This week we talked about booing by hometown fans when it comes to their own team. #Mets fans booed one of their pitchers this week - or it seemed that way! Pete Alonso came back to Citi Field and got a curtain call after hitting a game tying home run in the 9th inning. What's going on here? Check out this episode for that story as well as the playoff race in MLB!

Episode 724 gets deep into fan behavior and what's behind it. We also talk about the playoff races and how the playoff teams are pretty well set with only two spots really in play.

Major League Baseball awards separate MVPs in the American and National Leagues, but what would happen if there were only one award for the entire sport?

The leading candidates present a fascinating contrast.

Pete Crow-Armstrong offers elite defense, speed, power and enormous all-around value. Traditional value measurements such as WAR make a compelling case that the Chicago Cubs center fielder has been the most valuable player in baseball.

Yordan Alvarez presents a different argument. The Houston Astros slugger may not match Crow-Armstrong’s defensive value, but his bat changes games. Measures such as Win Probability Added give Alvarez credit for delivering in the moments that have most directly affected whether his team wins or loses.

That raises a larger question: What should “most valuable” actually mean?

Should the award go to the player who accumulates the greatest overall value across hitting, defense and baserunning? Or should greater weight be given to the player whose biggest performances come in the most important moments?

In Episode 723 of Almost Cooperstown, Mark and Gordon compare Pete Crow-Armstrong and Yordan Alvarez and consider what WAR, WPA and other measurements reveal—and sometimes fail to reveal—about player value.

They also discuss whether clutch performance should influence MVP voting, whether a designated hitter can overcome the value contributed by an elite defensive center fielder and whether one statistic should ever settle an MVP debate.

If Major League Baseball selected only one overall MVP, would you vote for PCA or Yordan Alvarez?

Almost Cooperstown is a weekly baseball podcast featuring thoughtful conversations about the Baseball Hall of Fame, baseball history, current MLB topics, player comparisons, statistics and the stories that connect today's game with its rich history.

Thanks again to Mercury Maid for the Intro & Outro music.

Visit AlmostCooperstown.com for original baseball articles, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and follow Almost Cooperstown on YouTube.

With the MLB season entering its final stretch, the standings remain crowded—but does that mean baseball has compelling playoff races or simply too many mediocre teams still in contention?

In Episode 722 of Almost Cooperstown, Mark and Gordon Kolier examine the American and National League playoff pictures, the teams building momentum and the supposed contenders beginning to fade. The expanded postseason keeps more fan bases interested deep into August, but it can also create a path to October for teams that have barely played winning baseball.

Which clubs are legitimate World Series threats? Which teams are hanging around only because the playoff field has grown? And how much should one strong postseason run erase five months of ordinary regular-season baseball?

The discussion also covers the continuing uncertainty surrounding MLB’s next collective bargaining agreement, the owners’ interest in greater payroll controls and whether baseball can avoid another damaging work stoppage before the 2027 season.

Plus, Mark and Gordon consider late-season injuries, pitching concerns, surprising performances and the players and teams worth watching as September approaches.Almost Cooperstown is a weekly baseball podcast featuring thoughtful conversations about the Baseball Hall of Fame, baseball history, current MLB topics, player comparisons, statistics and the stories that connect today's game with its rich history.

Thanks again to Mercury Maid for the Intro & Outro music.

Visit AlmostCooperstown.com for original baseball articles, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and follow Almost Cooperstown on YouTube.