It is with great pleasure that we are bringing back the Notinhalloffame MLB Regular Cup, and let us explain how this works:

For every regular-season game, we anointed the best five players with descending points, 5-4-3-2-1. 

We know the following:

• The top players for the MLB NIHOF Cup are not always the best in the league, as injuries keep players out of games, and a premium on staying healthy can help pile up points. It also does not hurt to be a top player on an average or mediocre team, as they can amass Cup points more easily than elite players on loaded squads.
• In Baseball, it is more common than in Basketball and Hockey for a player to accrue points with a single Home Run in a game, which favors position players. Starting Pitchers have a hard time with approximately 30-35 Starts and throwing fewer innings than previous generations. This is also true for closers not made for this process.
• Please remember that this is NOT necessarily who we think were the best players this year and does not reflect overall consistency. Treat this the way we did: as a fun process and more of a compilation of temporary statistical domination.

Here is the current top ten after games concluded on May 5.

1. Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 67 Cup Points in 36 Games. (#1 Last Week).   2.4 bWAR, 26 Runs, 45 Hits, 9 Home Runs, 33 Runs Batted In, .349/.469/.674 Slash Line, 1.144 OPS & 225 OPS+.

2. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 59 Cup Points in 29 Games. (#3 Last Week).  3.0 bWAR, 32 Runs, 55 Hits, 11 Home Runs, 33 Runs Batted In, .414/.503/.759 Slash Line, 1.263 OPS & 257 OPS+.

3. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 48 Cup Points in 28 Games. (#4 Last Week).   0.8 bWAR, 23 Runs, 41 Hits, 7 Home Runs, 22 Runs Batted In, .289/.358/.472 Slash Line, .830 OPS & 137 OPS+.

4. Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres: 46 Cup Points in 33 Games. (#2 Last Week).   2.3 bWAR, 26 Runs, 40 Hits, 8 Home Runs, 18 Runs Batted In, .317/.387/.556 Slash Line, .943 OPS & 161 OPS+.

5. (TIE) Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks: 45 Cup Points in 28 Games. (#4 Last Week).   1.4 bWAR, 35 Runs, 43 Hits, 10 Home Runs, 27 Runs Batted In, .287/.352/.593 Slash Line, .945 OPS & 159 OPS+.

5. (TIE) Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals:  45 Cup Points in 36 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  2.2 bWAR, 22 Runs, 43 Hits, 4 Home Runs, 18 Runs Batted In, .314/.389/.504 Slash Line, .892 OPS & 152 OPS+.

7. (TIE) Tyler Soderstrom, The Athletics: 39 Cup Points in 36 Games.  (#6 last week).  1.1 bWAR, 23 Runs, 38 Hits, 9 Home Runs, 25 Runs Batted In, .279/.344/.515 Slash Line, .940 OPS & 164 OPS+.

7. (TIE) Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves: 39 Cup Points in 36 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten last week).  1.3 bWAR, 15 Runs, 41 Hits, 8 Home Runs, 25 Runs Batted In, .291/.333/.504 Slash Line, .837 OPS & 131 OPS+.

7. (TIE) Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox: 39 Cup Points in 34 Games. (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  1.7 bWAR, 20 Runs, 31 Hits, 7 Home Runs, 22 Runs Batted In, .279/.394/.523 Slash Line, .916 OPS & 156 OPS+.

7. (TIE) Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers:  39 Cup Points in 33 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  1.7 bWAR, 37 Runs, 38 Hits, 9 Home Runs, 13 Runs Batted In, .292/.399/.585 Slash Line, .983 OPS & 177 OPS+.

Arizona’s Josh Naylor, Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson, Los Angeles (NL)’s Teoscar Hernandez & St. Louis’s Lars Nootbar fell off the top ten.

Of note, 733 baseball players have obtained at least 1 point, up from 690 last week.

It is with great pleasure that we are bringing back the Notinhalloffame MLB Regular Cup, and let us explain how this works:

For every regular-season game, we anointed the best five players with descending points, 5-4-3-2-1. 

We know the following:

• The top players for the MLB NIHOF Cup are not always the best in the league, as injuries keep players out of games, and a premium on staying healthy can help pile up points. It also does not hurt to be a top player on an average or mediocre team, as they can amass Cup points more easily than elite players on loaded squads.
• In Baseball, it is more common than in Basketball and Hockey for a player to accrue points with a single Home Run in a game, which favors position players. Starting Pitchers have a hard time with approximately 30-35 Starts and throwing fewer innings than previous generations. This is also true for closers not made for this process.
• Please remember that this is NOT necessarily who we think were the best players this year and does not reflect overall consistency. Treat this the way we did: as a fun process and more of a compilation of temporary statistical domination.

Here is the current top ten after games concluded on April 28.

1. Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 54 Cup Points in 29 Games. (#1 Last Week).   1.7 bWAR, 20 Runs, 35 Hits, 6 Home Runs, 27 Runs Batted In, .337/.453/.635 Slash Line, 1.088 OPS & 210 OPS+.

2. Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres: 44 Cup Points in 27 Games. (#2 Last Week).   2.4 bWAR, 24 Runs, 36 Hits, 8 Home Runs, 18 Runs Batted In, .346/.415/.625 Slash Line, 1.040 OPS & 189 OPS+.

3. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 43 Cup Points in 29 Games. (#4 Last Week).  2.5 bWAR, 25 Runs, 45 Hits, 8 Home Runs, 28 Runs Batted In, .405/.496/.703 Slash Line, 1.199 OPS & 241 OPS+.

