Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

May 28th, 2004: Mariano Rivera earns his 300th career save as the Yankees beat the Devil Rays 7-5 at Tropicana Field. The future Hall of Famer is the 17th pitcher to reach that milestone. May 28th, 1996: Cal Ripken belts three home runs and drives in as the Orioles outscore the Mariners 12-8 at the Kingdome. May 28th, 1989: Mike Schmidt commits an error on a ground ball which leads to a rally capped by Will Clark's grand slam. He walks against the Giants Mike LaCoss in his final at-bat, and, frustrated by his declining play, announces his retirement from baseball the following day.   May 28th, 1979: George Brett hits for the cycle and smacks the game winner in the Royals victory over the Orioles. The future Hall of Famer's second home run of the game comes in the bottom of the 16th and gives KC a 5-4 walk-off win. May 28th, 1969: Jerry Koosman sets a Mets franchise record with 15 strikeouts, but leaves with a no decision.  Bud Harrelson drives in Cleon Jones with an 11th-...

Or Marcus Welby? Hawkeye Pierce? B.J. Hunnicut? To paraphrase the renowned baseball sage Casey Stengel: "Can't anyone here stay healthy?" Baseball's been inundated by a springtime wave of injuries. We're not even at Memorial Day, nor have any of the teams played 60 games, but key players on almost every team are sidelined -- many for a lot more than the 10-day minimum of the I-L. Say hello, or more accurately, goodbye, to Luke Voit . The 2020 home run champion got a late start to his season after surgery for a torn meniscus. Finally returning in mid-May, he lasted all of a dozen games before going back on the shelf with a grade-two oblique injury. While the club isn't making an official estimate, Aaron Judge missed 54 games two years ago after a similar injury. Voit joins Corey Kluber, who left Tuesday's start after just three innings with a shoulder surgery that'll idle him through the end of July; Aaron Hicks, likely gone for the year after surgery f...

This date (May 26th) isn't brimming with birthdays of current ballplayers, let alone big stars or those I've seen in person. I did find one of Sam Haggerty  (27 today), during his brief 11-game run with the Mets in September 2019. Mostly used as a pinch runner, Haggerty went to the Mariners on waivers the following winter. After appearing in 13 games a year ago, he'd played more frequently this season, before landing on the Injured List earlier this week with a wrist injury -- one more name tacked to a list growing alarmingly across the game. While no Hall of Famers were born on this date, we do have a member of the Hall of Very Good: Darrell Evans , the slugging 3rd and 1st baseman who crushed 414 homers over his 21 season career with the Braves, Giants and Tigers.  Let's circle back to my visit to Dunedin, where I captured these images of fans being socially distanced by 2020's cardboard cutouts.  While the idea had merit -- especially when money from sales went t...

When I realized that the same week the Yankees and Mets played back-to-back series against the Rays in St Pete, the Blue Jays were still based in Dunedin, I knew I had to be there. The chance to see a regular season game in a cozy spring training park was irresistible. Plus, the schedule worked in my favor, with Rays hosting the Mets in the early afternoon and the Blue Jays playing the Mets at night. You have to love touches you see only in spring training and minor league games, such as the handwritten lineups posted inside the park.  No matter where you see them, the Blue Jays are a fun team to watch. Brimming with young offensive stars, the Toronto lineup features Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez, Cavan Biggio, and the best of the bunch, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr .  Still just 22, the namesake son of the Hall of Famer didn't disappoint, crushing a Brandon Kintzler pitch for a home run. Of course, he's doing that with increasing regularity.  10 days ago, that swing produced h...

Baby Boomers need not worry -- it's not the '70s and these players appear in full uniform. But the title of this post has  to incorporate the word "streak." After all they represent the hottest teams in MLB -- the Rays head into the new week on a 10-game winning streak; the Padres have won 9 in a row. Manuel Margot (above) walked with the bases loaded in top of the 9th to force in the go-ahead run. It was one of three consecutive bases-loaded walks as the Rays erased a two-run deficit with a four-run rally and a 6-4 victory. Fernando Tatis, Jr (below) homered twice, including a grand slam, as the Padres wrapped up a perfect 9 - 0 homestand, where they've outscored their opponents 66-18. Two scorching hot teams that, as we reach the 1/4 mark of the season, are living up to expectations.

