Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

February 29th... leap year day. One day out of 1461 (go ahead, do the math). Less than 1/10th of 1% of all days -- yet a dozen players with this very unique birthday have made the majors. And two of them were bigtime stars, a level-below Hall of Famers (and not by much). Al Rosen (right -- from a Topps card series honoring past MVPs) starred for the Indians in the late 1940s and '50s. He then enjoyed a second successful career as executive with the Yankees, Astros and Giants -- his '78 New York team were World Champs, and his '89 San Francisco crew won a pennant. A hand injury helped shorten his career, but he remains one of the greatest Indians ever. Pepper Martin was another aggressive player who achieved greatness -- and, ironically like Rosen, may have been held back from Cooperstown by injuries. A third baseman and outfielder for the Gas House Gang Cardinals of the 1930s, he was a four-time All Star and three-time stolen base champ. On the other side of the ...

In looking through the Wrigley Field photos I drew from on Wednesday, I noted Starlin Castro wore number-13 in Cubs pinstripes. He'll still be in pinstripes this summer, but with a different number. In the Bronx, 13 belongs to Alex Rodriguez. Castro, according to the Yankees website, will take 14. It's been worn by some beloved Yanks over the years -- Bill Skowron during the late '50s and '60s and Lou Piniella during the '70s and early '80s. As this decade began, Curtis Granderson gave the Yankees several solid seasons with 14 on his back. Of course, several lesser lights also wore 14: Stephen Drew, most recently. Yankee fans are hoping Castro takes after Moose and Looou more than his light-hitting middle infield predecessor.

Ron Santo made his mark in Chicago -- as the Cubs gritty, gutty and exuberant 3rd baseman. A five-time gold glover winner and eight-time all star in 14 Wrigley seasons, he established himself as one of the best ever at his position. His hardnosed style of play so endeared himself to Cubs fans that he smoothly moved into a second chapter of his baseball life as the analyst on the team's radio broadcasts for more than 20 year. Santo's story is also one of courage -- he played his entire career while living with Type I Diabetes, which led to complications late in life, but never cooled his passion for the game or his adopted city. If you saw him, you know how good he was. Now, with the wider attention paid to analytics, the numbers reveal even more: he led the NL in walks four times, and career-wise, walked nearly as often as he struck out. Posthumously named to the Hall of Fame, the Cubs remembered Ron Santo with this statue outside of Wrigley Field. Today (February 25th) wo...

Coming off a productive year with the Cubs, a lot of fans have been surprised by Dexter Fowler  remaining a free agent this long. But his wait is apparently over. After belting a career-best 17 home runs playing home games at Wrigley Field, the center fielder moves onto another power-friendly park, Baltimore's Camden Yards. These images are from last May's visit to Wrigley Field -- May 13th against the Mets, and a hanging banner that will obviously not be seen this season.

From an Orioles/Yankees game in September 2013. (Above:) Take note of the bullpens: the Orioles pitchers wait their turn, with the visitors 'pen a level higher and above that, the outfield concourse where fans can watch the game. Several other venues, including Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Ballpark used stacked 'pens, but Camden's was the trendsetter. (Below:) Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, in to nail down the save.  Get a good idea of the park's cozy dimensions by noting how Rivera almost appears to be standing in front of the right field scoreboard. It's not that close -- but a distance easily reachable by Baltimore's stars such as Manny Machado and Chris Davis.

...you share it with Casey Kotchmann . A slick-fielding 1st baseman who never quite developed into the hitter the Angels expected when they made him a 1st round draft pick in 2001, he last played in the majors with the 2013 Marlins. Kotchmann does hold one notable record -- for making the most consecutive put-outs without committing an error. Also getting their cake and candles today: outfielder Daniel Nava, who joins the Angels as a free agent for 2016; Joe Lefebvre, the hard hitting Yankees and Phillies outfielder of the '80s whose career was cut short by a knee injury; and legendary manager Sparky Anderson , who played one very ordinary major league season (as the everyday 2nd baseman of the awful 1959 Phillies) before earning his place in Cooperstown as the skipper of the Reds and Tigers. A product of the Dodger farm system, he lost out in the competition with Charlie Neal, Maury Wills and Don Zimmer to replace Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese as the club's next gener...

