Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

From my collection, the Yankees program and scorecard from 1965, the year the Berra/Ford/Mantle dynasty collapsed. The Yankees starting rotation is pictured clockwise from the top left: Whitey Ford, Mel Stottlemyre, Jim Bouton and Al Downing. In his first full year with the Yankees, Mel became the Yankees ace, winning 20 with 18 complete games. (Run that last number through your mind, again.) While Whitey, who turned 36, went 16 & 13. Downing fell below .500, and Bouton fell off the table, losing 15 of 19 decisions. Age and injury caught up with the everyday lineup -- with Mantle, Howard, Pepitone and Maris less productive, the team fell far behind the pennnt winning Twins. Maybe it was the curse of Yogi? The legendary catcher, after winning the pennant the year before, was fired as manager and moved across town to join Casey Stengel's coaching staff with the Mets. And Johnny Keane, who managed the World Champion Cardinals, took his place in the dugout only to be at the h...

  Carlos Beltran gets his meeting with Brian Cashman today (Wednesday) after the veteran outfielder reached out to the Yankees. The last remaining club searching for a manager, the Yankees parted ways with Joe Girardi a month ago. But there doesn't seem to be an urgency to fill the vacancy. Sure, baseball's winter meetings are coming up the week after next. And the optics would be better if the Yankees had a manager in line when they meet with number-one free agent target Shohei Ohtani -- especially since the new skipper would be interacting with Ohtani and the rest of his prosective teammates daily, Beltran will be the third former Yankee to be interviewed -- following Hensley Meulens and Aaron Boone. They're trying to follow in the footsteps of Billy Martin, Ralph Houk, Yogi Berra, Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent -- and yes, Joe Girardi -- as former Yankee players who later managed the club. ( This image of Beltran is from a Yankees/Rangers game in June 2016 .)

After hitting just under .200 with nine homers in the final two months of the season, Dominic Smith isn't guar anteed a regular job for 2018. Already shaky, with the Mets considering free agents such as Adam Lind and Jay Bruce for 1st base, Smith's status grew even more shaky after comments from Sandy Alderson. Noting how Smith has  appeared overweight at times, the GM said he'd  "to be careful about his conditioning, certainly in the next few years, if not throughout his career." Not exactly the kind of reassuring words that Smith hoped to hear.

Jorge Alfaro 's bat is still more advanced than his glove, but he's given strong signs of being ready to take over as the Phillies' everyday catcher. In a 29-game late season trial, he hit .318 with five home runs. One of five prospects the Phils received for Cole Hamels in 2015, had more than his fair share of injuries while working his way through the minors. Combine that productivity with good health and the 24 year old from Colombia could be getting his mail -- and signing autographs -- at Citizens Bank Park for years to come.

Jorge Mateo was one of three highly rated prospects the Yankees sent to Oakland for Sonny Gray. The 22 year old shortstop did well in Double A ball this past year, hitting .300 at Trenton (where I saw him play on July 26th) and then .292 for the A's club in Midland, Texas after the deal. He also stole a combined 51 bases between three stops in the minors. The Yankees number-one prospect before the arrival of Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier -- Mateo should have an easier path to the majors as he prepares for "senior year' in the A's system.

On an extremely slow news day around baseball, reports continue to surface about the Phillies considering Chase Utley as their next bench coach. During the Phils glory days of 2007-2011, he was a strong leader -- and kept that same m.o. after moving into a reserve role with the Dodgers. He certainly brings a post-season pedigree -- he's been on playoff teams in eight of his 13 seasons, with three trips to the World Series, including this year with L.A. Less than a month shy of turning 39, Utley's days as a regular are over, and with the Dodgers brimming with impressive young players, he may not have a spot on the 2018 roster. And maybe not another big league club as a player. Having maintained ties to the Philadelphia area even after being traded to the Dodgers, Utley could be the kind of positive influence a young and rebuilding club needs -- especially with several young and promising Phillies considered underachievers. We all know you can't stop time. But you can a...

...you share it with the mystery player pictured above. Don't worry, I'll identify him at the end of this post. But first, some names you'll recognize: Ben McDonald , a first-overall draft pick who pitched well for the Orioles during the '90s, but never quite became a star. His career was cut short early by shoulder problems. Dave Hansen , the backup infielder who spent parts of 16 seasons in the majors, mainly with the Dodgers. Randy Velarde , who had a career similar to Hansen's, but had several stretches as a regular with the Yankees, A's and Angels. For those who like nice round numbers, he finished his 16 years in the majors with exactly 100 home runs. Steve Yeager spent 15 years in the majors, all but one with the Dodgers. He's a familiar face from the team's winning era of the late '70s and early '80s -- highlighted by sharing MVP honors with Ron Cey and Pedro Guerreo in the 1981 World Series. Yet to many -- especially non-base...

