Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

While visiting relatives on a holiday week trip to upstate New York, I spent Friday afternoon at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. There's a different mood touring the museum during the off-season. Two months past the the World Series, two months before the first exhibition games of '13, and with a few inches of fresh fallen snow, it was great to be surrounded by the game's heroes and history. It's the mid-point of the off-season, yet the power of baseball is never far away. The Boys of Winter : below, a sculpture on the Museum's back lawn depicts Johnny Podres and Roy Campanella; the final pitch of the 1955 World Series and greatest moment in Brooklyn baseball history. It takes on a different dynamic when covered with a fresh coating of snow.

Last August 30th in Philadelphia, Mike Baxter helped get the Mets off to a fast start with a leadoff home run off Kyle Kendrick. Let's focus on where the ball landed in the right field seats. Do you see the guy with outspread arms cheering? Wearing a Mets cap and shirt, he's clearly a fan of the fellows from Flushing. And who caught the ball? Apparently, the person with the horizonally striped tee shirt -- see how it's about to drop into his grasp. Finally, check out Phillies right fielder Michael Martinez (#7), watching helplessly as Baxter's ball carries well beyond the field.

As displayed at the 2008 All Star Game FanFest in New York, seats from the original and post-renovation Yankee Stadium. No cupholders needed and certainly no padding.

Baseball Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins with the ceremonial first pitch before a 2007 Marlins exhibition  game in Jupiter, Florida.

No doubt about it, Rickey Henderson is the greatest player ever born on December 25th. Seen here at last July's Yankees Old Timers Day, the gifted leadoff batter and alltime base-stealing champ added home run power to his other tools -- with a record 88 leadoff homers during his career. Christmas Day is actually a productive one among all time players -- two other Hall of Famers, Neillie Fox and 19th century legend Pud Galvin, a two-time 46-game winner, also were born on this date. Click on the link and see how many of these names your remember.

After four productive and often thrill-packed seasons with the Yankees, each followed by an underwhelming post-season performance, Nick Swisher is now an Indian. He inked a four-year $56-million contract with Cleveland over the weekend. Swisher (scoring here in a September game against Oakland) joins the exodus of familiar Yankee names that also includes catcher Russell Martin (#55). Do you think the Yanks made a sound decision in letting "Swishalicious" leave? Keep in mind that from 2009-2012, he averaged .267 with 26 home runs.

Does a merchandise table at a collectables show always grab your attention? Do classic newspaper backpages or magazines bring back the thrill of the original moment? You can't overlook the collective visual power of these images displayed together.

It's the 30th birthday of Mets 3rd baseman David Wright (#5). His future assured with a new and lucrative long-term contract, he'll enter 2013 with 204 career homers and a .301 batting average. With five or six productive seasons ahead, he'll likely own all the Mets offensive records. But will that make him the best player ever born on December 20th? He's got some tough competition for that honor: Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett and '70s sluggers Cecil Cooper and Oscar Gamble share his birthday. And he'd have a tough time claiming to be the most important baseball figure born on this date. That would have to go to Branch Rickey, the onetime backup catcher, who as a baseball executive invented the concept of the farm system and, in 1947, as Dodgers GM, brought Jackie Robinson to the major leagues. Use this link to see our "12/20 crew."   Then, comment as to your choice for the best player born on this date.

The Phillies get ready to play the Mets at Citi Field last July 4th.

A blast from the past: May 2010 action from Coca Cola Park in Allentown, PA, one of the nicest parks in the minors. That's Nate Bump on the mound for the Phillies AAA affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs. He played parts of three seasons for the Marlins, along with 13 seasons in the minors.

For a change-of-pace, here's a glimpse at batting practice before the Mets hosted the Pirates at Shea Stadium on April 16th, 1972 -- just the second game from baseball's first-ever strike-shortened season... I checked the numbers -- you can recognize Jackie Hernandez (#2), Richie Hebner (#3) and Bob Robertson (#7). #44 is coach Frank Oceak. But I couldn't find Roberto Clemente anywhere in this scene -- can you spot him? As for the game itself, Steve Blass outpitched Gary Gentry in Pittsburgh's 2-0 victory. And while I couldn't spot him during BP, Roberto Clemente played -- going 0 for 3 with a walk on that Sunday afternoon.

Baseball's latest mega-bucks deal belongs to Josh Hamilton (5 years; $125-million). After starring for the Rangers the past five years, including two trips to the World Series, the superbly talented outfielder has signed with the Angels.. With Disneyland virtually across-the-street from his new "office," Anaheim offers the kind of low-key community that suits Hamilton, who works each day to maintain a substance-free lifestyle. Hamilton now steps into the heart of an already imposing LA lineup, alongside such stars as Albert Pujols, rookie of the year Mike Trout and power-hitting Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo. There might be questions about that Angel pitching staff, anchored by Jered Weaver and CJ Wilson -- but without 2012 starters Dan Haren and Ervin Santana. Balancing that is the addition of close Ryan Madson, healthy again and hoping to duplicate his big 2011 Philadelphia numbers.

