Wrestelamania season also means WWE Hall of Fame Season, and we now know the name of the first person for the 2024 Class. Fittingly, as it is in Philadelphia, it is the “Wise Man,” Paul Heyman.
Heyman began his wrestling career as a photographer, and transitioned into a manager, first gaining national attention in the AWA, and then WCW, where his apex was the heel faction, The Dangerous Alliance. After he was fired from WCW, he would join ECW, which he would later own. Heyman transformed the company into Extreme Championship Wrestling, a hardcore promotion that was massively influential and changed the face of the industry. As impactful as it was, ECW was not profitable, and went under in 2001, and Heyman joined the WWE.
He began as an announcer and later an advocate for various wrestlers, most notably Brock Lesnar. Heyman would become the onscreen General Manager of Smackdown and later the revamped ECW. During this time, Heyman was helping with the booking and writing and was influential behind the scenes, where he used his vast knowledge to make the product edgier. Sadly, Heyman was again let go, when ECW underperformed, and it would be years before he was saw again.
Heyman returned to the WWE in 2012, but this time, it was just as an on-screen talent. Back again with Lesnar, Heyman would also align with CM Punk, uniting the two greatest talkers in the business. He would since join Roman Reigns in forming the Bloodline in 2020, a faction that still is in existence today.
Heyman was ranked #9 on our Notinhalloffame list of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame. Notably, we will work to revise that list following Wrestlemania, and Heyman will be one of the names removed.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Paul Heyman for his impending honor.
Jason Kelce, after 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the Eagles, has announced his retirement, marking the end of an era in Philadelphia.
Kelce was a walk-on at the University of Cincinnati and was drafted by the Eagles in the Sixth Round in 2011. He won the starting job as a rookie, but a torn ACL held him to only two games in 2012. However, he came back stronger and paved the way for LeSean McCoy’s league-leading 1,607 yards.
Kelce continued to improve his skill set and went to his first Pro Bowl in 2014. From 2016 until 2023, he was perennially named to a post-season honor, including six Pro Bowls (giving him seven in total) and six First Team All-Pros. He also set a franchise record of starting 156 consecutive games.
Kelce’s public profile has risen in recent seasons, partially due to his play and a lot from his relationship with his younger brother, Travis Kelce, who is the Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs and boyfriend of megastar Taylor Swift. Kelce is the only Center in the last 50 years chosen for six First Team All-Pros with a Super Bowl Ring.
He is Hall of Fame eligible in 2029, and he has an excellent chance to be the next Center inducted into the PFHOF. Notably, in our Pre-2023 Active Hall of Fame Ranking, Kelce was at #12.
Here at Notinhalloffame.com, we would like to wish Jason Kelce the best in his post-playing career.
Paul Goldschmidt was a six-time All-Star, won four Silver Sluggers, and three Gold Gloves while playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was also a two-time runner-up for the National League MVP award. However, when his contract was up, Arizona's management knew he was unlikely to re-sign with the team. Therefore, after the 2018 season, they traded Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he signed a long-term contract.
In his first season with the Cardinals, Goldschmidt hit 34 home runs with an OPS of .821. Despite the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he managed to maintain a high level of performance with an OPS of .833. Goldschmidt continued his impressive run in 2021, finishing sixth in the MVP voting with 31 home runs, 99 RBI, and an OPS of .879. However, the Cardinals were hoping for an even better performance from him.
In 2022, Goldschmidt finally won the MVP award he had been chasing for so long. He hit 35 home runs, with 115 RBIs, and boasted a Slash Line of .317/.404/.578. Goldschmidt led the league in Slugging, OPS (.981), and OPS+ (177). He also won the Silver Slugger and added another All-Star selection to his first All-MLB 1 Selection.
However, in 2023, Goldschmidt had a pedestrian season with 25 HR and an .810 OPS. For the first time since 2014, he did not receive an MVP vote, and he declined further in 2024, with only 22 Home Runs and a sub-2 bWAR. Goldschmidt left afterward for the New York Yankees as a Free Agent, but his time in St. Louis was fruitful with that MVP, 153 Home Runs and 874 Hits.
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 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-2023 revision of our top 50 San Francisco Giants.
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 that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, the Giants failed to make the playoffs, and as this team is over a century old, it takes a lot to break into this list. Nobody did in 2023, and there were no changes, but we always want to acknowledge that we took the last season into consideration.
As always, we present our top five, which (obviously) saw no changes:
1. Willie Mays
2. Barry Bonds
4. Mel Ott
5. Carl Hubbell
You can find the entire list here.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.