Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

Hyun-Jin Ryu is baseball's other notable 99. The Dodgers lefthander shut the Mets out Thursday night for 7-2/3 innings, in a game L.A. won 2-0. That lowered his already microscopic ERA to 1.48 -- while the Dodgers raised their record to a best-in-the-league 36-18. Ryu is a throwback. He never touches 100 on the radar gun, instead keeping hitters off-stride with four effective pitches. After the game, his manager Dave Roberts praised his "ability to change speeds, work to all zones, get soft contact... works quick, keeps the defense involved." Sounds a bit like a lefthanded disciple of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. ( My image of Ryu is from a 2013 game against the Mets at Citi Field .)

DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit jump started the Yankees offense on Wednesday. Their back-to-back homers leading off the bottom of the 1st paid off in an immediate 2-0 lead. That gave the healthy-again James Paxton a nice cushion to work with in what ended as an easy 7-0 shutout of the Padres. There were plenty of standouts in this game: Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela -- no sign yet of his jersey when I was Tuesday night's game -- each homered; Urshela turned in another dazzling play at 3rd base; Paxton worked four no-hit innings and the deep bullpen kept the door closed to a San Diego club whose bats came alive the night before. Let's circle back to LeMahieu and Voit, who connected off NL Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Paddock. In the 100 years since Babe Ruth made the home run the focus of hitting attacks, this was just the 10th time in club history the Yankees began a game that way, Honestly, I thought they'd done it more often; then again, bunching putting power guy...

  Manny Machado is getting booed this week as the Padres visit the Yankees -- which makes absolutely no sense. He's isn't a Yankee because he didn't want New York. As the media made it abundantly clear through the winter of baseball's discontent, the Yankees simply chose not to bid on him. Batting third and playing shortstop for the Padres -- in part because San Diego's prized rookie Fernando Tatis is out injured -- Machado singled in the first run in Tuesday night's 5-4 win over the Yankees. Moments later, he came around to score on Eric Hosmer's game-breaking three-run homer. While fans -- especially those who pay top dollar to see games in the Bronx -- have every right to boo, Manny shouldn't be their target. This isn't Baltimore, where the home grown Machado wasn't able to work out a contract extension, or Los Angeles, where he led the Dodgers to a pennant, but wasn't expected to re-sign before hitting the market. Brian Cashman ...

Mariano Rivera earned his 300th career save in the Yankees' 7-5 win over the Devil Rays in Tampa Bay (the victory went to Javier Vazquez). The Yankees closer becomes the 17th pitcher to reach that plateau. As impressive as that was, Rivera wasn't even halfway to his eventual career total of 652. What else makes May 28th a noteworthy day on the baseball calendar? In 1951, Willie Mays, after going hitless in his first 12 major league at bats, homers off fellow future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn for his first career hit. There would 3282 more over the next 22 years en route to Cooperstown. In 1956, Dale Long homers off Carl Erskine of the Dodgers. The Pirates first baseman becomes the first player to hit a home run in eight straight games. In 1989, Mike Schmidt plays his final major league game at Candlestick Park. In his last plate appearance, he works a walk off Mike LaCoss of the Giants. In 1996, Cal Ripken hits three home runs against the Mariners in the Kingdome. ...

I was a little disappointed when I realized that  Miguel Cabrera got the day off in Sunday's Tigers/Mets series finale. It's OK to be selfish once in a while: I looked forward to seeing the healthy-again lifetime .316 hitter. But with no DH in a National League park, the likely future Hall of Famer (now 270 hits shy of 3000) spent most of the afternoon on the bench while Brandon Dixon played 1st base. The youngest member of the Marlins 2003 World Championship squad is also the most recent player to win the Triple Crown -- he pulled off that feat in 2012. Now, he's the one big (and expensive) veteran left on a Detroit club in the early stages of a rebuild. So as he spends time on the pine, one is tempted to play mind-reader: is he wondering where all his friends went? Or why the Tigers couldn't sustain their earlier-this-decade success? And probably accepting the reality that his still-massive contract (paying over $25 million annually through 2023) makes him vi...

I saw Mike Yastrzemski trying to make the Orioles when he got into the late innings of a 2018 Grapefruit League game against the Phillies. That famous last name made him easy to notice -- and a month or so later, when I mentioned him while chatting with Orioles TV voice Gary Thorne, his comment was, "Nice kid. Probably never going to make the majors." This year, the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski moved on to the Giants organization. Batting .316 after a hot start at Triple A Sacramento, he received the call all minor leaguers dream of. Saturday, he made his big league debut in the Giants/ Diamondbacks game. Though he didn't generate any headlines in that first game, at age 28, he is leaving his dream. The news was even nicer Sunday in his second game, when the Massachusetts native has three hits and scored a run. Mike Yastrzemski is no longer just the grandson of a baseball legend. He is a major leaguer. Today and forever. An accomplishment he shares wi...