May 21st, 2018: 19-year-old Juan Soto, making his first start for the Nationals, crushes a pitch from Robbie Erlin of the Padres for a three-run home run -- his first in the major leagues. He's the first teenager to homer in the majors since teammate Bryce Harper during his rookie year, 2012. Soto goes 2-for-4 in a 10-2 Washington victory.   May 21st, 2013: Mike Trout of the Angels hits for the cycle, driving in 5 runs in a 12-0 rout of the Mariners. May 21st, 2010: The Blue Jays blast six home runs against the Diamondbacks (three by Edwin Encarnacion). But they're all solo shots -- and Toronto winds up losing 8-6.   May 21, 2009: Tony Gwynn, Jr become a Padre, with San Diego sending Jody Gerut to the Brewers. The son of the Padres legend goes onto have his most productive season in San Diego, hitting .27o the rest of the way. May 21st, 2004: Alex Rodriguez, greeted by a chorus of boos in his first game back in Texas since being traded to the Yankees, belts a tw...

Corey Kluber authored baseball's big story on Wednesday night, when he threw the sixth nine-inning no hitter of the season. Tack on the unofficial seven inning gem by Madison Bumgarner, we're talking seven in just seven weeks. That's already more than took place during 1968, which is less than fondly remembered as the Year of the Pitcher. Facing the Rangers -- for whom he pitched just one inning a year ago, before suffering a broken arm -- the longtime Indian was in complete control; only a 3rd inning walk to Charlie Culberson separated him from perfection. Kluber struck out nine; 71 of his 101 pitches were strikes. It was the first Yankee no hitter this century and the 12th in their history. Hard to believe, but it's been 22 years since the last one (David Cone's 1999 perfect game). While there's no "commemorative tree" at Yankee Stadium, Kluber did, in a sense, carve his name into team history. Alongside Cone and Wells, Gooden, Righetti and Larsen. ...

There were a lot of positive signs in the Yankees 7-4 Tuesday night win in Texas. DJ LeMahieu and Gary Sanchez had clutch hits; Rougned Odor returned from the injured list and contributed with both his bat and his glove; Mike Ford and Brett Gardner showed signs of life; Aaron Judge and Gio Urshela continued their consistent performance. And the bullpen bailed out Jamison Taillon, who couldn't make it out of the 5th inning. Maybe the most encouraging  was Miguel Andujar smacking a couple of hits. With Clint Frazier needing two hot weeks to approach the Mendoza line and Aaron Hicks on the shelf, the Yankees need someone to fill an outfield spot. And the 2018 runner up for the Rookie of the Year might -- I said "might" -- be their best hope. Check out his numbers. Listen to the sound when his bat makes contact. That's a sweeter, richer tone, indicative of natural power. Andujar's got that. While he'll never be an acrobat in left field, he appears more suited to ...

Shohei Ohtani grabbed a headline Monday with a three-run homer that helped lead the Angels to a 7-4 win over the Indians. Crushing a ball that was almost at eye-level, it was his major league-leading 13th of season; according to MLB.com, it traveled 431 feet. It continues the renaissance of this remarkable two-way talent, who appears healthy again after arm problems kept him from showing his remarkable combination of skills. Giancarlo Stanton , on the other hand, landed on the Injured List. A pulled quad will sideline the stunningly fragile Yankee for a while, ending what had been a hot start to his 2021 -- but not as hot as Ohtani's. After playing in just 41 of 222 games in 2019 and '20, it appeared that an off-season of a new fitness routine incorporating yoga might keep him in the lineup most of the time. But Monday's announcement -- piled on top of the absence of Aaron Hicks, Gleyber Torres and Rougned Odor -- will only fuel more unhappiness from Yankee fans who wonder...

You couldn't be any happier than Ji-Man Choi to be back in the lineup on Sunday. After missing the first seven weeks of the season with a knee injury, the Rays 1st baseman was beaming while walking to the batters box for his first at-bat in Sunday's game with the Mets. Moments later, he delivered the first of three hits on the afternoon, as the Rays completed a Tropicana Field weekend sweep of New York, 7-1. Choi, who made history last fall as the first Korean-born position player to appear in a World Series, adds power and enthusiasm to a Rays club already in thick of the AL East division race.  

As Brett Phillips watches his game-winning hit drop in safely in the bottom of the 9th, contrast his expression with those watching just behind him in the Mets dugout. The post-game celebration began in center field as Phillips' teammates surrounded him. The victory line then headed back toward the dugout.... ...where Phillips was rewarded with the postgame interview on Rays TV.  

May 14th, 2012: Bryce Harper, age 19 years and 211 days, becomes the youngest player in franchise history to hit a home run, breaking the mark established by 20 year old Gary Carter while the team was in Montreal. (Harmon Killebrew is still the youngest to homer for a Washington team, clearing the fences for the Senators in 1955 at 19 years and 88 days.) May 14th, 1996: Dwight Gooden no-hits the Mariners! The onetime Mets ace, who'd struggled since joining the Yankees that spring, reaches back for a taste of his early career greatness. He strikes out five in a 2-0 Yankee Stadium victory. May 14th, 1977: Don Gullett's finest game as a Yankee -- he outpitches Nolan Ryan, allowing just four hits in a 4-1 win over the Angels in Anaheim. May 14th, 1972: Willie Mays, wearing a New York uniform for the first time since 1957, hits the game winning home run as the Mets beat his former Giants teammates 5-4 at Shea Stadium. The cash-strapped Giants had traded the Say Hey Kid to the Mets t...

