Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

...you share it with Kenley Jansen .  The longtime Dodgers closer joined the Braves as a free agent this season -- and is currently leading the National League in saves. Hall of Famer Robin Roberts  was born on this date in 1926.  Check out his plaque on Citizens Bank Park's Wall of Fame: the ace of the 1950s Phillies "Whiz Kids" won 20 or more games for six consecutive seasons (1950-'55), led the NL in wins four times and complete games five times. His #36 was the first number ever retired by the Phils.  After being released in the winter of '62, he was signed and quickly cut by the Yankees and then enjoyed a late-career renaissance with the Orioles. Saturday' s cake and candles crew includes :   Xander Bogaerts  joined the Red Sox late in 2013 and starred for that year's World Series champs, as well as the one in 2018. The Aruba native and four-time all star has an opt-out in his contract that could make him one of next winter's most coveted free age...

Hard to believe, but the Yankees division clincher last night was just their second since 2012!  While Aaron Judge has dominated this season, how about shout outs for Tuesday night's standouts: Jamison Taillon kept the Toronto bats in check, holding the Blue Jays to two runs in 7-1/3 innings -- and only one after George Springer's homer leading off the bottom of the 1st. Gleyber Torres continued his September resurgence with three hits and three RBIs.  With Toronto walking Aaron Judge four times, the Yankee 2nd baseman took advantage of the opportunities, twice driving in Judge.  After going M-I-A in August, it's been Gleyber day all month; in 22 September games, he's driven in 23 runs, hitting .333 with and OPS of 1.002. Roster turnover isn't surprising in any sport.  Looking carefully, there isn't a single Yankee from the 2012 division champs still on the roster.  There aren't very many still in the majors.  Ironically, one faced them last night: reliev...

. ..y ou share it with  Joba Chamberlain . An instant cult hero and perhaps the most exciting Yankee rookie since Derek Jeter, he was nearly un hittable 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 tur...

As if it was scripted, the Yankees bookend sluggers authored a remarkable 9th inning comeback Tuesday night in the Bronx.  Trailing the Pirates 8-4, Aaron Judge led off the inning crushing a 3-1 Wil Crowe pitch that landed in the left field bleachers for NUMBER 60... as #99 tied the Babe's greatest season total in game 147.  A brilliant moment, an historic moment... yet one that still left the Yanks down by three.  The comeback gained momentum as Anthony Rizzo doubled, Gleyber Torres walked and Josh Donaldson singled to load the bases.  And up came Giancarlo Stanton.   Bogged down in a miserable slump since returning from a foot injury -- and entering the at-bat 0 for his last 16, and 9 for 72 with 27 strikeouts -- Stanton hit a scorching line drive that just cleared the left field fence for a 9-8 win and a piece of history that now belongs to "G."  It was his third career walk off grand slam tying the major league record.  He now shares it w...

He's the biggest headliner this year in baseball: chasing the American League home run record, and now also a Triple Crown, I wanted to find an Aaron Judg e  photo that's a bit different. So let's flash back to his minor league days.  It's June 2015 as the Yankees 1st round draft pick two years earlier (from Cal State Fresno) is playing for the Double A Trenton Thunder, a little over a year before his big league debut.   Back then, he was also sporting double digits on his uniform -- but it was 55 instead of his now signature number 99. Splitting 2015 before Trenton and Scranton, Judge enjoyed a productive season -- but hardly indicative of the impact he'd have in the majors: 20 home runs, 72 RBI and a .255 average (with a .777 OPS).  

  ...you share it with Matt Vierling .  The Phillies utilityman made his big league debut in 2021, batting .324 in 34 games.  This season, the St. Louis native has played six different positions, often coming into games as a defensive replacement. Hall of Famer  Tim Raines , whos e  808 career steals rank him fourth all-time, behind only fellow Cooperstown inductees Henderson,  Brock and Cobb.  The offensive spark plug of the 1980s Expos later earned two Yankee World Series rings during the '90s -- and in 2003 played one game alongside his namesake son with the Baltimore Orioles.   Also on our cake and candles list: Fellow Hall of Famer Robin Yount , who played his entire 20-year career with the Brewers, twice being named American League MVP. Robbie Grossman  has been a good-not-great outfielder, first with the Astros then (seen above) with the Twins, A's Tigers and currently comes off the bench for the Braves. A couple of former Phillie...

