The last week of the 2025 MLB Season - so much is undecided! Ep. 629

People should go and check out our interview that we did with Jane Lee Levy. Mm hmm. It's easy to do that, by the way.

Almost Cooperstown (00:18.636)
Now Lindor hit his 28th today, so the Mets have the chance again to have two players with 30-30. They did it with Strawberry and Howard Johnson in 1987.

Almost Cooperstown (00:33.262)
Me I think Gordon is Mm-hmm. Yep. Got it. All right. I'm ready. Yeah.

We're coming down the home stretch of the season here. have players chasing 50 home runs. Might we have five of them this year? Trout gets his 400th career home run and Kershaw has his last start in Dodger stadium. It's this week in baseball. Give me a bit of a.

Quicker episode this week, because we do suggest that everybody goes and checks out our interview with the author Jane Levy, on our, on our, all our different platforms here. have the video interview, we have the podcast, so please do go check that out. We're talking about her new book about why she should be commissioner in baseball. And it is a very lengthy and interesting discussion. would say. Yeah. Jane was great. And she's got some really interesting ideas and a few of them I'm still thinking about after we talked about it last week, such as.

having the pitchers maybe throw a heavier and bigger ball, which is we talk about in the podcast. And also she brought up what if the mound wasn't there and they threw a flat ground that would make it less taxing on pitchers arms. And that, could you imagine like going back to like, you know, 1870 or something like strange. would look like the same thing. would we're playing cricket. But anyway, check it out. Jane's making the rounds.

She's just got a lot of opinions and a lot of points of lot of really interesting insight. Yeah, yeah, and she got great access. I mean, to get in and talk to Bregman the way she did over years. She talked to Dusty Baker. She talked to a lot of people. And I thought the Morgan sword, and hopefully we'll get to.

Almost Cooperstown (02:26.126)
you know, Morgan Sword, maybe I can reach out to him and get him to come on the podcast. He works for Major League Baseball. And she said that he feels, you know, the same things that she's talking about, but he works for Major League Baseball. So, you know, how much can he change? So, yeah, Jane's book is I make me commissioner. I know what's wrong with baseball and how to fix it. we'll take a look at that. That's or listen to that episode six. Twenty eight.

So yeah, we're here on Sunday. the Mets have just, lost again to the Washington nationals, two out of three, at the worst possible time. the Cincinnati Reds hold here against the Chicago Cubs, they will take over possession of the tie breaker. So it'll be a true dead, dead race to the last year. The Mets will somewhat get an advantage in it. will be their turn to play the Cubs who are struggling mightily right now though.

Knowing how things go and the Cubs lay down for the reds. I'm sorry. They lay down for the reds and then play tear amazing against the Mets and it'll feel like they're trying to help out their NL Central brethren. But I think we both sort of feel that even if the Mets do make the playoffs, they're not going to be very good. No, no. Defensively this weekend, watching the Mets play, they looked buffoonish.

in the way they kicked him through the nationals did too by the way. it cost them the series. think good defense and they probably win all three games instead of only winning one. And yeah, and then the last race is there because the Giants have slipped back a little bit, the D-backs have slipped back. So it looks like the Mets and the Reds are going to vie for that last wild card And it's going come down to the last two series of the season here, which is going to make for some great baseball over the next week. You know, we get to next Sunday here.

I think by around the time we'll be recording, everything will be. Well, wait till after the games are over next Sunday. But you're exactly right that I think they all play at the same time. Maybe all the games start at three o'clock or there was some like the common time that they all start. Might be three o'clock. They make sure that not all the games have to start at the same time, but all the games that have stakes because they have some. Right. You're right.

Almost Cooperstown (04:22.414)
where they'll let them go earlier or later because they're not impacting the race in any kind of way. Neither team is involved, so they're allowed to play their game. And that won't be the Sunday night game because there is no Sunday night There is no Sunday night game next week. So, yeah, and in the American League, you know, we've had we've not been talking enough about the Guardians because over the past 10, 11 days until today, which it looks like they're going to lose that game if they haven't already, breaking their 10 game winning streak.

that got them to within a game of the Detroit Tigers or game and a half of the Tigers who are also losing today to the Braves. So they those two teams, the Tigers and the Guardians, have a big three game series this week. Where is that series? Really winner take all here because if you sweep that series, you're almost putting the other team, you know, in the dirt at that point in the central.

mean, the Tigers are going to go on record if they lose as the great as having the greatest choke in the history of majorly collapse of all time. They were up 13 and 15 and a half games and no team has ever lost that kind of a lead. So we like historic stuff, but.

