Almost Cooperstown

The Dodgers have won 7 WS titles and appeared in the playoffs 37 times. Their list of players include some of the best who've ever played baseball.  We go position by position picking the greatest Dodger at each including relief pitchers. 

A few corrections: Gary Sheffield played 4 seasons for the Dodgers not 7.  The Dodgers also won the WS in 1965.  And while the Dodgers played in more WS while in Brooklyn they've won 6 of their 7 titles while in Los Angeles.   They played in the L.A. Coliseum from 1958-1961 winning the WS in 1959. 

Thanks to all of our listeners and followers.  We appreciate you!

Watch on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/XXC9z-n_6Wc

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!

Thinking about the great baseball rivalries over the years many come to mind. But most of them are within either the National League or American League. Sure the Brooklyn now Los Angeles Dodgers had nearly annual World Series tilts with the Yankees (losing them all until 1955), but generally the big rivalries are inter-league and not intra-league.

Divisional play began in 1969 and once there was more than one playoff team from each league it became even more difficult to have an annual World Series opponent. We talked decade by decade since the advent of divisional play about the most memorable rivalries and those that either fizzled out or never happened at all. 

Thanks to all of our listeners and followers.  We appreciate you!

Watch on YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/ChlDwtdU638

And 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!

The Pirates like the nearby Reds, have won five World Series and lost only two.  In their history they've had a bunch of Hall of Famers play all over the field but often those players did not get the satisfaction of winning it all!  We talk about the players, the managers - HOF Jim Leyland actually had a losing record while managing the Bucs.

Thanks to all of our listeners and followers.  We appreciate you!

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oNdEHtKRRxU

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!

The first of our 5-time World Series winners the Cincinnati Reds began in 1882 in the American Association and won their first WS in 1919 vs. the Black Sox.  We think of the 'Big Red Machine' but there have been some other great Reds teams and players that we talk about. Should have mentioned Eppa Rixey holds most of the Reds pitching records.  Bid McPhee was an original Red and was a second baseman not a pitcher. 

Thanks to all of our listeners and followers.  We appreciate you! 

Watch on YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/6M2tQtsQnWY

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!

We've not been doing our 'This Week in Baseball' Episodes but thought that New Year's Day would be the perfect time to summarize where things are in baseball halfway through the off-season. There are still a bunch of free agents to be signed, players to be traded and rosters to be filled out.  We talk about which teams have done well and might be winning this off-season.

The Royals also signed Michael Wacha.  

The 2024 season opens March 20 in Korea! We want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!  Thanks for listening!

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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!

We read some of the 1950's scouting reports on famous players and they are both hilarious and entertaining. Baseball scouting movies are plentiful with Moneyball being one of the most important baseball  stories regarding the scouting of players.  From being a '5-tool' player to the 20-80 evaluation system for players things have come a long way. 

Is scouting today easier or more difficult before technology and data came into playing such an important part? We discuss it all and had great fun reading the scouting reports of Sandy Koufax, Willie McCovey and Tom Seaver! 

This is our final podcast of 2023 so we want to wish everyone a healthy and Happy New Year since on Monday next year is here!

Watch on our YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/Nde_yfimi1s

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!

The 'D' on the Tigers cap is one of the most iconic logos in all of sports.  Ty Cobb holds most of the all-time hitting offensive categories.  Yet the Tigers have an amazing amount of Hall of Famers around the diamond. Harry Heillman, Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer, Alan Trammel, and George Kell all were Tigers through and through.

They've won 4 World Series and lost 7. We talk about the other great Tigers and the greatest manager in Tiger history.  Lance Parrish had a career bWAR of 39.5.   

As always thanks to all of our listeners and followers. We appreciate that you listen and like our podcast!  And to all we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Watch on YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/tCRtlvfLwGk

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!



Lance Parrish had a career bWAR of 39.5.  

A listener Chris S. suggested we talk about the HOFers who wore team caps on their plaque in Cooperstown, and those that did not. This year HOFer Andre Dawson again petitioned to have his HOF plaque changed to have him wear a Cubs cap instead an Expo cap which the Baseball Hall of Fame mandated. Sometimes a HOFer had an unusual reason for not going in wearing a logo on his cap at all. 

We discuss all the teams HOFers and only the Rays and the Marlins have zero players wearing that team's cap.  We also discuss players on this year's HOF ballot and if they were to be elected, what cap the player might wear.

As always thanks to all of our listeners and followers. We appreciate that you listen and like our podcast!  And to all we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Watch on YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/0xamKq5jL_c

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!

They are 4 time World Series Champions - the Braves. First in Boston, then to Milwaukee and since 1966 in Atlanta. The Braves have dominated the NL East for more than 30 years.  It wasn't always like that and when they were in Boston from 1912-1952 they won 1 WS and were only in 1 other. We talk about their triumphs as well as their years of lousy baseball.

Tommy Holmes fell short of 2,000 hits not 3,000.  And the Braves did win the NL East in 1982 but lost the NLCS.  

As always thanks to all of our listeners and followers. We appreciate that you listen and like our podcast!

Watch as  we've added a YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/BgWbU9x96m0

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!

In addition to pitching in MLB having only one arm, Jim Abbott was one of the players to go straight to the Major Leagues without ever playing in the minors. There are many interesting players who skipped the minors entirely.

We also discuss a list of 10 year or more players who went straight to the bigs before the MLB draft was instituted in 1965.  It does not happen much anymore and we talk about the reasons for that. 

As always thanks to all of our listeners and followers. We appreciate that you listen and like our podcast!

Watch as  we've added a YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/n64ioCz7cK8

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!