Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

Aerialist Nik Wallenda, currently appearing in Atlantic City, stopped by Citizens Bank Park yesterday to hang out with The Phillie Phanatic.

Teammates on the Yankees' 1977 and '78 World Series Champs, Ron Guidry and Lou Piniella also share their birthday -- both longtime Bronx favorites were born on August 28th.  Both were on hand back in July at the Yankees' annual Old Timers Day.

Looking for something to post besides game action, I found this picture of Gary Sheffield from last winter's BAT Dinner. For a decade and a half, he was one of baseball's most feared hitters, but was he a Hall of Famer? His career numbers are strong: 509 home runs, a lifetime .292 hitter, six playoff series (including the Marlins 1997 World Champs). On the other hand, did he ever strike you as an immortal? And he certainly fits the term "well-traveled." Leave a comment, tell me why Sheffield belongs in Cooperstown -- or why not.

On a lovely late-summer night at Citi Field, I got my first look at Mets rookie Matt Harvey. You bet he was impressive: nine strikeouts over six innings, while holding the Rockies to a run and three hits. Unfortunately, the Rockies kept the Mets batters in check, and Harvey left after six innings with the game tied 1-1. Colorado's Wilin Rosario snapped the tie with a solo homer leading off the 7th inning, as the Rockies went onto a 5-2 win.

Kevin Youkilis (seen earlier this season against the Yankees in New York) got used to being in pennant races as a member of the Red Sox. Since falling out of favor with Bobby Valentine and being exiled to Chicago, he's belted 10 home runs as the team continues its surprising run atop the AL Central. Perhaps the biggest of those blasts occurred Tuesday night, when his tie-breaking grand slam was the key to a 7 - 3 victory over visiting New York.

Josh Hamilton of the Rangers hits impressive homers. Wednesday night, he blasted a couple of lasers against the Yankees. They're the kind of home runs that everyone watches -- look below and see the reaction of on-deck hitter Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz, who was just outside the visitors dugout, not to mention the Rangers bat boy, the home plate ump and Yankee catcher Russell Martin. All eyes were on the ball, as it headed to the right field seats.

This date, August 17th, marks the anniversaries of the final home runs by a pair of prolific sluggers: In 1987, Reggie Jackson smacked #563, for the A's into the right field seats at Anaheim -- the same spot in which he connected on the first homer of his career. His victim this time was California's Mike Witt. (These pictures of Reggie were taken at the Yanks' 2012 and 2011 Old Timers Day celebrations.) Reggie shares this date with Willie Mays. In 1973, the Say Hey Kid cleared the fences for the 660th and final time. His came at Shea Stadium -- in a Mets uniform off Don Gullett of the Reds. Both enshrined in Cooperstown, Jackson and Mays combined for over 1100 home runs!

I love to mark those baseball anniversaries with nice round numbers. Today, August 14th, we've got a pair involving sluggers who made their way to Cooperstown: Dave Winfield (above) blasted the 400th home run of his career on this date in 1991. It came at the Metrodome, a two-run blast off the Twins' David West in a 7-4 Angels victory. Same date in 1981, Mike Schmidt smacked his 300th homer off the Mets' Mike Scott in a game at Shea Stadium that went the Phillies way 8-4.

Say hello to Zoilo Almonte . The 23 year old Dominican outfielder is putting together his best minor league season with the Yankees AA farm club in Trenton. With three weeks remaining, he's got 18 homers, 20 doubles and a .277 batting average. While the organization has a history of using prospects -- even "can't miss" ones such as Jesus Montero -- as trade chips, if the club wants to contain salaries, younger players might have play a more vital role by 2014. Said to have made a good impression with Joe Girardi during spring training, Almonte could be the kind of homegrown talent who sticks in the Bronx in the next couple of years.

It's been an up-and-down summer for third-year pitcher Ivan Nova. Saturday, he picked a good time for one of his best outings of 2012. The day the Yankees placed their ace CC Sabathia on the DL, Nova pitched 7-1/3 very effective innings and struck out 10 in a 5-2 Rogers Center  victory over the Blue Jays.

Yesterday, there were a couple of headline-grabbing pitching performances: (above) Felix Hernandez of the Mariners was, in a word, dominating. He fired a two-hit shutout at Yankee Stadium -- where his career ERA is just a shade above 1. (Below) Roy Halladay flashed his old form with seven shuout innings in the Phillies victory over the Diamondbacks. It was his best outing since returning from the disabled list three weeks ago.

The Phillies announced today that All Star catcher Carlos Ruiz will be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks with the foot injury plantar fasciitis. In the midst of the best season of his career -- hitting .335 with 28 doubles, and career-highs in home runs (14) and RBIs (58), Ruiz's loss is one more blow in a lost season for the boys from Citizens Bank Park.

This might be our last look at Bobby Abreu, who'd been a part-time player this year for the Dodgers.  Today, having to make room for the newly-acquired Shane Victorino, L.A. released the veteran outfielder. The native of Venezuela enjoyed a productive career with the Phillies and Yankees before spending time the last few years with the Angels and Dodgers. A career .292 batter with over 2400 hits, Abreu left behind some friends from his years in New York, whom he was happy to meet on the field before a recent game at Citi Field.