Dalvin Cook had a very good college career at Florida State, and it landed him a Second Round Selection in the 2017 Draft. Cook got off to a great start wit the Vikings, but an early injury took him out by early October. He was healthier in 2018 (615 Yards in 11 Games), but it was in year three that Cook ascended the upper tier of Running Backs.
Cook broke out in 2019, rushing for 1,135 Yards and 13 Touchdowns and was awarded a trip to the Pro Bowl. He was even better in 2020, rushing for 1,527 Yards and 16 TDs, his best metrics as a Viking. The two years following were softer, but Cook still exceeded 1,100 Yards in both campaigns, and was a Pro Bowler annually from 2019 to 2022.
Despite his success, the Vikings released him in a cost-cutting move before 2023 training camp. With Minnesota, Cook compiled nearly 8,000 Yards from Scrimmage with 52 Touchdowns
It is with great pleasure that we continue the third annual Notinhalloffame MLB Regular Season Cup, and let us explain how this works:
With every single regular season game, we anointed the best five players in the game with descending points, 5-4-3-2-1.
We knew 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 easier that 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, and overall favors position players. Starting Pitchers have a hard time with approximately 30-35 Starts and throwing less innings than in previous generations. This also is true for closers, which is 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 did, as a fun process and more of a compilation of temporary statistical domination.
At present 945 (up from 906 last week) players have generated at least one Cup Point.
So, MLB players! Get your agents to work winning this into your contracts!
This is the tenth update, with standings as of the morning of July 24.
1. Shohei Ohtani: Los Angeles Angels, Designated Hitter & Pitcher: (Ranked #1 last week)
157 Cup Points, 98 Games, 1.60 Cup Points per Game, 36 Home Runs, 77 Runs Batted In, 11 SB, .302/.398/.674, 6.8 bWAR & 8-5, 3.71 ERA, 148 SO, 1.120 WHIP.
The Notinhalloffame Cup is built for Ohtani, who can compile points in two different avenues; the only one who can do so. Ohtani continues to grow the gap between himself and his nearest competition, and even though it is still July, we can’t see him losing the Cup. He has cooled off with his Pitching, but is still the league leader in H/9 (6.3), and is third in Strikeouts (148). With his bat, Ohtani is the current American League leader in Home Runs (36), Triples (7), Walks (60), Slugging (.674), OPS (1.072), OPS+ (186) and Total Bases (250), while also being second in RBIs (77) and OBP (.398) and sixth in Batting (.302). The AL MVP is his to lose, and we don’t think he will.
2. Ronald Acuna: Atlanta Braves, Outfield: (Ranked #2 Last Week)
122 Cup Points, 98 Games, 1.25 Cup Points per Game, 23 Home Runs, 58 Runs Batted In, 43 SB, .332/.409/.577, 5.1 bWAR.
Acuna leads all National League batters in Stolen Bases (46), Runs Scored (87), Total Bases (228) and bWAR (5.1). He is also second in Batting (.333), Slugging (.577) and OPS (.986) and fourth in OBP (.409).
3. Mookie Betts: Los Angeles Dodgers, Outfield: (#3, Last Week)
112 Cup Points, 95 Games, 1.18 Cup Points per Game, 27 Home Runs, 67 Runs Batted In, 7 SB, .278/.380/.569, 4.5 bWAR.
Betts has had a great summer, where he made his seventh All-Star Game. In the National League, he is currently third in OPS (.948), fourth in Slugging (.569) and eighth in OBP (.380). He also holds top ten ranks in Total Bases, Runs, Doubles and Walks.
4. Freddie Freeman: Los Angeles Dodgers, First Base: (Unranked, Last Week)
110 Cup Points, 98 Games, 1.12 Cup Points per Game, 20 Home Runs, 70 Runs Batted In, 8 SB, .331/.412/.585, 4.7 bWAR.
Freeman rockets back into the top ten, and took over the NL lead in Doubles (35), Slugging (.585), OPS (.997), OPS+ (164) and Total Bases (228). He is also third in bWAR (4.7) and Batting (.331) and fourth in RBIs (70).
