(Apologies: Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
The Pittsburgh Pirates rose to top Box-Toppers team rankings the week of Friday, Aug. 13, passing previous leader, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Top 10 teams
Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Friday, Aug. 13. 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 have accumulated since the previous report through the games of Thursday, Aug. 6. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Aug. 6.8/13 |
Teams |
BTP |
BTP /wk |
Wk ago |
| 1 | Pirates | 93.0 | 7.0 | 4 |
| 2 | Dodgers | 92.8 | 2.7 | 1 |
| 3 | Cardinals | 91.0 | 4.0 | 3 |
| 4 | Blue Jays | 90.0 | 8.0 | 6 |
| 5 | Astros | 89.8 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 6 | Mets | 88.2 | 5.0 | 5 |
| 7 | Royals | 86.0 | 6.0 | 7 |
| 8 | Cubs | 82.0 | 6.7 | 9 |
| 9 | Giants | 80.8 | 3.0 | 8 |
| 10 | Nationals | 74.7 | 3.7 | 11 |
Also, the Toronto Blue Jays rose past the Houston Astros to become the top American League team, rising to fourth place overall.
Pirates players had accumulated 93.0 Box-Toppers points this season, rising from fourth place overall. They are led by pitcher Gerritt Cole (13.0 Box-Toppers points). Top batter is Andrew McCutchen (8.5 points). Twenty-five different Pirates players have earned Player of the Game honors this season.
The Dodgers, last week’s top overall team, fell to second place with 92.8 Box-Toppers points, only 0.2 points behind the Pirates.
The Toronto Blue Jays rose to become the top AL team with 90.0 Box-Toppers points, rising from sixth to fourth place among all teams. The Blue Jays are led by pitcher David Price (16.1 Box-Toppers points). Top batter is Edwin Encarnacion (6.7 points). Twenty-five different Blue Jays players have earned Player of the Game honors this season.
The Astros, last week’s top AL team, fell from second to fifth place among all teams, with 89.8 Box-Toppers points, only 0.2 points behind the Blue Jays.
The Philadelphia Phillies remain in 30th and last place among all teams for the ninth straight week. The Phillies have 38.8 Box-Toppers points. Sixteen different Phillies players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors this season.
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.