4. (TIE) Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks: 38 Cup Points in 28 Games. (#3 Last Week).   1.7 bWAR, 25 Runs, 37 Hits, 9 Home Runs, 23 Runs Batted In, .308/.376/.667 Slash Line, 1.043 OPS & 184 OPS+.

4. (TIE) Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 38 Cup Points in 28 Games. (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).   0.8 bWAR, 20 Runs, 34 Hits, 5 Home Runs, 14 Runs Batted In, .304/.367/.473 Slash Line, 0.840 OPS & 140 OPS+.

6. Tyler Soderstrom, The Athletics: 35 Cup Points in 29 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten last week).  1.1 bWAR, 20 Runs, 32 Hits, 9 Home Runs, 24 Runs Batted In, .291/.358/.582 Slash Line, .940 OPS & 164 OPS+.

7. (TIE) Spencer Torkelson, Detroit Tigers: 34 Cup Points in 28 Games. (#5 Last Week).  1.1 bWAR, 20 Runs, 26 Hits, 8 Home Runs, 24 Runs Batted In, .245/.349/.547 Slash Line, .896 OPS & 156 OPS+.

7. (TIE) Lars Nootbar, St. Louis Cardinals:  34 Cup Points in 28 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  1.5 bWAR, 19 Runs, 29 Hits, 4 Home Runs, 17 Runs Batted In, .271/.405/.430 Slash Line, .834 OPS & 136 OPS+.

9. (TIE) Josh Naylor, Arizona Diamondbacks: 33 Cup Points in 28 Games.  (#7 Last week).   0.8 bWAR, 15 Runs, 34 Hits, 4 Home Runs, 19 Runs Batted In, .318/.388/.505 Slash Line, .893 OPS & 147 OPS+.

9. (TIE) Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers:  33 Cup Points in 27 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  1.0 bWAR, 16 Runs, 29 Hits, 9 Home Runs, 27 Runs Batted In, .274/.291/.585 Slash Line, .876 OPS & 144 OPS+.

Chicago (NL)’s Josh Naylor, Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr., Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper, San Francisco’s Matt Chapman & Seattle’s Cal Raleigh fell off the top ten.

Of note, 690 baseball players have obtained at least 1 point.  This is up from 627 last week.

The New York Mets acquired Francisco Lindor before the 2021 season, aiming to make him the core of a championship-caliber team. After arriving in Queens from Cleveland and signing a significant ten-year, $341 million extension, he became the franchise's central figure. However, five years on, some questions remain.

The first season of his New York stay was marked by immediate, intense challenges. Lindor began his 2021 debut season amidst strong opposition, receiving loud boos from the Citi Field fans who doubted the value of his contract from the start. Despite a rough Start, he managed to hit 20 home runs by October, though the early struggles were harsh. Nonetheless, he quickly regained his top form; his hitting prowess re-emerged in 2022 with 26 home runs and 107 RBIs, and he followed up with 31 homers in 2023. During these seasons, he finished ninth in the NL MVP voting twice, reaffirming his status as a top offensive threat.

Lindor attained an extraordinary pinnacle of individual and team achievement during the outstanding 2024 season. Serving as the unequivocal core and motivation of the team, he achieved 33 home runs and 29 stolen bases while participating in 169 games, guiding a resilient Mets team to the National League Championship Series. His exceptional performance earned him the runner-up position for the National League Most Valuable Player award, behind Shohei Ohtani. He maintained this high standard throughout the 2025 season, overcoming a mid-summer toe injury to produce another exemplary performance. He hit 31 home runs, stole 31 bases, achieving a historic 30-30 season, and was selected as the starting shortstop for the National League All-Star team, marking his first recognition as a Met.

He concluded his 2025 campaign with a tenth-place finish in the MVP race, having set a Major League record for switch-hitters with 11 leadoff home runs and scoring 117 runs.

Lindor is now over 30 and enters 2026 on the Mets roster amid a lot of questions, namely about his relationship with Juan Soto.   Lindor has been very good for New York, but a World Series will justify that deal.  This season will tell a lot about that happening.

When Francisco Lindor arrived in Cleveland in 2015, he brought a megawatt smile and a generational skillset that instantly transformed the franchise’s trajectory. Known as "Mr. Smile," Lindor played with a joy that masked a ruthless competitive edge, quickly proving that he was the premier total-package shortstop of his era.

Lindor’s impact was immediate, a high-velocity entrance that saw him finish as the Rookie of the Year runner-up with a .313 average. This was merely the prelude to a four-year run of dominance during which he established a permanent presence in the All-Star Game. He was a model of specialized versatility, blending elite contact skills with a surprising power surge that saw him launch at least 32 home runs in three consecutive summers. Between 2016 and 2018, his value was so undeniable that he finished in the top nine of the MVP voting every year, serving as the tactical engine of a Cleveland squad that pushed the 2016 World Series to the final inning.

The most profound aspect of his tenure was the sheer volume of elite production he delivered daily. Lindor was a master of durability and high-frequency output, leading the American League in plate appearances three times and pacing the circuit with 129 runs scored in 2018. His craftsmanship extended far beyond the batter's box; he was a defensive technician who collected two Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove, proving he was the league’s most efficient run-preventer. He possessed a rare ability to influence every facet of the box score, swiping at least 15 bags annually while maintaining a slugging percentage that hovered near .500.

The stay in Cleveland reached a premature conclusion after the 2020 season when a cost-cutting trade sent him to the New York Mets. With Cleveland, Lindor compiled 138 home runs, 99 stolen bases, and 804 hits while securing four All-Star nods and two Gold Gloves.