Barry Bonds is one of the most controversial players in Baseball history, and he was already a two-time defending MVP when he signed with the Giants as a Free Agent.  What he accomplished with his bat in the Bay Area may never be seen again.

In his first year in San Francisco, Bonds won his first Home Run Title (46), RBI (Title (123), and was also the league leader in OBP (.458), Slugging (.677), and OPS (1.136).  He won his third MVP while also winning the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove.  Bonds was as good as he always was and remained an upper-echelon power hitter throughout the 90s.  As proven a commodity as he was, the game was changing around him, and other sluggers were (allegedly) increasing their hitting numbers through the use of PEDs.

At age 35, Bonds set a new personal record for Home Runs (49), and his body appeared to be changing.  There would be no doubt that something was different when in 2001, he shattered Mark McGwire's single-season Home Run record with 73.  Bonds won the MVP again that year, and regardless of how fans and writers viewed him, there was zero doubt that he was the most feared hitter in Baseball.

From 2001 to 2004, Bonds won every MVP, every OBP Title, Slugging Title, and OPS Title.  He was so good that he was intentionally walked with the bases loaded.  No player has ever, and likely will ever, have a four-year run of hitting success like that.

Following 2004, Bonds became oft-injured, but when he was at the plate, he remained unstoppable.  Following his contract's expiry, the Giants nor any other club offered him an opportunity.  He would retire, belting 586 Home Runs, 1,440 RBI, and recording a Slash Line of .312/.477/.666 for San Francisco.

Controversy or not, there will never be another hitter like Barry Bonds again.

The Baseball Hall of Fame may never call his name, but the Giants inducted him into their Wall of Fame in 2017.

Willie Mays played two years with Birmingham of the Negro Leagues before he signed with the New York Giants, and it would not take long before the “Say Hey Kid” became the face of the franchise.

Mays could do it all.  When they speak of five-tool baseball players, Mays is the literal definition.  He had it all.  Mays had the power, the speed, the glove, the arm, and the average.  There was nothing that he could not do, and that wasn't the case just for a year or two; Mays had those skills for most of his career.  Mays could very well be the most complete baseball player that ever lived.

Debuting for the Giants in 1951, Mays won the Rookie of the Year and was the spark plug for the team that shocked the world by coming from 13.5 Games behind in August to win the Pennant.  New York didn’t win the World Series, but they had a star on the rise, but military service kept him out of 1953 and most of 1952.  When he returned, he staked a claim as baseball’s top dog.

Mays won the Batting Title, 1954 MVP, and led New York to a World Series Championship.  Although 1954 was his only World Series win, his individual greatness was cemented in every facet of the sport.  He went to his first All-Star Game and would be invited every year until 1971.

Mays had the perfect eye at the plate.  He batted over .300 nine times and drew Walks, netting an OBP over .400 five times and winning two OBP Titles.  The Power game with Mays was also one of the best ever.  Mays won four Home Run Titles, blasting 646 of 600 career Home Runs with the Giants.  Mays never won an RBI Title but had at least 100 in a season ten times with 1,909 overall as a Giant.  An MVP again in 1965, Mays had six more top-five MVP finishes.

Speed was another one of Mays's calling cards.  He led the NL in Stolen Bases four years in a row (1956-59) with 336 as a Giant.  Mays was also one of the game's top defensive players, having not only made the 1954 over-the-head catch in Game 1 of the World Series but continuing to dominate on the field.  He led the NL in Defensive bWAR in 1954 and was in the top ten seven other times.  He also was a three-time leader in Total Zone Runs.

Mays was traded to the New York Mets during the 1972 Season, where he unceremoniously ended his career, though he did help them win the 1973 Pennant.  He is still the all-time Giants leader in bWAR (154.5), Offensive bWAR (134.8), Runs Scored (2,011), Hits (3,187), and Home Runs (646).

Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year on the ballot.  San Francisco retired his number 24 in 1972 while he was still an active player, and he was later an inaugural member of the Giants Wall of Fame in 2008.

