A key element for a thriving franchise rebuild is having a reliable pitcher who can consistently take the mound every fifth day, pitch innings, and support a team in transition. For the Seattle Mariners in the late 2010s and early 2020s, that crucial piece was Marco Gonzales. Drafted in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 from Gonzaga University, this soft-tossing left-hander overcame early injuries and a crowded roster before a pivotal July 2017 trade sent him to Seattle in exchange for outfielder Tyler O'Neill. When Gonzales joined the Mariners, he was an untested talent, but he quickly became the steady, competitive backbone of the pitching staff.

Gonzales officially established himself as a dependable rotation piece during the 2018 season. Securing a permanent role right after spring training, the southpaw displayed an elite changeup and excellent sequencing, pitching through 29 starts with a promising 13–9 record and a 4.00 ERA. Although he didn't possess the high velocity of some peers, his calm, pitch-to-contact strategy made him a consistent presence during the regular season.

He beautifully validated that breakout during the 2019 season. Operating as the undisputed ace of a shifting roster, Gonzales spearheaded the staff by going 16–13 across a volume-dense 203.0 innings pitched, pacing the club with 147 strikeouts and cementing his status as the unquestioned leader of the clubhouse.

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Gonzales put together his absolute professional masterpiece. Serving as the team's Opening Day starter, he completely dismantled American League hitters, cruising to a brilliant 7–2 record with a career-best 3.10 ERA and a league-leading 0.9 walk-per-nine-innings rate, proving that pristine command could thoroughly dictate the modern game.

While he remained a highly competent and competitive force during a 10-win 2021 campaign, the massive physical toll of carrying the rotation through consecutive rebuilding seasons eventually created significant friction. The 2022 season proved to be an incredibly grueling stretch; despite logging 183.0 innings across 32 starts, Gonzales lacked his signature sharpness, leading the American League with 15 losses and posting a negative bWAR (-0.1).

His final chapter in the Emerald City arrived in 2023. Though he managed a winning 4–1 record over 10 starts, persistent nerve irritation in his forearm severely limited his durability and efficiency, inflating his ERA to 5.22 and dropping his advanced value metrics to a negative 0.4 bWAR before season-ending surgery sidelined him for good.

Recognizing the rapid ascent of younger arms like George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, the front office made a tough transitional calculation in December 2023, trading the veteran southpaw to the Atlanta Braves, who subsequently flipped him to the Pittsburgh Pirates just days later.  With Seattle, Gonzales had a 61–47 record, a 4.08 ERA, and 631 strikeouts.

The world of basketball lost a legend today as Elgin Baylor passed away from natural causes.  He was 86 years old.

Baylor led the Seattle Redhawks to a Final Four Appearance in 1958, and while his team did not win, the All-American was named the Final Four MVP.  His collegiate success netted him the first overall pick that year, going to the Minneapolis Lakers, where he won the Rookie of the Year.

The Small Forward went on to be one of the top NBA players of the 1960s, and would be named to ten First Team All-NBA Selections.  Knee problems reduced him to only 11 Games in his last two season, and he retired after the 1971-72 Season, and Baylor left professional basketball with a 27.4 Point and 13.5 Rebound per Game Average.  

He would later be the General Manager for the Los Angeles Clippers from 1989 to 2009, though would only see the playoffs twice in that capacity.

Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977, and his number 22, was retired by the Lakers in 1983.

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

One of the most popular sports that bettors get excited about is betting on basketball. It's been many years since basketball betting has made a huge impact in terms of money-making. Speaking of earning money into betting, more strategies and tips can help you succeed. 

Applying strategies to betting is not simple, especially if you have no idea where to begin. You can grab books related to the subject to give you some advice to develop your strategy. You can also research on the internet about specific information related to basketball betting techniques. For more information, you can find FanDuel here.

Having the strategies for basketball betting is not enough. You have to use them as a guide to improve your betting techniques. For you to apply it to the game, you must know how to utilize it. Do not just stick to one tip when choosing your bets. Better conduct more study on basketball betting strategies to enhance your betting skills.

It is essential to have strategies when it comes to betting. It would help you improve your expertise in betting if you learn the game’s process. A guide in basketball betting helps many bettors increase their chances of winning. The experts believe that when you exert more effort into learning more about betting strategies, there will be a bigger chance that you will win. 

Betting Strategies For Success

Basketball betting is well known, and sometimes it is confusing because some bettors don’t have any idea where and how to start betting. It will be challenging for a bettor to find an effective basketball strategy since there are no universal tactics. You also have to adopt other strategies as this will add to the possibility of winning.

Expert bettorshave their ways on how to follow an order for them to be profitable. They know how to navigate the basketball betting game by observing the movements of the team or player. There is no assurance that you will win in basketball betting. However, you may be able to lower the risk of failure with the right and effective strategy. 

Luck plays a big role in basketball betting. Predicting which team will win is difficult and risky. The result may be good or bad, but many tactics are involved when you engage in betting. The timing, spotting the team’s strength and weakness and understanding each team’s line movements, and more. 

You should always be ready for the betting outcomes. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. There is no guarantee that you’ll win with the team or player you choose. At the start, you will be afraid of taking risks but you have to trust that you chose right. 

Mighty Betting Tips

If you are new to basketball betting, it would be hard for you to reach the goal of winning the game. There is a lot of information about how to be successful in basketball betting. You can get it from experts’ tips, books, or on the internet. It takes time to learn the sportsbook.

Bettors have a limited amount of money. If you are consistently losing the game, try to think of the correct strategies to win the betting game.

At the beginning of the game, you will decide how much money you have for a bankroll. Separate this amount and do not touch anything except the money for betting. You have to divide the reserved amount by 100 and place a bet not bigger than this amount to observe the results and see the improvements. 

There are two bets, small and big bets. Small bets mean that you will get a higher total odds and reward. Big bets mean that you will get lower odds and an award but higher chances of winning. The risk between the two bets is equal.

Keep track of all your withdrawals and deposits to help you monitor your money. It is better to stop playing the betting game if you keep losing because it will be hard to recover from overwhelming debt. To avoid these circumstances, you must understand the game process to help you win basketball betting and choose the right decision in betting to be successful in the game you play.

In Conclusion

The tips and strategies listed above are far from comprehensive but they will be a great help to someone who has only begun their journey as a bettor. Even if it takes time to learn it, your strong desire will take you a long way to becoming an expert bettor and will pay off when you see the progress on the games you are playing. You have to be consistent when applying the right strategies that you have learned to be more successful when it comes to basketball betting.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 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 the pre-2021 update of our top 50 Chicago Cubs of all-time.

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 the National League. 

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

There is only one new addition, but he is not an active player.  As always, we announce our top five immediately, but out full list can be found here.

1. Cap Anson

2. Ernie Banks

3. Ryne Sandberg

4. Ron Santo

5. Billy Williams

There was some minor tinkering on the list due to the changing values from Baseball Reference.  This led to former Infielder, Woody English,replacing Hall of Fame closer, Lee Smith at #50.

We welcome your input and commentsand as always, we thank you for your support.