Wherever and however you spend your Thanksgiving, I hope it's as warm and optimistic as this day last March when the Braves hosted the Phillies in Orlando. Enjoy the bounty of the table and love of those who surround you. And thanks for being part of my baseball family.

During the second half of the season, a stranger entering the Yankee clubhouse might have confused Aaron Judge with CC Sabathia. After games, the Yankees rookie sensation was often seen with an icepack over his left shoulder. OK, we know Judge is the club's slugging outfielder and not one of its pitchers. But the icepack made you wonder if there was an issue -- especially when #99's production tailed off drastically following the All Star Game. We learned the answer Tuesday, when the Yanks announced that Judge had undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder to remove a "loose body" and clean up "some damaged cartilage." The problem may have been traced to hus tumbling catch over a Fenway Park wall on April 26th, his 25th birthday, Even though the procedure is considered relatively minor, having surgery is never good news. Think about New York icons of an earlier era, such as Joe Namath and Mickey Mantle -- too much of thei...

Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp adds a little style to the action after walking June 30th against the Mets at Citi Field.

The parade of jobseekers continued Saturday when Chris Woodward became the fifth candidate to meet with Brian Cashman. The Dodgers 3rd base coach under Dave Roberts brings big league experience, while emphasizing his abilities to communicate with younger players and implement analytics in running a club. The 41-year-old ex-infielder follows Rob Thomson, Eric Wedge, Hensley Meulens and Aaron Boone in sitting down with the Yankee GM, who seems in no rush to replace Joe Girardi.

Here's a 2015 image of Aaron Hicks , then struggling to hold onto a regular job with the Twins. Swapped to the Yankees the following winter, he slipped into a comfortable niche as a fourth outfielder. But it all came together in 2017. Taking advantage of an opportunity when Jacoby Ellsbury was injured, Hicks finally showed the tools that led Minnesota to make him a first-round draft choice years earlier. Despite being limited to 88 games by injury, he belted 15 home runs and hit a productive .266 while playing an outstanding center field. Starting for the Yankees through their post-season run, and still just 28, Hicks appears to have claimed a place alongside the Young Yankee standouts Judge, Sanchez and Bird for 2018 and maybe beond.

Two players and two deeply contrasting seasons: say hello to your 2017 Most Valuable Players. Giancarlo Stanton was baseball's most prolific slugger. 59 home runs -- the most ever by an NL player not tainted by PED-suspicions. The most intimidating presence in the league. BUT... he did it on a team that was never in contention and finished eight games under .500. Did he ever play a pressure game? Was he producing in the midst of a pennant race? While that's not his fault, the answer is "no." Sure, a Stanton-less Marlins squad might won 67 or 57, instead of 77. But they finished 12 games out of a wild card. Player of the Year? Perhaps. But please define "valuable." Doesn't that have something to do with how your team's season played out?To paraphrase the legendary comment Branch Rickey made to Ralph Kiner, "We could have finished out of contention without you."  Jose Altuve stamped himself as baseball's Best All-Around Player. H...

Max Scherzer and Corey Kluber have been named the 2017 Cy Young Award winners. Fortunately, I saw them both -- and in peak form -- this past season. I caught Max pitching on his birthday (and mine) in Washington on July 27th. A typical hot summer's day in DC was no problem for the St. Louis native. Scherzer dominated the Brewers, working six innings and striking out nine in a 15-2 blowout. Just over a month later, it was my turn to see Kluber and the Indians at Yankee Stadium. August 28th was a classic pitching matchup, with Kluber facing the Yanks' young ace, Luis Severino. Kluber held the upper hand early and late -- he worked eight innings, appearing to grow stronger as the night went on, While all the finalists (including Severino) were worthy of considerartion, the day-in, day-out sense of who's "the best" would have led me to cast my vote for Scherzer and Kluber, who join the select circle of two time Cys. And unlike those who grab a post-season hon...

