Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

...you share it with Astros DH Yordan Alvarez .  The  2019 AL Rookie of the Year c rushed 30 or more homers every season from 2021-'24 -- a streak now in jeopardy with Alvarez having spent most of this year on the IL with a broken hand.   Also in our June 27th birthday circle: longtime Angels and Cardinals centerfielder Jim Edmonds; Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim; and Rico Petrocelli, who played shortstop and 3rd base for the Red Sox during the '60s and '70s.  

Heeeere's the pitch... ten years ago this summer.  It's June 24th, 2015 as the Phillies visit the Yankees in the Bronx. Longtime ace Cole Hamels  pitching for the Phillies... check out his form as he works early in the game. With the 2008 World Series champs a fading memory, the Phils were starting to tear down what remained of that club.  A month later, just after throwing a no-hitter at Wrigley Field, Hamels would be traded to the Rangers for a package of young players.  So we're watching Cole Hamels, one of the Phillies most beloved pitchers, in one of his final appearances with the franchise. With 2560 career wins, and a 163-122 record, does Hamels have enough credentials to make the Hall of Fame??

...you share it with Carlos Lee , the power-hitting outfielder/DH whose 358 are the most for any player born in Panama.  Lee's  17 grand slams, rank him seventh in MLB history (tied with Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams); seven of them with the Astros asre a club record he shares with Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman.    Other names tied to June 20th include longtime Orioles catcher Andy Etchebarren; present day Orioles reliever Felix Bautista; 1990s Cardinals pitcher Donovan Osborne; Dickie Thon, who played 15 seasons in the majors, mainly with the Astros and Phllies; and Cuban native Kendrys Morales, whose US baseball career was changed forever after he stomped on the plate after a 2010 walk off home run. That resulting broken leg took him almost two years for him to recover.    

On this date in 1960: Ted Williams becomes the fourth player to hit 500 career home runs.  His historic blast, at Cleveland Stadium against Wynn Hawkins of the Indians, snaps a tie and puts the Red Sox on top in a game they'd win 3-1 . Honoring Ted: (above) a 2012 commemorative display from the Baseball Hall of Fame with a couple of seats from Fenway Park, a plaque for the Jimmy Fund (the childrens cancer charity that Williams helped launch).  (Below:) Ted Williams' flying jacket from his World War II service in the Marines. Ted Williams retired at the end of that 1960 season with 521 home runs, all in a Boston uniform.    

 ...you share it with a pair of catchers : James McCann spent 11 seasons (2014-24) in the majors with the Orioles, Mets, White Sox and Tigers -- where I captured him during a 2013 spring training game.  He reached his offensive peak in 2019, where he belted 18 homers and hit .273 for Chicago.  The University of Arkansas product might not be done with MLB: at the moment he's keeping active with the Braves AAA team in Gwinnett -- a trade or any injury away from being called up. Jonathan Lucroy 's 12 year career was bookended by the Brewers and Braves.  A two time-All Star, his best season with the bat was 2014, when he hit .301 and led the National League with 53 doubles.  My photo was snapped at what was then AT&T Park that summer.  While on vacation, I was on hand on an August evening when the Giants hosted Milwaukee.

  Let's bridge 40 years of history in one post.  On this night in 1985, Von Hayes made history  as the first player ever to homer twice in the 1st inning.   Facing Mets righthander Tom Gorman, the Phillies left fielder led off the bottom of the inning with a solo blast, to key an offensive explosion that brought him back to the plate later in the inning -- this time with the bases loaded, against Calvin Schiraldi.  Hayes crushed the offering, giving the Phils a 8-0 lead en route to a 26-7 victory -- the highest scoring National League game in since 1944! I wasn't at Veterans Stadium that night -- had to settle for watching on TV --  but a few months earlier, I interviewed Hayes at Spring Training in Clearwater.  Long before phone cams were a dream, I'm happy I packed my Minolta that day! Carlos Narvaez continued building onto one of MLB's most surprising breakthroughs of 2025 -- on as big a stage as possible.  The former Yankees minor league catc...