It is a sad day in the world of the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins as it was announced that former Linebacker, Nick Buoniconti, passed away today at the age of 78.

The undersized Linebacker was drafted in the 13^thRound out of Notre Dame by the Boston Patriots in 1962, where he would be a five-time AFL All-Star for the Pats.  He would be traded to the Miami Dolphins in 1969 where he would anchor their “No-Name Defense” and help them win Super Bowl VII and VIII.  He would be named to two Pro Bowls as a Dolphin.

Buoniconti would be chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Nick Buoniconti.

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.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Atlanta Braves who first came into fruition as the Boston Red Stockings, a charter member of the National League.  After multiple name changes, they settled on the name of the Braves in the early 1910’s. The team would relocate to Milwaukee in 1953 and then to Atlanta in 1966.  Despite their longevity, they have only won three World Series (1914, 1957 & 1995).

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.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2018 Season.

The complete list can be found here,but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Hank Aaron

2. Warren Spahn

3. Kid Nichols

4. Greg Maddux

5. Eddie Mathews

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

As always we thank you for your support.

Derek Jeter is eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 and barring voters forgetting to submit their ballots, the induction of Jeter is a sure thing.  It also looks like there will be two former Baseball Hall of Famers who won’t be in attendance.

In an interview with Bleacher Report during the Hall of Fame weekend, Andre Dawson was asked if he would be in attendance for the 2020 ceremony.  He had this to say:

"I sincerely doubt [that I will attend] at this point.  All indications are likely not. ... I can't speak for Tony. But I don't have a sense or feeling like I want to sit on that stage to hear what [Jeter] has to say."

Dawson was employed with the Miami Marlins as a special assistant and upon Derek Jeter’s group buying the team, he was relieved of his duties.  Jeter did not do the job himself, as he had David Samson, then the President of the team do it.  Dawson wasn’t alone as fellow Hall of Famer and special assistant, Tony Perez was also let go in the same manner.

To add to the perceived insult, both Dawson and Perez were offered their jobs back at a substantially less salary ($85,000 to $25,000) and they would no longer have clubhouse access.

As for Perez, he hasn’t stated whether he will be in attendance.  He did state that if he doesn’t attend, he will be open about why, which could include boycotting because of Jeter.  

The man who swung the ax, Samson, he was let go shortly after.

Generally speaking, this is the season for football retirements but we have a mid-season baseball retirement that is significant as New York Yankees Shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki has announced his retirement from Baseball.

Debuting for the Colorado Rockies in 2006, “Tulo” would be the runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year in 2007, the same season that he helped the Rockies reach their only World Series to date.  The Shortstop would quickly ascend to the top of Colorado hitters and from 2009 to 2011 he would finish in the top ten in MVP voting and was twice named a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.  He would also go to the All-Star Game five times for Colorado.  In the middle of the 2015 season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for their playoff drive.

Unfortunately, injuries to his legs piled up and he would miss all of 2018 and only had 13 Plate Appearances this year

Tulowitzki accumulated 1,381 Hits with 225 Home Runs and a Slash Line of .290/.361/856.  While his career bWAR of 44.2 is good, in the modern era it will be difficult to see him making the Baseball Hall of Fame when he is eligible in 2025.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Troy Tulowitzki for his on-field memories and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.