Podcast Audio Episodes

Send us a text Braves Max Fried had gotten off to a spotty start to his season but his 92 pitch shutout in an hour and 54 minutes vs. the Marlins announced he's just fine. Shohei Othani has 17 doubles already which is on pace for an all-time record. How about Elly De La Cruz? 1.7 bWAR in a month. If he keeps up what he's done in April he will have a bWAR more than 10 and 100+ stolen bases. The Guardians and Brewers continue to surprise, the Braves and Dodgers not so much. The Astros are facing...

Send us a text 58 of the 273 (21%) players elected to the Hall of Fame played only for one franchise. As Gordon pointed out, before baseball had free agency players did not move around nearly as much not because they didn't want to but because they were not allowed to! We talk about the only set of teammates that were elected to the HOF in the same year. There are 9 teams that lack a one team Hall of Famer. That number will drop to 8 once #Twins Joe Mauer is inducted this July. There are plent...

Send us a text The Angels were 9-9 for a moment this week with Mike Trout leading the way. Could they possibly make the playoffs? Then they proceeded to lose 3 straight. Same old. AL West is a dogfight even with the Astros still mired in last place. The Twins have been having trouble scoring. They could use a good week coming up as the Guardians are sailing even without Shane Bieber and can that last? Royals hanging tough but the Tigers are treading water. Yankees without Gerritt Cole are neck ...

Send us a text Having a discussion around MLB player union issues can easily make your eyes roll. So we sprinkled in a little Scott Boras since he's one guy everyone loves to hate. Except for his clients of course. When MLB brought in the MiLB players into the union 2 years ago it went kind of quietly but it's no small deal. Rumors of mutiny within the MLBPA have come around Harry Marino who's been termed an 'insurgent lawyer' looking to rankle players into thinking about what Tony Clark and hi...

Send us a text Are the Pirates and Royals for real? Both teams have gotten off to great starts but we've seen it before. We're at nearly 10% of the 2024 season has been played and there are a bunch of things that are happening as predicted. But not everything! Shohei Ohtani is great as is Juan Soto. The Dodgers are good. So are the Yankees and Braves. But those teams have issues as all teams do. Just think in 3 weeks we will be 25% through the season and perhaps by then the surprise teams will ...

Send us a text If the expression 'chicks dig the long ball' is still true as it was in the 1990s when Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine did a TV spot about the baseball's obsession with home runs, today's pitchers love to light up the radar with triple digits or at least get as close to that as they can. Pitching labs are the newest tool to get the most out of a pitcher's repertoire. But is all this efficiency helping pitchers stay healthy? Why are more pitchers getting TJ surgery than they used to? ...

Send us a text What was the signature moment of the past full week in MLB? Ronel Blanco's no hitter? The earliest date for a no-hitter in history! Or was it Bryce Harper's three home runs in a game last week? It might have been a few moments when star pitchers Eury Perez (Thursday), Shane Bieber (Friday) and Spencer Strider (Saturday) all went down with UCL injuries and face Tommy John surgery. On our next podcast we will talk about the constant chase of velocity by pitchers. The Braves look go...

Send us a text How do you feel about Major League Baseball players giving each other a hot foot during the game? It was fairly commonplace for a long time but no longer. Being thought of as a character is not as cute as it once was either. Is it because MLB players make too much money? Are there still any good pranks being played in MLB? We talk about a few of the better pranks and others that turned out to be a bit mean. Intro & outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out...

Send us a text MLB 2024 Opening Day has come and gone but there was drama in New York at 2nd base with new Brewer Rhys Hoskins and Mets Jeff McNeil. Each week of the season on Monday we will recap the week that was with games through Saturday and we will try to keep it to 30 minutes or less. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8taZmsDEp-I Thanks for the intro and outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music. Please subscribe to our pod...

Send us a text We had such a good time last year in Episode 401 talking with Author Michael Ortman who wrote 'Opening day 50 for 50' where he recounted attending 50 straight opening days. We talked about some of this year's opening day matchups, why some pitchers are declining to take the opening day start, which was unthinkable not that long ago! We also get serious and talk again about Curt Flood, Dick Allen, and that they both should be in the Hall of Fame and maybe will get there this winte...

Send us a text Here we are, the 1st episode in season 5 where we offer our predictions in order of finish of all the MLB teams. Who will be be the 2024 MVP in each league? Who will win the Cy Young in each league? Who will be Rookie-of-the-Year in 2024? Are the Dodgers really the class of the National League? How about the Texas Rangers? Can they repeat? Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7JEjE1cVsIQ Thanks for the intro and outro music this season which is. courtesy of Mercury Ma...

