Almost Cooperstown

Baseball has provided some of the most colorful nicknames of any professional sport.  We talk about the great nicknames, the not-so-great nicknames and the surprising fact that there are not many active players with nicknames - good or bad.  

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 top tier fan base?  How about showing up for your team both in the season as well as ALWAYS showing up for playoff games.  Baseball has some historically great fan bases you might expect to be near the top of any list. But there might be a few surprises as we discuss our top 10 and all the others. 

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.  

We each pick three MLB division winners & two wild cards for both leagues. There will be no fans in the stands but photos of fans and piped in crowd noise. We do a quick analysis of all the divisions and teams.  Can't wait to watch them PLAY BALL!! 

Correction Jordan Hicks is the Cardinal closer who has opted out for the season - not Jordan Lyles who plays for the Texas Rangers. 

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.  

We love baseball movies but there have been a lot of bad ones. We try to put together a 'team' of the best players fictional and otherwise to have never played in an MLB game. It is not really possible to have a complete position by position team since while there are some Silver Sluggers discussed, there are more baseball movies made about pitchers than for any other field position. We talk about the movies we liked as well as ones we did not.  

Thanks for listening and thanks to Lee Marc Stein for the idea!  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.  

With the opening of the MLB 60-game season scheduled for July 23.  We discuss the impact of the impending changes in the game for relief pitchers, designated hitters, and a revolutionary way to end extra inning games more quickly.  

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.  

Baseball has more unique characters than any of the other major sports. Taking a lighter approach we discuss interesting and oddball players such as Dock Ellis & Bill 'Spaceman' Lee, a maverick and forward thinking owner, and a few famous things that happened during games, some of which you may know some you may not.  

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.  

After the MLB strike in 1994 the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998 finally brought baseball back to the top of people's minds. We discuss the players that were associated, accused, and some who admitted taking PED's of one type or another. This was all before baseball instituted any kind of punishment beginning in 2004.  

Should or shouldn't the steroid guys be in the Hall of Fame?  

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.  

Baseball fans know about the most 'famous' plays in the game's history.  Babe Ruth's called shot (or was it?) in the 1932 World Series, Bill Mazeroski's WS-winning homer in 1960. And for Met fans, there's Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner. 

There's no specific corridor in the HOF for the more memorable plays although they do appear in random places. We talk about 6 memorable plays that are hall-worthy for different reasons.  

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.  

We talked about players who had one shining moment in their career that could be principally responsible for their enshrinement in Cooperstown.  Was it deserved?  Even if a player had a great moment could one moment matter THAT much?  

We broke it down to:

Made the difference 
Should have made the difference - and did
Could have made the difference - and didn't
Had the big play but it didn't make the difference since the player was already a HOFer
One play was not enough - and that's right. 

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.  

Our first episode "Nine Men In" covered players that we feel deserve to be enshrined in the HOF. This second episode "Furthest From Almost" covers players on the opposite end of the spectrum. The names are not as familiar yet the performances (or lack thereof) are surprisingly bad.  While these players made it to the Major Leagues, they are statistically some of the worst players that ever suited up and yet were able to be major-league players and still played for ten or more seasons. 

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.