Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

On the year's final weekend of inter-league rivalries, let's flash back to June 25th, 2005 -- we're in the Bronx as the Yankees host the Mets. A complete sell-out. The leading hitter in the dozen years that the teams have met in the regular season is, to no one's surprise, the Yankee captain Derek Jeter. A full house on a hot and muggy Sunday night at Yankee Stadium. Yankee rookie outfielder Kevin Reese makes his major league debut. Below, more than just having his name in lights, he's on the big scoreboard. A look toward the Mets dugout and Jose Reyes in the on-deck cirlce.

San Diego Stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium, Quallcom Park... the name changed over the 30 years the Padres called it home. Our lone visit there took place in May 1991. Despite the city's reputation for perfect weather, it was cloudy and rather cool. Let me introduce my comrade on almost all of these baseball adventures over the past 25 years, Dennis Murray. We've been pals since our days at City College in the early-1970s.

Countless debates have raged over which ballpark, past or present is the best -- Yankee Stadium and Wrigley Field have strong support, as does Fenway Park. Among the newer generation, Camden Yards is felt by many to be a classic, with San Francisco's AT&T Park, Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park and Seattle's Safeco Field generating good vibes. But if there were to be a poll of the worst (longterm) home for a major league team, there's an instinctive answer -- Candlestick Park in San Francisco. It was most appropriate that I captured the fog and haze that tended to surround the park. In a region whose climate varies neighborhood by neighborhood, Candlestick Point, where then-owner Horace Stoneham chose as the location for his club's permanent west coast home, is situated on possibly the dampest and chilliest. Of course, if you caught a game early in the afternoon, you could soak in the warm California sun. Originally designed with an airy and open outfield a...

Thanks to my CCNY classmate Bryan Nazario, we've climbed into the Time Machine and dialed up Wednesday August 7th, 1968. The place is Yankee Stadium -- before the 1974 renovation. After a rainout the night before, the Yankees and Oakland A's are playing a doubleheader. In a year when the Yanks weren't contenders and barely drew a million people, it wasn't too hard to come up with really good seats. Look carefully at the Yankee 1st baseman. Wearing number-7, it's Mickey Mantle. In his final season, his speed and range sapped by numerous leg injuries, his days in center field are a memory. By shooting in black and white, Bryan captured a different mood -- almost Hitchcockian as another thunderstorm turned the sky steel gray. The lights went on and the crowd expected an interruption in the action. The sky opened, the game was halted and the ground crew took over. Below, Mother Nature throws her own form of a curve ball. Have you ever seen a tarp rise like that? Br...