Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Almost Cooperstown
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "MLB Milestones: Jen Powell, Roman Anthony, & Savannah Bananas.Stat of week RBIs" Ep. 622 TWIB 08.11.25 | 11 Aug 2025 | 00:25:13 | |
In this week's episode of "Almost Cooperstown," we dive into a historic moment as Jen Powell becomes the first female umpire in MLB history to officiate a regular season game. We also explore Roman Anthony's impressive new contract and what it means for his future in baseball. Plus, we take a fun detour into the world of the Savannah Bananas and their unique take on the game. From the latest stats to the ongoing debate about the value of RBIs, we cover it all. Tune in for an engaging discussion on the evolving landscape of baseball! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Trade deadline wild with relievers, Waste pitches are not what they used to be - Ep. 621 - 8.4.25 | 04 Aug 2025 | 00:34:47 | |
Ichiro Suzuki gave a great speech at the induction ceremony last weekend in Cooperstown. So did C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Willa Allen gave a nice tribute to the late great Dick (don't call me Richie) Allen and Dave Parker's brother painted a more accurate pitcher of the Cobra. The largest crowd ever to attend a regular season #MLB game at Bristol Speedway in Tennessee got rained out on Saturday night - 91,000+ fans attended breaking the record set in 1954 in Cleveland in a game vs. the #Yankees. The #Braves won on Sunday 4-2 and home runs were celebrated with a 'Home Run' car going around the oval. That was cool. Trading deadline had so many teams picking up relief pitchers that can help them for the stretch drive and for the playoffs. #Padres, #Phillies, #Mets, #Yankees, all made significant improvements to their bullpens. Eugenio Suarez also was moved back to #Mariners and with Cal 'Big Dumper' Raleigh the M's have power they have not had in a long time to go with their excellent pitching. Is Jimmy Rollins a HOFer? He's now in the Phillies HOF as he was inducted this past weekend. Waste pitches used to refer to pitches thrown in a 0-2 count. Now there are means to evaluate how untempting some of those non-competitive pitchers are. Emmauel Clase of the #Guardians along with his teammate Luis Ortiz have cleaned out their lockers as the advanced metrics may have uncovered a gambling scheme. We talk about strike zone shadow zones and how pitchers can overdo trying to get the batter to go fishing. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| HOF inductions, Trade deadline talk, biggest crowd ever is coming, WPA is cool! - 7.28.25 - Ep. 620 | 28 Jul 2025 | 00:32:32 | |
This coming Saturday evening in Bristol, TN the most fans ever to attend an MLB game are predicted to watch the Reds and Braves. HOF inductions took place Sunday in Cooperstown where it was as hot as it always is for those ceremonies. Dave Parker's son spoke eloquently about him and Dick Allen's widow Willa gave a moving tribute to an all-time great. Billy Wagner, C.C. Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki all very deserving, were celebrated. It is the Braves that have three pitchers w initials DD not the Rangers. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| All-Star ridiculousness & Midseason report - 7.21.25 - Ep. 619 | 21 Jul 2025 | 00:23:47 | |
Did you love the home run derby that ended this year's actual All-Star game? The players sure did. But not having real pitchers makes it an entertainment product and not a real baseball thing. It's fine for an exhibition game but real games should not be decided in the 10th inning with a homerun swing off. #Mariners Cal Raleigh leads #MLB in home runs and also was the first catcher to ever win the Monday Home Run Derby. Raleigh is a legit MVP candidate (along with #Yankees Aaron Judge. The 'Big Dumper' may hit more than 60 home runs and the all-time best by a catcher is 48 by #Royals Salvador Perez. Now that the post ASG games have begun we are staring down the trading deadline which is in 10 days. Which teams will be buyers and which teams will be sellers? We look at all the divisions and forecast which teams should go for it and which should get what they can and reload for next year. Correction: John Mozeliak is the POBO for the Cardinals. Bill DeWitt is the owner. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Baseball Two-Way Greats author Chris Jensen - Ep. 618 | 14 Jul 2025 | 00:35:47 | |
Baseball's Two-Way Greats - Pitching/Batting Stars from Ruth and Rogan to Ohtani by Chris Jensen. Is Shohei Ohtani the greatest two-way player in #MLB history? Chris Jensen isn't afraid to take on big subjects and 19th century baseball had its fair share of two-way stars. Chris breaks down the greatest two-way players into 19th century, pre-integration era (1947), Negro Leagues, Latin Leagues, and of course the post-integrated era. Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe was both a pitcher and catcher and would sometimes play behind the plate in one game of a doubleheader and then pitch the other game! Babe Ruth is the first name you think of when you think two-way players but how about John Montgomery Ward? Or Negro League star player and manager Bullet Rogan? Was he really better than Satchel Paige? Chris believes Shohei is amazing just like we all do and gives reasons why Shohei might be the best of them all although he'd rather not categorize things that way. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Spin rates & FIP explained. ASG rosters complete. TWIB 7.7.25 - Ep. 617 | 07 Jul 2025 | 00:26:08 | |
