Send us a text It's not as if either of us went way far off the limb in our picks. We talked about the Hank Aaron Award for best offensive player and if that impacts the AL MVP race. There's a difference of opinion. Cy Young in the AL was close and the same was true for the NL. #Brewers Pat Murphy won NL Manager of the Year last year. Could he win it again? #Red Terry Francona is also a candidate. What do you think of the Comeback Player of the Year award? Some more strong o...
Send us a text Since 1973 there gave been 17 seven-game World Series. None of them had an 18-inning game, a player who got on base 9x in one game, a rookie striking out 12 hitters and a solo extra inning home run for the final runs. #Dodgers #BlueJays will be talked about for a long time. Gordon and Mark talk about each game of the series and answer the question is this the greatest World Series in history? www.almostcooperstown.com
Send us a text #Bluejays found their groove in Seattle winning the series 4-3 over the #Mariners in 7 interesting and often exciting games. #Dodgers dominated #Brewers who could only muster 4 runs in 4 games. A George Springer dinger made the difference in game 7. Shohei Ohtani had the greatest single game a player has ever played. What were the biggest plays of the LCS? We talk about which managers got things right and which one got things wrong. Intro & Outro music th...
Send us a text Did you stay up late to watch game one of the ALCS Sunday night the 12th? #Mariners and #BlueJays both entered the American League in 1977. Toronto has won 2 World Series but the Mariners have never won a pennant. Will they get past the Jays who have the home field advantage? We make our points and tell you why one of the teams may win easily! Mariners got by the #Tigers winning a 15 inning classic in game 5. George Kirby hopes he never has to face Kerry Carpenter ...
Send us a text It was quite a week in #mlb! #Dodgers subdued #Reds but not before a little excitement in game 2. #Phillies will be a much tougher test and the series started in Philly. #Cubs were better than #Padres but is that enough as they head to Milwaukee to face #Brewers over the weekend. What do the Padres do now that the season is over? #Tigers vanquish #Guardians who caught and passed them for the AL Central title. Great 3-game series! What do Guards do now? How abo...
Send us a text #Mets fans like we are might be relieved that the nightmare finish to the season is finally over. Sure making the playoffs would have been great, but #Reds deserved it more & getting spanked by #Dodgers would have been up next for the boys from Citi Field. #Phillies look good to Gordon, Mark is between Dodgers and #Padres. Neither of think give the #Cubs a chance and both of us still doubt #Brewers which is totally unfair. In the AL #BlueJays & #Mariners fin...
Send us a text Mike Trout hit his 400th home run. Remember when he was the best player in #MLB? We started the show talking about Ep. 628 where we talked with author Jane Leavy about her new book - Make Me Commissioner - I know what's wrong with baseball and how to fix it! Jane has some eye-opening comments and ideas so give it a listen or watch! There are now 3 players with 50 home runs this season - Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber. #Yankees Aaron Judge is on the doorstep...
Send us a text We're so excited to have had the chance to talk with former Washington Post baseball writer and best-selling author Jane Leavy join the podcast. Her new book "Make Me Commissioner - I Know What's Wrong with Baseball and How to Fix It" is fascinating and yet a love letter from Jane to the sport she loves the most. Great stories in the book including the Cape Cod League, Savannah Bananas, how a heavier and slightly larger baseball could save pitcher's arms. Lowering the mou...
Send us a text Mark went to the #mets game Friday night to see the return of Jacob DeGrom. It did not go well for the Metropolitans as rookie Jonah Tong didn't make it out of the 1st inning. The Mets are so awful lately that Mark proclaimed them dead as he did the #rangers a couple of weeks ago. That proclamation was before the Rangers went on a tear! So maybe that's the trick as the Mets came back to win 5-2 on Sunday immediately after that? Paul Skenes pulled after less than 70 pitche...
Send us a text Our under-the-radar story of the week is asking about why a fan would grab a baseball from a kid at the game? Grabbing a hat away from a kid? What is wrong with #baseball fans? It wasn't enough to have #Yankees fans thrown out of the playoff games last year for interfering with a play. Fans are behaving badly all over the place! #Astros Framber Valdez behaved oddly when he seemingly crossed up his own catcher and hit the guy in the chest with a pitch. Bizarre!...
Send us a text Which teams will have a September to remember? Will it be #Reds? #Mariners? #Royals? The playoff push is on and we rate the teams' chances. We had a 3rd 4-home run game last week for 1st time in #MLB history! #RedSox ink Aroldis Chapman to another 1 year deal. In our first under-the-radar story of the week we talk about Chapman's HOF credentials. #Pirates Paul Skenes has the NL Cy Young award locked up. The AL Cy Young is still up for grabs between Crochet and Skuba...
Send us a text Sure we talked about #Yankees 9 home runs in one game last week - that's the 2nd time it's happened this season which is a first! #Phillies Zach Wheeler has surgery and is out for the season - awful. #Brewers #Cubs #Dodgers #Padres are all good teams and will be tough in the playoffs. #Tigers Tarik Skubal and #RedSox Garret Crochet are pitching horses which is more special than ever. #Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk steals his first base ever after 2,000+ gam...
Send us a text Three-quarters of the season is in the books. It means you can add about 1/3 of a player's current stats to project what will be the season ending total. Pete Alonso broke Darryl Strawberry's #Mets HR record hitting his 253rd last week. That means the amazing #Mariners Cal Raleigh is just behind pace to hit 60 home runs. But he still is on track to have the greatest offensive season for a catcher in #MLB history. #Dodgers Shohei Ohtani hit both a home run and hit into a t...
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 en...
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 Clevela...
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 w...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ....
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. #Yankee...