From Roger Dean Stadium in 2005: Albert Pujols , preparing for what would be his first of three MVP seasons with the Cardinals. What struck me about this image is that we were sitting a row or two behind the foul screen. Do you think Pujols will ever admit that leaving St. Louis was a massive mistake? Not only was he in line to join Stan Musial as the Cardinals' greatest offensive players ever, he was well liked in the community and always considered an over-achiever. Life's been very different since he swapped his STL address for LA/Anaheim. In what now seems like the Stone Age, a pre-Stub Hub era, Dennis and I were able to just buy great seats day-of-game at the box office. (OK, not everyone likes sitting behind the screen.)

I had to save my "golden oldies" for Throwback Thursday. From March 1985, the Cardinals take batting practice at Al Lang Field in St. Pete. The atmosphere was much more casual and media members could get a lot more "up close and personal" during practice time. Thanks to baseball-refererence.com , we see (above): Willie McGee in his familiar number-51. (Below:) Ivan DeJesus Sr. sports number-11, Jack Clark is 22, Tom Nieto 23 and coach Hal Lanier is 8. It looks like #27 is in the batting cage. That's backup outfielder Curt Ford.

From a Phillies/Yankees game at Tampa in 2009: two guys who'd face each other again that fall in the World Series... Phillies pinch hitter and DH Matt Stairs and Yankee backup catcher Jose Molina. Love the outside view of Steinbrenner Field... (Below) Philadelphia's supersub Eric Bruntlett leads off first... That's Nick Swisher manning the bag. (Below) A wide field view of Steinbrenner Field. That's Jayson Werth batting.

I usually shoot the action, the architecture and images representing the spirit of baseball. I'm not big on photos with the players. So this shot with Davey Lopes at Camelback Ranch in Arizona is a rarity from my archive.

Due to its proximity to West Palm Beach, Jupiter's Roger Dean Stadium is often the first stop on my Spring Training vacations. With camps opening across Florida and Arizona this week, I'll focus on some favorite Grapefruit and Cactus League images. Today, from March 2013, the Red Sox visit the Marlins, with Jon Lester on the mound for Boston. Later in the game, when the regulars were replaced by the prospects, I got my first look at someone who;'s since become one of Miami's cornerstone players -- Christian Yelich. Part of the fun of March baseball is catching a sneak preview of the game's future stars.

Jenrry Mejia of the Mets just made baseball history -- of the worst kind. The Mets reliever (seen here in 2014 against the Yankees) was busted twice for PED use last season. He appeared in only seven games and missed the team's magical post-season ride. Apparently, he did not learn a lesson -- as news broke Friday afternoon that he'd been suspended again. And in baseball, the rule is "three strikes, you're out." Mejia's third PED suspension (in under a year) results in a lifetime ban -- the first ever handed out by baseball officials. The Mets could not have expected much from Mejia -- his previous suspension already put him on the shelf through mid-July. But as Bugs Bunny once said, "What a maroon!" How, after being caught twice in the last year, could Mejia think he could evade the more stringent testing ballplayers go through? Where was his agent, his business manager or other wise hand in his inner circle warning him that he stood on the verge...

...you share it with Abraham Lincoln. Great president, an heroic figure who led our country through the Civil War and abolished slavery. But what about baseball? There's likely no connection, as the game was still in its formative stages while Lincoln was in office. He died four years before the Cincinnati Reds became what we consider the first organized "major league team." And Mr. Lincoln was a little on the busy side during the 1860s. We do have a couple of Reds birthdays on this date. Todd Frazier , the hard-hitting 3rd baseman whom Cincinnati traded to the White Sox this off-season, turns 30 today. But he's not pictured above. That's Josh Phegley , who in 2013 was the White Sox backup catcher. He turns 28 -- and is one of a trio of catchers who share the day. The others are guys in contrast: a player with the briefest of major league careers:  Frank Estrada , a native of Mexico who played in just one game in 1971 for the Mets -- as opposed to Joe Garagiol...

From June 25th, 2005: We're moments before the first pitch of a Subway Series game at the previous Yankee Stadium. Monument Park catches our attention just beyond the fence in left-center field. There's less advertising on the fence compared to the current Stadium. What else stands out? The replica frieze framing the outfield. The lower-tech scoreboards. Lower level seats a bit closer to the field... Time flies -- the Yanks closed the old Stadium, and moved across 161st Street eight years ago.

