Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

I've been waiting to put up my shots of the classic Yankee Stadium -- prior to the 1974-'75 renovation. Now, with this final season winding down, and little indication we'll have a post-season, it's time to post my photos. It's August 9th, 1972. I've always loved how your view of the field emerges as you come out of a dark walkway or ramp -- especially on the field level, with the two upper decks shading your panorama. Then, the perfect green grass, the expansive stands and the massive (for its time) scoreboard. The new-in-'09 stadium will return to the original design in which a decorative frieze regally tops the ballpark like a crown. Here's how the original looked. 1972, the Yankees of Murcer, White and Stottlemyre. Ralph Houk was the manager. Lee MacPhail the GM. Mike Burke ran the business as a division of CBS. No free agency, tickets five dollars and under, and the Yankees just a middle-of-the-pack team in the AL East. Yes, we've frozen a...

Before setting a record for needing an extensive makeover in the fewest number of years since being opened, we visited "the new" Comiskey Park. The replacement for the White Sox longtime (but crumbling) home bore the name but few of the unique details of its predecessor. In fact, it came off as a bland hybrid of Angels and Royals Stadiums, with a wrap-around outfield of scoreboards and billboards a bit like Yankee Stadium. My most vivid memory is how intense the sun was (the park had relatively few covered seats). While that's great for keeping the fans thirsty and selling plenty of pricey beverages, I remember feeling dehydrated as we left for the parking lot. The 2001 renovation resulted in more fan amenities (silly that the Sox ownership left them out in the original design) and a smaller, less overwhelming upper deck. I've yet to return to see it personally, so these "nifty '90s views" will have to do. One of the park's nicer attractions was a d...

One of baseball's most stylish pitchers has been missing from the majors this season. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, the Cuban expatriate who was part of the Yankees' championship rotation of the late 1990s, and, more recently a valued contributor to the Mets, has not been able to overcome the foot problems that ended his 2007 season early. We've missed seeing that scrunched up, almost ballet-inspired delivery that kept batters off-stride for a decade.