1981 PRELIMINARY RESULTS:

Thank you to all who participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project. If you are still determining what that is, we acted like the PFHOF had its first class in January 1946.

We have completed the first 34 years thus far.

For “1981,” a Preliminary Vote with close to 100 players whose playing career ended by 1975. We are also following the structure, where 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, and the top 25 vote-getters were named Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters will be asked to select 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and then choose five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process every week until we catch up to the current year.

Please note that a significant change occurred “years ago,” allowing voters to submit less than the allotted spots. 

30 Votes took place.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates they have been removed from future ballots

This is for the “Senior Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently.

Please note that three voted for “None of the Above.”

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently.

Next week, we will announce the Semi-Finalists for the 1981 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project.

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.

Drafted in the second round out of Southern Methodist in 2018, Courtland Sutton landed in Denver boasting an ideal alpha receiver frame, a massive catch radius, and physical boundary dominance. Save for a torn ACL that wiped out nearly his entire 2020 campaign, he has consistently operated as the reliable wide receiver anchor for an evolving Broncos offense.

Sutton's breakout arrived in 2019 when he earned his first Pro Bowl selection, hauling in 72 passes for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns while proving he could win against top primary cornerbacks. Through years of quarterback instability in Mile High, his ability to win 50/50 contested balls remained a constant offensive lifeline. He hit another gear in 2023, showcasing lethal red-zone efficiency by catching a career-high 10 touchdown passes.

His role as the primary passing engine truly crystallized alongside young quarterback Bo Nix. In 2024, Sutton recorded his second career four-digit campaign, racking up 1,081 receiving yards and eight touchdowns to lead Denver back into the postseason. He kept that standard going in 2025, stringing together his second consecutive 1,000-yard year with 74 receptions for 1,017 yards and seven touchdowns while capturing his second career Pro Bowl nod.

His clutch perimeter play down the stretch helped power the Broncos to an AFC West title and an AFC Championship Game appearance. Entering his ninth NFL season in 2026, Sutton should continue to make a run on the franchise’s all-time receiving leaderboards.

When the Denver Broncos made Patrick Surtain II the ninth overall pick in the 2021 draft—the second defensive back selected behind Jaycee Horn—they landed a true blue-chip cornerstone. The Alabama product carried NFL pedigree and refined technical polish, stepping directly into the secondary and delivering a flawless All-Rookie campaign that signaled a star was born.

Surtain elevated his game into elite territory during his sophomore campaign in 2022. Blessed with long arms, elite recovery speed, and a high football IQ, he routinely eliminated opposing top targets in single coverage, capturing First-Team All-Pro honors and his first Pro Bowl selection. He backed that up with a second consecutive Pro Bowl nod in 2023, solidifying his reputation as the premier shadow cornerback in the league.

2024 would be a golden season for Surtain. Opposing offensive coordinators practically erased his half of the field, targeting him just 62 times all year. When quarterbacks did dare throw his way, Surtain punished them, holding passers to a microscopic 59.1 passer rating and allowing a league-low 326 yards in coverage. He snagged four interceptions—highlighted by a momentum-swinging 100-yard pick-six against the Raiders—and added 11 pass deflections. That total dominance earned him NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Gradishar as only the second Bronco in franchise history to claim the award.

Surtain remained the heartbeat of Denver's defense in 2025, securing his fourth straight Pro Bowl nod and earning Second-Team All-Pro honors. Even while battling a midseason pectoral strain, his presence helped Denver's unit dominate down the stretch, and he returned for the postseason to help drive the Broncos all the way to the AFC Championship Game. Entering the 2026 season for his sixth NFL campaign, Surtain sits firmly atop the league as the undisputed gold standard at cornerback.

Thus far, he has compiled 12 interceptions, 59 pass deflections, 279 combined tackles, two forced fumbles, and two defensive touchdowns.