Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

Since arriving in Boston 11 years ago, he's been the heart of the Red Sox offense. And Sunday night, David Ortiz (seen here Friday) was again Big Papi, delivering the biggest hit of the game. His three-run home run off Chase Whitley pushed Boston's over the Yankees to 4 - 0. It was no mere bloop over the fence. Ortiz's prodigious shot was the 450th of his career. And a statistic I saw last night was hardly a surprise. Since joining the Red Sox 11 years ago, he has 40 home runs against the Yankees -- almost double that of any other opposing player.

You share it with the late Baseball Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. The powerful righthanded hitter smacked 573 home runs for the Senators, Twins and Royals between 1954- 74. Playing in the same era as the prolific -- and better publicized -- sluggers Mantle, Mays, McCovey and Aaron, this might surprise you: Killebrew led all of Baseball in home runs during the decade of the '60s. These pictures are from the 2008 All Star Parade in New York. Sadly, Killebrew, long regarded as one of baseball's really good people, died of cancer in 2011.

When Vidal Nuno made his pre-game walk in from the bullpen, he clearly had put the wreckage of several recent bad starts out of his mind. Mentally, he. was prepared -- while aware he was soon to work in front of a packed Stadium One of three young starters who, due to injury, fill out the Yankee rotation, the young California stumbled slightly at the beginning, walking Boston's leadoff batter Brock Holt. But he quickly settled down, and held the arch-rival Red Sox to two hits and two walks in 5-2/3 shutout innings. He left in the 6th inning to a standing ovation. His lineup helped as well: Kelly Johnson, Brett Gardner and Brian McCann all homered as the Yankees used their time-tested formula of good lefthanded pitching and power hitting in a 6 - 0 victory.

Justin Turner drove in the game's only run on an 8th inning pinch hit single as the Dodgers nipped the Cardinals 1 - 0. Seen here back in May on his first trip to his former home at Citi Field, Turner had been a useful utilityman for the Mets for the previous three seasons. His batting average kept rising (.293 in '13), though his playing time gradually decreased. Yet the Mets non-tendered him last winter, enabling him to move onto the Dodgers -- convenient, since Turner grew up in the Long Beach area. After coming to training camp without a guaranteed job, he played himself onto Don Mattingly's 25-man roster. Turner was never going to be a star. But you have to question how the Mets arrived at their decision to let him go. New York's loss became L.A.'s gain. I don't think you'll find Turner complaining, as he's moved on to a contending -- if, at this point in the year, still a bit underachieving -- team in his back yard.

Derek Jeter celebrates his 40th birthday today. And, the last 20 of those years, he's been a New York Yankee. How many times have we seen him adjust his batting gloves? Or, below, how many times have we seen him involved in some brief pre-game ceremony honoring a fan? 20 years of excellence and consistency. Always appearing to be the man of the moment, looking sharp, prepared and focused -- even when the national anthem plays. 20 years of that calm reassuring presence at shortstop. Consistent and Smooth. It's easy just to spout a lot of numbers, but you've already read enough of them. I'd rather use today's photos to represent his calm confidence, the on-field leadership emblematic of being the Yankee captain. Yankee fans always feel better about their chances in a game when they see number-two at shortstop or in the starting lineup. While teammates have come and gone (such as the ex-teammate now playing for Seattle), Jeter has represented his era ...

Roy White and Al Downing were chatting in the dugout just before Sunday's Old Timers Day ceremonies. While White might best be remembered as an outfielder/DH on the Yankees 1977 and '78 World Champs, and Downing for throwing the pitch that Hank Aaron crushed for his record-setting 715th home run, both guys began their careers playing alongside Maris and Mantle. in the mid-1960s.  In fact, Downing was the last Yankee pitcher to lead the American League in strikeouts (back in 1964!). Which players, not necessarily the biggest stars, became personal favorites of yours while growing a baseball fan? Part of the fun of Old Timers Day is that you don't just see the superstars, but the hard-working guys who played alongside Reggie or Mickey (and Jeter and Rivera). Click on "add a comment" and drop a couple of names you'll always remember.

Come early to the Yankees Old Timers Day. And if your seats are close to the field, you'll have the chance to come home with autograph. Above, Joe Torre signs for some fans. And below, just after the Old Timers Game ended, fans were ready with balls and sharpies near the tunnel the players used to leave the field. David Wells (seen here), Orlando Hernandez and Hideki Matsui were happy to make the fans happy. With the regular season pressure of having to WIN lifted off everyone's shoulders, it's a time of non-stop good vibrations. Happy memories, old favorites and tradition are the order of the day. And at Yankee Stadium, nothing sells better than tradition and history.

The best (and now the last) annual celebration of a team's history, the 68th annual Old Timers Day welcome back Yankee legends from the 1940s (Yogi Berra and Dr Bobby Brown) to their most recent championship, 2009 (Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon). The special added treat was the dedication of a plaque to be displayed in Monument Park for Hall of Fame relief pitcher Goose Gossage.

...you share it with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, who sang about surfing, but told me in our interview that he's a lifelong baseball fan. Also getting cake  and candles today is Carlos Lee, the power-hitting outfielder who starred primarily for the White Sox and Astros. His 358 career home runs are the most for any Panamanian-born player. Other names tagged to June 20th include the veteran reliever Kevin Gregg, former outfielder Gary Varsho and Doug Gwosdz -- who is remembered more for his nickname than his on-field accomplishments. Thanks to a last name that's pronounced "Goosh," the catcher who played just 69 games over parts of four seasons, was dubbed Eyechart.

