Julio Rodríguez, who departed the Dominican Republic as an international free agent at the age of 16, rapidly advanced through the minor league system, following a trajectory that scouts confidently anticipated would lead to superstardom. He made his highly anticipated debut as the Seattle Mariners' opening day center fielder in 2022, immediately confirming the substantial expectations placed upon him. Rodríguez earned consecutive American League Rookie of the Month awards in May and June, establishing himself as an exceptional, five-tool player who quickly joined the ranks of elite performers by being selected as an All-Star in his debut summer. He concluded his historic rookie season with 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases, and an impressive .853 OPS, earning the AL Rookie of the Year accolade, a Silver Slugger award, and a seventh-place finish in the league's Most Valuable Player voting.

Contrary to the possibility of experiencing a sophomore slump, Rodríguez enhanced his versatile authority to an even higher standard during the 2023 calendar year. He established a disciplined daily routine in run production by hitting 37 doubles, 32 home runs, and driving in 103 runs. Additionally, he demonstrated exceptional speed by stealing 37 bases across 155 games. This proven dominance, validated by prestigious awards, earned him a second consecutive All-Star selection, a Silver Slugger Award, an All-MLB Second Team honor, and a notable fourth-place position in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.

To be fair, the 2024 schedule presented a significantly challenging, league-wide decline in offensive performance. While he did not receive midseason accolades, he nonetheless demonstrated a highly resilient and defensively-oriented performance by anchoring center field and achieving 20 home runs along with 24 stolen bases, despite a decline in his slugging efficiency to a personal low of .409.

Nonetheless, authentic generational talents consider a minor statistical deviation as motivation for a significant, high-velocity counterattack. This evolutionary resurgence emerged spectacularly during the recent 2025 regular season. Rodríguez demonstrated exceptional proficiency in high-pressure power-hitting and comprehensive defensive performance, restoring his status as an elite player. He systematically dismantled American League pitching to achieve an impressive total of 32 home runs and 95 runs batted in over 160 games, while also successfully stealing 30 bases and scoring 106 runs. His historical milestone was reached on August 3, 2025, when he hit his 100th career home run off Jacob deGrom, becoming one of the fastest players in franchise history to reach this achievement. His remarkable resurgence during the summer season earned him his third career All-Star selection and a distinguished inclusion in the All-MLB First Team, thereby firmly establishing his position as an elite leader within the sport.

Now actively charging through the current 2026 schedule, "J-Rod" continues to function as the absolute epicenter and undisputed engine of the entire Seattle organization. Still only 25 years old and locked into a monumental long-term contract extension, his rare blend of jaw-dropping power, elite baserunning instincts, and infectious energy keeps the franchise's ultimate competitive floor incredibly high.

Two days after the WWE announced that Paul Heyman would be entering the WWE Hall of Fame, the second entrant, former WWE Women’s Champion Bull Nakano, has been announced.

Nakano began wrestling in her native Japan at the age of 15 and was a natural.  She would shortly join Dump Matsumoto and begin a reign of terror throughout All-Japan Women’s Wrestling.  Adopting a gigantic hairstyle and adding girth, Nakano was a beast of the division, and by 1990, became the face of the company and their top singles champion for over two years.  After she lost the title to Aja Kong, she was phased out, and she departed for CMLL in Mexico, where she became their first Women’s Champion.  A year later, she was signed by the WWE to work with their champion, Alundra Blayze.

Nakano came into the WWE and unsuccessfully challenged Blayze at Summer Slam 1994.  She would beat Blayze for the belt at the Tokyo Egg Dome and held it until she lost the title back to Blayze the bight after Wrestlemania XI.  That would be her last night in the WWE.  Nakano would later compete in WCW, again wrestling Blayze (who had reverted back to her Madusa moniker).  Nakano retired shortly after, hanging up the tights in 1997, and she went on to enjoy a career in ladies' golf.

The WWE roster has never had a greater contingent of Japanese female wrestling talent with Asuka, Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane under contract.  We imagine that this combination will be the co-presenters for this induction.

Nakano was ranked #75 on our Notinhalloffame list of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame. Notably, we will work to revise that list following Wrestlemania, and Nakano will be one of the names removed.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Bull Nakano for her impending honor.

On Sean Casey’s podcast yesterday, Josh Donaldson announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.

A controversial player who wore his emotions on his sleeves, Donaldson was first drafted by the Chicago Cubs as a Catcher, but after he was traded to the Oakland Athletics and was converted to a Third Baseman, he had a path to the Majors.  Donaldson debuted in Oakland in 2010 for a brief stay, but was back in 2012 to start the year, though was sent back down to AAA.  After he was called back up in August, Donaldson was back to stay.

Donaldson batted .301 with 24 Home Runs, 93 RBIs with an .883 OPS in 2013 and was fourth in MVP voting.  He followed that with a season with better power numbers (29 HR, 98 RBI) and was an All-Star for the first time.  The A’s knew that they would not be able to resign the rising star, so they did what they always do: they traded Donaldson.  His landing place was Toronto, and he paid immediate dividends by giving them the best season of his life.

In 2015, Donaldson was on fire, leading the AL in Runs (122) and RBIs (123) with 41 Home Runs and a Slash Line of .297/.371/.568.  He also won his first Silver Slugger and the Hank Aaron Award.  Donaldson followed that up with another excellent campaign, winning his second Silver Slugger, finishing fourth in MVP voting, and belting 37 Home Runs with 99 RBIs.  He was not an All-Star in 2017, but was still strong with 33 Home Runs, and in all three full seasons with Toronto, Donaldson had a Slugging Percentage of .549 or higher.  Donaldson had a myriad of health issues through 2018 and was traded to Cleveland, but he only played 52 Games.  It looked like Donaldson might be done, but he had other ideas.

Donaldson signed with Atlanta for one season, and he had his comeback year with 37 Home Runs and 94 RBIs, and he again had a Slugging Percentage over .500 (.521).  This was his last great year, as Donaldson signed with the Minnesota Twins, and injuries mounted, as did his brash comments.  Allegedly, he angered the entire Chicago White Sox (especially Tim Anderson), and as his play declined, his filter receded.  He finished his career with a disappointing run with the New York Yankees, and although his career ended with a whimper, his time as a lion was spectacular.

Overall, Donaldson had 279 Home Runs, 816 RBIs and 1,310 Hits.

Here at Notinhalloffame.com, we would like to wish Josh Donaldson the best in his post-playing career. 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 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 our post-2023 revision of our top 50 St. Louis Cardinals.

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, St. Louis had a very disappointing season, and were nowhere close to the playoffs.  Regardless, there was one new entrant and one change.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Stan Musial

2. Albert Pujols

3. Rogers Hornsby

4. Bob Gibson

5. Ozzie Smith 

You can find the entire list here.

Adam Wainwright reached 200 Wins last year, but bluntly, he was not very good. He had an ERA near 8 and a bWAR of -2.0. As such, he dropped a spot, going from #10 to #11.

The only new entrant was Paul Goldschmidt.  The 2022 National League MVP debuts at #46.

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