Podcast Audio Episodes

Send us a text We became aware of a very cool data visualization comparing Negro League play to MLB play of the same era 1920-1948. Adam Korengold has been doing data visualization professionally for almost 25 years–he’s now an Analytics Lead at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland–and teaches in the graduate data analytics and visualization program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Lucky for us he’s been a baseball fan for most of his life, and since 2020 has been a m...

Send us a text Small market teams often have difficulty being a consistent winner. Sure teams like the Royals and Rays have shown it can be done. But in the 1970's the NL East Pirates and NL West Reds were in the hunt nearly every year of the decade. Featuring HOF players in both lineups throughout, we talk about some of the epic playoff battles (the Reds did win 3 of 4) for NL supremacy in the 1970s. To be fair, the Dodgers did win 3 NL pennants as well but also lost 3 WS. We discuss what's dif...

Send us a text Since there's no baseball to talk about due to the MLB lockout we decided to do an episode about sports movies not including baseball. You can listen to our season 1 episode 108 'Silver sluggers of the silver screen'. We talk about how there are not many good soccer movies - apologies to those who are fans of the movie 'Victory' and even fewer good tennis movies. Who is the GOAT of sports movies? Kevin Costner comes to mind as does Adam Sandler and Will Smith. Clearly we are read...

Send us a text This December Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa all have another chance to gain election to the Hall of Fame when they are reviewed by the Today's Game committee. In January 2023 the voting from baseball writers will be announced. Most of the players making their debut on the ballot will be one and done. We talk about David Ortiz's first ballot election and why no other player was voted in. Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you h...

Send us a text There are a lot of MVP winners. The tools for measurement used by voters have not always been as sophisticated as are the tools today. Consequently there are some head-scratching seasons turned in by MVP winners - especially when compared to some of the other contenders that year. We also discuss what makes a player 'Most Valuable' and if losing teams should be able to have a player win an MVP that season. Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a s...

Send us a text The final voting totals will be announced on January 25. We had already called out 6 players to be added in our prior episodes 234 & 235 in which we added 36 players to the Hall of Fame right now. So with 6 in the book, there's only room for 4 more on our ballot (or the one we would fill out if we actually had a vote). Who will it be? Listen to this fast moving episode to find out! Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you have a suggestion for an episode p...

Send us a text Think about how odd it is right now as we drop this episode late December 2021. New team managers like Buck Showalter are not allowed to talk to or even mention players on the team. The #MLB owners have 'Locked Out' the MLB players and if nothing gets negotiated there will be no Spring Training, and possibly an abbreviated season or no season at all. Baseball labor actions have been ongoing for nearly 50 years. We're generally on the side of the players who've gotten the short en...

Send us a text As we hit our 70th episode we decided it was time as dedicated NY Met fans, to do a podcast on...the Mets. They are a team now with a wealthy owner who actually is willing to spend money. This is unfamiliar territory for Met fans. What will they do about a manager, which players should stay or go? One thing we are pretty sure of as Met fans - heartbreak is in our future! For those of you who are not fans we will return to our regularly scheduled non-Met focused (mostly) podcasts ...

Send us a text Baseball is a sport that goes by the numbers more than any other. And for good reason - there are lots and lots of numbers. The ability to measure and compare player and team performances over time generates some great baseball conversations AND arguments! We discovered a newly written book by first time author David A. Gordon entitled 'Baseball Generations: Career Value Index - A New Look at the Hall of Fame and Rating the Greatest Players of All Time' We recommend reading it a...

Send us a text In our prior Ep. 233 we covered 18 players we believe should no longer be passed by and should be inducted into Cooperstown. There are 263 players and 70 non-players in the HOF. Adding 36 players would make it 299 players - which is 1.27% of all players including those in the Negro Leagues. Even adding controversial players including a PED users and 4 new Negro League inductees, we feel short adding only 35. We should argue about Vizquel, not about Joe Mauer! Please subscribe to ...

Send us a text This is the first of our 'off-season' episodes and we will drop an episode every two weeks now until the start of the 2022 season - or at least what should be the start if the CBA negotiations are unsuccessful. When we began our podcast 18 months ago our main premise is that there are too few players inducted into Cooperstown. 1.25% seems as if it would about the right amount which means today the HOF would have close to 300 players (not 263). In this first of two episodes, we ta...

Send us a text It's easy to make predictions and easier when you don't reveal how you actually performed. We come clean in this final regular season episode. Our prediction performance was pretty good or so we thought. Give a listen and find out if you agree! We will drop the first episode of the Off-season next week and then drop every two weeks until the start - or so we hope - of the 2022 MLB season. The upcoming negotiations between owners and players may result in a work stoppage. We hope ...

