Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

From May 15th: Top of the 1st inning as the Blue Jays host the Phillies at their spring training home in Dunedin. Almost sunset under a perfect Florida blue sky.  Other than the Field of Dreams event, when else would I ever get the chance again to catch a big league game in a small, intimate setting? An eight-thousand-seat park so much closer to baseball's 19th century roots.

Inside a ballpark not known for things clever, this statue atop a food stand was a bright spot. Let's hope that the image below, taken in May as pandemic restrictions eased, is not the sign of things to come in the new year.  

 

  When a spring training trip didn't seem practical last March, a May visit to the Tampa Bay area proved to be a fine substitute. Along with seeing back-to-back series as the Yankees, then the Mets, visited the Rays, plus a quick visits to Al Lang Stadium and a Blue Jays-Phillies game in Dunedin, I got my first chance to see a game inside Tropicana Field. My friend and frequent baseball travel partner Dennis said it best, "Baseball in a warehouse." The Metrodome/Kingdome-generation aesthetics just don't grab you. Dark -- even with better lighting than years ago -- and dreary with too much gray instead of tropical colors, the Rays play there. It really doesn't feel like a "home,"  just a place. This holiday week, I'll take a long look at the venue the Rays seem all too eager to leave once their lease runs out in 2027.

Ivan Nova will spend 2022 pitching in Korea. Best known for his days with the Yankees, the soon-to-be 35 year old enjoyed a brief revival with the Pirates, but hasn't worked in the majors since a brief four-game run with the 2020 Pirates. A last 2021 look at Arm and Hammer Park in Trenton. The longtime home of the Yankees Double-A affiliate was one of the cities abandoned by MLB when they restructured the minor leagues.  The Blue Jays inability to return to Toronto at the start of the season gave New Jersey's capital city one last chance to audition for a future club when they temporarily hosted the Blue Jays Triple A team from Buffalo -- which proudly wore the blue uniforms associated with the old Trenton Thunder.   This Week's Wayback: From June 26th, 2005: moments before a Subway Series game at the original Yankee Stadium. Take note of the more accessible location Monument Park had just beyond the left field fence.

Baseball's greatest leadoff hitter ever is a Christmas Day baby.  Rickey Henderson , turning 63 on Saturday, burst into stardom with the A's, spent 4-1/2 productive seasons with the Yankees, and made several other stops during his 25 big league seasons -- a career that spanned four decades over two centuries. The game's all time stolen base leader led his league in steals 12 times -- including seven years in a row. He scored more runs than anyone ever, and by walking 2190 times, maintained a career on-base percentage over .400. His speed and power earned him another distinctive mark -- his 81 leadoff homers are the most ever. Following the post-World War II example of Jackie Robinson, and then Maury Wills and Lou Brock, Rickey -- even though just 5 feet 10 -- was an intimidating force to any and all pitchers. While today's advanced analytics downplay the importance of speed -- though it does respect his knack for home runs and walks -- tell me you wouldn't want to w...

Although Bryce Harper won National League MVP honors, most Phillies fans would tell you that Zack Wheeler had an equally valuable season. With production that clearly established him as Philadelphia's ace, the righthander finished second in the NL's Cy Young voting, leading the league with 237 strikeouts, and in an era when starters usually max out in six or seven innings, his three complete games and two shutouts were NL-bests. If GM Dave Dombrowski only had a couple more dependable arms like Wheeler, Phillies phans might believe that the gap separating them from the World Champion Braves could be bridged whenever the 2022 season gets underway. ( Below: From the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park, the final pitch of his one-hit shutout over the Mets last August 8th. )  

Yankee fans finally got the season they'd been waiting for from Aaron Judge . Wire to wire productivity -- and health! After missing more than 140 games the previous three seasons, Judge answered the bell 148 times in 2021 -- with 39 homers (including one on this August swing against the Twins) and 98 RBIs. Plus, he cut way down on his strikeouts (158, compared to 208 in his amazing 2017 rookie year). Turning 30 in April with one season before free agency, will he be the next Yankee to land a massive contract? Did this second huge and healthy season convince Hal Steinbrenner that Judge is a cornerstone player on a club that still has holes in its lineup and pitching staff? Does the sight of fans in #99 tee shirts and replica uniforms underscore his value? Once MLB works out a new CBA, the Yankees negotiations with Judge might be baseball's most intriguing off-field story.  

