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There will not be any Automatic Balls and Strikes called in the World Baseball Classic that begins this week at four sites around the globe. 16 teams are vying for the title currently held by two-time defending champ Japan.

ABS is alive and well (so far) in #MLB spring training so far. Umpires get things wrong but the calls are so close you can understand why and how. Will this lead to full robot umps eventually? We wondered about that and gave some thoughts.

We also discuss if another epic WBC showdown is in the cards like it was to end the 2023 WBC when Shohei Ohtani struck out then-teammate Mike Trout. That can't happen this year but we peek at a what could be a few delicious and delightful potential encounters between MLB teammates who are current rivals.

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!

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Newspapers have long since stopped publishing MLB box scores and stories about each game in MLB on the prior day. Tom Stone took on a crazy project in 2025 - he put out a daily newsletter recapping not only the results of all of the prior day's games, but also included standings, transactions, and even ballplayer birthdays. He did it for all 162 games of the regular season and then continued on through the playoffs and World Series. And he does it all himself.

We had a great time talking with Tom who has 10,000 subscribers to his newsletter and hoping for more. Check it out - https://nowtakingthefield.beehiiv.com

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!

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First it was #Mets Francisco Lindor who came up with the 'hamate' bone problem on his left (glove) hand. It bothers players when swinging the bat as the bone rests on the knob of the bat. Lindor had surgery last week as did Jackson Holliday of the #Orioles and Corbin Carroll of the #D'backs. The latter two will miss the start of the 2026 #MLB season but Lindor may make it for Opening Day since the injury is not to his throwing hand unlike the others.

Injuries a sadly a part of Spring Training. With the WBC starting in early March managing player health is trickier this year. #Brewers Caleb Durbin who finished 3rd in the NL Rookie of the Year race in 2025 was shipped to the #Red Sox and we wondered what Milwaukee was thinking!

We also talk about the impact ballparks play on a hitter's home run rate. Brandon Lowe may have a problem now that he's a Pittsburgh #Pirates player. PNC Park is notoriously bad for home run hitters as are several of the NL Central parks. This is in contrast to the parks in the AL East where Lowe played for the #Rays last season.

Check out the podcast and next week we will have Tom Stone of Now Taking the Field and his Baseball Buffet newsletter.

Here's the link to the Baseball Savant Page that lists home runs for each MLB park.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/statcast-park-factors?type=year&year=2025&batSide=&stat=index_wOBA&condition=All&rolling=3&parks=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 X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

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The Super Bowl is over so we can now focus our attention on where it belongs - Baseball! Pitchers and catchers are officially reporting this week even though many have been in camp early and are already throwing, and catching.

We recorded a west coast version of our podcast this week in sunny and warm Palm Springs! Right now there's baseball being played in the California Winter League where teams play a one month schedule for post-college and unsigned players to audition for a professional contract. But mainly we are avoiding having to endure the awful cold back home!

Talking about cold, former Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase's problems just got worse.

Paul Goldschmidt signed with the #Yankees for another season. Is he a HOFer? We talk about that a little as well as Tarik Skubal winning his arbitration case after the #Tigers signed Framber Valdez to a 3 year deal.

Check out the other things we cover in this week's special episode!

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!

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When we talked with Dan Brown about his HOF choices in episode 645 we noted that just before our prior podcast the Mets signed Bo Bichette. Right after the podcast with Dan, the #Mets traded for #Brewers #1 starter Freddy Peralta. What will happen this week after our podcast? Will Framber Valdez sign with the #Orioles as Gordon says in this podcast? Where else might he go? What about Tarik Skubal's arbitration case? If the #Tigers lose and have to pay him $32M, are they more likely to trade him than if they win and only have to pay hin $19M?

What about the AL East? It looks tough. Four of the five teams could claim the divisional title. We let you in on who we think will be the non-contender in the AL East.

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!

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For the third straight year The Athletic's writer Daniel Brown who is also a BBWAA voter, discussed his and his fellow writer's votes for the Hall-of-Fame. Center fielders Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones both were elected with a few players making big strides in the their voting totals. We talked about trends in voting, who's on the ballot next year and why the process might be changing.

Dan is a terrific writer and you should look for his pieces in The Athletic.

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!

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Happy MLK Day. A little late but hopefully worth the wait. When we recorded this episode the news that #Mets signed Bo Bichette for 3 years $120M had just dropped and Gordon wasn't aware until Mark told him! Kyle Tucker's behemoth contract led to a discussion of a baseball salary caps which have always been a red line for the MLB Player's Association. Will a salary cap make MLB more competitive? That's not guaranteed. But a salary floor would bring up the salaries of the lowest paid MLB players - which is most of them since the stars get paid first and foremost.

Kyle Tucker on the #Dodgers is just one of the players. He has Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman for cover not to mention virtually every player on the team. New York ain't L.A.

Check out this episode which was free-flowing and, we hope you'll agree, fun!

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!

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While Bregman, Bellinger, Tucker, and Valdez wait for some team to pull the trigger and sign them, two more Japanese League players - Imai and Okamoto signed with the Astros and Blue Jays respectively. Baseball WAR scores are not adjusted for when players played. But that does not acknowledge what really happened. Before baseball was integrated, and before international players became integral, the player pool was smaller and thus a replacement player was not as able.

We talk about some of the weird records set in the 2025 season. And close the podcast talking about players that reached base 300 times or more in a single season. There are only 157 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