Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

It was an emotional and tasteful farewell Saturday night , as David Wright lowered the curtain on his playing days. Years of injuries, a spinal condition and several difficult surgeries cut short a career that might have been on a Coopertown track. For one final night, the Mets captain returned to Citi Field, batting third, playing 3rd base and feeling the love from a sellout crowd of more than 43,000. Below, it's his final at-bat, in fact, his final swing as he lifts a Trevor Richards pitch into foul territory down the right field line. Wright follows its path, hoping it will reach the seats. Instead, Miami 1st baseman Peter O'Brien grabs a few feet from the seats. And the frustration of knowing that there would be no storybook ending as a batter. Back in the field one final time, standing next to Jose Reyes, who came to the majors at virtually the same time as Wright. They went onto start the most games of any pair of Mets players ever -- a run ended when Reyes...

Friday was a milestone night for Mike Foltynewicz . The Braves righthander struck out nine Phillies over five innings -- giving him 202 for the season. He joins John Smoltz (1992, '93, '96, '97 and 2006), Phil Niekro (1977-79), Greg Maddux (1998), Kevin Millwood (1999) and Javier Vazquez (2009) as Atlanta pitchers who've had 200 strikeout seasons. The righthander -- the key piece who came to the Braves for Evan Gattis -- has really blossomed in his fourth major league season, lowering his ERA by two runs a game, and holding opposing batters to a combined .195 average. He joins Julio Teheran and rookie Sean Newcomb as the top starters for the surprise 2018 NL East champs. ( My image is from last night's Braves/Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park .)

The Rays commemorate their 20th anniversary with this special logo. It's been on their uniforms all season and on the field behind home plate at the Trop. Despite playing in a middle of the pack TV market in an oft-criticised dome and drawing poorly, the Rays have made the post-season four times in their history, including winning the 2008 American League pennant. And they did it with a very tight payroil which often forces them to trade away their top players before they reach free agency. Thanks to my longtime baseball travel pal Dennis Murray, who was on hand to capture this during Thursday's game between the Rays and Yankees.

The last two nights, Jacob de Grom (above) and Max Scherzer (below) showed why they're the leading contenders for the NL Cy Young Award. Wednesday, in what was likely his final start of the season, the Mets ace threw eight innings of two-hit shutout ball. That lowered his ERA to 1.70. His 10 strikeouts helped him reach 1000 for his career. And thanks to just enough hitting support from Domonic Smith and Michael Conforto, De Grom earned the victory to finish 2018 with a winning record at 10-9. Scherzer made his statement Tuesday night, when he won his 18th and became the fifth pitcher this century to reach 300 strikeouts in a season. Though he's giving up a half-run a game more than de Grom, the three-time Cy Young winner has been just as dominant, while pitching with more consistent support. Two division rivals contending for the league's most coveted pitching award -- and doing it on otherwise-disappointing teams. ( My image of de Grom is from the May 18th Mets/Di...

Yankee fans are crossing their fingers that's the case for Gary Sanchez . Widely criticised for his trouble blocking pitches in the dirt, and a shockingly sub-.200 batting average, the Yankee catcher was one of the team's standouts Tuesday night. Stuck in a 1-for-28 slump, Sanchez smacked a three-run homer at Tropicana Field to cap a seven-run 3rd inning. Later, he added an RBI single and tagged out onetime Yankee Ji Man Choi at home plate to halt a Tampa Bay rally. It was Gary's first four-RBI game since April. Of greater importance, his pitch calling and framing helped Luis Severino win his 19th. With the Yankees heading to the Wild Card game next Wednesday night -- and thanks to the Mariners extra-inning win over the A's, mostly likely in the Bronx -- the best news for Sanchez is, that like everyone else, the post-season starts with a fresh stat sheet. Everyone comes in with blanks (or zeros) across the board, so that.190 average and the league-worst total o...

Monday night's most noteworthy game took place in St. Louis, where the two top contenders for the National League Wild Card met. Let's zoom in on Lorenzo Cain . The Brewers' top of the order sparkplug contributed three hits and scored a run in Milwaukee's 6-4 win that moved them closer to locking in a post-season spot -- as well as their real goal, catching the Cubs in the NL Central. Cain brings post season success to the Brew Crew -- he played in consecutive World Series with the KC Royals -- and in 31 October and November games, has a lifetime .295 batting average and .377 on-base percentage. Those numbers helped draw him to Milwaukee, where he's delivering as promised. There'll be two more games with the Cards, before the Brewers return home for the final weekend of the season, where they'll face the very beatable Tigers. Keep in mind, the Brewers are trying to break a six-year post-season drought; in the club's 48 year Milwaukee history, they...