Sadly #whitesox closer Bobby Jenks passed away from stomach cancer at age 44. Our condolences to the Jenks family. On a happier note #Dodgers Clayton Kershaw struck out his 3,000th #MLB batter! #RedSox Wilyer Abreu hit both a Grand Slam AND an inside-the-park home run in the same game last week! HOFer Robbie Alomar had an ignominus end with #BlueJays having his number un-retired and being erased from the Jays HOF. On the other hand, or hands, Moises Alou, a career .300 hitter used to pee on his hands during the winter and spring to toughen them up. So apparently did #Yankees Jorge Posada according to former teammate Nick Swisher. Spin rates are a pitcher glamour stat. But is it really an indicator of success? How about FIP - fielding independent pitching? We explain both advanced stats and try to make some sense out of them. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Defensive metrics are many & confusing. We unravel them. TWIB - 6.30.25 - Ep. 616 | 30 Jun 2025 | 00:24:44 | |
Dave 'The Cobra' Parker passed away at age 74 less than a month before his induction ceremony in Cooperstown. His arm in right field was legendary and he won the 1978 NL MVP. We're sorry he won't get the opportunity to be there next month. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| What the heck is xwOBA? TWIB - 6.23.25 - Ep. 615 | 23 Jun 2025 | 00:28:48 | |
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are 1-2 in xwOBA. Expected Weighted On-Base Average (xwOBA) tell the story of a player's season based on quality of and amount of contact, not outcomes. It takes out being unlucky. Why can't we get into the College World Series? Rafael Devers is a Giant in the first pre-trading deadline deal of the 2025 #MLB season. Devers said he'd play anywhere once he went to San Francisco. Maybe the Red Sox just didn't ask nicely? Not great for Alex Cora and Craig Breslow. Shohei Ohtani is back on the hill but will he take his turn every 6th day? Cal Raleigh has 30 home runs and is poised to have the greatest hitting season in catcher history. Yes there is a long way to go. James Wood is a superstar in the making. We wish Ron Washington well as he recovers from a medical issue. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| The Big Nogowskis - Recent MLB player & his father in a special Father's Day podcast! 6.15.25 - Ep. 614 | 15 Jun 2025 | 00:54:02 | |
As a father and son doing a podcast we're keenly aware of the bond that baseball can bring to a family. We loved talking with a real live recent (and possibly future) MLB player and his father about their relationship and journeys in baseball. What's it like playing #MLB today? How hard is it to hit today's pitchers and get out Major League hitters? John Sr. is on a book tour with his latest release "Diamond Duels" which we recommend highly. He's also written "Last Time Out" and a non-baseball book "Nashua" which is where he hailed from but it' not about his childhood. Jr. grew up in Tallahassee and always wanted to be a baseball player for Florida State and he did that and so much more - while his Dad covered the team for the local paper. They go by 'Nogo' and the 'Big Nogowski' thing is fun and done for a charity which John Jr. relates. Father's Day and baseball - they go together so well! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!
www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Mets season so far & this week in baseball 6.9.25 - Ep. 613 | 09 Jun 2025 | 00:33:22 | |
Cal Raleigh aka 'The Big Dumper' hit his 26th home run this week to lead #MLB. If #Mets Tylor Megill was traded to Seattle they'd become a battery meaning the "Big Drip" would pitch to the "Big Dumper". Can we see that happen please? #Braves have lost 8 of 10 and are making the task of reaching the postseason increasingly difficult. Phillies have lost 9 of 10 and now lost Bryce Harper to another injury. #Cubs are still looking good. #Padres Manny Machado got his 2,500th hit this week and he's played more games than any player since 2015. Is he a HOFer. We think so. #Dbacks are a disappointment as are the #RedSox and #Orioles. How about #Royals? Shouldn't they be better? #Tigers have been great and #Guardians will hang around w #Twins. Mets season so far has featured pitchers over-performing expectations and hitters like Soto and Nimmo underperforming. Can it last? We have our doubts. The bullpen has also been excellent led by Edwin Diaz who looks like prime "Sugar" and arms that find ways to get outs. Manager Carlos Mendoza has already become one of the best in the game. Can Pete Alonso keep it up? Francisco Lindor continues to play at a Hall of Fame level every day. What will the team do with Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio? They all cannot get playing time. And Jeff McNeil is starting to produce wherever he plays. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!
