Almost Cooperstown

About Almost Cooperstown

We're a father & son who love to talk and argue about baseball! Baseball is the professional sport that has the longest history so there is a lot to talk about. We launched Almost Cooperstown noting that baseball contains a long history of players that, for whatever reasons, have been shunned by the electors of the Hall of Fame. Consequently here are many 'Almost' players still waiting their turn for induction. With less than 1.5% of the now more than 23,000 players in the HOF, we feel there should be more players included. In these podcasts we also discuss current seasons & trends. Please send any messages to almostcooperstown@gmail.com. Baseball articles can be found here: https://almostcooperstown.substack.com/publish/posts

Publisher

Gordon Kolier & Mark Kolier

Category

sports · sports · sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 May 2020

Latest episode

19 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

378 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   19 Oct 2026

   31 Moments That Changed Baseball: Author Phil Coffin Joins Almost Cooperstown

   What do Jackie Robinson's historic debut, baseball's first All-Star Game, Moonlight Graham, the spitball and Dave Winfield's unfortunate encounter with a seagull have in common? They're all part of baseball's remarkable history—and the stories behind them are often more surprising than the events themselves. In Episode 728, Mark and Gordon welcome author Phil Coffin to discuss his book, A Baseball Book of Days: 31 Moments That Transformed the Game. Coffin takes a different approach to basebal...

2. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Can Taking a Called Third Strike Make You a Better Hitter?

   From Little League through the major leagues, hitters are taught that striking out looking is one of the worst things they can do. But what if that conventional baseball wisdom is wrong? Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges changed his approach at the plate by becoming more willing to accept called third strikes rather than making weak, defensive swings. The results raise an intriguing question: Can being less afraid of striking out actually make someone a better hitter? In Episode 727 o...

3. 

   5 Oct 2026

   When Is It Time to Break Up the Band? MLB Teams Facing Big Offseason Decisions

   The 2026 MLB regular season is over, the Division Series are underway, and some teams are already facing a difficult question: When is it time to break up the band? Mark and Gordon take a look at several clubs whose familiar cores may have reached a crossroads. The Phillies still have star power, but after another disappointing finish, does bringing back essentially the same group make sense? Houston won its division, but an aging core and questions about the pitching staff create a similar d...

Who has been a guest on Almost Cooperstown

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• John Nogowski Sr
• John Nogowski Jr
• Adam Darowski

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

52,216

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

19 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

49 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 71 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

88

Social presence

0

YouTube

85

Engagement

51

Contact Almost Cooperstown

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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