That is not the kind of stuff I really to see. you a little bit kind of rooting for just so that we won't have to wear that anymore? Yeah, I don't wish that kind of stuff. don't wish it on him, but I don't mind if they take that title. That's that that's bad juju. So I don't think so. So I think that's the other big the other big series in that is taking place this weekend in the American League. And then there's the the Astros and the Mariners. The Mariners are now up two games. Yes, two going into today and they are playing.

This afternoon. I don't think they they I don't know what the Sunday night game is tonight. What is the Sunday night game? Sorry, we're doing this in real time here. Yeah, they're not the sun. They're they're playing this evening. Yeah, they're the Sunday night game. So they're not on yet. So we have we don't know what they're going to be. But that could Houston could be three back with two games to play with with no with six games to play with six games to play. Right.

Almost Cooperstown (06:21.345)
But too serious to play. Too serious to play. Yeah. So that's that's pretty special that, know, the the Mariners who kept thinking they were going to fold and the the Astros with all their experience and so on and so forth were going to hold on. But they've looked shaky. They didn't get a great start from Framber Valdez like they needed. And and the know, the Mariners could put the Astros behind the eight ball. If the Astros win tonight, though, however, their one game back with six to play.

It's a series at that point. You know, you're running it down then those last two series and you don't know who's going to win. It's going to be who takes it really. But now I can I can safely say the Rangers are truly dead. Yes, they're truly dead. They're not getting any. I tried that last week with the Mets, you know, that saying the Mets were dead and then they won four out of five and then didn't hold on and nor did it for the Rangers as a matter of fact. Right now, everything pretty much looks settled.

In the AL East like I it's hard for well I think I think in terms of like are you the Yankees are gonna run down the Blue Jays here in the last week there I know they're losing today or they're tied today on Sunday. So they began obviously when we drop this tomorrow morning This will be you know a done deal. But yeah, the Yankees are They were tied 1-1. I think they are up 6 to 1. So the Blue Jays, what are the Blue Jays doing?

Almost Cooperstown (07:38.99)
I'm trying to find the Jays are up eight to five in the middle of the eight. So if they hold serve, they'll be the Yankees will be two games behind with six to play. So that's not over. It's a tough deficit to come back for. But certainly they're both making the playoffs at this point. That's true. And the Red Sox have floundered a little bit and such that the the Astros and the and the Mariners who have.

The Mariners have 69 losses, so they're in good shape. The Astros only have one more loss than the Red Sox. And the Guardians have the same amount of losses at 71. So there's a lot of things that could happen. You could end up next week with the Red Sox out, the Guardians and the Tigers in, and the Mariners or the Astros as the division champion. Right, you could have a lot of different AO playoff configurations based on kind of who plays well in this last week. And we'll talk about the...

not going to play the playoffs today, the playoffs in the first round of the wild card series is all three games, if there are three games at the higher seeded team. Right. So that's a huge difference. Right. So if you think, oh, my team got the playoffs and it's great. We get a home. No, you're not in a home game. If you're in the lower seed, right. And you got to go and win two out of three at the opponent's ballpark, which is another reason why.

If the mess were so lucky to get into the playoffs, I don't see them going and playing the Dodgers and winning two out of three in LA. Yeah, that'd be impressive. But it's going to be an amazing weekend and we could be here next Sunday. And I don't know what's going to happen. And that's the, that's the beauty of the pennant race in baseball and the playoff race. And that's why the, and if you have, if you ask yourself, why did a major league expand the playoff picture? This is why, because now you've got an incredibly exciting race in both leagues.

We're all going to be paying really super close attention to who makes the playoffs. And it's going to be a great time as a baseball fan. If I had, if you had to say, okay, you have to pick one team who's the best team in the American league right now and the best team in the national league right now that you think has the best chance to win, to make the world series from their league. Phillies.

Almost Cooperstown (09:37.87)
I haven't blue Jays for me Mariners right now, right? Right. So that's there's no dominant. I'd write here in the AI and either in either league. No, you really don't have a team you could point to because you know, you're going to have this year where you don't have anybody that's going to have bat 300. Oh, no, they'll trade Turner's going to finish the season. He's good because he hasn't come back yet. He's batting 305 and he probably would do better to not bat anymore. But I think he is going to try to come back. It's going to be wild that you're going to have a season with no 300 batters.

