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

For every regular-season game, we anointed the top five players with the most points, in descending order: 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 July 14.

1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 153 Cup Points in 96 Games. (#1 Last Week).  7.0 bWAR, 85 Runs, 125 Hits, 35 Home Runs, 81 Runs Batted In, .355/.462/.733 Slash Line, 1.194 OPS & 228 OPS+.

2. Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 125 Cup Points in 97 Games. (#2 Last Week).   3.1 bWAR, 53 Runs, 101 Hits, 21 Home Runs, 77 Runs Batted In, .280/.376/.532 Slash Line, .908 OPS & 160 OPS+.

3. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers:  117 Cup Points in 95 Games.  (#4 Last Week).  4.3 bWAR, 91 Runs, 102 Hits, 32 Home Runs, 60 Runs Batted In, .276/.382/.605 Slash Line, .998 OPS & 174 OPS+.

4. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners: 113 Cup Points in 94 Games. (#5 Last Week).   4.7 bWAR, 65 Runs, 90 Hits, 38 Home Runs, 82 Runs Batted In, .259/.376/.634 Slash Line, 1.011 OPS & 190 OPS+.

5. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals: 112 Cup Points in 97 Games. (#3 Last Week).  4.5 bWAR, 57 Runs, 112 Hits, 14 Home Runs, 54 Runs Batted In, .294/.345/.504 Slash Line, .849 OPS & 134 OPS+.

6. Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers:  109 Cup Points in 95 Games.  (#6 Last Week).  2.8 bWAR, 53 Runs, 104 Hits, 24 Home Runs, 78 Runs Batted In, .284/.335/.544 Slash Line, .879 OPS & 142 OPS+.

7. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: 105 Cup Points in 96 Games. (#8 Last Week).   2.9 bWAR, 57 Runs, 107 Hits, 17 Home Runs, 56 Runs Batted In, .292/.350/.490 Slash Line, .841 OPS & 133 OPS+.

8. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 104 Cup Points in 95 Games. (#7 Last Week).   3.0 bWAR, 63 Runs, 99 Hits, 19 Home Runs, 54 Runs Batted In, .260/.330/.457 Slash Line, .787 OPS & 126 OPS+.

9. (TIE) Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins:  98 Cup Points in 78 Games.  (#6 Last Week).  4.1 bWAR, 64 Runs, 86 Hits, 21 Home Runs, 56 Runs Batted In, .289/.351/.574 Slash Line, .925 OPS & 149 OPS+.

9. (TIE) Juan Soto, New York Mets: 98 Cup Points in 79 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  3.9 bWAR, 70 Runs, 89 Hits, 23 Home Runs, 56 Runs Batted In, .262/.396/.509 Slash Line, .905 OPS & 161 OPS+.

San Francisco’s Rafael Devers and Washington’s James Wood fell out of the Top Ten.

Notably, 974 baseball players have earned at least 1 point, up from 959 last week.

It is with great pleasure that we have brought 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 July 7.

1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 141 Cup Points in 90 Games. (#1 Last Week).  6.6 bWAR, 80 Runs, 119 Hits, 33 Home Runs, 74 Runs Batted In, .360/.468/.734 Slash Line, 1.202 OPS & 233 OPS+.

2. Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 122 Cup Points in 91 Games. (#2 Last Week).   3.1 bWAR, 51 Runs, 98 Hits, 20 Home Runs, 73 Runs Batted In, .287/.380/.543 Slash Line, .923 OPS & 164 OPS+.

3. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals: 109 Cup Points in 92 Games. (#10 Last Week).  4.3 bWAR, 56 Runs, 107 Hits, 13 Home Runs, 52 Runs Batted In, .296/.346/.503 Slash Line, .849 OPS & 135 OPS+.

4. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers:  108 Cup Points in 90 Games.  (#3 Last Week).  4.1 bWAR, 87 Runs, 99 Hits, 30 Home Runs, 56 Runs Batted In, .280/.382/.609 Slash Line, .991 OPS & 175 OPS+.

5. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners: 107 Cup Points in 88 Games. (#4 Last Week).   4.6 bWAR, 62 Runs, 87 Hits, 35 Home Runs, 74 Runs Batted In, .268/.381/.640 Slash Line, 1.021 OPS & 193 OPS+.

6. Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers:  103 Cup Points in 90 Games.  (#5 Last Week).  2.6 bWAR, 50 Runs, 95 Hits, 22 Home Runs, 72 Runs Batted In, .285/.340/.536 Slash Line, .876 OPS & 143 OPS+.

7. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 97 Cup Points in 89 Games. (#9 Last Week).   3.0 bWAR, 57 Runs, 93 Hits, 17 Home Runs, 49 Runs Batted In, .261/.333/.452 Slash Line, .785 OPS & 125 OPS+.

8. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: 96 Cup Points in 90 Games. (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).   2.8 bWAR, 54 Runs, 101 Hits, 15 Home Runs, 53 Runs Batted In, .293/.354/.484 Slash Line, .838 OPS & 132 OPS+.

9. James Wood, Washington Nationals: 90 Cup Points in 84 Games. (#6 Last Week).   4.3 bWAR, 58 Runs, 97 Hits, 23 Home Runs, 67 Runs Batted In, .288/.391/.549 Slash Line, .940 OPS & 167 OPS+.

10. (TIE) Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins:  92 Cup Points in 73 Games.  (#6 Last Week).  3.3 bWAR, 57 Runs, 76 Hits, 20 Home Runs, 53 Runs Batted In, .270/.334/.544 Slash Line, .879 OPS & 138 OPS+.

10. (TIE) Rafael Devers, San Francisco Giants: 89 Cup Points in 79 Games.  (#9 Last Week).  2.4 bWAR, 54 Runs, 92 Hits, 17 Home Runs, 67 Runs Batted In, .265/.390/.478 Slash Line, .868 OPS & 143 OPS+.

Nobody fell out of the Top Ten.

Notably, 959 baseball players have earned at least 1 point, up from 940 last week.

It is with great pleasure that we have brought 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 June 30.

1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 128 Cup Points in 84 Games. (#1 Last Week).  5.9 bWAR, 73 Runs, 110 Hits, 30 Home Runs, 67 Runs Batted In, .354/.458/.717 Slash Line, 1.175 OPS & 224 OPS+.

2. Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 113 Cup Points in 85 Games. (#2 Last Week).   3.0 bWAR, 47 Runs, 93 Hits, 18 Home Runs, 65 Runs Batted In, .291/.380/.541 Slash Line, .921 OPS & 163 OPS+.

3. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers:  106 Cup Points in 83 Games.  (#3 Last Week).  3.9 bWAR, 82 Runs, 94 Hits, 29 Home Runs, 54 Runs Batted In, .287/.388/.633 Slash Line, 1.021 OPS & 183 OPS+.

4. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners: 103 Cup Points in 83 Games. (#4 Last Week).   4.6 bWAR, 60 Runs, 85 Hits, 33 Home Runs, 71 Runs Batted In, .275/.387/.649 Slash Line, 1.049 OPS & 202 OPS+.

5. Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers:  97 Cup Points in 83 Games.  (#5 Last Week).  2.7 bWAR, 47 Runs, 95 Hits, 19 Home Runs, 63 Runs Batted In, .296/.348/.539 Slash Line, .887 OPS & 148 OPS+.

6. (TIE) Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins:  90 Cup Points in 61 Games.  (#10 Last Week).  3.3 bWAR, 53 Runs, 72 Hits, 19 Home Runs, 51 Runs Batted In, .281/.347/.566 Slash Line, .914 OPS & 149 OPS+.

6. (TIE) James Wood, Washington Nationals: 90 Cup Points in 84 Games. (#6 Last Week).   3.9 bWAR, 52 Runs, 89 Hits, 22 Home Runs, 64 Runs Batted In, .283/.386/.552 Slash Line, .938 OPS & 165 OPS+.

8. Rafael Devers, San Francisco Giants: 89 Cup Points in 79 Games.  (#8 Last Week).  2.3 bWAR, 51 Runs, 84 Hits, 17 Home Runs, 63 Runs Batted In, .261/.388/.481 Slash Line, .869 OPS & 143 OPS+.

9. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 88 Cup Points in 77 Games. (#6 Last Week).   2.6 bWAR, 51 Runs, 86 Hits, 16 Home Runs, 43 Runs Batted In, .258/.327/.447 Slash Line, .775 OPS & 121 OPS+.

10. Bobby Witt Jr., San Diego Padres: 85 Cup Points in 85 Games. (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  3.9 bWAR, 46 Runs, 95 Hits, 11 Home Runs, 45 Runs Batted In, .284/.337/.488 Slash Line, .825 OPS & 129 OPS+.

San Diego’s Manny Machado fell out of the Top Ten.

Notably, 940 baseball players have earned at least 1 point, up from 927 last week.

