When creating a historical hierarchy for a Major League franchise, the exact moment an organization changes its course often hinges on a single bold decision. For the San Diego Padres, that pivotal moment came before the 2019 season. Traditionally hesitant to compete aggressively for top-tier talent, the front office broke that pattern by signing Manny Machado to a record 10-year, $300 million free-agent deal. Machado, who had already proven himself as a perennial All-Star with the Baltimore Orioles and a postseason performer with the Los Angeles Dodgers, combined Gold Glove defense with middle-of-the-order power, immediately boosting San Diego's hopes for a championship.

Machado's 2019 debut season in Southern California established a strong foundation, with 32 home runs despite adapting to a new environment and finishing with an OPS just below .800. His true status as a superstar was confirmed during the pandemic-affected 2020 season, when he delivered an exceptional offensive performance. Machado transformed his standard performance into a stellar regular-season showing, batting .304 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs over 60 games, earning his first National League Silver Slugger and finishing third in MVP voting.

Despite the 2021 Padres’ well-publicized collapse at the end of the season, Machado stayed consistent as a reliable, low-variance presence. He earned a spot in the All-Star game thanks to an impressive season with 28 home runs and 106 RBIs. His personal best and increased national attention peaked during an outstanding 2022 season. With key players absent, Machado led the team back to the playoffs by hitting .298, with 32 homers, 102 runs scored, and 109 RBIs.

His advanced efficiency filters fully disrupted Senior Circuit pitching, securing him a superb second-place finish in the National League MVP voting. After a minor, injury-affected decline in 2023 when his OPS fell to .782, he bounced back strongly in 2024, hitting 29 home runs and driving in 105 RBIs to earn his second Silver Slugger award as a Padre.

Machado begins the spring after a highly disciplined and durable 2025 season that firmly established his spot on the franchise's Mount Rushmore. Demonstrating exceptional longevity, he played 159 games last summer, recording 169 hits, 33 doubles, and 27 home runs. He drove in 95 runs and showed consistent offensive performance throughout the season, earning his seventh All-Star nod as the National League's starting third baseman and winning his third Silver Slugger award.

Mark Davis began his major league career as a starting pitcher, moving through Philadelphia and San Francisco without attracting much attention nationally. That unremarkable start changed during the 1987 midseason when the San Diego Padres acquired the left-hander in a blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Mitchell to the Giants. Although he finished that summer with respectable performances out of the San Diego bullpen, no one in Southern California could have foreseen the historic, award-winning peak that was about to unfold on the Jack Murphy Stadium field.

His major transformation happened before the 1988 campaign when manager Larry Bowa permanently appointed him as the closer. Davis developed a disciplined routine for closing out National League opponents, relying heavily on his exceptionally sharp, high-velocity breaking ball. That season, he recorded 28 saves with a remarkable 2.01 ERA, earned his first career All-Star selection, and ended the year without giving up a single extra-base hit in his last 22 appearances.

The peak of his hardware-certified legacy emerged during a remarkable summer in 1989, within a regular season distinguished by its breathtaking excellence. Simply put, Davis recorded one of the most dominant single-season performances by any relief pitcher in the history of the sport. During that summer, he treated the ninth inning as his personal isolation chamber, appearing in 70 games and destroying National League lineups. Davis led the senior circuit with 65 games finished and achieved a staggering, franchise-record 44 saves in 48 opportunities, maintaining an impressive 1.85 ERA and an elite 1.05 WHIP over 92.2 high-leverage innings. Advanced efficiency metrics further substantiated the exceptional quality of his dominance, as he led the league with a superb 5.8 Win Probability Added (WPA) and notably did not allow a single one of his 19 inherited runners to score during the final month of the pennant race.

Those numbers easily secured him a consecutive All-Star nod, a sixth-place finish in the National League MVP voting, and the ultimate crown: the 1989 National League Cy Young Award. He became just the fourth closer in baseball history to capture the honor, creating a peak so rare that no NL reliever would win the award again for another 14 years.

Following his Cy Young coronation, Davis' contract expired, and with his market value at an all-time high, the front office lacked the financial flexibility to retain him. He orchestrated a definitive business exit by signing a lucrative free-agent deal with the Kansas City Royals, but the transition proved catastrophic. His command completely deserted him on the Midwest turf, where his ERA ballooned past five, and he lost his closer job within months.

While he eventually returned to the Padres during the 1993 schedule in a highly nostalgic attempt to recapture old magic, the reunion yielded no results; he was highly ineffective over a brief span of frames before management initiated his final release early in 1994.

With the Padres, Davis had a 14-20 record, 78 saves with a 2.75 ERA over 230 games.

It is the end of an era in Pittsburgh.

Following the Steelers’ playoff defeat to Kansas City, the time to debate in earnest the Hall of Fame candidacy of Ben Roethlisberger has begun.

The Quarterback has the statistical make-up for a Canton bust, even in this inflated era.  

Roethlisberger is also a two-time leader in Passing Yards, and went to six Pro Bowls.  He leaves with 64,088 Passing Yards (fifth all-time), 418 Touchdown Passes (eighth all-time) with an Approximate Value of 208 (14^th all-time).  The biggest metric that a Quarterback is based on, Super Bowl wins, is also on Roethlisberger’s resume with two.

The negative that will dog Roethlisberger is his past sexual assault allegations, which had they happened in the #MeToo era would be discussed far more than it is.

If we were to enter a guess at this time, Roethlisberger will get in quickly, but the first year might elude him as only five can enter from what will perpetually be a loaded group of Finalists from which to pick, especially if Eli Manning and Philip Rivers are still on the ballot.  If our own data is to be believed (and we would like to think it does), we had Roethlisberger as the #9 most deserving active player going into the 2021 Season, and number three at Quarterback. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish the best in the post-playing career of Ben Roethlisberger.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2022 revision of our top 50 Cincinnati Reds.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

The Reds did not make the 2021 Playoffs, nor did anyone crack the top 50, however there was one slight change, that impacted the top five, as Joey Votto moved into the #5 spot.

As always, we present our top five.

1. Pete Rose

2. Johnny Bench

3. Frank Robinson

4. Joe Morgan

5. Joey Votto

You can find the entire list here.

Votto took over #5 from Hall of Famer, Barry Larkin.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.