Hooks Wiltse didn’t just throw a curveball; he weaponized it. In an era dominated by blazing fastballs and deceptive spitballs, the crafty southpaw possessed a sharp, sweeping breaking ball that was universally recognized as far more lethal than his heater—a rarity for the Deadball Era that quickly earned him his iconic nickname. Joining John McGraw’s powerhouse New York Giants in 1904, Wiltse made the most explosive first impression in major-league history by winning his first 12 consecutive decisions, a legendary rookie record that stood unmatched for 70 years.

Wiltse quickly became the ideal left-handed counterpart to the legendary Christy Mathewson. Together, they formed one of the most renowned and successful lefty-righty pairings in baseball history, amassing 435 wins over their 11 years in Manhattan. Wiltse's efficient pitching contributed significantly to the Giants winning five National League pennants during that period. Although he sat in the dugout during the 1905 World Series while Mathewson threw three historic shutouts to win the title, it was Wiltse's regular-season performance that fueled their success.

His career's peak came during an impressive late-decade period when he became a back-to-back 20-win pitcher, recording a 23–14 record in 1908 and following it with a 20–11 season in 1909. 

Although it might seem that the heavy workload of the Deadball Era took a toll on him, his efficiency tells a different story. In his peak years, Wiltse was a top-tier run suppressor, maintaining a season ERA below 2.50 for five straight summers from 1905 to 1909, with a career-low of 2.00. It was only after 1910, as he entered his thirties and his shoulder fatigue persisted, that his ERA rose above that 2.50 mark.

Beyond his prowess on the mound, Wiltse was seen as one of the most versatile athletes on the team. McGraw often relied on his keen instincts for pinch-hitting and defensive roles, even assigning him to first base in Game 2 of the 1913 World Series. He concluded his time with the Giants with 155 hits and a solid .215 batting average. After shifting to a relief pitcher role, the Giants released him after the 1914 season, which led to a brief final stint with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League.

Wiltse's ten-year New York residency includes a 136–85 record, 2.48 ERA, and 948 strikeouts in 339 games.

1997 SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:

Thank you for your participation in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project. If you are unaware of what that is, we acted like the PFHOF had its first class in January 1946.

We have completed the years up to 1996.

For “1997,” a Preliminary Vote with nearly 100 players whose playing career ended by 1990. We also follow the structure in which 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 were asked to pick 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and next week, they will choose five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process every week until we catch up to the current year.

31 votes were cast, with the top 15 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 Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

We will post the Class of 1997 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project next Saturday.

Thank you to all who contributed. If you want to be part of this project, please let us know!

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.

The entire list (again, it is under construction) is here,  but in the meantime, here is the revised 150-175:

151. Mark Langston
152. Mark Grace
153. Wilbur Wood
154. Mel Harder
155. Bobby Veach
156. Elston Howard
157. Jimmy Key
158. Jason Giambi
159. Dolph Camilli
160. David Wells
161. Larry Jackson
162. Lew Burdette
163. Ted Kluszewski
164. Matt Williams
165. Schoolboy Rowe
166. Smokey Joe Wood
167. Darryl Strawberry
168. Brett Butler
169. Harry Davis
170. Gavvy Cravath
171. Mickey Vernon
172. Jose Canseco
173. Bobo Newsome
174. Frank McCormick
175. Noodles Hahn

Look for more updates soon.

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.  We are pleased to present our pre-2026 revision of our top 50 San Diego Padres.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following: 

1.  Duration and Impact.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the Major League Baseball.

3.  Advanced Statistics.

4.  Playoff performance.

5. Their respective legacy on the team.

6. How successful the team was when he was there.

7. Respecting the era in which they played.

Criteria 1-4 will make up the lion’s share of the algorithm.  Please note that we have implemented this for the first time.  This has changed the rankings all throughout the board.

Last year, the Padres finished second in the National League West with a 90-72 record and made the playoffs, though they fell to the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card.  There were multiple elevations on the list for the 2025 season, along with one new entrant.  Notably, there is one new addition, but that is based on the algorithm.

As always, we present our top five, which saw significant changes.

1. Tony Gwynn
2. Trevor Hoffman
3. Jake Peavy
4. Dave Winfield
5. Fernando Tatis Jr.

You can find the entire list here.

According to the new algorithm, Jake Peavy and Dave Winfield switched their #3 and #4 rankings.

Tatis Jr., who was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner last season, moved from #7 to #5.  He was also 8th in MVP voting last year.

Notably, while Manny Machado had a good 2025 season, he did not move from the #6 spot.  He overtook former Cy Young winner Randy Jones, but Tatis Jr. passed both of them.

Jake Cronenworth went from #28 to #22.

Despite pitching sparingly in 2025, Yu Darvish benefited from the new algorithm and went up from #44 to #41.

The algorithm also brought back Gaylord Perry.  He returns at #47.

Robert Suarez, who is now an Atlanta Brave, did enough last year to enter the list.  He is at #50.

Jurickson Profar and Trent Grisham fell off the list.

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