Mixed Martial Arts lost one of its favorite sons, as Stephan Bonnar, died of heart issues at the tender age of 45.

From Hammond, Indiana, Bonnar became a permanent fixture on the MMA scene when he made the Ultimate Fighter 1 Finals, in a unanimous decision loss to Forrest Griffin.  Despite his loss, Bonnar was so impressive in defeat that Dana White signed him to a UFC contract.

Bonnar went on to have a good career, but was never a champion in the UFC, though he would have many high-prominent fights, including losses to Rashad Evans, Jon Jones, Mark Coleman and Anderson Silva.  He retired in 2014 with a record of 15-9.

At UFC 162, Bonnar’s first fight with Griffin was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Stephan Bonnar.

If you are a regular visitor at Notinhalloffame.com, you know that we created the Notinhalloffame NBA Cup, where in every regular season game, we award points (5-4-3-2-1) to the top five performers.  This is the third year that we have done this, and Denver’s Nikola Jokic won the first two.

To keep everyone regularly in the loop this time, we have decided to give regular updates, starting at when the first player cracked 120 Points, and tell all of you the top ten.  We will this going forward with every update as the first player breaches the elevated ten-point threshold afterward.

Here is the current top ten, based on the first player to breach 120 Notinhalloffame Cup Points:

1 (Tie). Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets, 121 Points:  31 Games, 30.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 27.0 PER, 5.0 WS.  (#2 on last ranking)

Durant moves back up to the top spot, albeit in a tie, and sure enough, he also shares the most amount of Points (934) with Luka Doncic, though KD has played two more Games.

1 (Tie). Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, 121 Points:  29 Games, 32.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 30.3 PER, 5.3 WS.  (#1 on last ranking)

Doncic remains at the top (though now tied with Durant) and should be considered the top contender for the MVP.  At present, he is second in Points per Game behind Joel Embiid, and is also topping the stat line in VORP (3.6).

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, 113 Points:  29 Games, 31.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 27.0 PER, 4.5 WS.  (#5 on last ranking)

Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be an All-Star this year, and is shattering last year’s averages, which were already good.  How great will this Canadian be?

4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics, 111 Points:  30 Games, 30.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 24.9 PER, 4.4 WS.  (#3 on last ranking)

Tatum continues to get better which should scare the hell out of anybody cheering against the Celtics.  He has never finished a season averaging over 30 Points per Game, and Tatum is over that now.

5.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 110 Points:  26 Games, 31.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 28.8 PER, 3.7 WS. (#5 on last ranking)

Giannis is back where he belongs in the top five and the two-time MVP’s Bucks look ready to win it all.  He is in the top five in Rebounds and Points per Game.

6. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, 103 Points:  27 Games, 24.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 9.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 32.0 PER, 5.5 WS.  (#10 on last ranking)

The “Joker” is on fire lately, and we know someone wants to get that third Cup!  He is currently leading the NBA in Box Plus/Minus (12.0) and Win Shares (5.5).

7 (Tie). Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics, 102 Points:  30 Games, 26.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 19.8 PER, 2.3 WS. (#7 on last ranking)

Brown’s appearance here gives Boston the only team to have two players in the top ten, and he currently has the highest traditional numbers of his career.  

7 (Tie). Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors, 102 Points:  26 Games, 30.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 26.7 PER, 4.1 WS. (#4 on last ranking)

Curry is now out with an injury, and will likely be out of the top ten by the next update.

9. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, 99 Points:  29 Games, 29.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 24.8 PER, 4.9 WS.  (Not on last ranking)

Mitchell returns to the top ten, and more and more it looks like he was the true star of his previous team, Utah.

10.  Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, 98 Points:  25 Games, 27.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 7.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 23.8 PER, 2.6 WS. (#10 on last ranking)

Morant is the face of the Grizzles, and he is posting similar numbers from last year, when he took Memphis to the next level.

Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers fell off the top ten.

Our next update will happen after the first player breaches 130 Cup Points.