—Tigers, Dodgers and Reds. But on the other hand, only four of the 10 teams Box-Toppers picked in preseason to qualify for the playoffs are still alive—the previous three plus the Braves.

The Houston Astros consistently brought up the rear in Box-Toppers team standings. They finished with 48.9 Box-Toppers points. Normally, teams should expect to earn at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for each win, but the Astros had more wins than Box-Toppers points—51 wins vs. 48.9 Box-Toppers points because they traded away players who helped earn their points (notably closing pitcher Jose Veras to the Tigers).

The Astros finished 13.3 Box-Toppers points behind the 29th ranked team, the Cubs. That's the largest point gap between teams on the power rankings list. And fittingly, the Astros scored 0.0 Box-Toppers points since Sept. 19, the fewest of any of the 30 teams.

Both Chicago teams finished 28th (White Sox) and 29th (Cubs) on the list. The White Sox had a worse winning percentage (.389 vs. .407) but they finished ahead of the Cubs in Box-Toppers points (63.9 vs. 62.2). If you combined the Box-Toppers points for both Chicago teams, they could just scrape together enough points to pass the first-place Tigers (126.1 vs. 123.4). 

Final rankings

Through Monday, Sept. 29. Final rankings, except for one final game Sept. 30

929	Teams	BTP	BTP/wk	Last week rank
1	Tigers	123.4	4.5	1
2	Dodgers	122.7	5.0	2
3	Cardinals	122.4	9.0	4
4	Red Sox	121.7	4.5	3
5	Rays	117.1	8.0	7
6	Indians	117.0	12.1	9
7	Pirates	115.6	7.0	6
8	Athletics	115.3	8.2	8
9	Rangers	113.0	9.0	10
10	Reds	111.2	3.0	7
11	Braves	111.0	9.5	11
12	Orioles	106.0	5.5	12
13	Nationals	105.9	5.5	13
14	Royals	102.2	7.2	15
15	Yankees	101.7	5.0	14
16	Angels	91.9	4.0	16
17	Giants	90.6	5.0	17
18	Diamondbacks	88.2	4.0	18
19	Brewers	87.7	8.2	21
20	Rockies	86.1	5.0	19
21	Padres	86.0	6.7	22
22	Blue Jays	83.6	4.0	20
23	Mets	82.1	6.5	23
24	Mariners	81.2	6.6	24
25	Marlins	73.6	7.0	26
26	Phillies	72.3	2.0	25
27	Twins	66.7	1.0	27
28	White Sox	63.9	3.0	28
29	Cubs	62.2	2.0	29
30	Astros	48.9	0.0	30

BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.

BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team from Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 29.

Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers make trades, pass St. Louis Cardinals in Box-Toppers team rankings

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly team standings as of Thursday, Aug. 1:

The Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers, with the help of deadline trades, have knocked the St. Louis Cardinals off the top of Box-Toppers team rankings for the first time since May 10. 

Boston is now atop the rankings, followed by Detroit, while St. Louis, last week's leader, falls to third place. 

Red Sox players have accumulated the most Box-Toppers points this season with 84.0, rising from fourth place last week. The Tigers are close behind with 83.9 points. The Cardinals remain the top team in the National League with 82.2 points. 

The Red Sox and the Tigers both tied for the hottest team of the week, each picking up 11.5 points. The Red Sox, by acquiring starting pitcher Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox, picked up the 6.0 Box-Toppers points he's earned so far this year. And the Tigers, by acquiring closer pitcher Jose Veras from the Houston Astros, also picked up the 6.0 points he's earned so far this year.

(Both teams who traded away the star players, the White Sox and the Astros, are at the bottom of the Box-Toppers team rankings. The White Sox are in 29th place with 40.6 points and the Astros are in 30th place with 31.7 points.) 

The Cardinals, who had a seemingly insurmountable lead of 7.5 points last week, only picked up 1.5 points over the week. Among the top 10 teams, only the Cincinnati Reds, which picked up 1.0 point over the week, did worse, falling from third place to 10th. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers, which languished most of the season and only last week debuted in the top 10, now has the second-highest Box-Toppers point total among NL teams. 

Top 10 teams

801	Top 10 Teams	BTP	BTP/wk	Last week rank
1	Red Sox	84.0	11.5	4
2	Tigers	83.9	11.5	5
3	Cardinals	82.2	1.5	1
4	Rays	81.2	8.0	2
5	Indians	77.8	8.2	7
6	Orioles	77.6	8.0	6
7	Dodgers	76.0	6.7	8
8	Athletics	74.2	5.5	9
9	Rangers	73.8	5.5	10
10	Reds	73.8	1.0	3

BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.

BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week, through games on Thursday. 

A look at top 100 players in Box-Toppers points in 2013

With the baseball season in the middle of the All-Star break, let's also pause and look at Box-Toppers top 100 players for the season so far.

Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin leads the list with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. And Indians pitcher Justin Masterson leads among American League players with 13.7. 

