Send us a text

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!

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And 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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

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!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And 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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

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.
The MLB trade deadline is Friday this week and there have yet to be big-time deals but there's still time. This week in baseball's biggest story on the field was Nick Kurtz's amazing game for the A's vs. the Astros in Houston. 6 for 6 with 4 HR's and a record-tying 19 total bases! Shawn Green has company!
We talk about Win Probability Added - WPA, which catalogs which players are the ones that contribute to a team's winning chances the most. Barry Bonds, HOFers Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams are the top three with Willie Mays and Henry Aaron right behind on the all-time list and on the pitching side Lefty Grove, Walter Johnson, and Roger Clemens lead the pitchers in WPA and nobody should b surprised. The stats list a ton of HOFers and a few that should be HOFers!

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!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And 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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your frien

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

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!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And 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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

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!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And 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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

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!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And 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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

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.

Corbin Carrol of the #dbacks broke his wrist. Without Corbin Burnes the road got that much tougher. #Mets have been awful losing 13 of 16 and falling out of 1st place in the #nleast. #Dodgers #Cubs #Astros are fine. #Yankees #Rays in #aleast. #Tigers are supreme in #alcentral. #phillies lead the pack in #nleast. And then there are the #giants

How about Defensive stats? We've come a long way from fielding percentage. The amount of defensive metrics is ever-increasing. We pull apart what it all means and it's not as complicated is it might seem.

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And 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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

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