Almost Cooperstown

We're long past the time of flannel and wool home whites & road grays when it comes to MLB uniforms. There have been changes over the years such as adding numbers and then adding names once baseball began to be televised.  Today all teams have several different uniforms that they wear to varying degrees.  Younger fans like it and older fans maybe not so much.

We talk about the changes in baseball attire and where things might go.   

We've added a YouTube Channel and are still working out a few kinks so bear with us.  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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

As one of the oldest professional sports, baseball has been 'covered' for more than 175 years.  While newspaper accounts of games were the means of communication until radio arrived in the 1920s,  today's baseball coverage is multi-platformed, multi-faceted,  AND mucho dinero!

We talk about some of the all-time great baseball writers, and there are great ones out there today that do much more than just write about baseball in a newspaper column.  We think there's room for baseball coverage to be even better in the future.  Smart use of technology will be the key.

We've added a YouTube Channel and are still working out a few kinks so bear with us.  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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

We forgot to mention Zack Greinke who is a surefire HOFer - maybe even should be first ballot. There are a number of what we term 'sure things' and then there are others that have a really good chance provided they perform at or near their career levels for 4 or more seasons give or take.   Is Mike Trout already a HOFer?  As it turns out - yes. So Is Albert Pujols. Listen to us talk about the guys that have a chance to be voted into Cooperstown!

We've added a YouTube Channel and are still working out a few kinks so bear with us.  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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

We're thrilled to be back with our first episode of Season 3.  In this long one - 57 minutes is the longest we've ever done, we review the new rules in MLB for the 2022 season and then go through each team in each division.  We pick our division winners and playoff teams from each league.  All in under one hour!

We've added a YouTube Channel and are still working out a few kinks so bear with us.  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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

We became aware of a very cool data visualization comparing Negro League play to MLB play of the same era 1920-1948.  Adam Korengold has been doing data visualization professionally for almost 25 years–he’s now an Analytics Lead at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland–and teaches in the graduate data analytics and visualization program at the Maryland Institute College of Art.  

Lucky for us he’s been a baseball fan for most of his life, and since 2020 has been a member of SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research.  He has expanded his love for the game to include making visualizations on the game, as well as paintings on vintage baseball cards.  

Adam posted this link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/adam.s.korengold/viz/AllMajorLeaguesOffenseandDefense1920-1948/NegroLeaguesasMajorLeaguesTheyPlayedAtTheSameLevel#guest=n&1 on his Tableau and we highly recommend you visit the link to view the graph for yourself.  

We discussed the systemic racism that forged the Negro Leagues in the first place and how the players in the Negro Leagues truly compared to their white (or mostly white) counterparts in the Major Leagues. 

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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

Small market teams often have difficulty being a consistent winner.  Sure teams like the Royals and Rays have shown it can be done.  But in the 1970's the NL East Pirates and NL West Reds were in the hunt nearly every year of the decade.  Featuring HOF players in both lineups throughout, we talk about some of the epic playoff battles (the Reds did win 3 of 4) for NL supremacy in the 1970s.  To be fair, the Dodgers did win 3 NL pennants as well but also lost 3 WS.  We discuss what's different today as well as how it went between the two rivals in the 1970s.  

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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

Since there's no baseball to talk about due to the MLB lockout we decided to do an episode about sports movies not including baseball.  You can listen to our season 1 episode 108 'Silver sluggers of the silver screen'.  We talk about how there are not many good soccer movies - apologies to those who are fans of the movie 'Victory' and even fewer good tennis movies.  Who is the GOAT of sports movies? Kevin Costner comes to mind as does Adam Sandler and  Will Smith.  

Clearly we are ready for the owners and players to reach an agreement so we can get back to talking about our favorite sport! 

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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

This December Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa all have another chance to gain election to the Hall of Fame when they are reviewed by the Today's Game committee.  In January 2023 the voting from baseball writers will be announced.  Most of the players making their debut  on the ballot will be one and done. We talk about David Ortiz's first ballot election and why no other player was voted in. 

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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

There are a lot of MVP winners.  The tools for measurement used by voters have not always been as sophisticated as are the tools today. Consequently there are some head-scratching seasons turned in by MVP winners - especially when compared to some of the other contenders that year.  

We also discuss what makes a player 'Most Valuable' and if losing teams should be able to have a  player win an MVP that season. 

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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating! 

The final voting totals will be announced on January 25.  We had already called out 6 players to be added in our prior episodes 234 & 235 in which we added 36 players to the Hall of Fame right now.  So with 6 in the book, there's only room for 4 more on our ballot (or the one we would fill out if we actually had a vote). Who will it be? Listen to this fast moving episode to find out! 

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 @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page.  If you can please give the podcast 4 or 5 star rating!