www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| 2,500 career hits - the new 3,000? This week in baseball - 6.2.25 - Ep. 612 | 02 Jun 2025 | 00:38:39 | |
#Phillies pfell out of pfirst place in the #nleast given a very unusually poor start on Saturday vs. #Brewers. Phillies #Cubs, #Dodgers, #Mets all started Sunday at 36-22. They are the class of the league while in the #americanleague #Yankees & #Tigers seem better than all the other teams. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| MLB Pitcher game scores are hot! TWIB - 5.26.25 - Ep. 611 | 26 May 2025 | 00:36:56 | |
Happy Memorial Day! This is episode 301 as we forgot to mention our 300th last week! #tigers Tarik Skubal pitched a Maddux on Sunday, throwing a complete game, striking out 13, only yielding 2 hits, and he threw 94 total pitches. His Game Score was an amazing 96. Anything over 80 is special and a 100 is nearly unattainable. It's a great way to evaluate starting pitchers and you will be hearing more about it even though Bill James came up with it years ago. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Inside the park homers are rare - & This week in baseball 5.19.25 - Ep. 610 | 19 May 2025 | 00:32:36 | |
Three managers have been fired already before Memorial Day! #Pirates Derek Shelton, #Rockies Bud Black, & #Orioles Brandon Hyde all were dismissed and it kind of makes sense. You can't fire 26 players! #Twins won 13 straight before finally losing on Sunday. They move to 2nd place in the #ALCentral. #Tigers are the best team in #MLB right now and look strong enough to hold that position. How about #Mariners hitting? After years of putrid offense, the M's are leading the #ALWest over tired #Astros & underperforming #Rangers. Only #Yankees are over .500 in the #ALEast. #Dodgers still leading the #NLWest but the #Padres, #Giants, & #Dbacks are all good teams and will vie for a playoff spot all season. #Cubs may be the only #NLCentral team to make the postseason. #Mets lead #NLEast, #Phillies lose Jose Alvarado to PED suspension, and Aaron Nola is on the IL. #Braves are righting the ship & will be heard from. We also talked about inside the park home runs which are an increasing rarity. Ballparks are smaller, players are better athletes and understand how to play the outfield in the various parks. There have only been 10 inside the park homers in the World Series. When was the most recent? We tell all! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| 25% of 2025 MLB season is done. Projecting individual stats over 162 games is fun - TWIB - 5.12.25 - Ep. 609 | 12 May 2025 | 00:37:01 | |
#Yankees Aaron Judge is now on pace for 56 home runs which would surprise exactly nobody! Judge also has a #MLB leading 39 RBIs which over 162 games would be 156 RBIs. That hasn't been done since A-Rod did it for those same Yankees in 2007. But the real question is can Judge maintain his +.400 batting average? Doubtful but fun to watch! #Pirates CF O'neil Cruz leads MLB on pace for 60+ SBs. Can he keep that up? He has a new manager now that Derek Shelton has been let go. Bud Black of the #Rockies was also dismissed this weekend. Probably doing him and the franchise a favor as the team has been historically awful and had a historically awful week! Max Fried has a MLB league leading ERA at 1.04. He's in place to start the ASG if this keeps up. But how about #Royals Kris Dubic? He's had an excellent start to the season and is largely forgotten behind Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo. #Tigers Skubal has rounded into form but the loss of Casey Mize will hurt the Motor City kitties. #Dodgers Shohei Ohtani has been routinely amazing such that it's no longer notable! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Are MLB team captains irrelevant? TWIB - 5.5.25 - Ep. 608 | 05 May 2025 | 00:35:04 | |
It was more fun talking about This Week in Baseball goings-on since #MLB team captains are kinda unimportant. A vestige of 19th century baseball, there are only three team captains in the Majors today. # Yankees Aaron Judge #Royals Salvador Perez, & #Rangers Marcus Semien. Why aren't there more? We dive into that thought in this week's episode. Four of the five teams in the #ALWest are .500 or better. Who'da thunk it? Jacob DeGrom is looking like prime DeGrom for Texas. Pitching injuries continue to be the story of the 2025 season. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow of the #Dodgers are both on the IL. The boys from L.A. keep on winning. How about the Tampa Bay #Rays? They have had a bunch of home games scheduled in the early part of the season because there is not roof over Steinbrenner Field in Tampa - the temporary home of the Rays. If you didn't know, it rains a bunch in the afternoons and evenings in Tampa in the summer. So MLB is trying to avoid rainouts and scheduled the Rays for a lot of road trips after May. ] #RedSox puzzle us. Injuries yes, to Tristan Casas, hurt, but the Sox just find ways to lose instead of ways to win. #Yankees are in 1st place by default. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!