No hundred, no hundred game winners as a team. Nobody's going to hundred games. And nobody threw any no hitters, which. Right. We have had no hitters. We're in the last week here. So that's a real rarity when you don't have a no hitter in the season, particularly these days with the way that hitting is. And I think, you know, we, saw what has been a trend really taking place this, this late in the season with the Jays having Trey Savage, a 22 year old make his first start, out nine in five innings and was throwing gas.

but a whole bunch of teams have been bringing up a young arms late in the season here and being like, okay, rookies make big starts for us down the stretch. I think the Dodgers did some of that last year when they brought up a Ben Casperius and they had these young bitches who the other teams really hadn't seen enough.

to really have a book on the pitcher yet. And so that it can kind of surprise people when you've got a pitcher who's growing hard and maybe he's got some good stuff. know, stuff going on. And so the Mets have done it with three rookie pitchers in the rotation over the past month. And I think all of us would have not believed you if you said we're going to wait. We're going to wait all the way to the middle of September. And we're going to unleash these guys. But as you said, Trey, you savages one guy. There are other guys around the major leagues who are pitching in big spots.

at this point, the Sears brought up Missy earlier this year, but a lot of teams have been doing this just in part that one teams just need so many arms to get through the season and two, why not see if these young if you really think these young guys are going to be good for you, you're going to need to use them in a game at some point. You might as well get them in the game at the end of the year here. Nobody's got any time to have any book on it. Let's see what they can do. Let's see if they can contribute. I don't think these rookies would be I don't think Tong or Sprout would be starting.

Almost Cooperstown (11:52.719)
Mets in the postseason. Well, I think that's possible if they make it and then they play three games, by the way. So I think McLean might get a start, though. I think so, too. And I think, you know, the the young pitchers are at their inning limits in some situations, just like the, you know, the major league team. lot of pitchers are at their own. You're like you're really taking a chance and having a young guy who's never thrown this many innings come up to the major leagues and try to get major league hitters out. And you're little worried about injury. I everybody's a little worried. I think it's.

Throwing innings is just such a big deal in the major leagues. And, know, it really impresses me how the Dodgers were able to do it last year. And you can kind of see how it didn't work this year and that all of those starting pitchers last year were able to get them to the playoffs where they could use their bullpen ruthlessly in every single game. They couldn't do that this year. Even if they get to the playoffs, they're not going to be able to use their bullpen the way they did last year, because I don't think the bullpen just has

the innings in them to do that. I think they got back all these starters now. They've got all these people that are just getting healthy. Right, Right. Joey Otani could be a reliever in the playoffs. they have to get them all good. They all have to be. All of sudden, Snow looks good.

Glass no looks good. Yamamoto looks good. mean, Sasaki is trying to get back to the major leagues, you know, there's a lot of guys. Kershaw has has pitched very well, even though he had his last start in the Archer Stadium. I do think it's interesting with Sasaki because that's like the first move. It feels like they made that just wholly not really work. That's one year you throw a lot of money at stuff. Not everything's going to work. Right, right. Yes, it is. But that's that's how that's the first crack in the wall.

That's how it can start. If you're the Dodgers, you've got all this money tied up in all these guys. And let's say, okay, wait a second. Glass now gets hurt again. Snell does his normal stuff. happened. Right. That happens. And so all of sudden it's like, that's how, like a team that has all of this money can suddenly be having their hands tied because it only takes a couple of guys fully not working out. And then normal injuries and stuff can really start putting you behind an eight ball. And I'll say this then the team to watch for in the playoffs or the Dodgers.

