Almost Cooperstown

As of the 2021 season there have been 413 sets of brothers who've played in a MLB game. We found some of the careers of one of the brothers were very short.  Most of the time one of the brothers significantly outperforms the other brother.   But not all the time thanks to brother combos like the Waners, Deans, DiMaggios, Torres and Alomars.   We talked about Hank and Dick Allen not mentioning that they were teammates with the White Sox in 1972-73. Hank and Tommie Aaron were also teammates.  

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.

The first MLB All-Star Game was in 1933.  Yet it is little-known amongst even big baseball fans that because Black players were not allowed in MLB, the Negro Leagues had their own All-Star Games also beginning in 1933.   And these games were both popular and well-attended. We take a look at how the All-Star game in MLB has changed over the years and with Gary Livacari's help (you can check out his old-time baseball photos page on FB and his blog baseballhistorycomesalive.com), we dig into some of the more interesting aspects of the E-W ASG games as well as some famous MLB ASG moments.   

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.

Sorry about any audio issues with this one.

Link to introductions at 1939 East-West All-Star Game
https://youtu.be/eORQqMg74k4

Link to Gary's blog on 1939 East-West All-Star Game - https://www.baseballhistorycomesalive.com/1939-east-west-negro-league-all-star-game/

The bullpen has not always been the most respected place for #MLB pitchers.  The save did not even become an official statistic until 1969.  Two HOF players far and away represent the best of the best when it comes to having success both starting and relieving. There are  other but not many examples of former starting pitchers who became stellar relief pitchers - even HOFers!  As fans might expect the real rarity is being a relief pitcher who later has success as a starting pitcher.   But it has happened.  Kind of.   We should have included Joe Nathan who started 29 games in his first 2 years and pitched more innings per season those 2 years than he ever pitched in a season again. Of course he did earn 377 career saves! 

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.

In MLB today scheduled doubleheaders are almost extinct.  Rainouts and Covid-19 protocols have caused there to be a few more DH's than in a normal year.  7-inning DH's are, well just weird but might be here to stay.  We're ok with that for the most part but not if there are two separate admissions at full price!  Two for the price of one does not work well for team owners in today's baseball economics. Players are probably ok with it since they get paid the full amount even if only 77% of a normal game is played.  

Who has the advantage in DH's?  The home team?  The better team?  Are there more sweeps or splits of DH's?  We talk about the history of doubleheaders in this fast moving episode!  

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.

Official scoring in baseball is very different than it is for all the other professional sports. Part of it is due its own history.  It was not all that long ago that baseball reporters  doubled as official scorers.  The box score 'invented' by Henry Chadwick in 1859 is still in use today!  But official scoring has been the bastion for males almost universally except for just a small amount of females. Starting with E. (Eliza) Green (could not use her name in 1882), and including Susan Fornoff in the 1990's. Now the Colorado Rockies and MLB this season have elevated Jillian Geib to be their official scorer and it's about time!  Gordon and I had a great conversation with Jillian talking about her experiences in MLB, official scoring today and how it's changed after the pandemic season. 

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.

Aren't we already tired of hearing about the doctoring & defacing of baseballs?  @MLB has decided to do something about it mid-season.  It's always been illegal to use sticky stuff or anything on the baseball. Now the rule is going to be enforced. We just had to talk about it! 

Thanks for listening and 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.

Most fans would argue that their favorite team had a period of time in which they were a very good team, maybe won a WS, but fell short of winning more than once.  Yet there are also teams that over-performed expectations to win it all more than once over a relatively short period of time.  

Are the 2016-2021 Dodgers overrated?  They are the current WS champions and might have actually won another WS (if you ask Dodger fans), but should they have won another already?

Thanks for listening and 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.

 

What makes a player a good baserunner? Speed helps for sure but there have been many adept, even good baserunners who have lacked foot speed.  Picking up the ball, knowing the field, taking longer leads and reading the move home of the pitcher are all important if not underused skills.  The shift to power and home runs over the past 30+ years has robbed the game of exciting plays like scoring from first on a double, or just a good old fashioned triple! 

We talk about the good baserunners (not always are they great base stealers), and some of the historic bad baserunning decisions that have decided important games!   

Thanks for listening and 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.

Partly because baseball has been around the longest, there have been more MLB players who played other professional sports than pro athletes from other sports playing MLB baseball.  Baseball players were not paid much in the early part of the 20th century and being paid for two sports beat out having a regular job!  

We talk about what we call the big 4 - all NFL/MLB players as well as some notable names from sports like basketball, hockey and golf who were also major leaguers! 

Thanks for listening and 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.

Do you know the 10 oldest ballparks currently in use in MLB?  Sure you'd expect Fenway & Wrigley but some of the other names might surprise even the most knowledgable fans. How about groundskeeping and the differences between baseball parks?  Baseball is really the only major sport in which the playing field differs depending on the park in which you're playing.  What's going on with the future of the Oakland A's?  We talk about all this and more in this episode.  

Thanks for listening and 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.