Send us a text When it comes to Pat Ahearne, it's a really interesting story. He was the NCAA CWS MVP in 1992 when his Pepperdine Waves went all the way. That effort surely helped Pat get his 1st MLB contract with the Detroit Tigers. He pitched 4 games for them in 1995 starting three of them, over a two week period in June. But he was not able to make it back to the big leagues. Yet he kept on persevering playing another 15+ years in various locations professionally all over the globe. These da...

Send us a text The last of our 6 division previews. It might be saving the best for last although the AL East might tip the scales. Dylan Cease to the Padres will make a difference and the Padre lineup is formidable, but who can top Betts, Ohtani, and Freeman as a top three in the lineup. The D'Backs will not catch anyone by surprise this year and their additions of Eugenio Suarez and Eduardo Rodriguez are important. The Giants think they can compete and the Rockies know they can't. Watch on Yo...

Send us a text The NL Central is better than the AL Central. But that's about it. The Cubs with new manager Craig Counsell will be a top division contender with the Reds being heard from as well. The Brewers, Cardinals, and Pirates have some issues. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RBe0xEchXxs Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @al...

Send us a text Our 4th division primer on the NL East. The Braves and Phillies are the class of the division with the Mets, Marlins and Nationals all hoping that they are the team that will surprise. We talk about all 5 teams 40-man rosters, and who the best players are in the division. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WcpmH0kB3jc Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. Y...

Send us a text We noted that Rangers are under-appreciated. The Astros are still formidable and the Mariners not to be ignored. The AL West will be fun to watch this season unless you're a fan of the Angels or A's. The 3rd of our 6 division breakdowns. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gkUf2J4Wjco Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X ...

Send us a text Jose Ramirez is one of the best players fans under-appreciate. The Guardians are not at the top of the list of AL Central favorites but should not be ignored either. We talk about the rosters of all 5 teams in what will be a dogfight of teams all lacking a key ingredient. This is the second of what will be 6 consecutive podcasts doing division primers. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XxmiwUBJe84 Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggesti...

Send us a text While we didn't pick the teams which we will do in our season preview episode, we did dig deep into each team's 40 man roster. The AL East is the best division in baseball and yet we had trouble picking more than 3 top starting pitchers! This is the first of what will be 6 consecutive podcasts doing division primers. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mlgaQiltFAY Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a l...

Send us a text 2024 MLB Spring Training has begun and would-be rookies impact teams ultimate performance (think Corbin Carroll and Evan Carter last year) more and more frequently . But some Rookie's of the Year never reach the heights they touched in their first campaign. That doesn't mean they don't have a career and flame out after a couple of years, although that can happen too. We also cover this year's crop of rookies that might be in the running for 2024 Rookie of the Year. Mark mentioned...

Send us a text We hear about the unwritten rules of baseball all the time. Don't walk the leadoff hitter. Don't bunt in a no-hitter. Some of the unwritten rules are more strategic preferences than unwritten rules. We discuss that as well as how stealing signs has evolved over the years and if it can still be done today. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oI4MlUFDj2M Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email...

Send us a text This is it! The last of our MLB teams deep dives. The Yankees are saved for last since they are first in World Series wins. They have 3x or more as many World Series titles compared to any team but the St. Louis Cardinals who have 11 WS titles. The greatest Yankees is a long list indeed as well as the list of retired numbers. The Bronx Bombers were the first team to retire a number. We talk about who that was and all the great HOF players and managers that populate the greatest f...

Send us a text This is our 200th episode and we are so grateful that we have listeners that are interested in hearing us talk about baseball. So THANK YOU to all who take a few minutes here and there to listen and engage with Almost Cooperstown! Since we recorded this podcast Jorge Soler signed with the Giants. Finally. The Marlins are still the only team to not sign a free agent this off-season with the Dodgers and Mets signing 9 each. We talk about all 30 teams, who they signed and what it m...

Send us a text The 11-time World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals actually won an American Association championship in 1882. Besides winning in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, and 1946 - 6 championships in 21 seasons, they also won in 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, and most recently in 2011. There are amazing Hall-of-Fame players spread out throughout their history and we talk about all of them as well as some of the less heralded Cards. Ozzie Smith had 28 career home runs. Enos Slaughter stole home on the...

Send us a text We don't often focus on the negative aspects of baseball in the Major Leagues. But there have been some bad people who've made it to the game's grandest stage. Some of the things these heinous characters did during and after their playing career are almost unbelievable. We should have mentioned that Ben Chapman was portrayed as horribly racist in the movie about Jackie Robinson '42'. Thanks to all of our listeners and followers! Watch on YouTube: Please subscribe to our podcas...