Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

...you share it with one of baseball's elite pitchers, Zack  Wheeler .  An effective righthander with the Mets, he played second fiddle to Jacob deGrom before moving to the Phillies as a 2020 free agent.  Since moving down the Jersey Turnpike and crossing the Walt Whitman Bridge, he's upped to his game and now ranks among the very best.  Going 16-7 with a second in the NL 224 strikeouts, he was the runner up for 2024's Cy Young Award.  And leads all pitchers born May 30th in WAR.   Another member of the Phillies organization joins Zack in today's birthday circle.  Christian Arroyo   never lived up to expectations after being the Giants 1st round draft pick in 2013.  Bouncing from San Francisco to Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Boston, he never became more than a bench player.  He's spending this summer with the Phils' top farm club Lehigh Valley and hitting near .300.  While Philadelphia has a solid infield, a productive season could...

A couple of recently rediscovered images from 44 years ago!  Six weeks after the season resumed after the lengthy players strike, I was at Yankee Stadium for a late September game against the Orioles.  Now, soak in the moment: with the Yanks already guaranteed a spot in a split season playoff setup, they had little on the line.  Fans, many bitter, others simply disinterested, were avoiding the Stadium.  There was plenty at stake for Baltimore.  In a time before MLB embraced the idea of wild cards, the Orioles were trying to catch the Brewers -- but would fall two games short of reaching the post-season. In the first image, we're catching the end of Orioles batting practice.  Backup catcher Dan Graham (41) and Jim Dwyer (28) are standing outside the cage.  Below, many of the Yankees are getting ready by tossing around balls.  But their numbers are almost impossible to make out.   It’s the sixth year of the renovated original Stadium. ...

  ...you share it with  Carlos Hernandez .  The Venezuelan 2nd baseman spent the first seven of his 10 big league seasons with the Phillies -- peaking in 2016 when he hit .294 and led the National League with 11 triples. Jordan Zimmerman also spent seven years in the NL East -- in his case pitching for the Nationals, where he averaged 10 victories a season and twice made the All Star team.  And since Hernandez led off this post, how about this 2014 dugout photo of Zimmerman with another former Phillie, Jayson Werth.

It's the thrill of a lifetime when a player makes his major league debut.  Now take the volume of that excitement and multiply it by 10!  Mick Abel made a splash on Sunday when he dominated in his first game with the Phillies -- becoming just the second pitcher in club history to strike out nine in his first MLB game (matching Whiz Kids star Curt Simmons in 1947).  Actually, it was a more impressive outing than Simmons': Abel walked no one and pitched shutout ball (Simmons walked six and gave up one run), and outpitched reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes in the Phils 1-0 victory.  Despite the unexpected heroics, Abel knew he'd be returning to AAA Lehigh Valley after Sunday's game -- but now armed with confidence that he can win at the major league level!  (Mick was wearing #74 the only time I saw him in action -- during a 2024 Grapefruit League game against the Yankees -- but donned #40 on Sunday.) (Below:) Jose Rojas also grabbed headlines over the wee...

...you share it with the late Billy Martin . How do you remember him?  Combative, clutch, feisty, arrogant, aggressive, self-destructive, savvy, gritty -- the 1950s Yankees second baseman was a steady performer who had the knack of turning it up several notches when it came to the World Series (he played in five of them).    Mentored by Casey Stengel, the Northern California native earned the reputation of a master strategist.  After winning division titles managing the Twins and Tigers (and leading the Rangers to their first-ever second place finish), his second career fell into a pattern -- bringing the best out in his players before wearing out his welcome with management.   That was even more apparent during his five times managing the Yankees.  Brought back to the Bronx by the similarly tempered George Steinbrenner,  Martin ended the Yankees 12 year post-season drought.  After winning the 1976 AL pennant, his 1977 club -- featuring the m...

Not only do the Mets have one of MLB's best records, but their farm system is brimming with promising young hitters.  Ryan Clifford is one of them.  Binghamton's power-hitting 1st baseman shares Eastern League player of the week honors with teammate Jonah Tong (who retired all 20 batters he faced Saturday night while teaming with TJ Shook for the club's first-ever perfect game). Clifford, who came to New York along with the also promising Drew Gilbert in 2023 for Justin Verlander, went 9-for-19 last week -- with three home runs (two of which powered come-from-behind wins) and nine RBIs -- against the Phillies' AA club from Reading. I caught the Rumble Ponies' games on Wednesday and Sunday and liked what I saw.  Having his 24 and 19 home runs the last two seasons, Clifford could be positioning himself as a potential replacement, should Pete Alonso leave at the end of his current two-year contract.  Or, Clifford might be trade bait if the Mets feel the greater need i...

  ...you share it with Tommy Edman .   I first saw this Stanford grad during Grapefruit League play in 2019 -- where he wore #82 while trying to make the Cardinals.  Instead, he landed at their AAA club Memphis, where he hit over .300 for the first two months to earn his promotion to the majors -- and donning #19.   Traded from St. Louis to the Dodgers at the 2024 deadline, the versatile infielder-outfielder homered in both last fall's NLCS (where he was named MVP) and World Series.  That helped earn him a new contract with L.A. that runs through 2029.   Also in our May 9th birthday circle:  Prince Fielder , who hit 319 homers over his big league career -- the exact same total as his father Cecil. Chase Headley , who split his 12 year career between the Padres and Yankees.  2012 was his best season, when he led the NL with 115 RBI and finished fifth for MVP.  ( This image is from 2015, his second Bronx season .) And we remembe...

Here's an item I've held onto since the late-'70s.  From the Phillies Veterans Stadium era, this keyring is made of a soft metal and features a different image on each side. The first depicts  Philadelphia Phil and Phillis,  the mascots that ushered in "The Vet" when ballclub moved in, in 1971.  (And were supplanted by the arrival of the Phanatic in 1978.)  On the other side, it's a replica of Veterans Stadium.  Have you ever seen one of these?  I'm not sure whether this was a game-day giveaway or came in a promotional package to one of the radio stations where I was then working.  It served me well for a couple of years until it began picking up some dents and lost its tightness.  Not long after, it was retired to a box filled with old yearbooks and other mementos.   Kinda nice that it's not your usual fragile, disposable plastic.   Do you collect items like these?  Feel free to share your own collectables story in a...

  ...you share it with Luis Torrens .  Since joining the Mets last June (just before their 2024 London Series against the Phillies), he's done a fine job filling in for Francisco Alvarez. Among his highlights was are a two-home run game last June 5th against Washington and an April 18th double that pushed the Mets ahead of Philadelphia. While Torrens is on his fourth big league club, Jarrod Saltalamacchia  easily beat that total.  He appeared for seven different teams -- including the 2014 Marlins -- over 12 seasons. I snapped this image from the photo well just outside the visitors dugout at Citi Field. ( In case you're curious, Saltalamacchia's 14 letters make it the longest single word surname in baseball history .)