Trailing the Blue Jays 6-2 with two out in the top of the 8th inning, the Yankees tie Toronto on Bernie Williams' grand slam off Billy Koch...  An inning later, Paul O'Neill also homers with the bases loaded (against Paul Spoljaric) to put the Yanks ahead to stay. For trivia mavens: Chuck Knoblauch and Derek Jeter scored on each of the blasts, as the Yankees went on to a 10-6 victory .  

Oswaldo Cabrera has made the biggest impact among the Yankee kids promoted to the big club by its recent wave of injuries.  It seems as if he does something of note in every game, whether it's an acrobatic catch, a rifle-armed throw from right field, or Sunday, his first major-league homer.  Yes, there's an 0 for 25 streak in there, but watching him play every day the past four weeks has been fun -- especially when more familiar names such as Estevan Florial and Miguel Andujar have struggled.   Greg Weissert is the rare New York area native to make it to the Bronx.  Born and raised on Long Island and a product of Fordham University -- alma mater of 1930s-'40s Yankees "fireman" Johnny Murphy -- the righty reliever had a rocky start to his big league career, but since a shaky first game in Oakland, has thrown shutout ball in five of his seven appearances. Finally, another tip of the hat to a future Hall of Famer enjoying one of the best farewell tours in MLB histor...

...you share it with  Billy Hamilton . The speedy outfielder was the runner-up for 2014 NL Rookie of the Year -- the first of four straight seasons where he stole 55 or more bases. Hamilton's difficulty in getting on base held him back from stardom or even sticking on rosters.  After five years in Cincinnati, he's bounced to the Royals, Braves, Mets, Cubs, White Sox, Marlins and currently comes off the bench for the Twins. Edwin Jackson  somehow never picked up the nickname "Suitcase," which was first given to the well traveled 1950s 1st baseman Harry Simpson.  But the former Negro League star only played for six clubs -- while Jackson went on to set the major league record by pitching for 14 different franchises, bookended by the 2003 Dodgers and 2019 Tigers.  Aside from his record, his other highlights include a 2010 no hitter with the Diamondbacks and a 2011 World Series ring with the 2011 Cardinals. A pair of 2000 Mets teammates share September 9th: Mike Ham...

Like many fans, I've tried to visit as many ballparks as possible. And I tacked another onto my list last week.  My late summer vacation included a few days in Montreal, where my very tolerant wife drove a good half hour out of the way so I could capture a few images of Olympic Stadium. While the Expos have been gone for 18 years, and even their co-tenants, the Canadian Football League Alouettes have moved to a new home on the campus of the city's McGill University, renovation plans at and around the 46 year old venue are underway.  Among them, according to CBC News , replacement of the building's 23 year-old kevlar roof. The story of baseball's decline in Montreal began after the 1994 strike, which snuffed out what might have been the city's first trip to the World Series.  A decade later, lacking fan support, the franchise moved to Washington, DC. While I didn't see any Expos gear displayed at any of the sports and souvenir shops in center city Montreal, the b...

First things first: Thanks to my good friend Peter King for being the right person in the right place at the right time. He was on hand at the Tropfor the Yankees' Sunday afternoon win over the Rays.  Frankie Montas (above) whom I'd never photographed during his time with the A's, picked a good time for his most effective start as a Yankee -- five shutout innings with seven strikeouts.  With the pitching staff thinned by injuries and trades, Montas needed to prove he wasn't 2022's version of Sonny Gray, For at least one day, he showed that and more.   And of course, helping him earn the victory was... Aaron Judge, of course.  #99 continues to chase Roger Maris, whose #9 is retired by the Yanks.  And if you really like numeric connections, he's doing it 61 years after Maris hit 61 home runs -- still the American League single season record, and to many, the legitimate untainted mark for all of baseball.    With the Yankees struggling for offense, ...