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 intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, that the Toronto Blue Jays will be inducting Jose Bautista into their Level of Excellence.

Jose Bautista's success in emerging as one of the game's top power hitters might be one of the biggest “Where the hell did this come from?” stories in Baseball.

Bautista was barely even a journeyman, playing briefly for Baltimore, Tampa Bay. and Kansas City before having a respectable season in 2007 as a Pittsburgh Pirate. The Blue Jays traded for him during the 2008 Season, and Bautista began 2009 as the fourth Outfielder. He worked all year with Toronto's hitting coach, Dwayne Murphy, who helped him work on his stance and leg kick. It yielded a coming out part in 2010 that blew everyone away.

After a previous high of 15 Home Runs, Bautista won the Home Run Title with 54. He also had 124 RBI, which would become his personal best. Bautista won the Silver Slugger that year and was fourth in MVP voting. Some in the baseball media thought he had to be a one-year wonder. He wasn't. Bautista won his second straight Home Run Title (43), and he led the AL in Walks (132), Slugging (.608), and OPS (1.056). He added a second Silver Slugger, and this year was third in MVP voting.

Bautista missed quite a few games due to injury in 2012 and 2013, though he still had at least 27 Home Runs in both seasons. Fully healthy in 2014, Bautista won his third Silver Slugger on a 35 HR/103 RBI campaign, blasted 40 taters in 2015, and helped lead the Blue Jays to the playoffs. In the deciding game in the ALDS against Texas, Bautista hit the game-winning Home Run and delivered after the most famous bat flip in Canada. Toronto did not win the Pennant that year, but Bautista's moment will be forever etched in Blue Jays fans.

Age caught up to Batista after, and so did a bit of karma, in terms of a punch to the face by Texas's Rougned Odor. He was not resigned after 2017, and he left the Jays with 1,103 Hits and 288 Home Runs.

Bautista will be officially honored on August 12 before their home game against the Chicago Cubs.  He joins George Bell, Dave Stieb, Joe Carter, Cito Gaston, Tony Fernandez, Pat Gillick, Tom Cheek, Paul Beeston, Carlos Delgado and Roy Halladay.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Jose Bautista for his impending honor.

One of the top female American hockey players is calling it a career, as Brianna Decker has announced that she is retiring from U.S.A. Hockey.

Decker compiled 170 Points in 147 Games, and won Gold at the 2018 Olympics along with two Silvers (2014 & 2022).  At the World Hockey Championships, Decker won Gold six times (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2019) and Silver twice (2012 & 2021).

Collegiately, she led the University of Wisconsin to a National Championship in 2011 and won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award the year after as the NCAA MVP.  On a club level, she was a two-time National Women’s Hockey League.

We are not sure if she will make the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Decker should be a lock for the United States Hockey HOF.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Brianna Decker the best in her post-playing career.

The World Curling Hall of Fame will be inducting five new members into their institution; three curlers and two from the builders category.

The new entrants are:

Kate Caithness, Scotland (Builder):  Caithness was the World Curling President from 2010 to 2022, and helped propel Wheelchair Curling into the Paralympics.

Jack Lynch, Canada (Builder):  Lynch was well-respected journalist, who covered curling mostly in Quebec.  He was pivotal in increasing membership associations that helped qualify Curling as an Olympic sport.

Ewan MacDonald, Scotland (Curler):  MacDonald is a three-time World Champion (1999, 2006 & 2010), a two-time European Champion (1999 & 2008) and he represented Scotland in ten World Championships.

Peter Smith, Scotland (Curler):  Smith represented Scotland 11 times, winning the World Championship three times (1991, 2006 & 2009), with five Silvers and a Bronze.  He is also a three-time European Champion (1988, 2007 & 2008).

Bill Strum, United States (Curler):  Strum was a two-time World Champion (1974 & 1978), while also winning a Silver and Bronze.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the World Curling Hall of Fame.

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 100 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 220 Notinhalloffame Cup Points:

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets, 208 Cup Points:  55 Games, 24.6 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 10.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 31.9 PER, 12.3 WS.  (#2 on last ranking)

Well look who is back at the top!  Jokic moves into the top spot and the two-time and defending MVP winner (and NIHOF Cup Champion) is leading the league in PER (31.9), Win Shares (12.3), VORP (7.1) and Box Plus/Minus (13.2).  He is also averaging a triple-double.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, 216 Cup Points:  53 Games, 33.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 30.1 PER, 9.1 WS.  (#4 on last ranking)

Doncic has rebounded to number two, and is the NBA’s current scoring leader (33.2), and is second in VORP (5.8) and Box Plus/Minus (10.0) while currently placing third in PER (30.1) and Win Shares (9.1).

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 213 Cup Points:  50 Games, 31.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 28.6 PER, 6.8 WS. (#5 on last ranking)

The two-time MVP would have probably been on the top had he not missed a series of Games earlier in the season, but has also been a little hurt lately, though he gained two places.  He is now a six-time All-Star, and is in the top five in both Points and Rebounds per Game.

4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics, 211 Cup Points:  59 Games, 30.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 23.8 PER, 8.0 WS.  (#1 on last ranking)

Tatum did not have any Cup Points on his last two Games, and it led to him plummeting three spots from the top to #4.  He is still a huge threat to win this award, as well as the MVP, and should finish over 30 Points per Game (he is currently sixth).

5. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers, 210 Cup Points:  48 Games, 33.0 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 30.5 PER, 8.6 WS.  (#3 on last ranking)

Embiid slid down two spots to number five, but is a bona fide MVP contender.  He is currently second in PPG (33.0) and is second in PER (30.5).  Embiid is also in the top five in Wins Shares, VORP and Box Plus/Minus.

6. (TIE) Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, 201 Cup Points:  52 Games, 27.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 8.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 23.9 PER, 5.7 WS. (#7 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.  Saying that, Memphis, is in a weird state right now, as is Morant, who has become a somewhat controversial figure.

6. (TIE) Julius Randle, New York Knicks, 201 Cup Points:  64 Games, 25.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 21.1 PER, 7.7 WS. (#6 on last ranking)

Randle continues to climb the list, and currently has a higher PPG (24.9), than his All-Star year two years ago.

8. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, 200 Cup Points:  54 Games, 31.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 27.3 PER, 9.1 WS. (#6 on last ranking)

Gilgeous-Alexander went to his first All-Star Game, and is shattering last year’s averages, which were already good.  He is currently injured, and fell two spots sine the last update, but has broke through to the upper tier.

9. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks, 188 Cup Points:  55 Games, 27.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 10.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 22.2 PER, 5.1 WS. (#9 on last ranking)

Young is the face of an intriguing Hawks squad, but was unable to make the NBA All-Star Team.  

10. Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz, 183 Cup Points:  57 Games, 25.3 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 22.6 PER, 7.7 WS.  (Not on last ranking)

Markkanen is now the first player from Finland to be an All-Star and after two months, he returns to the top ten in Cup Points.  This the year of his life.

Our next update will happen after the first player breaches 230 Cup Points.