From section 214A, row 18 at Yankee Stadium on May 18th, 2019. THIS is what you wait all winter and early spring for.

So far in 2019, the Twins have apparently rebranded themselves as the Minnesota Mashers. Friday night,  Miguel Sano crushed a 3rd-inning home run against the White Sox. That blast made the Twins just the second team ever to hit 100 home runs in the first 50 games of a season. That puts alongside the 1999 Mariners, which sported a pair of Hall of Famers in their lineup: Ken Griffey Junior and Edgar Martinez, plus Alex Rodriguez and Jay Buhner. Are you as surprised as I am that none of the legendary Yankee teams -- Ruth and Gehrig in the late 1920s and '30s, Mantle and Maris in the '60s, or Judge and Stanton a year ago on the club then went on to set the all time record with 267 homers -- are on that list? ( My image of Sano is from a Twins/Red Sox exhibition game in March 2018 .)

It's been a long journey for Carlos Gomez to return to the place his major league career began. After 58 games as a 2007 Mets rookie (when the team still played in Shea Stadium), he was part of the package that brought ace Johan Santana to Flushing. From Minnesota to Milwaukee, Houston, Texas and Tampa Bay, he's kept movers busy during a productive 12 years in the majors. Last winter, he found himself unwanted after batting just .208 with the Rays. The Mets offered him the outside chance on a minor league free agent deal, which left him in Syracuse as the season began. But this week, as the Mets began to imitate the cross-town rival Yankees, first with a wave of injuries, Gomez (seen here Monday night) was summoned. And Thursday, he made his first statement: batting in the 8th inning with his team down 4-3, he smacked a three-run homer off Washington's Wander Suero to put his team ahead. One more way that the Mets are copying the Yankees -- their injury-riddled team h...

Clint Frazier flashed his "legendary bat speed" on Tuesday night, and connected for a pair of long distance homers in the Yankees' 11-4 Camden Yards victory over the Orioles. The toolsy outfielder, who we hear dislikes the nickname Red Thunder, crushed a David Hess pitch in the 3rd inning and did it again off the Oriole righty two innings later. Two home runs, five RBIs. And these weren't inside-the-foul pole cheapies -- both cleared the center field fence. The big game came at a good time for Frazier, who has struggled, hitting well under .200 in the two weeks since returning from a sprained ankle. With Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton still sidelined, Frazier continues his audition to show he deserves to be part of the club's future core.

May 22nd. 2009  -- my first game at the "new" Yankee Stadium. There was a poignancy as I arrived on the 4 train: the old Stadium, closed and decommissioned, stood opposite the train and across 161 Street from the ballpark that replaced it. That game proved to be a preview of that fall's World Series, with the Yankees hosting the defending Champion Phillies. Above, AJ Burnett pitches to Ryan Howard... Below, zoom in on a "before the beard" Jason Werth. Finally, Johnny Damon of the Yankees faces Philadelphia starter Brett Myers. That's Mark Teixeira in the on-deck "circle," which in the new Stadium isn't carved into the field as per tradition. While the Phils went onto a 7-3 victory, the clubs would face off again that fall, with the Yankees winning the World Series in six games.

After being swept in Miami by the lowly Marlins, a disastrous weekend capped by back to back shutouts, the Mets needed a boost, a turnaround, a change in the collective mindset. Yet Monday started off on the wrong foot with GM Brodie Van Wagonen announcing that Yoenis Cespedes had broken his ankle in a still mysterious incident at his Florida ranch. Time to get onto the field -- clear the minds, start fresh, take the first step to salvaging this still-young season. It took two batters to accomplish that. Batting second, Amed Rosario launched a Patrick Corbin pitch past the wall in center field. One swing snapped a 19-inning scoreless streak. JD Davis offered a hand on Rosario's trot back to the dugout. But the fun wasn't done. Swept in Miami, and being blanked in 19 straight innings, Pete Alonso was ready to flex more Met Muscle. The second home run of the 1st inning -- an instant 2-0 lead en route to a 5-3 lead over the even more disappointing Nationals. There...