Looking a bit like the Blue Jays' Blues Brothers: it's Dioner Novarro and Melky Cabrera, along with Jose Reyes having a laugh before Tuesday night's game with the Yankees. All three began their major league careers in New York, Novarro and Cabrera with the Yankees and Reyes as a Met.

I was on hand at Yankee Stadium for the latest episode of Tanaka Time, which remains the best new "show" of the season. It didn't exactly begin on a stellar note as Jose Reyes of the Blue Jays crushed the first pitch of the game for a home run. Reyes would be the last Toronto player to cross home plate. Tanaka drew the line in the sand right there, striking out 10 in 6 innings. Thanks to Brett Gardner's two-run homer the Yankees grabbed the lead en route to a 3 - 1 victory. But the story again was Tanaka, who wasn't rattled by the opening blast. Instead, he settled down and cruised from that point on. Yep, call him unflappable -- as well as baseball's first 11-game winner.

Pete Rose managed his first game in 25 years Monday night. It was long was from his native Cincinnati, even longer from Las Vegas, where he now lives. Baseball's Hit King, barred from major and affiliated minor league clubs, took part in a one-day-only promotion, where he was manager for the day of the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League. It was a game book-ended by press conferences. You have to like the little touches -- such as the rose-colored 14 on the field behind home plate. Below, Pete signs some pre-game autographs. So fans could see more of him, Pete also coached 1st base. And take note of the rose-colored bases. The game was a success, as well. A near-packed house saw the Bluefish blank Lancaster 2 - 0. Notice how during the Bridgeport players' victory line, the club was scrambling to re-assemble a tent for the post-game media session.  Below, some Bridgeport fans tried a stronger sales pitch. Then, finally, one more go-around w...

If your birthday is June 16th, you share it with Wally Joyner. A sweet-swing 1st baseman whose 16-year career was highlighted by his time with the Angels and Padres, he's been coaching minor and major leaguers for over a decade. Now on Brad Ausmus' staff in Detroit, Joyner has also coached for the Padres. In 2013, he was the assistant batting coach of the Phillies, where he was widely credited for turning Domonic Brown from prospect to All Star. With Brown's numbers dropping dramatically so far this year, you have to wonder if Joyner's absence has been a factor. Here, he and Brown chat at the batting cage before a 2013 game at Citi Field.

A few years ago, Manny Banuelos was one of the Yankees top minor league pitching prospects. I recall seeing him in spring training of 2011, and thinking "he's ready." I wasn't the only one who thought so. The native of Mexico won the James P. Dawson Award as the most impressive rookie in Yankee camp. But it didn't quite work out as planned. After some impressive minor league work in 2011, he got hurt a year later, and underwent Tommy John surgery. One of the "Killer B's," he was part of a group of young arms that also included Dellin Betances (now a key member of the Yankee bullpen), Andrew Brackman (who failed the make the majors and is now out of baseball) and Jeremy Bleich (pitching well this year and just promoted to AAA). The Yankees are being cautious with Banelos. He went only three innings Friday night -- but they were impressive ones. He struck out three and allowed just one hit. Between a 93 mph fastball and off-speed pitches t...

On this date in 2010: Jorge Posada belts a grand slam homer for the second straight game. He becomes the first Yankee to do so in 73 years -- it hadn't been done since Bill Dickey in 1937. (The only other Yankee to do it was Babe Ruth in 1927 and 1929. )

To coincide with the Yankees visit to Seattle, here are a few more snaps from my 2009 tour of Safeco Field. Above: the entrance lobby reminiscent of Citi Field and below, the northwestern sun bathing the natural grass field in light Finally, from the walkway off the top level of the ballpark, a great view back toward downtown Seattle and its landmark Space Needle.

Reid Brignac -- seen here during batting practice before the May 9th Philies - Mets game at Citi Field -- caught my attention with a three-run walk-off homer to push his team past the Padres Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Facing San Diego reliever Nick Vincent in a scoreless game with two runners aboard, he sent one into the right field seats for the only runs of the night. Brignac's first home run in a Phillies uniform gave the club its first back-to-back wins in a month!

The Yankees opened a series against the Mariners at Safeco Park last night. When I visited Seattle in 2009, the M's were on the road, but there was still the opportunity to get some pictures of this really terrific ballpark. I highly recommend taking the tour of Safeco. It ran 90 minutes and included plenty of stories behind its unique design. Who wouldn't enjoy learning of the technological feats that gave us this retractable roof? Then to see it pulled back with the sun bathing the field borders on breathtaking. Quite an upgrade over the oft-criticized Kingdome (which I visited back in '93 -- use the search engine to find some of those pictures). The Mariners credit their fans for the boom in attendance that began with their first playoff appearance in 1995. That was  the year they came from two-games to none down to beat the Yankees in the opening round. The enthusiastic support convinced state and local officials to fund the ballpark that kept baseball in Se...

Much was expected from Travis d'Arnaud . Considered the best catching prospect in the minor leagues when he was sent from the Blue Jays to the Mets in the R.A. Dickey trade, he hasn't progressed as expected. Injuries slowed him in 2013, before he made his Mets debut in August. He didn't display any of the impressive offensive skills (power, high average) that marked his years in the minors. And 2014 hasn't been any different, with his average remaining under .200. Finally, the Mets optioned over the weekend him to their triple-A club in Las Vegas, hoping he might rediscover the form that made him look so appealing just over a year ago. Catching is a difficult position -- it's the ultra-rare player at his position who becomes Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench, Mike Piazza or Gary Carter. The Mets would likely have been happy with a good bat, clutch hitting and occasional power, combined with strong defense and pitch calling. You know, the Carlos Ruiz-Russ...