Torey Lovullo of the Diamondbacks and Paul Molitor of the Twins followed very differerent career paths to becoming 2017's Managers of the Year. A backup infielder who played just 303 major league games, Lovullo became a successful minor league manager and then coached on John Farrell's staffs in Toronto and then Boston. An impressive two-month stint filling when Farrell was treated for cancer marked Lovullo as a top managerial candidate. Arizona gave him that chance this year, and the rookie skipper turned the D'backs into a playoff team. Just the second Hall of Fame player ever to earn a Manager of the Year Award. Molitor starred for 21 seasons, hitting a career .306 and making eight All Star teams. In his third year as Twins manager, the St. Paul native orchestrated an historic turnaround for his hometown team -- becoming the first manager whose team whose team reached the playoffs a year after losing over 100 games.

In the least surprising and most deserving voting of the off-season, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the Yankees were named baseball's Rookies of the Year for 2017. Both were unanimous selections. The first Yankee to earn the award since Derek Jeter in 1996, Judge quickly became the new Face of the Yankees -- captivating New York fans in a way no newcomer in pinstripes had since The Captain. The 18th Dodger to be named Rookie of the Year, the award bearing the name of Dodger icon Jackie Robinson, Bellinger joins a list that also features such beloved L.A. stars as Mike Piazza and Fernando Valuenzuela. Between them, the young sluggers totaled 87 home runs and 166 RBIs and helped restore the special nature of their respective franchises.

...you share it with the player swinging at this ball, Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera . Of the 57 major leaguers born on this date, the Venezuela native has played the most games (1382), hit the most home runs (139) and driven in the most runs (630). And he'll have the chance to increase those totals in 2018, since the Mets recently picked up the option year on his contact. Maybe you're wondering why I chose this picture. Shot at 1/1250th of a second, it caught the stitches on this foul ball Cabrera hit in a game June 30th. While the ball went foul, the image was a hit -- it was just the right moment to capture those red stitches.

Brian Cashman has moved into the interview phase of selecting the next Yankee manager. While the papers and sports talk radio are jumping on names such as Raul Ibanez, David Cone and Jerry Hairston Junior, the first two to actually meet with the GM were the lower-profile Rob Thomson (seen here) and Eric Wedge. A 28 year member of the Yankee organization, Thomson coached under Joe Girardi the last 10 years, with two stints as the bench coach, and 2009 - '14 at 3rd base. A solid baseball man -- not the kind of name meant to "grab the back pages" of the New York tabloids. Next to visit was the former Mariners and Indians skipper Eric Wedge. A good but not spectacular resume -- although his 2007 Indians beat Joe Torre's Yankees in the playoff series best remembered for the attack of the midges (insects) in Cleveland. This could be an extended process as there are plenty of candidates available. Aaron Boone's name has been floated, so has Al Pedrique who manag...

From September 4th: Phillies standout rookie Rhys Hoskins holds up on a ball almost literally at his shoelaces.

From August 23rd at Citi Field, I love the way the day's last rays of sun interact with the light towers.

Back before the Internet, media guides were a go-to source of detailed info on every major league team. Every year, as winter turned to spring, I'd write each of the 26 ballclubs on the letterhead of the radio station I worked for, requesting a team's official guidebook. Thankfully, most of the clubs would send one. I held onto some of the more interesting guides from the '80s and '90s, generally those tied to notable seasons for specific teams. The 1984 Cubs Media Guide certainly fits the bill. That was the season the guys from Wrigley Field finally broke a 39-year drought from the post-season. Though the playoffs ended in a painfully disappointing game five loss to the Padres, the Cubs had re-established themselves as a power for the first time since Leo Durocher managed them in the late '60s. Take a look at the cover photo: it's a keeper! Look at the baseball -- each signed by a Cubs legend. Ernie Banks, "Mister Cub" is just to the left o...

In a game so rich with statistics and lists, it's impressive to be only the second name on the rollcall headed by Don Larsen. How about being the fourth name on the one that begins with Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens? He's still the one and only member of yet another historic list. And he leads another category covering pitchers of the 21st century. Roy Halladay , who died Tuesday in the crash of his private plane, had a career that had him on the fast track to Cooperstown in 2019. He's the only pitcher beside Don Larsen to throw a post-season no-hitter. He's the fourth player to win a Cy Young Award in each league. In 2010, he became the one and only to throw a no-hitter during the regular and post-season the same year (the regular-season one was a perfect game and came in the first playoff game he ever worked!). As for the category he dominates, "Doc" led a league in complete games six times -- and tied for the lead in a seventh -- m...