Walk around Yankee Stadium and you'll find plenty of replica Yankee uniform tops on sale reflecting today's biggest names in Bronx baseball: Judge - 99; Torres - 25; Tanaka - 19; Chapman 54. And of course, the legends from 1 through 10 and beyond. Saturday, on my way out of the Stadium, I took a quick look at a stand selling caps and shirts -- nothing yet for the Yankees newest and least expected star, Gio Urshela . Have you seen any 29 Urshela shirts -- either at the Stadium or one of the nearby River Avenue shops brimming with Yankee "merch?" Or, maybe 35 games into his Yankee career, we're putting the cart before the horse.

Saturday was a perfect afternoon for baseball in the Bronx. Savor that sunshine with perfect temperatures in the mid 70s. But unlike Friday night, where the Yankees rallied for a dramatic 9th inning victory, the Rays' Austin Meadows was the difference maker. The second year outfielder -- a key component of last summer's trade that sent Chris Archer to Pittsburgh -- homered off Luis Cessa leading off the 11th inning to push Tampa Bay past the Yankees 2-1. The victory moved the Rays back atop the AL East, with the showdown this afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

When a soda or beer just isn't enough, the Orioles offer these frozen adult beverages to quench thirsts. Gotta love the "glasses," which are a molded plastic hollowed-out bat with a half-baseball base.

Hunter Pence looked like he'd reached the end of the road as a 2018 Giant. After 12 big league seasons, his numbers had seriously declined -- his days of routinely producing 20 homers and 75 RBIs with one of baseball's most awkward-looking swings seemed to be in the rear view mirror. Yet so far this season, he's recaptured that vintage form. One of many major leaguers who've upped their game after working with a private hitting instructor, he's seeing the results since signing with Texas. Yesterday's homer in the Rangers 16-1 demolition of the Royals was his 8th of the season; it was a screaming liner that landed in the fountain area beyond center field at Kauffman Stadium. Tack on 27 RBI and a .350 on base percentage, and he's again become a middle of the lineup force. ( My image of Pence is from the August 21st, 2018 Giants/Mets game at Citi Field .)

Nothing too monumental, but on Wednesday, Aroldis Chapman did save both ends of the Yankees doubleheader sweep of the Orioles. With New York finally seeing warm, dry weather, Chapman hit 100 mph on the radar gun, closing out the nightcap reaching 101 on the radar gun. With doubleheaders these days occurring as the result of rainouts, pitchers don't get too many opportunities to save both ends, at least when compared with their counterparts in the '60s and '70s. And to be technical, Chapman did tie the record for most saves in a day. Here's a good look at his form, from the Yanks' May 9th game with the Mariners.

Don't you love that in a sport celebrating its 150th anniversary, there can still be something new? A feat never before accomplished? That's what we had Tuesday night in Chris Sale 's dominating performance. Clearly past his early season struggles, the Red Sox ace became the first pitcher ever to strike out 17 or more batters in a start lasting seven innings or less. As is often said, there are two sides to a coin: Sale needed 108 pitches to work through his seven innings. And it doesn't take a math whiz to tell you that averaging 15 pitches an inning is not going to result in a complete game in present-day baseball. Here's the problem for Joey Cora and Boston: their bullpen couldn't hold the 3 - 2 lead left them by Sale. The Rockies tied the game in the 8th against Brandon Workman and grabbed the lead for keeps on Mark Reynolds' 11th inning single off Ryan Brasier. None of that takes away from Sale's dazzling night. It simply underscored the a...

Bryce Harper went 0 for 4 Monday night, yet made the single most important play as the Phillies beat the Brewers . Milwaukee had the bases loaded with two out and the score tied in the top of the 7th. Mike Moustakas, who'd already hit an upper deck homer, hit a screaming line drive to right. Harper raced, dove and caught the ball at full extension. A game saving catch. Plain and simple. In bottom of that inning, the Phils broke the tie -- Jean Segura struck out but reached base on a wild pitch, then stole second. JT Realmuto drove him home for the go-ahead score. A Cesar Hernandez walk and Odubel Herrera's double provided insurance for what turned into a 7 - 4 final. But, please, circle back to Harper. Even though the "defensive metrics" don't rate him highly, the Phillies top winter acquisition passed the eye test as the Phils reached the 1/4 mark of the season in first place at 24 & 16. That puts them on track for 96 victories and a .600 winning per...

Alex Bregman put up big numbers on Sunday. The Astos 3rd baseman went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers and five RBI in a 15-5 pounding of the cross-state rival Rangers. The fun began with a two-run homer in the 2nd inning. Three innings later, he cleared the fences to plate three runs. Still just 25, Bregman appears on the way to his best season yet. He's got a dozen homers and 31 RBI in Houston's first 41 games. Playing alongside Jose Altuve, George Springer, Josh Reddick and the resurgent Michael Brantley, it's probably not a shock to know that at 26-11, the Astros have the best record in the American League. ( My image of Bregman is from the March 20th Astros/Yankees exhibition game at West Palm Beach .)