Didi Gregorius ' head-first dive into home plate to claim the Yankees winning run on Saturday came at a very expensive price. Sunday, we learned that on the play, the Yankees dynamic shortstop tore cartilage in his right wrist. The injury definitely kept him out of yesterday's game, which they lost to the Orioles. And we know he had a cortisone shot to less the pain. Now locked into a game with the A's a week from Wednesday, the Yanks still haven't clinched the home field advantage -- their magic number for that clinch is five. But first the Boone Crew needs to get through a difficult week on the road against the scorching Tampa Bay Rays and the already-division-champion Red Sox. And they'll likely have to play those seven games with their dynamic shortstop, whose power, defense and leadership make him as indispensible as anyone in pinstripes these days. You bet Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman and 24 other teammates are hoping that rest, meds and good luck enable D...

You share it with Joba Chamberlain . An instant cult hero and perhaps the most exciting Yankee rookie since Derek Jeter, he was nearly unhittable as a rookie reliever during the final two months of the 2007 season -- posting a 2-0 record with a microscopic 0.38 ERA in 19 games, while striking out 34 batters in 24 innings as Mariano Rivera's set up man. But he couldn't sustain the success. A bad omen was his ill-fated playoff appearance that October, when swarms of midges, small flying bugs, descended on him, shaking his concentration and leading to a Yankee loss. That moment seemed to be a tipping point for the Nebraskan. The organization's desire to turn him into starting pitcher outweighed fan sentiments that be groomed as the great Rivera's eventual success. Instead, he was plagued by ineffectiveness and eventually, a series of arm injuries that dimmed his star. Joba moved onto the Indians, Royals and Indians, but the magic in his arm was gone. Chamberlain turns...

Sly and the Family Stone's classic song serves as the perfect theme for what the Gurriel Brothers accomplished Friday night. Lourdes (above) smacked a pair of home runs -- both solo shots -- in the Blue Jays' 11-3 loss to the streaking Rays. Older brother Yuli matched Lourdes by clearing the fences twice in the Astros 11-3 victory over the Angels -- his second blast was a grand slam. Never in the nearly 150 years of major league ball had two brothers hit two home runs each on the same day -- until September 21st, 2018. Think back to the best brother combos -- the Alous, the Hairstons, the Waners, the DiMaggios, Boyers and Alomars. None came up with a pair of pairs the way the Gurriels did on Friday. My images are from 2018 games at Yankees Stadium: Lourdes Gurriel on April 22nd and Yuli on May 29th.

Mookie Betts was Thursday night's biggest bat as the Red Sox outslugged the Yankees 11-6. Boston's leadoff man underscored his MVP credentials with four hits and five RBIs --including the three-run homer in the 8th inning -- that put the game out of reach. That wasn't just any win in baseball's most heated rivalry; it was the game that clinched the Sox third consecutive AL East title. And making the Yankee pain more intense, it was the first time the Sox had clinched a regular season title against the Bronx Bombers. After wins Tuesday and Wednesday and a dramatic grand slam from recently slumping Giancarlo Stanton, the Yanks looked to be in position to prevent their forever foes from celebrating in their house. But they couldn't seal the deal. The Yankees offense dried up once Steven Wright came in from the Boston bullpen. And they were again the Bronx Bummers on defense -- Aaron Hicks' wild throw that caromed off Miguel Andujar tacked on an insurance run ...

But Wednesday night, two other big Luke Voit swings became Yankee home runs as they routed the Red Sox 10-1. The slugging 1st baseman parked a pair of David Price pitches in the cozy right field seats, as the Yankees continue to torment their Red Sox veteran lefthander. Voit also moved the Yanks a little closer to history: the home run tied the franchise record of 245 for the most in a season. It was Voit's 9th since joining the Yankees in early August -- one more will make them first club ever with 12 different players hitting 10 or more home runs. Funny how that "under the radar" deal with the Cardinals for pitcher Chasen Shrieve has really paid off. ( My image of Voit is from the August 28th Yankees/White Sox game .)

The Giants celebrate the 60th anniversary of their move to San Francisco with this right sleeve patch incorporating the Golden Gate Bridge, their SF logo and the years 1958 - 2018.