At the press conference that opened last night's 36th annual Thurman Munson Awards dinner, here are honorees Jeurys Familia, Jim Abbott, Brian McCann and Andrew Miller along with Diana Munson. It was a warm celebration of the life of the late Yankee captain and five New York baseball figures who represent Thurman's determination, leadership, sportsmanship and charitable efforts. Time for some close-ups of the Award recipients: (above) Longtime Mets reliever Jesse Orosco, whose enduring image remains nailing down the final out of the 1986 World Series. (Below) the current Mets closer Jeurys Familia, who had a close-to-comparable moment when he closed out the Cubs in the 2015 NLCS.  Jim Abbott, who spent two years with the Yankees, highlighted by a 1993 no-hitter. (Below) Brian McCann, who carries on the Yankees tradition of standout catchers.  (Below) Andrew Miller, coming off a dominant 2015 season as the Yankees closer.

Several images of Washington's major league park shot from the concourse beyond the outfield seats. Spacious, rounded and modern, this comfortable venue stands in contrast to its retro-designed rival 50 miles north, Camden Yards. Since replacing RFK Stadium, Nationals Park has been home for a pair of division champs, in 2012 and 2014. Will '16 see another? The Nats' biggest off-season signing was free agent 2nd baseman Daniel Murphy. But a longtime mainstay of the rotation Jordan Zimmerman, left for Detroit. There are a couple of new relievers in Shawn Kelly and Oliver Perez. And there's a new skipper, with Dusty Baker taking over for Matt Williams. Is that enough to close the gap with the pitching-rich Mets? Stay tuned.

Is he concentrating, meditating or perhaps replaying a previous at-bat in his mind? I was intrigued by this image of Ichiro Suzuki taking a practice swing during a Marlins/Phillies game last April. The ageless outfielder is a career .315 hitter in 15 seasons in the U.S. He enters 2016 just 65 hits shy of 3000. Over/under, does he get there before July 4th?

...with Oprah? Pablo Sandoval -- seen here last August at Yankee Stadium -- has never been confused with Wade Boggs or Derek Jeter. But might his lack of conditioning been a factor in his disappointing first season with the Red Sox? There have always been a lot of chunky catchers in the game and stocky pitchers such as David Wells and Mickey Lolich were long-time stars. They can get away with a little more heft than someone who runs the bases, plays the field and needs to maintain a finely honed swing. As players get set to report to camp in the next couple of weeks, do you expect to see a little "less" of Sandoval in 2016?

Six summers ago, Marcus Thames was in his second stint with the Yankees. A hamstring injury landed him on the disabled list. And his final step before returning to the Bronx was rehab sting with the Yanks' Scranton farm club. This season, Thames returns to the Yankees as their assistant hitting coach. These images are from June 30th, 2010 at Pawtucket.

Not only does he pitch exceedingly well, but National ace Max Scherzer demonstrates why chewing gum in the dugout is far more entertaining (and healthier) than chewing tobacco. Is it an optical illusion or did he really get the bubble above to appear to have two different shapes? Below, the classic round bubble. (Below) But when that bubble pops, it briefly gives Max the look of a vampire! Now the big question, who do you think blows the best bubbles in baseball? Have you ever snapped one "in action," as you've seen here. Just click on "add a comment" at the bottom of this page, and share your thoughts. Thanks to Max for being a good sport when I snapped these during the Nats/Mets game at Citi Field last August 2nd.

From my August 2014 visit, several things you'll only find at AT&T Park. (Above): the signs point toward and show the direction and distance from significant places linked to the Giants. They range from Cooperstown  (2881 miles away) to McCovey Cove, just yards beyond the ballpark. Their spring training home Scottsdale Stadium is included. Never to be forgotten are the club's former homes, Seals Stadium (from when they first arrived in San Francisco), the Polo Grounds in New York and Candlestick Park. (Below): one of the attractions on the outfield concourse is the retired cable car. Finally, a glimpse of McCovey Cove includes a boat which retrieves home runs that completely leave the ballpark.

Citi Field's home run apple rises beyond center field after a Curtis Granderson home run last May 17th against the Brewers. You can glimpse the Mets right fielder getting high fived on the portion of the video board visible above the Budweiser sign.