Since 2006, major league players have swung pink bats, worn pink ribbon decals and sported pink wristbands on Mother’s Day to raise awareness and, through charity auctions, funds to fight breast cancer. From 2013, here's then-Mets 1st baseman Ike Davis.

...to reach 2000 RBIs. Albert Pujols made history Thursday when he homered off the Tigers' Ryan Carpenter at Comerica Park, to join Hank Aaron and Alex Rodriguez in that exclusive circle. Babe Ruth  and Cap Anson really belong there, too -- but more about that later*. You need to be productive and durable to drive in 2000 runs. In his 19th season, Pujols has AVERAGED more than 100 RBIs per year. Not just over a half dozen or even 10 years, but 19. He was also lucky to reach the majors at age 21. Players with longer apprenticeships. in the minor leagues and/or college, start at a disadvantage. Back to Pujols, look at his first ten seasons with the Cardinals -- where he drove in at least 100 runs and hit over .310 every year. That's arguably the best first decade for any player ever. Right there with Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig, whom Pujols will one day join in Cooperstown. And though his numbers have come down with age, Pujols remains a power threat in an Angel lineup ...

The coach hasn't turned back into a pumpkin, the driver is not back to being a mouse, and the glass spikes (there are no slippers in baseball!) haven't reverted to a pair of torn up Keds. But Gio Urshela continues to star in the reboot of Cinderella for the 2019 Yankees. Thursday night, with two on and two out in the bottom of the 8th -- a couple innings after coming in for defense in place of Miguel Andujar -- and Yanks up just 1-0, Urshela smacked (on this swing) a two-RBI single that extended the lead to 3-zip. It turned out to be margin of victory, after Aroldis Chapman gave up a top of the 9th homer to Seattle's Domingo Santana. Go ahead, look at the back of his "baseball card." There is nothing in Urshela's past to hint that he'd suddenly turn into Scott Brosius. But he has. A swing adjustment has turned him from a good glove man into a Yankee mainstay. That good glove has become great -- hardly a game goes by without one stunningly athle...

Busch Stadium as seen from above downtown St. Louis is not your typical baseball image -- or mine. Here's the backstory. I was offered a chance to ride in the Shamu Airship (Anheuser Busch then owned the Sea World theme parks) during the VP Fair, the city's annual 4th of July celebration along the St. Louis waterfront. KMOX/KLOU colleague Kathe Hartley spent about an hour floating above the area, snapping plenty of photos. And I could not resist this bird's eye view of the ballpark. After all, you never know when you'll get offered a ride in a blimp. It's been 28 years, and so far, the chance hasn't come my way again.

No Judge, No Stanton, No Gregorious, No Problem! The Yankee Replacements keep rolling. Down two heading to the bottom of the 9th with rain falling and just a handful of fans remaining, the Yankees mounted their most impressive comeback of the season. And it was the product of three recent arrivals. With Gleyber Torres on 1st base, Gio Urshela (top), who has gone from spring training invitee to Bronx folk hero, crushed an Anthony Swarzak pitch, planting it in Monument Park to tie the game. Then came Cameron Maybin (below), who singled and later moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch. DJ LeMahieu (bottom) capped the comeback with a single driving in Maybin -- who made a beautiful slide to evade the tag at home plate. Three in the bottom of the 9th and 5-4 walk off win over Seattle for the Yankee Replacements, who continue to write one of the most unlikely stories of 2019 around baseball.

...you share it with Keon Broxton . His combination of speed, power and defensive skills were expected to make him a star. Instead, plagued by high strikeout totals, a low batting average and inconsistent play, he's bounced through several organizations. He's struggled so far in 2019 as a Met. James Loney (right) spent 11 seasons in the majors, the last of them with the 2016 Mets. The rare 1st baseman without typical home run power, he had his career season in 2007, when he batted .331 with 15 homers. But he never again reached .300 or topped a baker's dozen in home runs. Some other notable names on today's birthday list: Steve Whittaker , a lefty hitting outfielder for the Yankees of the mid- and late 1960s. Let's just say he didn't have the career fellow farm system products Roy White or Bobby Murcer had. Claude Raymond , the French-Canadian reliever who spent a dozen seasons in the majors, the last three with the Expos in his native Quebec provin...