Michael Conforto 's 2018 started slowly. Whether he rushed back too quickly after major shoulder surgery or not having a full spring training to prepare, he didn't look like sweet-swinging outfielder Mets fans saw most of last season. Other than their impressive starting pitchers, there's not been a lot to cheer about in Flushing. An 11-1 start melted away, with the club falling under .500 and out of contention by June. But lately, there have been rays of hope. The Mets are 10-5 since we flipped the calendar page. Rookie 2nd baseman Jeff McNeil looks like a keeper. Second-year shortstop Amed Rosario has picked up his game. And Conforto has been tearing it up -- so far in September, he's belted seven homers, driven in 20 and hit .309. Last night, his three-run homer sealed a win over the staggering Phillies and capped a 6-RBI game. Numbers like those will give the organization and fans hope that, after inconsistency and injury, Michael Conforto has turned the corner...

September 17th is one of those dates on the baseball calendar that absolutely jumps out at you. We've got several "famous firsts" from Baseball Hall of Famers all timestamped 9/17. 1967: Reggie Jackson  belts the first of his 563 career homers. The Kansas City A's rookie connects off California's Jim Weaver, in a game the Angels won 3-2. 1955: Brooks Robinson makes his major league debut, getting two hits for the Orioles in a 3-1 win over the Washington Senators at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. 1941: Stan Musial plays in his first game for the Cardinals and goes 2-for-4 in a 3-2 win over the Boston Braves in the nightcap of a Sportsmen's Park doubleheader. Stan's first hit, a two-RBI second inning double off Jim Tobin was the the first of a remarkable 3630 career hits.   1912: Casey Stengel makes his major league debut -- and for a guy who was a good but not great player, it was an impressive afternoon -- four singles, a walk, two stolen bases,...

Saturday belonged to Yasiel Puig and the Dodgers. The Cuban expat had the best day of his major league career, slugging three homers and driving in seven, as Boys from Hollywood routed the Cardinals 17 - 4 and jumped past the Diamondbacks to take over the lead in the NL West. It's been an up-and-down year for the Dodgers. Even the mid-season acquisition of Manny Machado didn't immediately fire up the offense. But the last month has been different. All the switches seemingly went to the "on" position. The dials went from "low" to "high." Home runs in 23 consecutive games; averaging nine runs a game in their current four-game win streak. Potential untapped. Maybe that label best applies to the oft-enigmatic Puig, who seems to be putting it all together as he approaches his 28th birthday. And the Dodgers seem on track to make noise this post-season. ( My image of Puig is from a Dodgers/Mets game in August 2017. )

Andrew McCutchen enjoyed his biggest game as a Yankee on Friday, reaching base all five times in an 11-0 domination of the Blue Jays. The longtime Pirate standout led off the bottom of the 1st with a double; moments later, Aaron Hicks singled him home. But he had plenty more to offer: two walks, a home run and a single.  Big production from someone who has helped fill the hole in the Yankee outfield with Aaron Judge out injured. And in the top of the 8th inning, maybe the most encouraging sign of all for Yankee fans: McCutchen moved from right field to left, when Judge came into the game as a defensive replacement. With Aaron Boone and his staff not ready to let Judge take at-bats in a game for a few more days, this will ease number-99 back into action gradually, as he continues to get his swing back and deal with lingering pain from the broken wrist sustained seven weeks ago. Whereever he plays over the final two weeks, McCutchen will help the Yankees and raise his own p...

You never know when a picture snapped during a game is going to take on added significance. That's exactly what happened with this image from the June 8th Subway Series game between the Mets and Yankees. Michael Conforto is batting, with Todd Frazier on deck, just as they did in the bottom of the 9th of Thursday's first game between the Mets and Marlins. The Boys of Flushing were trailing 3-2, with two outs and no one on. Then Conforto crushed a Kyle Barraclough pitch, sending it to the second deck in right field to tie the game. Moments later, Frazier pulled one over the left field fence. Back to back home runs that turned a one-run deficit to a one-run walk-off victory. We soon learned that in their 57 year history, the Mets had never previously won a game that way --with consecutive home runs in the 9th.

Did you hold onto a lot of tickets? I don't for the most part, but this one from the last season of Shea Stadium, wound up in a box full of old magazines, yearbooks and media guides. 10 years ago this month, the Mets were getting ready to move to the far corner of their parking lot where Citi Field was rising.