Almost Cooperstown (13:55.641)
They're still the team. We said the Phillies that that's the scariest team. That's the team that could go on a bender and just beat the tar out of everybody. talked about it last week. Mookie Betts has remembered how to hit and with him and Shohei and Freddie in that lineup, you have to respect that lineup. I think I think it's hard when you're a good team.

you know, to to be on all the time. And the Dodgers have definitely not been on this season. They've had a lot of up and downs. But I think when it comes to the playoffs, they're experienced, obviously, the defending champions. I would not sell them short in the playoffs. Part of me wishes we could just have like a loaner program in the major league so that like guys that, you know, play for certain franchises could, you know, get a taste of the playoffs. It's like Mike Trout hit his 400th homerun.

for Anaheim or Los Angeles or wherever the angels are. think they're Los Angeles. We should probably let them take. He should be able to give it on loan to the Dodgers for the playoffs just so it could be like a make a wish thing. But here, these people show up for this is what the playoffs is like. I feel bad for him. And he's the guy that caught his 400th home run actually came out into the field after the game had a catch with what he wanted. The guy's got a glove on and trout doesn't get used to where he just catches a bear.

Yeah, there's no way this guy's going to throw it with any kind of pays that he's going to try out just looks like a physical specimen there. know, we sometimes have forgotten how great the guy was. know you like to talk about that aspect of him. It has like you understand how incredible this guy was for a long time. It's not like he's not one of the greatest all time players still. Right. Right. We just because he fell off the path. He fell off the track of being the greatest player to ever ever played the game. And so when he was on that trajectory.

And you're talking about him. Now you just have to talk about him as one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Cause you forget he really was on that trajectory to be the greatest player to have ever played the game. was putting up those kinds of numbers every single year. I don't think we had seen somebody put up numbers like that since Poulos. Right. Right. And B, like, how can he keep doing this kind of thing? That's what it was. So, uh, home run wise and the major leagues, um, I, you know, here's how AI can, can mess you up. So I, I think I put a query in and it came up.

Almost Cooperstown (16:00.239)
because I saw that Schwab hit his 50th home run. there are three guys right now. 53 now. He's at 53. Three guys with 50 home runs or more. Raleigh with 57 as of today. Otani and Schwab are both at 53. So it's the first time there's been three guys with 50 home runs. And I'm like, really? I guess It doesn't seem right. seem right. Well, actually, it's true in that.

Two other times there were four guys that had 50 home runs, but they didn't have threes. You have to be careful how you ask the question because it doesn't include those guys. So what we need to have happen, as you said when we opened, is to have Judge, who's got 49, get to 50, and Suarez, who's got 47, get to 50, and then you'll have five guys with 50 home runs. That will be the first time that's ever happened. And this is was thinking that before Babe Ruth hit 54 in 1920, nobody had.

And that was like the first time anybody at 50, nobody but Ruth hit more than 50 until 1930 when hack Wilson hit 56. And so now we have years where guys hit three, four guys at 50 home runs in a season. And, know, there is a bit of a cliff after that grouping of guys because I think the next closest and Soto at like 42. No, and then a Caminero is at 44. Camino's got 44 home runs. Yeah. Yeah. And then you're right. So does got 42. So, yeah, I think, you know, if we sat down, so we should do this sometime, try to do.

So name all the guys that have hit 50 home runs in the history of baseball. Oh, in a season? In a season. there's not that. I think there's like 33 or something like We would probably be able to get most of Would you get Greg Vaughn of the car? That's a tough one. Cecil Fielder hit 51. Prince Fielder also had 50. Did he hit I want to say he I know he and his dad have the same amount of career home was with 319 for some reason. I remember that. But anyway, we should do that another time in terms of like, you how many of these guys?

50 home runs, like you said, was like, you know, 50 home runs in booth hit the 59 and then he hit the 60 home runs in 1923 or 27. I don't actually, I don't remember when he hit the 60 home runs. and, and then nobody did it. Like you said, until hack Wilson. And so we always, we do love these gigantic home run totals and you know, we, talk about it know, you look at the seasons at Colorado has had an amazing season. Shore has had an amazing season. Otani has had an amazing season.

Almost Cooperstown (18:19.438)
And, know, for a guy that a lot of people were kind of talking about him, like he was having a down season. I don't think anybody's talking about Juan Soto, like he's having a down season anymore. I mean, he is now entering elite category with the season he's put up. think the traditional baseball guys like old guys like me, you know, you see a guy who's got a two sixty seven average and you just can't get excited about a batting average when it's two sixty seven. Even if you understand.

that the on base is so good. it just seems like that seems kind of, it's just funny. Like it would be like, it's like, you know, you, just, put your hand over the average and you look at every other stat and you're like, Oh, okay. And I would, I wouldn't rather have him hit two 94 with a three 40 on base average. Right. Right. Cause he's going to be, he's only one of three guys that have 40 homers, 30 stolen bases, a hundred or more RBI a hundred or more walks joining Barry bonds. And for the life of me, I would have not guessed this Jeff.

