The Boston Red Sox have risen to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings, knocking off the Chicago Cubs, the top team for the past three months.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers' team rankings, through the games of Thursday, July 21. 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 July 11 to 21. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of July 10.| 7/21 | Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago |
| 1 | Red Sox | 81.9 | 17.1 | 6 |
| 2 | Cubs | 75.8 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 3 | Dodgers | 72.8 | 4.7 | 3 |
| 4 | Indians | 72.3 | 4.7 | 4 |
| 5 | Nationals | 71.7 | 3.0 | 2 |
| 6 | Giants | 65.6 | 0.0 | 5 |
| 7 | Marlins | 65.1 | 6.0 | 10 |
| 8 | Blue Jays | 64.3 | 3.0 | 8 |
| 9 | Rangers | 63.9 | 1.7 | 7 |
| 10 | Mets | 62.4 | 4.0 | 11 |
| 11 | Orioles | 62.3 | 3.0 | 9 |
| 12 | Tigers | 61.6 | 4.7 | 12 |
| 13 | Pirates | 60.2 | 4.0 | 13 |
| 14 | Cardinals | 58.9 | 6.2 | 15 |
| 15 | Astros | 58.8 | 3.0 | 14 |
| 16 | Phillies | 55.6 | 3.0 | 16 |
| 17 | Royals | 53.8 | 2.5 | 17 |
| 18 | Angels | 53.1 | 9.0 | 22 |
| 19 | Yankees | 52.6 | 4.0 | 20 |
| 20 | Rockies | 51.4 | 4.0 | 21 |
| 21 | White Sox | 50.3 | 1.0 | 19 |
| 22 | Mariners | 50.1 | 0.0 | 18 |
| 23 | Rays | 49.2 | 5.5 | 23 |
| 24 | Athletics | 45.6 | 4.5 | 26 |
| 25 | Dbacks | 44.6 | 2.0 | 24 |
| 26 | Twins | 41.7 | 3.0 | 27 |
| 27 | Brewers | 39.5 | 2.0 | 28 |
| 28 | Reds | 39.0 | 4.5 | 29 |
| 29 | Padres | 36.6 | -5.7 | 25 |
| 30 | Braves | 33.0 | 2.0 | 30 |
The Red Sox rise to the top largely on the strength of their July 15 trade with the San Diego Padres to acquire pitcher Drew Pomeranz (10.4 Box-Toppers points), who becomes the Red Sox player with the highest season Box-Toppers point total.
Red Sox players have accumulated 81.9 Box-Toppers points this season and 17.1 since the last team rankings report on July 10 at the All-Star break. No team has picked up more Box-Toppers points over that period (second-most is the Los Angeles Angels gaining 9.0) and it is the second time in a row the Red Sox have been the hottest team in Box-Toppers team rankings—at the July 10 report, they had picked up 16.2 points from July 1 to 10.
Since July 1, the Red Sox have risen from 13th place among all teams to the top spot, largely on the strength of trades. Of the 17.1 points the Red Sox picked up since July 10, 10.4 come from the points Pomeranz earned this season with the Padres and 6.7 come in the Red Sox five wins over that period. The Red Sox made the biggest jump of all teams since the last team rankings report, rising five spots from sixth to first.
Four teams have better winning percentages than the top-ranked Red Sox (.581):
- Chicago Cubs .606
- San Francisco Giants .600
- Cleveland Indians .596
- Washington Nationals .594
Box-Toppers point totals of Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox lead Box-Toppers team rankings. Twenty-six different Red Sox players have earned Box-Toppers points so far this season. They are listed below in order of their season Box-Toppers point total.| Player | Pos | BTP |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | 10.4 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | 8.4 |
| Wright, Steven 3224 | pi sp | 6.7 |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b | 5.5 |
| Ortiz, David | dh | 5.0 |
| Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | 5.0 |
| Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | 4.7 |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 1b 3b | 4.5 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | 4.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | 3.0 |
| Ramirez, Hanley 2119 | 1b ss | 3.0 |
| Leon, Sandy 3676 | ca | 3.0 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | 2.5 |
| Ziegler, Brad 2504 | pi cp | 2.0 |
| Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999 | pi cp mr | 2.0 |
| Hembree, Heath 3620 | pi cp | 1.7 |
| Holt, Brock 3340 | 3b | 1.5 |
| Buchholz, Clay 2363 | pi sp | 1.0 |
| Swihart, Blake 3565 | lf ca | 1.0 |
| Kelly, Joe 3066 | pi sp | 1.0 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | 1.0 |
| Hanigan, Ryan 2708 | ca | 1.0 |
| Tazawa, Junichi 3151 | pi mr | 1.0 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | 1.0 |
| Vazquez, Christian 3380 | ca | 1.0 |
| Brentz, Bryce 3680 | lf | 1.0 |
| Total | 81.9 |
Pomeranz is now the Red Sox player with the most season Box-Toppers points, moving past the team’s previous leader, pitcher David Price (8.4). Red Sox’ leading batter is second baseman Aaron Hill (5.5), who was acquired from the Brewers just prior to the All-Star break. Twenty-six different Red Sox players have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season (see all 26 in the chart elsewhere on this page).
The Cubs had been in first place in Box-Toppers team rankings since the April 21 report. And while they fall to second place, they maintain their lead among National League teams with 75.8 points, picking up 6.0 since the July 10 report.
The Cubs are led by pitchers Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester (both with 10.7 Box-Toppers points). Top batter is outfielder and third baseman Kris Bryant (7.0 points). Twenty different Cubs players have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season.
The Cleveland Indians were the top AL team in the July 10 report, but were passed by the Red Sox. Indians players have 72.3 points this season, earning 4.7 since July 10 and maintain their fourth-place ranking among all teams.
The San Diego Padres lost a net of 5.7 Box-Toppers points since July 10, largely due to trading Pomeranz to the Red Sox. The Padres now have 36.6 points and fall from 25th to 29th among all teams.
The Atlanta Braves remain 30th and last place among all teams, with 33.0 Box-Toppers points, picking up 2.0 points since the last report July 10.
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.