Tuesday was a great night for the Red Sox. They got their ace Chris Sale back from his latest visit to the disabled list. Although he worked just an inning, it was a productive inning, a healthy inning. And their come-from-behind 7-2 victory over the Blue Jays -- don't they always seem to rally after trailing?? -- made Boston the first team to clinch a spot in the post-season. Last night's batting star was Brock Holt. The supersub's three-run pinch homer in the 7th inning erased Toronto's lead and put the Sox ahead to stay. Then, the hits kept on coming, with Andrew Benintendi and Ian Kinsler driving in insurance runs in the 8th, with another coming home on Taylor Gurrieri's wild pitch. Win number-99, as the Red Sox chase history. ( My image of Chris Sale is from the August 13th, 2017 Yankees/Red Sox game in the Bronx. )

J.A. Happ has been all the Yankees hoped for -- and more. The veteran left has gone 6-0 in eight starts since the late July trade from Toronto. Monday night at Target Field, he again came up big -- throwing six innings of shutout ball as the Yanks opened their series against the Twins with a 7-2 win. Gary Sanchez' home run in the top of the 6th gave Happ the lead before the Yanks blew it open an inning later. Happ's consistency has upgraded his status from "bolstering the rotation" to joinining the conversation about starting the Wild Card playing game three weeks from now. A good post-season for the Yankees might even lead to Cashman and Steinbrenner writing a big check to keep him in the Bronx. Remember that Yankee Stadium's configuration benefits lefthanded pitchers. And there's always something to be said about holding onto a savvy lefty -- when the club's other veteran southpaw CC Sabathia appears to be on fumes heading toward the finish l...

Danny Escobar, Clint Frazier and Dee Gordon team up in unison (and uniform) to wish you l'Shana Tovah, a good and sweet year ahead for 5779.

You've probably heard of the 30/30 and 40/40 designations in baseball, usually describing players reaching those lofty levels in home runs and steals. But 10/10? Actually, it's not as much a personal stat, but a team achievement. Saturday night, Yankee catcher Austin Romine put some clout into that number. His top-of-the-7th inning homer made him the 10th Yankee with 10 or more home runs this season. A cool stat -- with the added immediacy of snapping a 2-all tie that gave the Yanks the lead for keeps in a crucial 4-2 win in Seattle. Romine has set personal highs in most offensive stats this season; with Gary Sanchez slumping and then missing over 50 games with a nagging groin injury, the son of former major leaguer Kevin Romine has become an unexpected Yankee contributor.

Rhys Hoski ns picked a great time to end a 30-at-bat homerless streak. His 8th inning solo blast off Mets reliever Taylor Bashlor lifted the Phils to a badly needed 4-3 win at Citi Field. In backing a less-than-his-best Aaron Nola, who worked the first seven innings for his 16th victory, Hoskins also helped the Phils gain back a game on the first place Braves, who lost in Arizona. It has not been a good month or so for the Phillies, who've been treading water -- not exactly the way to compete with that other young and rising team in Atlanta. They haven't won a series since early August, while Nola has suddenly given up a lot of home runs -- five in his last two starts, as many as he surrendered in the previous 18. So Hoskins' bailout couldn't have come at a better moment. Now the challenge for the Phils is to build some kind of streak against a weak Mets club, while the Braves battle the contending Diamondbacks the next couple of days. ( My image of Hoskins is f...

Francisco Lindor got the Indians off and rolling Thursday, leading off their game in Toronto with a home run, then adding another when he came up in 3rd. But there's more! The Cleveland shortstop contributed two more hits in a 9-4 win over the Blue Jays. It was the eighth multi-homer game of his still-budding career. A little splash of history as well -- that was seventh time this season Lindor homered to lead off an Indians game, to tie the franchise record. And according to mlb.com, it was Lindor's sixth multi-homer game out of the leadoff spot this season, the most by any player in Major League history. While looking for a photo of Lindor for this story, I went back to my last visit to Cleveland in July 2016. I loved the chest-bumping exhuberance in this image of Lindor, celebrating after he scored on a home run by teammate Lonnie Chisenhall.