Other notable players on the list: 

• Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 2012 AL MVP and Triple Crown winner, in third place overall with 13.4 Box-Toppers points.
• Matt Harvey of the Mets, starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game, eighth place, 11.0 points. 
• Chris Davis of the Orioles, 37 home runs at the All-Star break, 15th place, 10.2 points. 
• Max Scherzer of the Tigers, starting pitcher for the AL in the All-Star Game, 18th place, 9.7 points. 
• Bryce Harper of the Nationals, 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, 37th place, 6.9 points. 
• R.A. Dickey of the Blue Jays, 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner, 38th place, 6.7 points.
• Buster Posey of the Giants, 2012 NL MVP, 56th place, 6.0 points.

Two teams each have seven players on the Top 100 list—the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds. The Detroit Tigers have five players on the list, the most of any AL team. 

All 30 teams are represented on the list. However, one team, the Houston Astros, has only one player on the list, closing pitcher Jose Veras (6.0 points, in 61st place). The Astros have the fewest wins in baseball and the lowest team Box-Toppers points total.

Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers over batters. And because of this, a vast majority of players (74) on the top 100 list are pitchers. Here is the breakdown of players on the list by their primary position:

• Starting pitchers: 65
• Closing pitchers: 8
• Third basemen: 6
• Outfielders: 6
• First basemen: 4
• Second basemen: 4
• Catchers: 4
• Designated hitters: 2
• Middle relief pitchers: 1
• Shortstops: 0

While pitchers dominate Box-Toppers points, their domination diminishes slightly over time. On the top 100 player list of all-time (since 1995), there are 53 pitchers, far fewer than the 74 on the top 100 list for this season. We will take a look at the top 100 Box-Toppers players of all-time (since 1995) in a future Box-Toppers post. 

Box-Toppers points reward players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars or for postseason awards. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top 100 players for 2013

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	14.4
2	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	13.7
3	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
4	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	13.1
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	12.7
6	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
7	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	11.7
8	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	11.4
9	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	11.0
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
11	Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	10.7
12	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	10.7
13	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	10.4
14	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	10.4
15	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	10.2
16	Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	10.1
17	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	10.0
18	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	9.7
19	Iwakuma, Hisashi 30488	pi sp	sea al	9.7
20	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	9.7
21	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	9.5
22	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	9.4
23	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	8.7
24	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	8.7
25	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.2
26	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	8.0
27	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	8.0
28	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	8.0
29	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	8.0
30	Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	tex al	7.7
31	Saunders, Joe 2214	pi sp	sea al	7.7
32	Minor, Mike 2894	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
33	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
34	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	7.0
35	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	7.0
36	Stults, Eric 2352	pi sp	sd nl	7.0
37	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	6.9
38	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	6.7
39	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	6.7
40	Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	oak al	6.7
41	Cobb, Alex 2916	pi sp	tb al	6.7
42	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7
43	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	6.5
44	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	6.5
45	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	6.5
46	Slowey, Kevin 2377	pi sp	fla nl	6.4
47	Alvarez, Pedro 2817	3b	pit nl	6.2
48	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	6.1
49	Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	cin nl	6.0
50	Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
51	Bailey, Homer 2324	pi sp	cin nl	6.0
52	Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	tb al	6.0
53	Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	chi al	6.0
54	Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	nym nl	6.0
55	Arroyo, Bronson 1375	pi sp	cin nl	6.0
56	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	6.0
57	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	6.0
58	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	kc al	6.0
59	Perkins, Glen 2506	pi cp	min al	6.0
60	Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	bal al	6.0
61	Veras, Jose 2464	pi cp	hou al	6.0
62	Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
63	Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	6.0
64	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	5.7
65	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	5.7
66	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	5.7
67	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	5.7
68	Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	atl nl	5.7
69	Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	cin nl	5.7
70	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	5.7
71	Feldman, Scott 2632	pi cp	bal al	5.7
72	Smyly, Drew 3009	pi cp mr	det al	5.7
73	Grilli, Jason 2209	pi cp	pit nl	5.7
74	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	5.5
75	Arencibia, J.P. 2781	ca	tor al	5.5
76	Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	cle al	5.4
77	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	5.0
78	Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp	atl nl	5.0
79	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	5.0
80	Mauer, Joe 1869	ca	min al	5.0
81	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	ana al	5.0
82	Jackson, Edwin 1812	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
83	Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
84	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	kc al	5.0
85	Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	oak al	5.0
86	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	chi nl	5.0
87	Venable, Will 2621	rf	sd nl	5.0
88	Frazier, Todd 2929	3b	cin nl	5.0
89	Collmenter, Josh 2863	pi mr sp	ari nl	5.0
90	Peralta, Wily 3123	pi sp	mil nl	5.0
91	Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	oak al	5.0
92	Locke, Jeff 3133	pi sp	pit nl	5.0
93	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	5.0
94	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	4.7
95	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	4.7
96	Maholm, Paul 2078	pi sp	atl nl	4.7
97	Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	chi nl	4.7
98	Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	lad nl	4.7
99	De La Rosa, Jorge 1970	pi sp	col nl	4.7
100	Pollock, A.J. 3142	cf	ari nl	4.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013