  Did any player in baseball have a more disappointing season than Francisco Lindor ? The Mets' big off-season prize, he looked great in spring training's final week -- and landed the long-term mega contract he knew he'd never get in Cleveland. But once the games began to count, his numbers began to drop. While the Mets led the division for over 100 days, their newly minted shortstop was hardly a factor. Hitting in the .180s when April ended, and still under the Mendoza Line when Memorial Day arrive, Mister Smile didn't make a lot of friends during his first season in New York. A deadline trade for his pal Javy Baez -- while Lindor was on the Injured List -- didn't salvage the Mets season. Things only got worse when the buddies responded to Flushing fans booing with that now-infamous "thumbs down" signal. While Baez won't be back with 2022 Mets, Lindor will -- and for the nine seasons that follow. Hopefully, with a stronger roster, including Starling M...

  Mets fans got their man. In perfect 2021 fashion, owner Steve Cohen made it official in a Saturday afternoon tweet that Buck Showalter (seen here in 2018) is the club's new manager. He becomes the fifth man to be skipper of both the Yankees and Mets: Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra, Dallas Green and Joe Torre. Of that group, only Berra brought both teams to the post-season. Ender Inciarte joined the growing ranks of veteran players agreeing to minor league contracts. After being DFA'd last summer after six years with the Braves -- and finishing out 2021 with the Reds AAA team, the veteran center has cut a deal with the Yankee organization. Breyvic Valera  might hold the record for the most "cups of coffee" around the majors. After playing for five big league clubs, but appearing in more than 44 games for any of them, the "Four A" infielder is hoping to boost his value overseas. He learned on Friday that he signed with the Orix Buffaloes of the Japanese League. ...

December 17th, 2012: The Mets trade Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays for top prospects Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud. December 17th, 1996: David Wells signs with a three-year, $13.5 million free agent deal with the Yankees. He would win 68 games over his four New York seasons, highlighted by a 1998 perfect game against the Twins. December 17th, 1975: Bill Veeck returns to baseball, as he leads a group of investors purchasing the Chicago White Sox from John Allyn. December 17th, 1964: The Yankees, under new CBS ownership, fire longtime lead broadcaster Mel Allen for reasons never explained, and soon replace him with NBC's Joe Garagiola. Allen returns to the club to call cable TV games a decade later, after George Steinbrenner purchases the club from the network. He closes his career on an even higher note, as the voice of the nationally syndicated highlights show This Week in Baseball. Maybe it's coincidence, maybe not... firing franchise icons Alle...

  ..you share it with  Pete Fairbanks , the Rays fireballing relief pitcher. In his three major league seasons, he's struck out 123 batters over 90 innings. Alcides Escobar  has  spent 12 seasons in the majors, eight as the Royals everyday shortstop. His personal highlight: an inside-the-park home run off Matt Harvey on the first pltch of the 2015 World Series. And among the 55 major leaguers born on this date, the Venezuela native is the only one to have appeared in over 1000 games. Hector Santiago , the New Jersey born lefty who pitched for five teams, most notably the White Sox and Angels. His best season was 2016, when he won 13, split between Chicago and Minnesota. Chris Britton , the heavyset relief pitcher who appeared for the Orioles and Yankees between 2006 and 2008.   Billy Ripken  may be the less accomplished player in his family, but Cal's younger brother has enjoyed more success as a broadcaster, becoming one of MLB Network's top analysts. Stil...

While visiting Gulf Coast Florida last May to see games at the Trop and in Dunedin, I made a sidetrip to St. Petersburg to see whatever became of Al Lang Stadium.  Not being much of a soccer fan, I wasn't even aware that the spring training home for the Mets and Cardinals from the 1960s through the '80s was still in use -- as the home of the MSL Tampa Bay Rowdies. And while the colors have changed to reflect the futbol club's green and yellow, fans who visited St. Pete or saw spring training games on TV won't have a hard time recognizing the place.   The dugouts remain, the grass is still real, and the ghosts of Casey Stengel, Johnny Keane, Tommie Agee, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver can almost be heard. The stripes now fit a pitch instead of a diamond. I didn't quite match the angle down the left field line, but the stands, save for the new seats, remain the same as in March 1985. And a nice grove of palm trees now borders the bay just past the ballpark. Fo...