With the Rays hosting the Yankees and Mets in back-to-back series -- and the Blue Jays about to welcome the Phillies to their temporary home in Dunedin -- there couldn't be a better time to make my first regular season visit to the Tampa area. While you're probably familiar with the inside look of the Trop, what you see on your way in is a close cousin of the 1970s concrete bowl school architecture.  Add to that, a chance to watch Gerrit Cole face the club that beat him back in April. Everything lined up perfectly. Cole was in top form, striking out 12 in eight innings -- while waiting for a shred of support from the Yankees hot-and-cold offense. That support finally arrived in the top of the 7th, when Aaron Judge, who had three hits on the night, scored on Aaron Hicks' sacrifice fly. Cole and Aroldis Chapman made that skinniest of leads hold up, for a 1 - 0 victory. Symbolizing what an ace does, Cole has stuck out 78 batters this season as opposed to three walks.  

...you share it with one of the most beloved players ever and the greatest catcher in Yankee history. Yogi Berra  was a three-time American League MVP. Despite his 358 career home runs, he was one of the game's toughest to strike out, whiffing just 415 times in 2120 games! He holds several records, two of which might be among the hardest in all of Baseball to break: played in 75 World Series games with 71 hits (and his 39 Fall Classic RBIs are the second highest ever). He's also the most-recent player to hit to home runs in game 7 of a World Series (1956 when the Yankees closed out the Brooklyn Dodgers). Want more? Berra hit the first pinch homer in World Series history (game 3 in 1947 vs. the Dodgers). He's one of a handful of managers to lead teams in both leagues to pennants ('64  Yankees and  '73 Mets, thought both lost their series in seven games). Not only was the St. Louis native and adopted son of New Jersey one the game's best players, he was one of its...

Tyler Naquin showed a lot of promise when he was first promoted to the Indians in 2016. 14 homers, a .372 on-base percentage and good defense in center field. Numbers impressive enough to earn a third place finish for American League Rookie of the Year. But he stalled on the way to stardom, with injuries and inconsistency leading to being non-tendered after the 2020 season. After signing with the cross-state rival Reds, Naquin seems to have rediscovered his 2016 form. Monday night was a fine example, as he homered and added an RBI single -- all he drove in four of Cincinnati's 14 runs as they pummeled the Pirates.  Eight homers in 28 games is a promising sign as the Reds fight to stay in the NL Central race and Naquin demonstrates that he belongs in the show. ( My image of Naquin is from the Indians/Yankees game on July 7th, 2016 at Progressive Field .) Something else struck me when I looked back to that 2016 series at Progressive Field. Both clubs have almost completely turned ov...

The Yankees ended their weekend with back-to-back Walk-off victories over the Nationals -- their first two such wins of the season! Gleyber Torres on Saturday and Giancarlo Stanton capped the decisive rallies -- leading to joyous on-field scrums. The offense still runs like a car on its last legs, sometimes smooth, occasionally peppy, too often stalling. But the improved starting pitching by Corey Kluber and Domingo German kept them in the game and gave them the chance for the last at-bat heroics. I wasn't at the Stadium this weekend -- but captured a similar moment in August 2018, when Neil Walker homered in the bottom of the 9th to beat the White Sox.

May 7th, 2016: 42 year-old Bartolo Colon becomes the oldest player ever to hit his first major league home run. The chubby right-hander connects off James Shields at Petco Park in a game the Mets go on to win 6-3 . May 7th, 2013: Matt Harvey retires the first 20 batters he faces, and throws nine innings of one-hit shutout ball, striking out 12 -- but leaves with a no-decision. The Mets don't score until the 10th, when Mike Baxter singles in Ike Davis, so reliever Bobby Parnell earns the "W" in a 1-0 victory over the White Sox at Citi Field.  May 7th, 2010: 47-year-old Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest pitcher in history to pitch a complete-game shutout, holding the Braves to two hits in a 7-0 Phillies win . Jayson Werth's three-run 3rd inning homer opened the scoring. Raul Ibanez and Wilson Valdez each drive in a pair in the Phils four-run 5th. May 7th, 2006: The Yankees defeat the Rangers 8-5 at Arlington -- the 1000th win for Joe Torre as the club's manager. He joi...