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.

The son of Baseball Hall of Famer, Vladimir Guerrero, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., was an expected superstar based on his pedigree and skill.  He did not disappoint.

Guerrero was signed as an amateur Free Agent with Toronto in 2015 and was called up four years later in the 2019 Season.  The dynamic First Baseman was sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and belted 15 Home Runs.  Guerrero was solid in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but his 2021 campaign was MVP-worthy had there not been Shohei Ohtani.  Guerrero won the Hank Aaron Award, went to his first All-Star Game, captured the Silver Slugger, and led the AL in Runs (123), Home Runs (48), OBP (.401), Slugging (.601), and OPS (1.002).

The First Baseman was not as potent with his bat in 2022 (32 HR, .818 OPS), but he shored up his defense and won the Gold Glove.  In 2023, was also a disappointent with an OPS of less than .800, and 26 Home Rune, but after a slow atart in 2024, he exoloded with a sixth-place MVP finish, a fourth All-Star, and 30 Home Runs

Vladdy is entering his contract year in 2025, but if he stat=ys, this a top-five franchise player.

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!