Send us a text Reggie Jackson relishes being referred to as 'Mr. October'. His 1977 WS performance #Yankees vs. #Dodgers was epic. As a member of the #Athletics he also had the game winning single in the 1973 WS vs. the #Mets. But is he the greatest postseason player of all-time? We discuss the best of the best in our latest podcast. 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 October 10th is rife with impressive baseball lore and history. Thinking of great plays, performances, and great games takes us back to when they happened and all the other cool related things any one date in MLB history might offer. We talk about one particular day - October 10th which has hosted season-ending play-in games, Playoff and World Series games. Of course many other dates in October offer the same which is why we LOVE October baseball! Please subscribe to our podcast ...

Send us a text Data analytics are critical to MLB teams being successful. This can be seen in the seemingly constant use of the infield shift. But surely every decision cannot be made on the basis of numbers and probabilities. In game 7 of the 2020 World Series Tampa manager Kevin Cash removed Blake Snell to the delight of the Dodger dugout. We all know what happened after that. When can hunches and feelings be used on the part of managers? Players? We talk about numbers from this season as wel...

Send us a text Beyond baseball fans of the other three major American professional sports also have a way of making their fans suffer and wait - sometimes a VERY long time for a championship. Gordon talks about how in his entire life, his four favorite NYC area teams have never won a championship - that's more than 30 years! The Yankees and New York Giants are the teams we do not 'root' for as core fans. Which teams have never even played for a championship in their sport? Which teams have play...

Send us a text Back in 2000 Sean Forman was a graduate student with a love for baseball. He never imagined that he'd create a wide-ranging enterprise - Sports-reference.com that encompasses not only baseball but American football, basketball, hockey, soccer and college football and basketball. The sites are so user-friendly and have become a go-to platform to get statistics for players, teams and leagues associated with all those sports. Now they've created a subscription service Stathead.com t...

Send us a text At some points of some seasons, if they are clearly out of the playoff race, do MLB teams try to lose intentionally? The answer is yes and no. Acquiring high draft picks can often backfire as can a fire sale of a team's best and likely most expensive players. Is the gamble worth it? The Astros & Rays might say yes. But the Angels, never quite bad enough to get a top draft pick, might want to consider trying something different. We talk about teams that tank, teams that seem like ...

Send us a text First-off we did Ted Simmons wrong since his career average was .285 which is much higher than Andruw Jones' career .254 BA. Simmons had 248 HR's which is among the best (13th) all time for a primary catcher. Simmons' speech was the best from any of the three players although Larry Walker and Derek Jeter acquitted themselves well. 10 HOFers passed away over the 2 year period but only 4 people were inducted. We feel and discuss that there could easily be 30 or more that could be i...

Send us a text Like a shooting star, sometimes players have one incredible season that they desperately try to replicate. For those that are unable to 'do it again', they are deemed 'one-season' wonders. From Rookie-of-the year to being out of MLB in 3 years actually has happened and it's not always due to injury! We remember some names that many have forgotten, and others that most people know but don't realize had one amazing outlier season! Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for list...

Send us a text We were actually kind of shocked to find out that there have only been 32 knuckleball pitchers in MLB history. Hoyt Wilhelm has the only no-hitter for a knuckleballer blanking the Yankees in 1958. The Yankees won the WS that season. There are some notable and memorable names of the 32 but also many that most fans have never heard of. Why aren't there more knuckleball pitchers? Listen to this episode to find out! Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you ha...

Send us a text There have been close to 40 complete games pitched in MLB this season so far. The modern era all-time single season record for a pitchers is 41 complete games in 1904. Since then the number has been reduced such that Shane Bieber led MLB with 3 complete games in the last full season 2019. This year 3 players already have 3 complete games. Over the years complete games have dwindled and that trend is likely to continue. Better relief pitchers compared to what used to be the case mi...

Send us a text What Shohei Ohtani is doing this season is amazing. Just making it to the Major Leagues is incredibly difficult. How about changing positions from being a position every day player to a pitcher? Or a pitcher needing to become a position player in order to stay in the big leagues? Players like the Cardinal’s Rick Ankiel come to mind but there are plenty of other MLB players who've adapted on the fly in order to remain at the highest level of baseball. We also talk about the Olympi...

Send us a text This year there were a slew of big deals for excellent players at the July 30 trading deadline. it may have even been the most good players traded ever at the deadline. We talk about the most significant trading deadline deals over the past 60 years since there were not that many before 1969 when divisional play began and there were more than two league champions. A couple of corrections. Cliff Lee went to the Phillies at the deadline and they did make the WS again in 2009 but th...