4. (TIE) Juan Soto: San Diego Padres, Outfield: (Ranked #5, Last Week)
110 Cup Points, 100 Games, 1.11 Cup Points per Game, 19 Home Runs, 60 Runs Batted In, 6 SB, .265/.419/.500, 3.8 bWAR.
Soto is the National League leader in Walks (93) and is second in OBP (.419) and fifth in OPS (.919).
6. Rafael Devers: Boston Red Sox, Third Base: (Ranked #4 Last Week)
108 Cup Points, 94 Games, 1.15 Cup Points per Game, 24 Home Runs, 74 Runs Batted In, 2 SB, .265/.334/.525, 2.2 bWAR.
Devers remains a surprise being so high as he was not in the All-Star Game, nor was considered a significant snub. He and is currently third in the AL in Home Runs (23) and fourth in Home Runs (24) and Slugging (.525).
7. (TIE) Corbin Carroll: Arizona Diamondbacks, Outfield: (Ranked #5, Last Week)
105 Cup Points, 89 Games, 1.11 Cup Points per Game, 21 Home Runs, 72 Runs Batted In, 29 SB, .284/.363/.550, 4.3 bWAR.
Carroll is running away with the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and it is only July! At present, the young Outfielder is fifth in the National League in bWAR (4.3), and is in the top ten in Slugging (.550), OPS (.912), Runs (72) and Stolen Bases (29).
7. (TIE) Luis Arraez: Miami Marlins, Second Base: (#8, Last Week)
105 Cup Points, 95 Games, 1.11 Cup Points per Game, 3 Home Runs, 49 Runs Batted In, 1 SB, .379/.427/.474, 4.0 bWAR.
Arraez is the runaway leader in Batting Average and is also the National League leader in Hits (139) and On Base Percentage (.427). He also has a very impressive Slugging Percentage (.474) for a player with only three Home Runs.
9. Matt Olson: Atlanta Braves, First Base: (Ranked #7 Last Week)
102 Cup Points, 98 Games, 1.06 Cup Points per Game, 32 Home Runs, 80 Runs Batted In, 1 SB, .253/.360/.571, 2.9 bWAR.
Olson has the National League lead in both Home Runs (32) and RBIs (80) and he is also third in Slugging (.571) and fourth in OPS (.931).
10. Kyle Tucker: Houston Astros, Outfield: Not in Top Ten, Last Week)
96 Cup Points, 98 Games, 0.97 Cup Points per Game, 17 Home Runs, 68 Runs Batted In, 18 SB, .302/.379/.514, 2.8 bWAR.
Tucker makes his first top ten appearance and in the NL is fourth in OBP (.379) and OPS (.893), fifth in Slugging (.514) and seventh in Batting (.302). He is also in the top ten in RBI and is second in Power/Speed # (17.5).
Chicago’s (AL) Luis Robert and Miami’s Jorge Soler fell out of the top ten.
Our next update will be the afternoon of August 1.
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 post 2022 revision of our top 50 Miami Dolphins.
As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, the Dolphins were a playoff team for the first time since 2016. Saying that, only one current player climbed the rank, and there were no new entrants.
As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:
1. Dan Marino
2. Jason Taylor
3. Zach Thomas
4. Bob Griese
5. Jim Langer
You can find the entire list here.
The only movement was Cornerback, Xavien Howard, who went up by three to #28.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
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 post 2022 revision of our top 50 Los Angeles Rams.
As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Two years ago, the Rams won it all, but last year they were unable to make it to a winning record. They still had one elevation and one new entrant based on last season.
As always, we present our top five, which did not change.
1. Merlin Olsen
2. Aaron Donald
3. Deacon Jones
5. Orlando Pace
You can find the entire list here.
Aaron Donald, who came last year at #2 remains there, but we were very close in placing him over Merlin Olsen. This could likely change in 12 months.
Wide Receiver, Cooper Kupp, who was the Super Bowl MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, advanced six rungs to #31.
The only new entry is Jalen Ramsey, the Cornerback who is now with the Miami Dolphins. He enters at #49.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.