The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history! But did their victory reveal a new blueprint for winning in Major League Baseball?

Mark and Gordon return to Almost Cooperstown to examine Milwaukee's dominant postseason, the disappointing performance of the Tampa Bay Rays, and whether the Brewers' combination of contact hitting, defense, pitching, and bullpen depth could challenge baseball's home run-oriented approach.

The Brewers hit just 154 home runs during the regular season, ranking 28th in MLB. Yet they won it all. Is this the beginning of a change in baseball strategy, or are the Brewers an exception to the rule?

We also discuss:

• Why Milwaukee's postseason dominance was so impressive.
• Jacob Misiorowski's extraordinary velocity and the challenge of sustaining success.
• Aaron Ashby's remarkable scoreless postseason and the difficulty of repeating as champions.
• Why the Dodgers fell short and whether age and injuries are catching up with their stars.
• How the 2026 Brewers compare with the 2015 Kansas City Royals.
• Our predictions for the AL and NL MVP, Cy Young, Manager of the Year, and Rookie of the Year awards.
• The fascinating NL Rookie of the Year debate involving Sal Stewart, Carson Benge, and JJ Wetherholt.

We also remember Jerry Koosman, a key member of the 1969 Miracle Mets, following his passing at age 83.

With the offseason beginning and uncertainty surrounding MLB's next labor agreement, what comes next for the Brewers and the rest of baseball?

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.

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 baseball history, organizing 31 stories around memorable dates and uncovering the people, coincidences and unexpected circumstances that make the game endlessly fascinating.

Among the stories we explore:

• Jackie Robinson's debut: Why the contemporary newspaper coverage and attendance at Ebbets Field might surprise today's fans.
• Pumpsie Green and the Red Sox: The 12-year gap between Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier and Boston finally integrating its roster.
• The first All-Star Games: How the American and National Leagues' 1933 exhibition and the Negro Leagues' East-West All-Star Game became major events.
• Baseball's strange bird encounters: Dave Winfield's arrest in Toronto and other improbable incidents involving baseballs and birds.
• Moonlight Graham and the one-game wonders: The players whose entire major league careers lasted a single game, sometimes without a plate appearance.
• The origins of the trade deadline: How wealthy New York teams helped inspire restrictions on late-season player acquisitions.
• The .400 hitter who wasn't: Don Padgett's extraordinary 1939 season and the circumstances that left him at .399.
• The spitball ban: Why baseball allowed certain pitchers to continue throwing the pitch after outlawing it in 1920.
• Bill Veeck and baseball's winter meetings: A look at baseball's colorful offseason past as the sport faces an uncertain future.

Phil also discusses the research behind his books, his earlier work on the 1959 Topps baseball card collection and his next project exploring baseball's innovators.

Whether you're a longtime student of baseball history or simply enjoy discovering the game's forgotten characters, this conversation offers plenty of stories worth remembering.

Find Phil Coffin's book: A Baseball Book of Days: 31 Moments That Transformed the Game, available through McFarland Books and major booksellers.

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.

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 of Almost Cooperstown, Mark and Gordon Kolier examine the relationship between called third strikes, plate discipline, walks, and on-base percentage. Their research suggests that hitters who take a higher percentage of their strikeouts looking tend to reach base more often. But is that because they're better at recognizing pitches, or is something else at work?

The conversation includes Steven Kwan, Seiya Suzuki, Elly De La Cruz, and other major leaguers, along with a memorable example of a hitter frozen by a great pitch: Carlos Beltrán facing Adam Wainwright in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.

Also in this episode:

• Can the Brewers, Guardians, or Rays stop the Dodgers from winning a third consecutive World Series?
• What MLB's reported 154-game schedule proposal could mean for baseball's future.
• Why postseason bullpen games have become increasingly common.
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto's place among successful postseason pitchers.
• The surprisingly short list of catchers who have won batting titles.

Sometimes the smartest swing is the one you don't take. But how do hitters know when to hold back?

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.