From the final season of the original Yankee Stadium, a look across the outfield. Take note of the bleachers, especially how far back the ones in left field are. They never move, but several "upgrades" since the mid-'70s renovation gradually shrank the old Death Valley left field. Moving in the fences not relocated the Yankee bullpen, but opened up the space for the the first version of Monument Park. No restaurants, of course. No areas to stand or mill around. Simpler scoreboards. All topped by the recreation of the decorative frieze from original grandstand. Below, zooming in on Monument Park, the bullpen and bleachers. Look carefully, you'll see some of the first plaques mounted on the original outfield wall by the flagpole, remaining in its original spot. ( My images are from July 29th, 2008, my last game at the original Stadium. )

Heading into the final four weeks of the season, Tuesday's news about Ryan Howard seemed oddly out of the place. The longtime Phillies slugger, who last played in the majors two years ago, officially announced his retirement. The 2005 Rookie of the Year's greatest seasons coincided with the Phils run of success from 2006 through 2011, when he twice led the National League in home runs and claimed three RBI titles. But it was 2011, where after putting together the NL's best record, their bats went maddeningly cold in the NLDS, as they were eliminated by the Cardinals. The final pitch of that series changed the course of Phillies history and Howard's career -- as he tore his achilles swinging and pivoting on a Chris Carpenter pitch. Ironically, it came against the team he grew up rooting for in St. Louis. Howard missed more than half of the 2012 season and neither he nor the Phils were ever the same. The playoff run was over, Ryan was noticeably slower and less cap...

Jacob deGrom was his usual dominating self on Monday, holding the Dodgers to a Justin Turner solo homer over six innings. The Florida native also provided the only Mets scoring, with a 5th inning RBI single.  Dial ahead to the the top of the 7th with the game tied at 1-1, as Mets manager Mickey Callaway faced a difficult choice. With two runners on and one man out, it was deGrom's turn turn to hit. Having already thrown 109 pitchers, Callaway rolled the dice on pinch hitter Jack Reinheimer. That ended deGrom's night; worse, Reinheimer grounded into a force play. No runners advanced, and the team failed to cash in that opportunity. Thus, another no decision for the Mets ace -- along with a nice slice of history. deGrom's performance was a record setter: he tied a Major League Baseball mark by allowing three or fewer runs in 25 straight starts during a single season. His ERA for 2018 is sparking 1.68. The Mets finally broke through in the 9th inning, when pinch hitter B...

You share it with Corey Oswalt . The Mets rookie righthander posted double digits in victories in his last two minor league seasons -- 2017 was especially impressive when he went 12-5 for Double A Binghamton, with a 2.28 ERA. He's both relieved and started since being promoted to the majors (this image was from his July 9th start against the Phillies. Who else gets their cake and candles today? Luis Gonzalez , the sweet-swinging outfielder whose greatest fame came with the Diamondbacks -- where his bases loaded 9th inning hit against Mariano Rivera brought a World Series championship to Arizona in 2001. Domonic Brown , whom the Phillies thought could be Jayson Werth's replacement as a slugging outfielder. He looked like the real deal for about two months during 2013, when he made the National League All Star team. But he didn't sustain his numbers, and did no better in short stops with the Blue Jays and Rockies organizations. In 2018, he's been trying to tu...

A couple of glimpses of Andrew McCutchen during his first game with the Yankees on September 1st. 2016. Above: catching a ball tossed around between innings. And below, taking a called strike during his first at-bat in pinstripes. It wasn't a breakout game for the longtime Pirates star. The headliners were Gleyber Torres with his two-run homer and Masahiro Tanaka pitching seven innings of one run ball. But even going 0 for 3, "Cutch" brought competency and professionalism to a Yankees lineup that had been thinned by injury as the summer rolled on. Even when (or, increasingly, if) Aaron Judge returns, McCutchen makes the Yankees stronger -- and a good September and post-season might even raise the free agent value of this onetime National League MVP.

It's no secret that the Phillies have struggled the last few weeks. After leading the NL East from early July into early August, the boys from South Philly have been plagued by erratic pitching, sloppy defense and maddening inconsistency from hitters they depended on. Apparently, the newfound reliance on analytics and the motivating presence of Gabe Kapler could only bring this still very young club so far. With that in mind, time for a shout-out for one of the Phils' recent acquisitions. Asdrubal Cabrera had, like his new team, not had a memorable August. But the veteran switch-hitter ended the month on a high note -- his walk off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning pushed the Phillies past the Cubs 2 - 1. It was his first game-ending homer as a Phillie; the fifth of his 12-year career. Combine that with the Braves' loss to the Pirates and the Phils start the final month just two games out of 1st place. Cabrera has prior post-season experience with the Indians,...