www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Check swings need to be checked out & 4 HR game This Week in Baseball - 4.28.25 - Ep. 607 | 28 Apr 2025 | 00:30:17 | |
#Pirates rookie 27 YO Matt Gorski hit a home run in his first #MLB at-bat this week! But maybe #Dbacks Eugenio Suarez outdid him by clubbing 4 home runs in a game versus the #Braves, that Arizona ended up losing! Are the #Giants & #Tigers built for the long haul? Is #Yankees Paul Goldschmidt really back in HOF form? We cover the big and little stories of the past week. Like the phantom triple play turned by the Nationals in their crazy win Friday vs. #Mets. AND, then there's checked swings. In the Arizona Fall League last year Mets Drew Gilbert was the first player to call for a check swing review using the technology that was tested. The criteria is that the swing cannot go past 45 degrees beyond the edge of home plate. It worked just fine and we hope that along with ABS, ACS (automatic check swing?) will become part of daily life in the majors. Getting the call right is what all fans want most! Here's the clip on the first check swing review in the Arizona Fall League in 2024 - https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-testing-check-swing-challenge-in-arizona-fall-league Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Future HOFers playing 2025 & This Week in Baseball - 4.21.25 - Ep. 606 | 21 Apr 2025 | 00:34:44 | |
About 1/8th of the season is past so you can pretty much take #MLB player stats and multiply by eight. Tyler Soderstrom of the #athletics s is not going to hit 72 home runs. But #yankees Aaron www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| The 5 best starting pitchers in Mets history - TWIB 4.14.25 - Ep. 605 | 14 Apr 2025 | 00:29:57 | |
#Angels in first place is something we did not expect. Mike Trout leading the #AL in homers is not as shock but that he has 6 HRs and 10 hits is at least surprising! The #Tigers are in 1st place as are #Yankees, #Padres, #Cubs w #Mets & #Phillies tied for 1st place in the #NLEast as of Sunday morning. Justin Steele may have an injury to his elbow that could change the Cubs fortunes. #Giants Wilmer Flores also has 6 HRs. #Mets Pete Alonso is off to a raging start which is good since many of the other hitters on the team are still not in full gear. Since we are avid Mets fans we put them first in our round up of all 30 teams best five starting pitchers in franchise history. We will do this periodically through the 2025 season. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!