It is with great pleasure that we have brought 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 June 23.

1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 125 Cup Points in 78 Games. (#1 Last Week).  5.6 bWAR, 68 Runs, 106 Hits, 28 Home Runs, 62 Runs Batted In, .367/.468/.734 Slash Line, 1.202 OPS & 231 OPS+.

2. Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 108 Cup Points in 79 Games. (#2 Last Week).   2.7 bWAR, 43 Runs, 85 Hits, 18 Home Runs, 64 Runs Batted In, .286/.380/.549 Slash Line, .929 OPS & 164 OPS+.

3. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers:  95 Cup Points in 77 Games.  (#3 Last Week).  3.6 bWAR, 76 Runs, 89 Hits, 26 Home Runs, 49 Runs Batted In, .291/.390/.624 Slash Line, 1.014 OPS & 182 OPS+.

4. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners: 94 Cup Points in 76 Games. (#7 Last Week).   4.4 bWAR, 57 Runs, 79 Hits, 32 Home Runs, 68 Runs Batted In, .278/.383/.665 Slash Line, 1.049 OPS & 202 OPS+.

5. Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers:  89 Cup Points in 77 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  2.3 bWAR, 42 Runs, 86 Hits, 17 Home Runs, 59 Runs Batted In, .291/.345/.530 Slash Line, .875 OPS & 144 OPS+.

6. (TIE) Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 88 Cup Points in 77 Games. (#3 Last Week).   2.8 bWAR, 47 Runs, 78 Hits, 14 Home Runs, 38 Runs Batted In, .279/.353/.475 Slash Line, .828 OPS & 138 OPS+.

6. (TIE) James Wood, Washington Nationals: 88 Cup Points in 79 Games. (#8 Last Week).   3.9 bWAR, 50 Runs, 85 Hits, 22 Home Runs, 61 Runs Batted In, .284/.379/.569 Slash Line, .948 OPS & 167 OPS+.

8. Rafael Devers, San Francisco Giants: 85 Cup Points in 79 Games.  (#5 Last Week).  2.4 bWAR, 49 Runs, 79 Hits, 16 Home Runs, 61 Runs Batted In, .268/.394/.495 Slash Line, .889 OPS & 148 OPS+.

9. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: 84 Cup Points in 78 Games. (#8 Last Week).  2.9 bWAR, 52 Runs, 90 Hits, 13 Home Runs, 47 Runs Batted In, .303/.366/.502 Slash Line, .867 OPS & 139 OPS+.

10. Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins:  84 Cup Points in 61 Games.  (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).  2.9 bWAR, 46 Runs, 65 Hits, 17 Home Runs, 47 Runs Batted In, .280/.347/.565 Slash Line, .912 OPS & 149 OPS+.

The Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson, and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. fell out of the Top Ten.

Notably, 927 baseball players have earned at least 1 point, up from 910 last week.

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 Minnesota Twins.

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 American League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

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

Last year, Minnesota had a decent year, though was mildly disappointing.  There is one new entrant into the top 50, with no other fluctuation.

As always, we present our top five, which had no changes.

1. Walter Johnson

2. Rod Carew

3. Harmon Killebrew

3. Kirby Puckett

5. Joe Mauer

You can find the entire list here.

The only new entry is Outfielder, Byron Buxton, who enters at #47, who knocks out Bump Hadley from the Top 50.  Notably, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco almost made this portion of the list.

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

There are not a lot of players like Byron Buxton.

Buxton first appeared for the Twins in 2015, three years after he was taken with the Second Overall Pick.  Buxton was considered a five-tool player, but that was not the case in the Majors, though he has showed series of doing all of those things at different periods of time.

Buxton’s defense was stellar in 2017, a year where he led the American League in Total Zone Runs (29), was second in Defensive bWAR (2.6) and won the Wilson Overall Defensive Player.  Offensively, he only had 117 Hits, but received MVP votes (18^th overall), and was a star on the rise; or so we thought.

He dealt with copious injuries, and was returned to the Minors, but was able to come back with another defensive gem year; the COVID-shortened 2020 year where he was first in Defensive bWAR (1.2).  Buxton again battle injuries late in 2022, but still blasted 28 Home Runs in less than 100 Games, while appearing in his first All-Star Game.

Buxton enters 2025 with only one year of 100 Hits, though has been an All-Star (not in that year) and won multiple fielding awards, and is now a top power hitter.  This is a statistical ESPN 30-for-30 player.