Send us a text

Baseball's Two-Way Greats - Pitching/Batting Stars from Ruth and Rogan to Ohtani by Chris Jensen.

Is Shohei Ohtani the greatest two-way player in #MLB history? Chris Jensen isn't afraid to take on big subjects and 19th century baseball had its fair share of two-way stars. Chris breaks down the greatest two-way players into 19th century, pre-integration era (1947), Negro Leagues, Latin Leagues, and of course the post-integrated era.

Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe was both a pitcher and catcher and would sometimes play behind the plate in one game of a doubleheader and then pitch the other game! Babe Ruth is the first name you think of when you think two-way players but how about John Montgomery Ward? Or Negro League star player and manager Bullet Rogan? Was he really better than Satchel Paige? Chris believes Shohei is amazing just like we all do and gives reasons why Shohei might be the best of them all although he'd rather not categorize things that way.

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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

Sadly #whitesox closer Bobby Jenks passed away from stomach cancer at age 44. Our condolences to the Jenks family. On a happier note #Dodgers Clayton Kershaw struck out his 3,000th #MLB batter! #RedSox Wilyer Abreu hit both a Grand Slam AND an inside-the-park home run in the same game last week!

HOFer Robbie Alomar had an ignominus end with #BlueJays having his number un-retired and being erased from the Jays HOF. On the other hand, or hands, Moises Alou, a career .300 hitter used to pee on his hands during the winter and spring to toughen them up. So apparently did #Yankees Jorge Posada according to former teammate Nick Swisher.

Spin rates are a pitcher glamour stat. But is it really an indicator of success? How about FIP - fielding independent pitching? We explain both advanced stats and try to make some sense out of them.

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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com

Send us a text

Dave 'The Cobra' Parker passed away at age 74 less than a month before his induction ceremony in Cooperstown. His arm in right field was legendary and he won the 1978 NL MVP. We're sorry he won't get the opportunity to be there next month.

Corbin Carrol of the #dbacks broke his wrist. Without Corbin Burnes the road got that much tougher. #Mets have been awful losing 13 of 16 and falling out of 1st place in the #nleast. #Dodgers #Cubs #Astros are fine. #Yankees #Rays in #aleast. #Tigers are supreme in #alcentral. #phillies lead the pack in #nleast. And then there are the #giants

How about Defensive stats? We've come a long way from fielding percentage. The amount of defensive metrics is ever-increasing. We pull apart what it all means and it's not as complicated is it might seem.

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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com