www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Roundtable discussion - which baseball movies should be watched again or for the 1st time? - Ep. 604 | 10 Apr 2025 | 00:56:08 | |
Baseball movies are rarer than they used to be. Has there been a great one that you love in the past 10 years? Gordon and Mark participated in a roundtable with 4 other baseball writers/podcasters/personalities - Vince Wetzel (author of "Lose Yourself" and a past Almost Cooperstown guest, Scott Bolohan (host of the Twin Bill podcast and content), Kelly Franco (Three Inning Fan the podcast), and former ESPN and The Athletic writer, current Substack author and author of "The Best Team Money Can Buy" Molly Knight. We each picked two movies to feature as one's we'd recommend watching again or for the first time if you haven't seen it! Spoiler alert - nobody picked "The Natural" or "Field of Dreams" or "Eight Men Out". To find out which ones we did pick listen or watch the podcast! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| This week in baseball was SO much fun! - 4.7.25 - Ep. 603 | 07 Apr 2025 | 00:28:08 | |
The #Dodgers finally lost & #Braves finally won. Yet it's the #Giants who are in 1st place in the NL West. #Padres also lost but still are off to a great start. #Cubs are looking good as are #Phillies who beat L.A. 2 out of 3 this weekend. #Mets bullpen is over-performing but they will take it for now. #D'backs have good news and bad news. #Yankees are still clubbing home runs and the #ALEast is already a dogfight. At one point this week all the #ALCentral teams were 2-4 but it was the #Tigers who ended up in 1st place after this weekend. #Rangers are in 1st in the #ALWest over the surprising #Angels? #Astros are scuffling and the #Athletics are flawed but interesting. #MLB commissioner Rob Manfred had some interesting thing to say about the future of baseball including Robo-Umps as well as competitive balance. We also talked about our podcast that will drop on Thursday with 4 other great #baseball personalities/writers/podcasters where we shared our thoughts on 2 baseball movies we felt fans should take another look at! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| This week in baseball & we pick postseason award winners - 3.31.25 - Ep. 602 | 31 Mar 2025 | 00:41:21 | |
It's not really been a week in baseball but the Dodgers & Cubs have played 5 games now (Dodgers have won them all and are on a path to be undefeated) so that's close to a week. There are no narratives written in March for MLB teams. That goes for April too although teams will be almost 30 games into the season when April ends. #Yankees Aaron Judge was on a pace for nearly 500 RBIs this season when he had 11 RBIs in his first 11 ABs. That goes with his 4 home runs in three games putting him second to Adrian Gonzalez for most homers in a season's first 3 games. Judge hit 3 HRs Saturday to become the 4th Yankee to do that including Babe Ruth and A-Rod. Lou Gehrig surpassed that with (4) 3-HR games! The Yankees spanked the #Brewers and gave Nestor Cortes a bad reception at Yankee Stadium in his first game pitching for the Brewers. It was a game in which the Bronx Bombers hit 9 home runs. Shohei is hitting homers. Mookie Betts is back in the lineup and the 2024 World Series combatants are a combined 8-0 in 2025. We pick who we think will win MLB awards this season. Rookie-of-the-Year, Cy Young, MVP, and Manager of the Year for both leagues. It's not as easy as it sounds after Ohtani! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| SEASON SIX PREMIERE! 2025 Season Preview & Predictions - Ep. 601 | 24 Mar 2025 | 01:17:46 | |
As we launch our 6th season of Almost Cooperstown podcasts we start by saying thank you to our listeners and viewers. 280 episodes in the can and still going strong! Thank you for liking to hear and watch us talk about our favorite thing - baseball! We go division by division picking all 30 teams in order of finish. It's a long episode for that reason but we just couldn't stop ourselves! Take it in bites if you can't listen all at once. Will the #Dodgers go 162-0? Can any team beat them in the NL West? Which teams will surprise? Which teams will disappoint? What will happen in Sacramento this season? Or Tampa? Both are hosting #MLB teams who've not played regular season games at their ballparks. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Keith O'Brien author of Charlie Hustle on Pete Rose & his chances for Cooperstown - Ep. 580 | 17 Mar 2025 | 00:44:35 | |
Author of 19 books, Keith O'Brien grew up in Cincinnati and had a front row seat to much of Pete Rose's career. Keith's 2024 book "Charlie Hustle" won awards from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The New Yorker. We both enjoyed the book immensely and recommend it highly. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Baseball Banning, Blackballing & Blacklisting - Ep. 579 | 10 Mar 2025 | 00:22:17 | |
