Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

...you share it with the greatest all-around 3rd baseman ever.  Over 18 seasons, all with the Phillies,  Mike Schmidt  won 10 Gold Gloves and two Most Valuable Player awards -- including 1980 when the club won its first Worlds Championship and he was named Series MVP.  This is my favorite photo of Schmitty -- outside the batting cage during Spring Training 1985 at Clearwater, hanging with teammates Tim Corcoran and Len Matuszek   -- who also celebrates today.  (Thanks to reader Todd Shafer for tipping me to that cool coincidence.) Matuszek's bat caught fire in September 1983, as the Phillies "Wheeze Kids" went 23-8 down the stretch to capture the NL East. But he never again hit with such authority and bounced to the Dodgers and Blue Jays before his MLB career ended in '87. Also getting cake and cards on Friday:   Luis Guillorme , the longtime Mets utilityman who saw time this season with the Diamondbacks, Angels and Braves.  I was in the righ...

With three of its four games televised nationally (and typical of MLB on three different platforms), the Mets/Phillies showdown at Citi FIeld was the game's top attraction this weekend.  Brandon Nimmo was the hitting star; he untied a 1-1 game when he homered off Zack Wheeler.  The Mets bullpen held on for a vital win that puts New York two games up on the Braves for the final NL wild card just ahead of their three game series in Atlanta. The pitching star was Edwin Diaz , whose two inning save -- with four strikeouts -- prevented any Philadelphia comeback. ( Both these Mets images are from the May 2nd game against the Cubs .) While the "big" weekend series matched the Mets and Phillies, the Dodgers also grabbed a headline: their Sunday victory over the Rockies jumped them past the Phils for the best record in the NL.  Down 5-4 entering the bottom of the 9th, Shohei Ohtani homered to tie it, followed by Mookie Betts ' walk-off blast.  Two batters, two runs, one key L...

...you share it with Jason Bay .  A rising star with the Pirates and a big contributor to the 2009 AL East-winning Red Sox, with 119 RBIs, he looked like the big bat the Mets needed as a new decade began.  But things went off the rails near the 7-line -- his performance dropped off markedly, and he was further impacted by a pair of concussions from running into outfield walls.  The Mets bought him out after 2012, and the Western Canada native was out of baseball a year later. Reliever  AJ Ramos  was a Marlins all star in 2016 and came to the Mets in a mid-season trade a year later.  But his time in Flushing was cut short due to a shoulder injury.  These days, he appears on MLB Network Radio. Saturday's spotlight shines on Greg Burke , the submarine-tossing righthander who spent half the 2013 season with the Mets.  He appeared in 32 games, but registered neither a win nor a save. Wally Backman gets his cake and cards on Sunday.  The scrappy h...

The Phillies bookended last week -- when they went 5 - 1 -- with a pair of walk-off victories.   Kody Clemens  (seen here during a May game against Washington) authored Monday night's win over the Rays with a bases-loaded single in the last of the 9th. (Below:)    JT Realmuto  (snapped during the London Series in June) smacked Sunday afternoon's decisive two-out single to make it two out of three wins against the division rival Mets.  As the Phils chase the best record in baseball and post-season home field advantage, it's timely to see their catcher's bat heating up -- especially since his mid-season knee injury will limit him to under 100 games this year. Is there cause for concern with  Ranger Suarez ?  Through his first 10 starts (ending May 21st), he was the most effective starter in the NL, winning nine straight decisions with a sparkling 1.36 ERA.  Since then, he's made 15 starts, going 4-7 with an ERA closer to 5 than 4.  Th...

