Jim Rice patrolled left field at Fenway Park for the entirety of his 16-season career (1974–1989), serving as the successor to the "Lifer" lineage established by Williams and Yastrzemski. Arriving in late 1974, Rice became a full-time fixture the following year, providing the middle-of-the-order muscle that propelled the Red Sox to the legendary 1975 World Series. From the moment he stepped into the box, Rice established himself as the most feared power hitter of his generation.

Rice’s peak from 1977 to 1979 remains one of the most productive three-year stretches in American League history. In his 1978 MVP campaign, he authored a season of the ages, leading the league in Home Runs (46), RBIs (139), Hits (213), and Triples (15), an incredible feat for a power hitter of his stature.  He swept the efficiency metrics as well, topping the AL in Slugging (.600) and Total Bases (406), becoming the first AL player to eclipse 400 total bases in 41 years.

The "Sultan of the Fens" remained a premier threat well into the 1980s. He secured his third Home Run Title in 1983 with 39 blasts and his second RBI crown with 126, finishing fourth in the MVP race. An eight-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger, Rice’s consistency was his hallmark; even in 1986, he provided the veteran leadership and production (.324 average and 20 HRs) necessary to lead Boston back to the World Series, finishing third in the MVP voting that season.

Rice concluded his career in 1989 with a résumé that defined an era of Boston baseball. He amassed 382 home runs, 1,451 RBIs, and a lifetime .854 OPS. While his path to Cooperstown famously required the full 15-year eligibility window, the Red Sox organization never wavered in its recognition of his greatness. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995, and his Number 14 was officially retired in 2009.

From the moment the Atlanta Braves signed Ronald Acuna Jr. as an amateur Free Agent from Venezuela, they knew they had someone special.  From a baseball family, Acuna wasted little time in making the Braves roster, receiving a call-up while still a teenager on April 25, 2018, and would win the Rookie of the Year award with 26 HR/.917 OPS year. 

Acuna was an All-Star in his second season, blasting 41 Home Runs with 101 RBIs and was the league-leader in Runs (127) and Stolen Bases (138).  Also winning his first Silver Slugger, Acuna was fifth in MVP voting and took his spot as one of the most exciting players in Baseball.  Acuna was 12th in MVP voting in the COVID-shortened year, with a second Silver Slugger (14 HR/.985 OPS), and was an All-Star again in 2021, but tore his ACL before the mid-summer classic, ending what could have been his first MVP year, though he had some consolation when the Braves won the World Series.

Acuna returned in late April the following year and was voted into his third All-Star Game, though it was a down year for the Outfielder, who only had 19 Home Runs and an OPS of.764, but he exploded in 2023, where he was the best player in baseball.  Acuna led the NL in Runs (149), Hits (217), OBP (.416), OPS (1,012), and OPS+ (168).  He also took advantage of the relaxed base-stealing rules, topping the league with 73 swipes and creating the first-ever 40/70 club.  Acuna won the Silver Slugger, MVP, and Major League Player of the Year, and contended for the Batting Title (.337).

Unfortunately for Acuna, he had a slow start to the 2024 season and tore his ACL in May.  A year later, Acuna was back in the Majors, and he was an All-Star again and the worthy winner of the NL Comeback Player of the Year.

Still a Brave and still in his prime, Acuna has top ten potential in an already crowded field.

1954 SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:

Thank you for all of you who have participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project, and if you are unaware of what that is, simply, we acted as if the PFHOF had their first class in January of 1946?

We have completed the years up to 1953.

For “1954” a Preliminary Vote with over 130 players whose playing career ended by 1948. We are also following the structure in that players have 20 years of eligibility, and if they do not make it into the Hall, they are relegated to the Senior Pool.

Each voter was asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, with the top 25 vote getters named as Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters were asked to pick 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and next week, they will pick five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process weekly until we catch up to the current year.

30 Votes took place, with the top five advancing.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

This is for the Coaches/Contributors

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

Next Saturday, we will be posting the Class of the 1954 Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project.

Thank you to all who contributed, and if you want to be a part of this project, please let us know!

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 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Arizona Diamondbacks.

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 Major League Baseball.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

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

Last year, Arizona shocked the world by not only making the playoffs, but competing in the World Series, though they fell to the Texas Rangers in five Games.  The 2023 Season, gave us one new entrant and several elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Randy Johnson

2. Paul Goldschmidt

3. Brandon Webb

4. Curt Schilling

5. Luis Gonzalez

You can find the entire list here.

Infielder, Ketel Marte, continued his rise, inching up one spot #6.

Starting Pitcher, Zac Gallen, climbed to #12 from #21.

Of note, Infielder, Nick Ahmed, who was released in August, actually fell a spot to #19.

First Baseman, Christian Walker, rose from #31 to #22.

Another Starting Pitcher, Merrill Kelly, jumped from #36 to #23.

The lone new entrant is the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year, Corbin Carroll, who debuts at #38.

Relief Pitcher, Andrew Chafin, who returned as a Free Agent, only to be traded late in the season to Milwaukee, did enough to move up two spots to #42.

We thank you for your continued support for our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.