Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we maintain and update our existing Top 50 lists annually.  As such, we are delighted to present our pre-2025/26 revision of our top 50 Tampa Bay Rays.

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 Rays finished fourth in the American League East with a 77-85 record.  As this is a young franchise that constantly overhauls talent, there were new entrants and multiple elevations on this year’s list, especially with the new algorithm.

As always, we present our top five, which saw a change due to the new algorithm.

1. Evan Longoria
2. Carl Crawford
3. Ben Zobrist
4. David Price
5. Kevin Kiermaier

You can find the entire list here.

Infielder Yandy Diaz moved up two spots from #10 to #8.

Pitcher Drew Rasmussen makes his first appearance, skyrocketing to #18.  We admittedly failed to rank him last year.

Notably, Pitcher Shane McLanahan, who missed 2024 and 2025 but returned in 2026, fell by one spot to #21.

Infielder Taylor Walls had a huge jump, moving from #45 to #29.

Pitcher Zack Littell, who was traded to the Cincinnati Reds during the 2025 campaign, debuts at #49.

Greg Vaughn and Steven Souza Jr. fell off the list.

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

Last January, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2026, and for us at Notinhalloffame.com, this means it is time to revise the list of those to consider for the Hall.

At present, it is a work in progress, as we have multiple projects underway (including prepping the ballot for the 2026 United States Athletic Hall of Fame), but we are also slowly working on the Baseball Hall revision.

Our revisions take into account the following:

• Removing those who were inducted and including those who are now eligible.
• Taking in your votes and comments and adjusting accordingly.

Simple, right?

As this is a work in progress, the section is under construction, but we will keep you apprised of the changes as we go.

…and we are pleased to say that we are complete!

Below is the last part of the list, 275 to 300.

276. Theodore Breitenstein
277. Eddie Stanky
278. Moises Alou
279. Hardy Richardson
280. Andy Messersmith
281. Ian Kinsler
282. Jim Sundberg
283. George Gore
284. Darrell Porter
285. Lindy McDaniel
286. Edwin Encarnación
287. Preacher Roe
288. Dom DiMaggio
289. Javier Vasquez
290. Hank Gowdy
291. Milt Pappas
292. Brad Radke
293. Derrek Lee
294. Bill Hutchinson
295. Larry Gardner
296. David Justice
297. Dan Haren
298. Plácido Polanco
299. Brian Downing
300. Curt Simmons

We will begin work on the Notinhalloffame Football List next.

The Carolina Panthers will be well represented in next month's Pro Football Hall of Fame class with Luke Kuechly, the star Linebacker who was a Defensive Player of the Year and a five-time First Team All-Pro.  If it were up to Kuechly, one of his former teammates would be in the Hall with him.

In an article by Scott Fowler in the Charlotte Observer, Fowler referenced past interviews that he had recently conducted, and he referenced a quote by Kuechly regarding Newton:

“When he was rolling, he was the best player on the field at all times.  I know he was the league’s MVP and a Pro Bowler and all that stuff. But just think about that: Whenever he was on the field, he was the biggest, most physical and best player on it.”

To Kuechly’s point, Newton was a freakish athlete who set the since-broken record of rushing touchdowns with 72, pounding 5,628 yards in the process. 

In Fowler’s article, he also referenced Newton’s former Head Coach, Ron Rivera, who had this to say about Newton’s Hall of Fame candidacy:

“For seven seasons, before he hurt his shoulder, Cam Newton was at the top of the NFL.  There’s got to be some serious consideration for the hall of fame, and I mean that, because that guy redefined the position.”

Newton was a dominant player from 2011 to 2017 and won the league MVP in 2015, which was the season he led Carolina to a Super Bowl appearance.  As great as his overall year was, Newton is best remembered that year for failing to dive for a fumble late in the game. 

Should a single play define a career?  No, but when it happens at the biggest stage, it is forever remembered.

As for Newton, he is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time in 2027.

Regular visitors of notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. We will eventually extend that to the major universities, and thus it is important to us that Ohio State will be honoring Jim Tressel as a member of the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor this September.

Tressel first coached at Ohio State from 1983 to 1985, where he was the Quarterbacks/Running Backs coach, but he departed for the Head Coach job at Youngstown State, where he coached from 1986 to 2000, taking the Penguins to four Division I-AA Championships.  He made a triumphant return to Columbus following the 2000 season, and for the next decade, Tressel was among the top coaches in college football.

In the ten years he coached Ohio State, the Buckeyes compiled a scintillating 106-23 record, peaking with a 2002 NCAA Championship win with a Fiesta Bowl win.  He also led the school to four other bowl wins (2003 Fiesta, 2004 Alamo, 2009 Rose, and 2010 Sugar) and, in eight separate campaigns, finished with a top-ten ranking.

Tressel was suspended in 2011 for failing to notify the NCAA about violations by his players. The scandal snowballed and would eventually force Tressel to resign later that year.  Regardless of the scandal, Tressel remained a beloved figure in Ohio, and this accolade is long overdue for many Buckeyes fans.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Jim Tressel for his impending honor.