Yankees-Dodgers series, Phillies go across the pond vs. the Mets. And betting on baseball is out of control. What was your big moment last week? We cover a bunch of things in a quick hitting episode.

All-Star game voting is in full force but there are also changes in All-Star weekend this year at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The futures games on Saturday will be followed by a new and bizarre event showcasing skills of players that may or may not ever play MLB.

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

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The argument that team owners would be unwilling to give up the revenue from the 8 additional games between 154 and 162 is weaker than ever. The additional playoff games would more than make up for the incremental loss of gate and TV revenue. Players could have a bit more rest and maybe we would not need to start the MLB season in late March and carry it through early October. Does the World Series need to end in early November?

The addition of Negro League stats to MLB is a welcome one but also presents some re-thinking of some of the most famous numbers in baseball history. Ty Cobb is no longer the player with the highest career batting average ceding that accolade to Josh Gibson. It will take some getting used to!

Japanese professional baseball is 144 games.

Link to article in SABR - The Negro Leagues were the major leagues:
The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

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Angel Hernandez umpired 33 years of MLB. He stepped down this week and received no demand that he continue. His time was over. Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. went down with an awful ACL injury (again), and will miss the rest of the 2024 season. The last time Acuna Jr. had a season-ending injury the Braves won the World Series.

Josh Gibson is now the player with the highest all-time batting average in MLB. His .372 career BA beat Ty Cobb by 5 or 6 points depending on how you look at the stats. The week in MLB was interesting and exciting with Aaron Judge completing an all-time May for Yankee hitters. The Yanks and Phillies are on a pace to win 110 games with the Orioles and Guardian not far behind.

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

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The infield shift has been banned for about 1 1/2 seasons and the results are that left handed hitters have had some benefit mostly at the expense of right handed hitters. Baseball batting averages are still among the lowest in MLB history. Watching teams struggle to get hits and score runs can be a chore. Pitcher injuries continue to blossom. Can anything be done about it?

We discuss some weird but intriguing considerations to help create more offense in baseball.

Luis Arraez played for the Marlins last season and part of this season - not the Twins. Tyrod Taylor is a NY Jet quarterback, Tyrone Taylor is a Mets outfielder.

Once again our Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

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Happy Memorial day to all of our listeners and their families. A memorial service could be held for a few #MLB teams including the #Mets and #Rockies. But the #Guardians and #Phillies keep flying high. The #Royals won 9 out of 10 but gained no ground in the AL Central. #Orioles have starting pitcher health issues. #Astros are playing better but are relying heavily on Justin Verlander.

The #White Sox lost to the #Orioles this week on a bizarre game ending double play. Baseball always has a way of pointing out a flaw in the way the rules are employed.

We lament on the moribund Mets - kinda what we do.

Once again our Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends.

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Blasts and swords will become terms baseball nerds will use to describe batter's strengths and weaknesses. Squared-up contact too. We took a look at the new nomenclature put out by Statcast/Baseball Savant and it interesting and amusing.

We talk about what is the actual description of the bat's 'sweet spot' and how that figures into some of the news stats.

As would be expected the best hitters are near or at the top of many of the stats. But not all of them since hitters succeed and fail in a variety of ways.

Once again our Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends.

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Like Lazerus, the #Astros are finally rising from the ashes, while the #Guardians continue to surprise, #Yankees and #Orioles are the class of the AL East. The #Phillies are better than we thought w/the #Braves looking up at them for a change. #Cubs Shota Imanaga is the early Cy Young candidate along with Ranger Suarez and Chris Sale.

Is it too early to talk about Wild Card races? We don't think so!

Once again our Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends.

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HOFer Cy Young's record 511 wins are safe in the record books as ones that truly will never be broken. DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak has a better chance of being broken.

20-game winners are also going by the wayside with only Spencer Strider last season, Kyle Wright the year before and Julio Urias in 2021. None of those pitchers are currently pitching, all for very different reasons.

Assigning a 'win' to a pitcher is a bit strange in the first place since baseball is a team spot. We talk about what could be changed as well as why the 'W' is still interesting and important.

Once again our Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter/X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends.

www.almostcooperstown.com