Monday was MLB's deadline for teams to present qualifying offers to pending free agents. While most of the decisions were expected -- such as the Indians making one to 1st baseman/on-base percentage machine Carlos Santana and the Cardinals to pitcher Lance Lynn -- one omission surprised me. After a breakout season with a career-best 38 home runs, the Rays chose not to give the Q.O. to DH/1st baseman Logan Morrison . Did their cost-conscious management believe his season was a bit of a fluke? He hadn't broken the 20 homer plateau since 2011, when Morrison was still a Marlin. Does that mean -- as we saw at the July trade deadline -- teams putting less value on the hardball? Or was Tampa Bay skeptical that this was the "real" Logan Morrison? Either way, he hits free agency with no cost to a new team in draft picks. And the Rays, who picked up Lucas Duda from the Mets, might have more incentive to sign that other power-hitting lefty. ( This image of Morrison is from...

...you share it with Washington's most revered baseball figure, Walter Johnson . The first of the game's legendary fireballers, he won 417 games over his 21-season career while his 3509 strikeouts set the standard for decades until the arrival of Ryan, Carlton and Clemens. And his 110 career shutouts remain the most ever! More importantly, his was the name most associated with DC baseball success -- in 1924 and '25, he went a combined 43 & 14, as the Senators won their first two pennants (they also won in 1933, when Johnson was managing in the Indians). That makes it easy to understand why Johnson was one of the first five players named to the Hall of Fame in 1936 -- along with Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson and Ty Cobb. This somewhat abstract statue of Walter Johnson is prominently diplayed on the outfield concourse, just past the main entrance of Nationals Park. Among the others who share Walter Johnson's birthday is a Washington player of mor...

With the Free Agent signing period not yet here, the player moves making news involve clubs picking up or decline options on veteran players. And two very familiar faces learned they're not returning to their 2017 clubs next season. Coming off a .255 season with the Marlins, Ichiro won't be returning to the Marlins, and may have reached the end of the line as a major leaguer. Having just turned 44, the future Hall of Famer seemed noticeably slower -- for the first time failed to reach double digits in stolen bases.. And his two-million dollar salary likely doesn't the salary for a bench player under the Sherman/Jeter ownership. But his place in history is secure: his .312 career average over 17 years, includes setting the single-season record for hits. Jose Bautista is the classic late bloomer, bouncing through three other organizations before sticking with the Pirates at age 25. But he didn't reach stardom until becoming a Blue Jay -- where he smashed 54 and 43 hom...

Before free agency begins for the players, there's movement among coaches and managers. Actually, only one managerial vacancy remains -- the big one at Yankee Stadium -- but there have been plenty of coaching shuffles. One that caught my eye yesterday was Ruben Amaro joining Mickey Callaway's staff with the Mets. After two years working under John Farrell in Boston, the former Phillies GM (and 1990s outfielder) moves on to Queens as he polishes the resume with the hope of one day becoming a big league manager.  These images are from the Red Sox/Yankees game in New York on August 13th.

George Springer made a three year old  Sports Illustrated cover prediction come true. The Astros center fielder led off last night's game seven with a booming double and came around to score the first run of the night. An inning later, with Houston up three, he delivered the knockout blow off Yu Darvish -- a bullet home run that extended the lead to 5-0. The game ended 5-1 Astros in the first seventh game of any post-season series ever played at Dodger Stadium. But the night belonged to Springer. Talk about fulfilling destiny, the New Britain, Connecticut product was the player in that now-famous cover photo praising the Astros rebuild under GM Jeff Luhnow and owner Jim Crane. It's one thing to pick a winner at the beginning of a best of seven series. It's almost unworldly to pick a team (and its World Series MVP), three years in advance. Sometimes, you get a Hollywood ending in Hollywood. It just happened to center on the visiting team.

Chris Taylor   wasn't a Dodger from the get-go. Like his now-stellar teammate Justin Turner, he began his career elsewhere and didn't make much of an impact before arriving in L.A. A onetime 5th round draft pick of the Mariners, he didn't grow into a regular player and was swapped to the Dodgers in June 2016 in one of those trades that moved across your screen and you probably didn't recognize either name. But things changed this year. Moving between center and left field and the left side of the infield, he played 140 games, he belted 21 homers, 34 doubles and stole 17 bases. Tuesday night, he grabbed the spotlight, with a bloop double down the right field line tied the game against Justin Verlander -- and dented the air of invincibility the recently-imported Astros ace exuded during October. Corey Seager followed with a sacrifice fly that put the Dodgers ahead to stay -- enroute to a 3 - 1 win that forced a seventh and deciding game. Go back over over Dodger histo...