Even before Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis banned eight #Whitesox players for their attempted fix of the 1919 World Series, players had been banned, blacklisted and banished from baseball mostly for trying to fix games but not always. Once Commissioner Landis was given the job and power to kick players and people out of baseball he used it liberally as did his successors. Even Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle were banned from #MLB in 1983 for being greeters at different casinos in Atlantic City. Finally Peter Ueberroth un-banned them which might have been his finest moment as commish. Sometimes it's gambling, other times drugs, and still other instances are even more serious and criminal. We talk about the difference between black-listing and blackballing and how #baseball hopes one of the other major sports has a gambling scandal before MLB does. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Spring Training injuries & the youngest player in MLB history - Ep. 578 | 03 Mar 2025 | 00:28:10 | |
#Yankees Giancarlo Stanton is injured. Again. This time it is tennis elbow in both elbows! #Mets FA acquisition Nick Madrigal is doing his Jed Lowrie imitation as he's out for the season before it ever started! Injuries are part of the game but you hope to get through Spring Training! Max Scherzer is not thrilled with ABS testing so far. But Max is never happy about, everything? Terry Francona of the #Reds told his players to ignore ABS since they are not going to use it this season anyway. Authir Keith O'Brien will join the podcast in 2 weeks to talk about his book "Charlie Hustle". Pete Rose was in the news again as he's set to receive a pardon for his criminal activities (tax related) from President Trump. #MLB commissioner Rob Manfred then piped in that they will take another look at Pete's explusion. The youngest player to play MLB was LHP Joe Nuxhall in 1944. He was still 15 years old and only in high school! He pitched one game, got shelled, and didn't come back to the show for 7 years! Joe pitched 16 seasons and won 135 games a pitcher and became a long time broadcaster for Cincinnati with HOF broadcaster Marty Brennaman. We also talked about NY Giants Freddie Lindstrom who became a HOFer - somehow, and still is the youngest player to ever play in the World Series. Even younger than #Braves Andruw Jones! Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| TWIB - 2.24.25 & Pitching in the Deadball era - Ep. 577 | 24 Feb 2025 | 00:32:54 | |
Alex Bregman homered in his first Spring Training game for #redsox. He also went 3-3. #Mets Juan Soto went oppo toco deep in his first AB with his new team. #yankees Aaron Boone got a contract extension and Giancarlo Stanton has tennis elbow. In both elbows? Frankie Montas now of the Mets is injured. Justin Turner goes to #Cubs. Does that give them an edge? ABS made its debut in Spring Training and teams are testing it out. We also dream that a salary cap attempt by owners backfires into a salary floor with NO salary cap! It could happen but probably won't. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Bregman to Red Sox & other big news of the week. A quick review of Deadball era hitting which stank. - Ep.576 | 17 Feb 2025 | 00:30:35 | |
There was enough news for us to talk about what went on this week. Alex Bregman #redsox was the biggest player news. #Angels Rendon is out of action for the season. Again. Before it even started! Who will be the dark horse teams in #MLB 2025? How about caps for the HOF inductees? Is C.C. really a #Yankees player? Note: Gavy Cravath actually did lead the lead in home runs 6 times during the Deadball era. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| NL off-season review - the rich get richer! Ep. 575 | 10 Feb 2025 | 00:53:13 | |
Well here we are with spring training at hand as pitchers & catchers are reporting for #Cubs today. Other teams will follow shortly. Football season is over and baseball is on the way! How did the NL teams offseason go? #Dodgers, #Giants and #Mets were noisy. #Reds have Terry Francona at the helm. #Padres are puzzling. #Dbacks are dynamic w Corbin Burnes at the top of the rotation. #Cubs get Ryan Pressley to close. #Brewers were baffling. #Phillies added Jesus Luzardo, #Braves will get Strider and Acuna back early in the season. #Nationals wish they played in a different division. #Pirates were pretty quiet. #Cardinals got older. #Rockies return to play again. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| 2025 Baseball Winter is Over AL off-season review - Did any team get better? - Ep. 574 | 03 Feb 2025 | 00:43:19 | |
#MLB Pitchers and catchers report in about 10 days. So officially baseball winter is over as the sound of balls hitting gloves is imminent! Watching video of #Rangers Jacob DeGrom is compelling and full of promise! The fate of the team is likely tied to how DeGrom pitches in 2025 and how much! We talk about the American League teams and what they did of interest since the 2024 season regular season ended in early October. Four months is a long time! Which AL teams got better? Did any? #Yankees lost Juan Soto and Clay Holmes as well as Anthony Rizzo. They brought in Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, and Cody Bellinger. Seems like it could be a good exchange if the three play to their best selves. But who's gonna play third base for the Yanks especially when Max Fried pitches? We cover every team on the Junior Circuit - even the team that formerly played in Oakland and was called the Athletics. We have no idea what they will be when they play in Sacramento this and the following two years at least. "This is the year" is one of our favorite expressions that is too often hope triumphing over experience. Correction - Matt Manning did not pitch for #Tigers in playoffs. It was Matt Boyd who is now with the #Cubs. Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| HOF voter & The Athletic writer Daniel Brown helps us understand the HOF vote this year - Ep. 573 | 27 Jan 2025 | 00:49:26 | |
