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 throw 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 August 14.

1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers:  163 Cup Points in 119 Games.  (#1 Last Week).  5.8 bWAR, 115 Runs, 132 Hits, 43 Home Runs, 79 Runs Batted In, .284/.391/.630 Slash Line, 1.021 OPS & 181 OPS+.

2. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 158 Cup Points in 111 Games. (#1 Last Week).  6.7 bWAR, 94 Runs, 134 Hits, 38 Home Runs, 88 Runs Batted In, .333/.444/.687 Slash Line, 1.131 OPS & 209 OPS+.

3. Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 147 Cup Points in 121 Games. (#3 Last Week).   3.0 bWAR, 63 Runs, 123 Hits, 28 Home Runs, 99 Runs Batted In, .272/.356/.528 Slash Line, .883 OPS & 150 OPS+.

4. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners: 141 Cup Points in 119 Games. (#4 Last Week).   5.3 bWAR, 78 Runs, 108 Hits, 45 Home Runs, 98 Runs Batted In, .243/.350/.582 Slash Line, .932 OPS & 164 OPS+.

5. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies: 129 Cup Points in 121 Games.  (#6 Last Week).  3.9 bWAR, 81 Runs, 112 Hits, 42 Home Runs, 98 Runs Batted In, .249/.371/.577 Slash Line, .948 OPS & 155 OPS+.

6. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: 128 Cup Points in 115 Games. (#5 Last Week).   3.7 bWAR, 68 Runs, 133 Hits, 20 Home Runs, 72 Runs Batted In, .300/.359/.500 Slash Line, .859 OPS & 136 OPS+.

7. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians:  128 Cup Points in 117 Games.  (#8 Last Week).  5.3 bWAR, 79 Runs, 132 Hits, 25 Home Runs, 64 Runs Batted In, .298/.371/.528 Slash Line, .899 OPS & 146 OPS+.

8. Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers:  126 Cup Points in 119 Games.  (#8 Last Week).  2.3 bWAR, 64 Runs, 124 Hits, 28 Home Runs, 89 Runs Batted In, .269/.317/.512 Slash Line, .828 OPS & 124 OPS+.

9. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals: 124 Cup Points in 119 Games. (#7 Last Week).  5.1 bWAR, 75 Runs, 135 Hits, 17 Home Runs, 67 Runs Batted In, .288/.346/.494 Slash Line, .840 OPS & 132 OPS+.

10 (TIE). Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 121 Cup Points in 119 Games. (#10 Last Week).   3.1 bWAR, 80 Runs, 120 Hits, 22 Home Runs, 65 Runs Batted In, .249/.320/.435 Slash Line, .755 OPS & 115 OPS+.

10 (TIE). Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays: 121 Cup Points in 120 Games. (Not in the Top Ten Last Week).   4.5 bWAR, 81 Runs, 136 Hits, 20 Home Runs, 67 Runs Batted In, .300/.397/.496 Slash Line, .893 OPS & 147 OPS+.

Nobody fell out of the Top Ten.

Notably, 1,051 baseball players have earned at least 1 point, up from 1,037 last week.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, embarked on his professional baseball career bearing the significant generational expectations that could easily undermine a less promising prospect. Signed from the Dominican Republic as an international free agent in 2015, his formidable batting ability accelerated his progression through the minor leagues, culminating in a highly anticipated Major League debut in 2019. He met these expectations by demonstrating the raw bat speed and considerable power reflective of his father’s legacy, finishing sixth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and establishing himself as a key figure for the franchise's future.

Following his demonstration of capability during the abbreviated 2020 season, Guerrero delivered a historic, MVP-caliber performance in 2021 that would have likely earned him the award in nearly any other year, had it not been for an exceptional two-way season from Shohei Ohtani. By securing the esteemed Hank Aaron Award and his inaugural All-Star selection, the young first baseman dominated American League pitching by leading the league in runs (123), home runs (48), on-base percentage (.401), slugging percentage (.601), and achieving an impressive 1.002 OPS. This season served as a definitive statement of his elite status as a tier-one superstar, fully capable of dominating a game.

The ensuing two seasons brought a period of offensive recalibration, proving that even generational talents have to adjust to the league's counterpunches. While his power numbers dipped in 2022 and his OPS slid below .800 in a frustrating 2023, Guerrero adjusted by shoring up his defensive profile, capturing a Gold Glove at first base to show his value wasn’t strictly tied to the batter's box. The true roaring return to form arrived in 2024; shaking off a sluggish spring, he exploded down the stretch to hit a blistering .323 with 30 home runs, a surge that secured his fourth consecutive All-Star appearance and a sixth-place finish in the MVP voting.

Any anxiety regarding his long-term future in Canada was permanently erased in April 2025, when the Blue Jays front office orchestrated one of the most monumental moments in franchise history. Rather than letting their homegrown superstar walk into a high-stakes free-agent market, Toronto locked him up with a staggering 14-year, $500 million contract extension. The megadeal, featuring a full no-trade clause and no opt-outs, completely reset the organizational clock, ensuring that the face of the franchise would carry on his legacy north of the border as a lifelong Blue Jay.

With his financial future secured, Guerrero went out and validated every single penny during a thrilling 2025 campaign that culminated in a deep, magical postseason push. He put the entire team on his back in October, capturing ALCS MVP honors and absolutely tearing through the playoff brackets with a scorching 1.289 OPS and 8 postseason home runs. Though the Blue Jays ultimately fell just one victory short of a title, losing a heartbreaking 11-inning thriller in Game 7 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Guerrero’s absolute supremacy under the highest stakes solidified his reputation as a big-game destroyer.

Entering the 2026 season, Vladdy has the goods to enter the top five of this list by year’s end.  Could he make it all the way to the top?

The process continues.

We here are Notinhalloffame.com have plans to create our own set of post-season awards, which we will look back and retroactively present from 1901 on.  That will take a while, but it has never stopped us before!

Our awards are not be league specific.

Now it is time for our 2021 positional awards.

We will be awarding a positional player of the year, but not only that, offer up the runner-up and second runner-up, meaning that we will have First, Second and Third All-MLB players.

Let’s work our way around the diamond and award the best of the best in Baseball!

*Please note that to qualify, a player must appear in that position at least 50% of the time.

First Team All-MLB: First Baseman of the Year:  Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays.  6.8 bWAR, 6.7 fWAR, 188 H, 48 HR, 123 R, 111 RBI, 4 SB, .311/.401/.601/1.002.

Guerrero lost weight entering the 2021 season, and the dedication to fitness yielded the best year of his young career.  Sharing the Home Run Title with Salvador Perez, Guerrero also led the AL in OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+ (169) and Total Bases (363), and was the most explosive offensive player in 2021.  Had it not been for Shohei Ohtani, he would have won our MVP.

Second Team All-MLB First Base:  Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals.  6.2 bWAR, 4.9 fWAR, 177 H, 31 HR, 102 R, 99 RBI, 12 SB, .294/.365/.514/.879.

This is Goldschmidt’s third year in St. Louis, and eleven over all.  Goldschmidt accrued his sixth 30-plus HR year and sixth .500 Slugging season.

Third Team All-MLB First Base:  Matt Olson, Oakland Athletics.  5.8 bWAR, 5.0 fWAR, 153 H, 39 HR, 101 R, 111 RBI, 4 SB, .294/.365/.514/.879.

Olson was an All-Star for the first time this year, and he posted career-bests in Runs, Home Runs, RBIs, Batting Average and On Base Percentage.

Look for more awards soon!