Bagwell. yeah. Still 30 bases in a season. stance of the plate, you know, how could the guy run? No, he ran pretty well. from what I was seeing is Astrofence said he's actually a very smart base runner. That was the same thing. The same thing. He was a smart base runner. You understood. Hernandez wasn't fast, was a smart base runner. Right. And you could probably say the same thing about Soto. I mean, even though he got picked off today.

Well, he's you know, he's doing it so often. So he's got this stolen. He's not fast as we all know. He's clearly he kind of tiptoes off first base. He goes a further. He goes a little further and takes a look to see this guy looking over. And then basically, as the picture just begins to go, he just runs. And most of the time he gets down there.

before the throw even gets there. right, right. And he's four stolen bases shy of a 40-40 season. Which really feels like he's going for it. Almost just as a proof of point. I know the action in Vegas before the season on Soto putting up a 40-40. You've got big numbers. Big numbers. Off the board kind Nobody was betting on that. There's no way that that happens. So yeah, and the doubles leaders, you know, and so that's not gonna, know, something that pay a lot of, but Bobaschett's got 44 and Bobby went at 43. So they're vying for the doubles crown.

Almost Cooperstown (20:17.454)
We're going to have the American League has a bunch of guys hitting, hitting above 300 because, you know, it's it's just wild to look at. You know, you, you're going to look at Aaron judge's complete season in totality and it's going to be incredibly impressive. But then you could just isolate his first half and you're going to realize how close he was to having what are we going to want like a greatest season of all time. Still good enough for the MVP as far as he's going to the as good as Cal Raleigh is. And he has been.

I can't I can't. But if Kyle Raleigh hits a big home run tonight and that's part of the reason why they end up winning the division, I feel like the narrative and the Yankees fall out of it. I mean, how bad do the Yankees have to go? Yankees get the wild card. OK, Yankees get the wild card. Mariners win the division. I feel like baseball is going to want to give it to Raleigh because they like the story and he's a catcher and he has to do all that. He's been great towards the end of the year when Judge has just been.

Normal judge which or even like slightly judges judges. Right? That's are still incredible But it's just because his first half was so otherworldly you have to remember this guy was hitting like 400 something into like a June basically Yeah, well, he's he's still got almost he's still hitting 330 175 ops points over Cal Raleigh. Okay, so that's that's that's a lot, you know, you know, and he The thing is that the thing that powers both of them and if you just say this

Imagine either one of those lineups without that guy. Well, it doesn't matter. They both have the same effect. And then there's the old guy, average thing, right? Judge is hitting 327, Cal Raleigh is hitting 246.

Oh, come on. Calliola is a cat who's at 57 home run. Yeah, yeah, he is. He is. And Judge has only got 49. I get that. You know, only 49. So he's he's only got five stolen bases, but that's one more than Calralli. No, he's got 12. Oh, he's got 12. That's 12. He's been caught five times. He's got 14. I got 14 steals. My bad. My bad. So he's got more stolen bases than Aaron Judge. think that's that's that's an odd thing. So and you do what I do want to give a shout out just here before we finish up that Jose Ramirez gets another 30 30 season.

Almost Cooperstown (22:20.462)
I think people aren't going to go realize, know, because he plays for a team in Cleveland that doesn't get enough attention. Yep. And he is quietly putting together a resume that is going to have him going down up there with like the Mike Schmitz of the world is one of the best third baseman to ever play the game. And you write about underappreciated, right? Because does anybody ever talk about Jose Ramirez as MVP of the of the American League? You know, and you look at his stats year after year after year going, you're look at his career stats after he's always going, how does this guy never win? Look at his career stats right now.

You look at his career stats right now. I'm telling you, he's like his career stats are going to be in the realms of the Beltrays and the Mike Schmitz. That's how good he's good. is. Yeah. So and we talked a little bit about, you know, other awards next week on the last week on the pitching, you know, where it's between Crochet and Scoobel and skeins is going to Next week is obviously going to be a real big breakdown. We're going to be talking about the season. We're going to go through, you know, you know how the regular season shook out.

how the playoffs are looking. We'll probably talk a little bit about awards and just sort of starting to preview those. It should be a really fun last week of the season. Yeah, no doubt.