Dan was not the voter who didn't vote for Ichiro. But we all wish we knew who it was! For the 3rd straight year Dan joined the podcast to discuss the final HOF voting. He voted for Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Chase Utley, and Billy Wagner. 9 in total and we discussed why he didn't vote for one more - could have been King Felix, Andy Pettitte, or Dustin Pedrioia or even David Wright! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Pinch Hitters have been pinched out of MLB rosters - Ep. 572 | 20 Jan 2025 | 00:19:04 | |
#pirates and #whitesox Smoky Burgess had a pretty good career with a career OPS+ of 116. But he's third all-time in pinch hits and was a beloved player at the end of his career. We talk about the changes in pinch hitting and why all-time pinch hitting records are likely safe! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Baseball-Reference Director of Product - Adam Darowski - Ep. 571 | 13 Jan 2025 | 00:48:50 | |
As Director of Product Adam has been part of Sports-Reference for a long time. Keeping Baseball -Reference.com fresh, being part of the addition of Football, Basketball, (both college and pro), and hockey has proven to be groundbreaking. Adam has also worked on bringing in Negro League player data into BR. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Our manic recap of 2024 MLB season - Ep. 570 | 06 Jan 2025 | 00:26:02 | |
We don't know about you, but we forget things that happened during a baseball season even when it was LAST season! Sure the #dodgers beat #yankees in the #worldseries but besides Shohei and Aaron Judge, and Skubal, Sale and Skenes, there still were a lot of interesting and even amazing things that happened. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Most homers wearing a uniform team by team - American League - Ep. 569 | 30 Dec 2024 | 00:29:56 | |
Founded in 1901, the AL contains teams like #Yankees and #RedSox who have an epic list in their top 5 for players hitting home runs while a member of the franchise. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Can you name the home run leaders for each team? NL - Ep. 568 | 23 Dec 2024 | 00:34:26 | |
Who are the home run leaders while wearing a team's uniform? Sounded like a interesting episode topic but then Rickey Henderson so sadly and suddenly passed away at age 65. Rickey's 66th birthday would have been on Christmas this Wednesday. With 1,406 stolen bases Rickey doesn't only have the most stolen bases in one season, or in a career, he also scored the most runs in baseball history with 2,295! He also had 81 career leadoff home runs, the most in history. Rickey is and was the best leadoff hitter in #MLB history. He will be sorely missed. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Former Mets GM & current MLB SiriusXM radio host Steve Phillips - Ep. 567 | 17 Dec 2024 | 00:47:39 | |
Steve Phillips has been a radio personality for 20 years starting not long after his time his time as GM for our #mets. Steve brought in Mike Piazza who had the biggest non-playoff home run in Mets history - until this year maybe? Today Steve hosts 'The Leadoff Spot' on Sirius/XM radio weekdays from 7-10AM. Steve also broadcasts some Toronto Blue Jays games and is a regular contributor the #mlbnetwork. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Golden at bat is a turd, Free Agent madness, & switch hitters are fading away- Ep. 566 | 09 Dec 2024 | 00:27:33 | |
How about the #Giants finally getting their man in Willy Adames. But it was a big price to pay. Clay Holmes to the #mets as a starter? Luis Severino to Sacramento is a big deal for the franchise formerly known as the #athletics who seem like they will eventually move to Vegas. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Former Dodger GM Dan Evans has had an amazing baseball career - Ep. 565 | 05 Dec 2024 | 01:04:01 | |
Having worked with HOFer Roland Hemond with the Chicago #whitesox, Dan Evans took on the job of rebuilding the #dodgers in 2001. He was there for four seasons and had a winning season each year before being fired with almost 200 others. The Dodgers went 71-91 the next season and Dan tells us it did not bother him a bit! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| It's Jerry Maguire time for MLB free agents - SHOW ME THE MONEY! - Ep. 564 | 02 Dec 2024 | 00:34:02 | |