The Yankees have baseball's biggest collection of retired numbers. 22 men are represented by 21 numbers spanning the 1920s to the 2010s. When choosing a photo for today, I started to wonder if the Yankees have ever identified or saluted fans who can prove they saw all of those legends in person. It's certainly possible that a young fan who saw Babe Ruth in his last Bronx season 1934, caught rookie Derek Jeter in 1996 -- a span of 62 years. That 10-year kid who came to cheer the Babe might have brought one of his grandkids to see the shortstop who fell in love with the pinstripes while visiting his grandparents in New Jersey. Now you add in the loyalty factor... being as excited about the sport as a kid, then keeping that level of interest as you moved into adulthood, careers and retirement. Do you know anyone who was on hand to see all 22 retired numbers? Ever heard their stories? Sporting the game's greatest collection of talent, the Yankees connection between the history ...

Mike Tauchman has signed with the Korean League's Hanwha Eagles for 2022. The career backup posted what now appears to have been an outlier season with the 2019 Yankees. Now he heads to Asia -- whose leagues are not in a lockout -- to try to recapture the form that for a moment made him look like a "find" by Brian Cashman and his analytics staff.   Freddy Galvis is also heading across the Pacific. While in normal times, he might have looked like a good stopgap to fill the Yankees hole at short, the 10-year veteran infielder best known as a Phillie, took the "sure thing." He just inked a two-year deal with Japan's Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Fernando Tatis Junior is a lucky man. Not just because of his boundless talent and personality, but his good fortune in avoiding serious injuries in a motorcycle accident a few days ago in the Dominican Republic. The name Jim Lonborg popped into my mind; who else recalls the skiing accident after his spectacular 1967 seaso...

  December 10th, 2008: CC Sabathia joins the Yankees on a seven-year $161 million free agent contract, the biggest to date for a pitcher. December 10th, 1998: Dennis Eckersley, the first pitcher have both a 20-win and 50-save season, announces his retirement after a 24-year big league career. December 10th, 1984: Gary Carter becomes a Met, in a trade that sends Hubie Brooks and prospects Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans to the Expos. The Amazins also made a pair of deals on this date that went down as clunkers: December 10th, 1982: Mike Scott, who struggled to a 14-27 over four seasons, goes to the Astros for outfielder Danny Heep. After learning how to throw the split-finger fastball from Roger Craig, Scott turns into an ace, leading Houston to the 1986 NL West title and a memorable post-season series against his former club. December 10th, 1971: In what becomes the worst trade in franchise history, the Mets obtain veteran infielder Jim Fregosi from the Angels for a package of f...

...you share it with Juan Samuel . The Dominican native took over for Joe Morgan as the Phillies 2nd baseman in 1984 -- and for several years played a lot like his predecessor. Flashing a lot of power and speed for a 1980s middle infielder, he was held back by leading the NL in strikeous four times and inconsistency as a fielder. Swapped for Lenny Dykstra in a 1989 deal, he struggled when the Mets decided to move him to center field. He bounced to several other clubs, but never recaptured his early career production. Samuel, who later coached for the Phils, is the first player in major-league history to register double figures in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four seasons. Geoff Hartlieb pitched for the Pirates in parts of 2019, '20 and '21, and then made three appearances for the Mets. Todd Van Poppel was a 1st round draft pick out of high school by the A's in 1990. But injuries held him back from fulfilling his promise. Over parts of ...

Storm clouds are converging across the baseball world. A week into the lockout, baseball has already done itself massive harm. After a frenzy of free agent signings that took over sports talk radio -- edging aside the NFL, especially in cities like New York and Detroit where the local footballers are non-contenders -- the owners decision not only halted player transactions, but a second move has minimized baseball's own social and electronic media platforms. After Sunday night's first rate coverage of the Golden Era Hall of Fame selections, MLB Network has turned into just a rerun outlet. Its panel and news shows on hiatus, the game's normally effective promotional arm has ceased to be regular stop for fans and reporters. Does that help sell the game or bring the opposing sides together in the lab dispute? As a longtime broadcaster, I know the lasting damage that occurs when bad programming choices chase away the audience -- it's probably ten times harder to bring those...