...you share it with Bernie Williams .  The Yankees centerfielder during their most-recent dynasty was a five-time All Star and four-time World Champ.  This dependable run producer hit .297 over 16 seasons with 287 home runs -- and has plenty of memorable post-season moments: remember game three of 1996 ALDS, when he homered and then robbed a homer from the Rangers?  His walk-off homer in game one of the 1999 ALCS and catching the final out of the 2000 World Series against the Mets...  A gifted guitarist, he's concentrated on music since his playing days ended in 2006.  Bernie's number 51 -- chosen in honor of his native Puerto Rico's aspirations to become our 51st state -- was retired in 2015. Taylor Trammell , once a 1st round draft pick of the Reds, spent parts of 2021-'23 with the Mariners, then bounced from the Dodgers to the Yankees in 2024, spending most of the year at Scranton-Wilkes Barre.  17 home runs and 17 steals in AAA show his potential, but ...

Yankee fans got their wish on Monday, when top level prospect Jasson Dominguez was recalled from Scranton Wilkes-Barre.  After an especially hot series against Syracuse -- where I saw him last Tuesday -- the move makes sense, especially with the rest of the Yankee lineup struggling.  Jasson's arrival might lead to more rest for Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, who seem to be slowing down after 140 games. While I caught "The Martian" in a lighthearted move before the game, he wore a more serious expression once the action began. Monday in the Bronx, he went 1-for-4, with a stolen base, that thanks to a Royals error became a run scored. Then on Wednesday, I zoomed in on the two hottest bats for the AA Yanks.  I'd already seen Spencer Jones in early August when Somerset visited Bowie; the young centerfielder impressed again in the series against the Mets prospects in Binghamton, leading off the opening game of a twi-nighter with a bullet of a double. Rafael Flores  is finis...

Next to Tom Seaver, there was arguably no player more synonymous with the New York Mets than Ed Kranepool.   His franchise-most 18-season run began in 1962 under Casey Stengel at the Polo Grounds; slowly but surely, the club then assembled a strong core of young talent.  Playing alongside Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee and Tug McGraw, Kranepool was a key player on the 1969 World Champs (he homered against the Orioles in game three) and '73 NL pennant winners.  Never the biggest bat in the lineup, he was a steady contributor who hit a lifetime .261.  As his career wound down, Ed found (and excelled in) a new role, becoming one of the game's most effective pinch hitters.  Kranepool was a fixture at Mets-themed events in the New York area.  The top photo is from the 2014 BAT Dinner, where he enjoying reminiscing with Solly Hemus, a coach on the 1962 and '63 Mets. Signed out of James Monroe High School in the Bronx -- where he broke home run re...

  ...you share it with a trio of players who called New York home during the 2010s.  Clint Frazier , touted for his "legendary bat speed," joined the Yankees in a 2016 deadline deal for reliever Andrew Miller.  Despite flashes of brilliance -- and several serious injuries -- he never stuck as a regular and later bounced in and out of the White Sox and Cubs. (Below:)  Tyler Austin made history in  '16 when he and Aaron Judge homered in their first plate appearances.   Never in 147 years -- reaching back to 1869 -- had there   back to back blasts by two teammates making their big league debuts in the very same game.  But while Judge went on to become the Yankees biggest star and re-write the American League single season home run record, Austin played in just 85 games as a Yank and was out of the majors just three years later. Jerry Blevins was a media favorite during his four seasons as a Mets reliever: so it's no surprise he's going into br...

Nick Castellanos was the difference maker as the Phillies took three out of four in their showdown series against the Braves,  Sunday night, his two-run double tied things in the 6th; his two-out RBI single in the 11th walked off the NL East leaders as they stretched their division lead to seven games with 25 to go.  Tack that onto his two-run 7th inning homer that gave the Phils the lead in Thursday night's series opener and you've got a big reason why Philadelphia is a big step closer to its first division title in 13 years. (Below:)  Austin Wells picked a good time for the first two homer game of his career.  Friday night, the Yankees rookie catcher drove in four in a 6-3 victory over the Cardinals in the Bronx.  ( This image is from the Yanks' 4th of July home game against the Reds .)   Let's zoom in on a couple of players promoted as September began:  Duke Ellis , the gifted base stealer but a marginal hitter, quickly passed through the Met...