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The Wild Card Series were mostly a snore-fest unless your team was the winner. All the series were wrapped up in 2 games. Tampa Bay Rays didn't need to travel after they lost 2 straight at home in front of meager playoff crowds. The Jays could not pitch well enough to overcome a good hitting team in the Texas Rangers who've continued mashing winning the 1st two games of the Division Series in Baltimore. 

The Phillies dispatched the Marlins like a big brother dismisses his younger sibling. And the Brewers once they learned Brandon Woodruff was injured and would not pitch against the D'Backs, folded like a cheap suitcase.  The D'backs continued their surprising run routing Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in Game 1.  The Astros were just waiting for the playoffs where Jose Altuve hit the 1st pitch of the game for a home run. Yordan Alvarez hit not one but two home runs. Seems like old times. We recap the manager and GM changes two as the playoffs are in full swing!

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It was great to receive so many responses to our podcast Episode 434 from last week on Total Bases Per Plate Appearance.  We wanted to go further with it and apparently listeners want that too. So we've created another new stat -  Bases created per plate appearance. This stat includes BB, IBB, HBP and net Stolen Bases for each player and each team.  This season's Atlanta Braves reign supreme with this stat as well as the more productive hitting team in MLB history!

We're still tweaking and fine tuning as there's an issue with Grounding into Double Plays as a negative stat since that stat was not calculated until 1933 in the NL and 1939 in the AL so players like Babe Ruth and teams before that time benefit unfairly.  We put a link to our Google sheet with tabs for BC/PA by team all-time, Players all-time and teams in the just completed 2023 season. 

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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 [email protected].  You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gf0EqDbWD5WP0eRa70fzS4veNq9d6ux6Rsq7e80Yheo/edit#gid=0

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And suddenly the 2023 season is all over.  Pitch clocks, larger bases, limits to shifting the infield all proved to be welcome and significant changes in MLB.  The 2023 Braves have reason to claim they are the greatest hitting team of all time.  The Marlins & D'Backs are back in the playoffs and somehow the Astros managed to win the AL West after all. 

The Wild Card Series being Tuesday and will end no later than Thursday with the NL and AL Division Series both starting on Saturday. This might he the most exciting week of the baseball year!

We recap the week that was, preview what's to come, and predict who we think will move on in the playoffs. 

We've added a YouTube Channel.  Here is the link to the Almost Cooperstown channel

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 [email protected].  You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating!

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We love that Hank Aaron has the most Total Bases in baseball history. In fact the list of players for all-time Total Bases is filled with Hall of Famers and would-be HOFers. 

Mark recently wrote an article on Total Bases per Plate Appearance - sort of a new way to look at a player's offensive contribution. It can be accessed here:  https://open.substack.com/pub/almostcooperstown/p/if-war-is-hell-could-there-be-one?r=6m2o9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web. 

We take it further by discussing team performance as it relates to TB/PA. The 2023 Braves right now are at the top of the all-time list and we talk about how great a hitting team they are as well as some of the other greatest hitting teams in MLB history. The 1927 Yankees are on the list. 

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This week was very full. The Rays and St. Pete have come to a deal for a brand-new domed but artificial turf stadium in a private/public partnership for reportedly $1.3B . Great news for the city and the team.

Blue Jays Yusei Kikuchi said he became injured due to not getting the11 hours of sleep as he normally does every night. Sandy Alancantra is out for the season - a big blow to Miami's playoff run and hopes.

Listen to us discuss all that happened last week and what will be happening this coming week - the last of the regular season!

We've added a YouTube Channel.  Here is the link to the Almost Cooperstown channe

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 [email protected].  You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating!

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Mike Rizzo is back in for the Nationals, and Chaim Bloom is out for the Red Sox. Cole Ragans fell down for and on the Royals, and a knuckleballer finally reappeared and got a win in MLB.

Have you ever pondered the paradox of the LA Angels - a team struggling despite housing the sport's finest player for nearly a decade? We unpack this baseball enigma and explore the Hall of Fame candidacy of Zach Greinke. We also weigh in on Ohtani's potential return (NOT) to the Angels and the possible teams vying for a Trout trade.

We love Pablo Lopez and Luis Arraez and examine the trade between the Twins and the Marlins. Plus, with new pace of play changes causing a buzz, we analyze how this has increased sports fans' engagement. Last but not least, we wrap up with a review of the divisions already clinched and a forecast for the wildcard races.

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 [email protected].  You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating!

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The Marlins won 47% of their games and 2 WS when they were the Florida Marlins. Once they changed their name to the Miami Marlins they win at a 43% pace and have only made the playoffs once in the pandemic season of 2020. This week we dive into the Marlins who are fighting for a playoff spot this season.  They are the fastest expansion team to win a World Series doing that in their 5th season.

We've added a YouTube Channel.  Here is the link to the Almost Cooperstown channel.

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 [email protected].  You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating!

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Since the division races and wild card chases have not changed all that much from last week this week we talk about the also-rans. The teams that are waiting for next year or even the years after that.  We also talk about the rookies and there are some really good ones.

The George Kirby story is more interesting than you might think.

We've added a YouTube Channel.  Here is the link to the Almost Cooperstown channel.

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 [email protected].  You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

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Babe Ruth & Barry Bonds. They are two of the greatest hitters who ever played and that cannot be argued.  Who was better?  That depends on your point of view so we decided to argue - Mark mostly for Ruth, Gordon mostly for Bonds.  The more we talked about their statistics the more impressive they became!

We've added a YouTube Channel.  Here is the link to the Almost Cooperstown channel.

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 [email protected].  You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

www.almostcooperstown.com