Why aren't more teams on #MLB free agent Juan Soto? They make plenty of money but are afraid. Afraid even though they are increasing franchise value and have more revenue streams than ever before. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Will Ichiro be a first ballot HOFer? Should we care? - Ep. 563 | 25 Nov 2024 | 00:47:02 | |
79/113/122 those are the numbers representing the amount of days until pitchers & catchers report, #Dodgers #Cubs opening games in Tokyo March 18, and the REAL opening day on March 27. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Stan Musial was played in the field like no other HOFer- Ep. 562 | 18 Nov 2024 | 00:27:43 | |
Baseball fans may have heard the story that Stan Musial began his career in baseball as a pitcher/outfielder. A shoulder injury forced him to become a hitter and outfielder full-time for which #MLB is forever grateful. Stan-the-Man had 3,630 hits - the same 1,815 hits at home as he had on the road! He missed only one season due to WWII in 1945 only to return the next year, win the #NLMVP and lead the #Cardinals to their 6th World Series victory in 21 years. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Roki Sasaki will pitch in MLB in 2025 - This week in baseball - 11.11.24 - Ep. 561 | 11 Nov 2024 | 00:36:33 | |
Japanese sensation 23-year-old Roki Sasaki wants to play #MLB. He finally got Chibu to allow him to have that opportunity. Yoshinobu Yamamoto showed the #Dodgers that top-tier NPB pitchers can dominate in the Majors. Gerrit Cole thought about leaving the #Yankees and then thought the better of it. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Sean Lahman's baseball database is free to use and amazing! - Ep. 560 | 07 Nov 2024 | 00:34:15 | |
If you are using Baseball-reference.com or Football or Basketball reference you will be using aspects what Sean Lahman created 30 years ago. Sean is a member of SABR and has generously donated the database to SABR so it's in excellent hands! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Dodgers win World Series over Yankees & next year starts now - Ep. 559 | 04 Nov 2024 | 00:31:22 | |
No longer can #dodgers be talked about as not having won a WS in this century in a 162-game season. There are a few players like Max Muncy who remember taking Covid-19 test after winning the 2020 World Series. No parades. No cheering from the fans. The 2024 championship behind a great job of managing by future HOF manager Dave Roberts makes all the noise go away. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Dodgers have Yankees down 2 games to none - are the Yankees toast? - Ep. 558 | 28 Oct 2024 | 00:31:41 | |
Just last season the #dbacks came from 2-0 down to beat the #Phillies in the NLCS. So the #Yankees being down 2-0 is not insurmountable. But their fans are going nuts and negative since presumptive AL MVP Aaron Judge has struck out 6 times in 2 games. How will the Yankee fans greet Judge upon his return to the Bronx? www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| LCS summaries, Yankees Dodgers World Series round 12 up next - Ep. 557 | 23 Oct 2024 | 00:30:20 | |
Do today's Yankee and Dodger fans care about the 1981 World Series? That was the last one between the teams. The Yanks and Dodgers played 11 times from 1941 through 1981. They did not like each other. Really. That's not the case today as all belong to a very exclusive club of millionaires and billionaires. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Division series done, on to baseball's final four! - Ep. 556 | 13 Oct 2024 | 00:39:44 | |
As #Mets fans of course we're excited that somehow our favorite team is still in it. Yet the prospect of a subway series vs. #Yankees is very enticing and exciting. #Dodgers will have a lot to say about it and Shohei will likely not have another subpar series. #Guardians surprised #Tigers Tarik Skubal with former #National Lane Thomas providing two huge blows. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| Three sweeps, Mets sweet - Division Series starts today! Ep. 555 | 05 Oct 2024 | 00:30:53 | |
If you know our podcast you know we are huge Mets fans. This week was one of the better ones in the team's history. Playing the only games in #MLB on Monday and Thursday, the Mets were the Drama Queens from Queens! www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| This Week In Baseball - 10.1.24 - Met Braves nuttiness & Wild Card previews Ep. 554 | 01 Oct 2024 | 00:35:11 | |
The #Mets & #Braves split a doubleheader on Monday. Game 1 of the DH was one of the best baseball games a Met fan has ever seen. So we're naturally happy. But there were a ton of other things this week in baseball. We didn't discuss Luis Arraez 3rd straight batting crown, or Shohei Ohtani at all! Our segment on things you might not have heard included some rarely discussed oddities. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||
| What happened with the Minor League championships this season - Ep. 553 | 26 Sep 2024 | 00:23:58 | |
The Rookie League championships took place at the end of July! There's have also been championships settled in Low A and High A Ball. This week the AA and AAA finals are being played with the AAA overall championship a one game 'winner take all' playoff this Saturday Sept. 28th. www.almostcooperstown.com | |||