Podcast Audio Episodes

Send us a text Established in 1962 (like the Mets) the Astros were originally the Houston Colt 45's and played in Colt Stadium. The Astrodome opened in 1965 as the self-proclaimed 8th wonder of the world. The first 20+ years of the franchise did not go very well but since 1997 things have gone better and the 'Stros have only missed the playoffs once since 2015. We've added a YouTube Channel and are still working out our own kinks. No videos yet but if you care to listen from YouTube here is the...

Send us a text We spent the entire episode calling him I-Rod without ever mentioning Ivan Rodriguez by name! We didn't mention a few catchers like Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter who were close. We also did not talk about Josh Gibson who may have been the best of all time?! We've added a YouTube Channel and are still working out our own kinks. No videos yet but if you care to listen from YouTube here is the link to the Almost Cooperstown channel. Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for lis...

Send us a text Most baseball fans know the Dodgers have the most Rookies of the Year, 18, since the award now named for the 1st winner Jackie Robinson in 1947. Jackie was the 1st Dodger with Cody Bellinger being the most recent. The Yankees are 2nd with 9. Are some teams better at handling rookies? Is it an organizational thing? Or are some teams luckier than others. It's interesting that most of the teams with the most ROYs have been more consistently in contention than the others. We've adde...

Send us a text All 30 MLB teams will play on Opening Day March 30 - the day this podcast drops! We were lucky to be joined by Michael Ortman to talk about his book Opening Day 50-for-50, One fan, One game, A half century of baseball stories. The history of what was going on at the time of each Opening Day in baseball is woven into his book in a very compelling way. This season's Opening Day debuts new rules that will make watching baseball in 2023 faster and we think better. We've added a YouTu...

Send us a text Here we go with season 4! This is our longest episode ever which we really did not expect since we talk fast. But when you talk about all 30 teams it takes awhile. And we make our picks for division, playoffs, and the World Series. We've added a YouTube Channel and are still working out our own kinks. No videos yet but if you care to listen from YouTube here is the link to the Almost Cooperstown channel. Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a sug...

Send us a text It was not as easy to drop the Indians nickname when talking about the team before, well last season! Old habits die hard but we're fine with the team having changed its name as it was overdue. 122 years, an original member of the American League with 16 playoff appearances, 2 AL pennants and 2 WS championships. It ain't easy being a fan of the Guardians, Indians, Naps or any other Cleveland baseball team nickname! Jacobs Field opened in 1994 - the strike year. Mark had a little ...

Send us a text We've been asked by listeners about who we'd take out of the HOF since we want to add players and managers. In truth, we don't feel any player elected by whatever means should be 'removed'. Sure there are some head scratchers and guys that under today's standards should not have been voted in. But that's reductive and we don't feel it's at all necessary. But we do come up with 10 total players that we feel could have been bypassed and we also discuss the long list of players and ...

Send us a text Finally we're getting back to baseball games that actually count! Spring Training games don't and are played like they don't count. But 4 games against pool members followed by one and done quarters/semis/finals makes the WBC a very tidy yet exciting tournament. Do we think the WBC determines the best baseball nation? Hardly, but it is fun and of course bragging rights do go along with winning. The U.S. has won only once in 2017 & is the defending champ. Other teams are loaded to...

Send us a text HOFers Brooks Robinson and Carl Yastremski lead the pack playing 23 years for only one franchise. Playing 20 years in MLB surely indicates an excellent player. 15 years with the same one team also contains only great ballplayers although not necessarily a Hall-of-Fame career. But how about 10 year players for one team and one team only? Playing 10 years is special but does not mean the player was a great or even very good player! We talk about the coolness of playing for one fran...

Send us a text Having completed their Silver anniversary season, the D'backs franchise got off to a quick start winning 100 games in their 2nd season and a WS in their 4th (fastest all-time). While the early years were good overall the past 13 have not been nearly as good. We talk about the greatest players in D'Backs history and even get into their prospects for the 2023 season since there is not as much to talk about with a relatively 'young' franchise. Please subscribe to our podcast and tha...

Send us a text Larger bases, no infield shift, Limits on pitcher throws to 1st. The new rules are radical changes that MLB players and fans will experience in the 2023 season. This does not even include the new pitch clock! The revamped schedule is also a major change that's going under the radar. But we have the most fun talking about are our suggestions for changing some old rules, updating old ones as well as some off-the-wall ones of our own! Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for l...

Send us a text Baseball video games have been around not quite 50 years. Way back when there was Strat-0-Matic which people still play today. Are baseball video games more realistic than ever? How is all the data crunched to make it more real? We talk about early video baseball games and why people love playing them. Or don't! We even talk a little about baseball cards. Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via e...