Don Mattingly is entering the final season of his contract as Dodgers manager. And with the team already having committed over $200-million to its 2013 payroll, expectations for the upcoming season have to be sky-high. FIrst, the expensive imports such as Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Becket brought in last summer from Boston. And now, the pricey and talented free agent pitcher Zach Greinke. Would you want to be Donnie Baseball's shoes once the Dodgers reconvene in Arizona in mid-February??

From my 2007 visit to RFK Stadium for a Nationals/Mets game, here's the unique way the city honored a wide variety of past sports heroes. Instead of a "ring of honor," the high wall behind the outfield fence lists local greats in several sports, and even includes in column farthest to the right, newspaper writers!

I visited what was then Jacobs Field, home of the Cleveland Indians, in June 1994 during its inaugural season. The weather was hardly summer-like; a damp chilly rain turned a three-game series into two games spread over three days. A big inducement for this visit was to see the Yankees. Keep in mind, this was 1994. So while you see Bernie Williams (#51) near the batting cage, the other home-grown cornerstones of the upcoming dynasty -- Jeter, Pettitte, Posada and Rivera -- are still in the minor leagues.

Lost amidst the trade rumors and free agent news coming out of last week's Winter Meetings was the announcement that Jacob Ruppert, the owner who built the Yankees into the biggest name in sports was finally selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The second generation Manhattan brewer whose family company turned out Knickerbocker beer brought Babe Ruth to New York in 1920. The home runs began flying out of the Polo Grounds, where his Yankees were still a tenant of the Giants. Facing eviction, Ruppert purchased a large parcel of land across the Harlem River and built the original Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923. While the games have moved across the street to a new "cathedral," It remains the most impressive address in baseball. All thanks to the vision of this "Gentleman American Sportsman." His plaque at the original Stadium was on the outfield wall near the flagpole and dedicated in April 1940, the first season after his death. With Ruppert's m...

If you go to a Yankees game, you might find Paul Simon or Paul McCartney sitting in the box seats. Jerry Seinfeld loves his Mets. Go to an LA Lakers game, you're likely to find Jack Nicholson and record producer Lou Adler courtside. Washington, DC redefines the concept of celebrity a bit -- when I visited a Nationals game last July, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta draw plenty of attention. More than one fan asked to be photographed with the longtime Washington Insider.

Looking through my pictures from the original Yankee Stadium's Monument Park, I noticed how the retired numbers and plaques for Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford are next to each other. The catcher and pitching ace of the Yankees 1950s Dynasty (when the club won the pennant 8 of 10 years, including 6 World Series champions) are both Hall of Fame inductees  and clearly the best ever at their position in club history. But are they the best battery ever? If not, who's better? You could make an argument that whenever Sandy Koufax and Roy Campanella were paired for the Dodgers, they were comparable. But their eras touched briefly rather than overlapped: Sandy was young and unrefined at the beginning of his career; Campy's numbers fell dramatically in his final seasons, 1956 & '57. Back in the 1930s, the Philadelphia A's had Mickey Cochrane and Lefty Grove. WFAN colleague John Schweibacher pointed out that Johnny Bench and Tom Seaver spent several years together with th...

With Alex Rodriguez sidelined for the first half of the upcoming season, long-time Yankee nemesis -- and current free agent -- Kevin Yukilis has emerged as a possible replacement. Would the guy with that distinctive batting stroke -- and prominent beard -- be willing to play for the enemy (and shave his chin)? The biggest factor won't be money, but years. With the Yanks insisting they want to get under the luxury tax threshold for 2014, Brian Cashman hasn't offered anyone more than a one-year deal.

The Yankees, already dealing with an aging roster whose offense largely shriveled in the post-season, now have to plan around the loss Alex Rodriguez. We learned yesterday that A-rod, whose awful playoff performance led to being benched, needs surgery on his left hip -- four years after undergoing a procedure on his right hip! The club expects a lengthy recovery with attention-getting 3rd baseman expected to be sidelined until June or July, Once he returns, what can the Yanks expect? This will be his third straight season where he's missed 40 or more games. According to baseball-reference.com , his combined production for the 2011 and 2012 seasons (34 homers, 119 RBIs) is roughly equivalent to an average year, mid-career. Time may not be on his side, either. Alex turns 38 in July,

In a trade that helped build the Phillies into a contender, they obtained Tug McGraw from the Mets on this date in 1974 for Del Unser, John Stearns and Mac Scarce. Turned out to be a one-sided deal... with the exuberant McGraw resuming his place as a fan favorite -- and one of the National League's best relievers.  On August 30th, 1984, the summer after the Phils second pennant winner, the club saluted McGraw on his birthday at Veterans Stadium during a twi-night doubleheader. Dennis and I drove down from New York to catch the event. (left) Tug takes his place as the between-games ceremony gets underway, while (below) his number 45 is aglow on the video board. On the turf, the Phillies split a twin-bill with the Giants -- losing the opener  and taking the nightcap, both by 6 - 5 scores. Below, from the early game, it's ex-Phil Randy Lerch on the mound for San Francisco (which was managed by Danny Ozark, the skipper for Philadelphia's three consecutive divis...