Not a lot of people took notice when Mike Tauchman came to the Yankees in an-end-of-spring-training deal. On a club brimming with stars such as Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the steady Aaron Hicks, veteran Brett Gardner and highly touted prospect Clint Frazier, there didn't seem a path for former Rockie to see playing time in the Bronx. Six weeks make quite a difference -- the only one of those six players who saw action for the Yankees on Sunday was Tauchman, His two-run 4th inning homer gave the Yankees some breathing room in their 4-1 win over the Twins. Playing on a rainy, chilly Sunday,  neither Tauchman nor starting pitcher Domingo German -- who won his 6th game and lowered his ERA to 2.35 -- were frustrated by the weather. And the Yankees, whose recent hot streak against weaker opponents came despite over a dozen players being on the injured list, got a big win powered by a player who began the year hoping to make it to Denver -- but has taken advantage of his op...

Thursday was a notable night for Stephen Strasburg . The Nationals "other" ace caught the Cardinals' Dakota Hudson looking in the 5th inning for career strikeout number 1500 in 1,272 ¹/₃ innings. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's quicker than old mark held by Chris Sale, who, two years ago, reached 1,500 after 1,290 innings. Could he be the next pitcher to reach 3000? Looking at the back of Strasburg's card, he got to 1500 in 213 starts, roughly seven years worth of work. If he stays healthy, that puts him on target for #3000 in the middle of the 2026 season, when Stephen will be almost 38. ( My image of Strasburg is from a Mets/Nats game in New York on September 11th, 2014 .)

Gary was scary Friday night -- if you pitched for the Twins. The Yankees slugging catcher smacked a pair of home runs, giving him 10 on the season. An even more impressive total when you factor in the 11 April games he missed with a calf injury. With Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton among the more than dozen Yankees still on the I.L., Sanchez's hot bat is more than welcomed. Soon, he'll be welcoming back more of his talented teammates. 3rd baseman Miguel Andujar is expected this weekend; Aaron Hicks could be less than a week away. And Gary Sanchez, after that season to forget in 2018, is returning to his place as one of baseball's most feared power hitters. ( My image of Sanchez is from the March 20th Yankees/Astros exhibition in West Palm Beach. )

Noah Syndergaard pulled off one of the rarest feats in all of baseball. Thursday, in the 31st game of the Mets 58th season, he became the club's first pitcher ever to throw a complete game shutout and homer for the only run of the game. The Mets blanked the Reds, 1-0 with Syndergaard coming as close as you can to being a one man band (or wrecking crew). Two-way domination -- and no wiggle room. Something such hallowed names as Seaver, Gooden and Koosman had never done. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it's the first time this took place anywhere in 36 years. Bob Welch performed similar magic for the Dodgers on June 17th, 1983. Add Syndergaard to the list and it's still just the seventh such effort in baseball's 150 year history. Compare that to 23 perfect games. Noah Syndergaard has just worked his way into the rarest of circles. ( My image of Thor is from the Mets/Braves game on May 1st, 2018 .)

As 2018 wound down, it appeared that Maikel Franco 's time with the Phillies might be drawing to a close. There were doubts about his defense, his attitude, his likelihood of developing into a top-notch player. When 2019 began, Franco was a still a Phillie, but surrounded by a radically different bunch of teammates: Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen and Jean Segura had been acquired -- solid veterans with strong track records. Apparently, being around these solid baseball citizens has rubbed off on Franco. His fielding has improved; his power numbers are up -- and he's rediscovered the art of clutch hitting There was more proof of that Wednesday night, when his bases-clearing double turned a 2-1 deficit into 4-2 Phlllies lead, and shook off the rust off what's become a sluggish offense. The first place Phillies went on to a 7-3 victory over the Tigers -- combine that with the Mets 1-0 loss to the Reds and the Phils NL East now stands at 2 games.

Those young Mets continue to make a difference. Not the off-season prizes Robbie Cano or Wilson Ramos, Tuesday night at Citi Field, aggressive and timely play from Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso were vital to their 4-3 win over the Reds. McNeil's bunt single in the bottom of the 3rd (top), capped by a head-first slide (right) to beat Joey Votto's throw to pitcher Luis Castillo plated the first run of the night. McNeil's fourth hit of the night advanced J.D. Davis to 3rd, where Alonso (below) drove him home on a sacrifice fly to the right field corner. Check the standings this morning: the Phillies, Mets and Braves are packed within two games of each other in the NL East. And the Nationals are just 3-1/2 back of the division-leading Phils. This is shaping up as baseball's best divisional race of 2019.