Send us a text We are very lucky to have had a great conversation with writer and BBWA writer Daniel Brown join us to discuss his 2022 ballot. He voted for 10 players and feels that the some fellow BBWA voters might be coming a little too restrictive in their votes. Daniel was a beat writer for the SF Giants and writes now for The Athletic as well as other freelance work and he writes about much more than baseball and does it all really well. We ran out of time to discuss the impacts of the ne...

Send us a text We've wanted to talk about the idea that with all the changes in technology and player year-round training regimens, why does baseball continue to do things the same old way? We explore the history of spring training and how much it is the same today as it was more than 150 years ago. But also how Spring Training is different for managers trying to build and maintain team chemistry. Correction: While the Yankees were in the WS in 1976-77-78 they won the Fall Classic in '77 and '7...

Send us a text We start the podcast talking about Carlos Correa and his finally-ending saga. But then we dive into a team that we didn't know all that much about until we went through the archives. After the Dodgers and Giants moved to California following the 1957 season it was only 4 years later that the Los Angeles Angels began playing as an expansion team in the American League. They were actually co-tenants with the Dodgers in the new Chavez Ravine stadium which opened in 1962. With only ...

Send us a text It's our first episode of 2023! With 25% of the votes for the 2023 induction of new Baseball HOF members in we are amazed that there are still voters that vote in zero players. In fact it's possible that there will not be any players voted in. After getting that off of our chests we talk about how player definitions differ today from even thirty or forty years ago. A leadoff hitter is different today, so is a #8 hitter. Gordon feels that players are held to a higher standard of ex...

Send us a text Of the 30 MLB franchises only one has never even been in a World Series. What would the Mariners greatest moment be that raised their chances the most to win a WS? How about the Rockies who've never won a WS? How about the non-winning WS teams - Rays, Brewers? Padres, and Texas Rangers? We go through each of the 30 teams, review their WS winning seasons (if they had one) and what the greatest moment was per added win probability added %. Spoiler alert - it's not always the one yo...

Send us a text We drop normally every other week in the off-season but could not resist the opportunity to talk about the money and the players moving around in and around the MLB Winter Meetings that ended December 8th. As usual some teams sat out the proceedings - too rich for their blood probably. Did any team leap ahead of the pack at least on paper after the Winter Meetings? We talk about that and marvel at who moved where! Correction - Kodai Senga did not require a posting fee for the Me...

Send us a text The last of our deep dives to feature a team that has not won the World Series. Correction: The hockey Rockies were a Colorado hockey team that eventually moved to New Jersey in the 1980s. They were born as the Kansas City Scouts as an expansion team in 1974-75 not the Quebec Nordiques. Coors Field is a place where hitters thrive and pitchers struggle. We struggle to pick the best Rockie pitcher in history. You will too! Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! ...

Send us a text A day early for Thanksgiving, in this first episode of our 'off-season' we're joined by SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) membership ambassador Bruce McClure who's a baseball nut just like we are! Bruce talked about why SABR is not what everyone thinks and is more than a number-crunching site for baseball nerds. We'll post every other week - at least since sometimes we just get the urge to talk about....baseball! Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listeni...

Send us a text First correction - the Astros bullpen pitched 26 innings out of the 54 IP by the Astros in the Series not 54. In addition to winning their 2nd World Series in the past 6 seasons, the Astros had the 2nd biggest season win differential (105) than their WS opponent Phillies (87). Still if not for an amazing clutch catch by Chas McCormick the narrative of this series might have been different. This is our last episode of season 3 and going forward we will post every two weeks during...

Send us a text Will this year's World Series be one of the greatest ever? One team won 87 games the other 107 so that's a good start. Do the greatest World Series in history have to be 7 games? It certainly helps! We talk about all the 7 game series' since 1950, great moments in game 7's and otherwise (last at-bat kind of stuff). We also discuss game times and why there are still no day games during the World Series (disappointingly) and being a west coast baseball fan is very different especia...

Send us a text The 87-win Phillies are showing the world that winning 100 games far from guarantees a World Series victory. The Mariners in 2001 won a whopping 116 games but did not even reach the WS! This year for the 2nd time (4) teams won 100 games or more but only one is still playing - the Astros. It didn't help the Braves (who've won 100 7x in franchise history but never won WS when they won 100 games), Mets or Dodgers. Winning 100 games is a little bit cool and fun for the fans since the...

Send us a text Originally the 2nd incarnation of the Washington Senators, the Rangers moved to Texas in 1972 from D.C. The Rangers are again a team that has never won the World Series. There's only one more team we've yet to cover with a deep dive that has not won a WS. So you can guess the next one pretty easily. We talk about the team history, success, lack of success, and the best players to wear a Ranger uniform. Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a sugge...