Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

July 29th: 1989 :  The Phillies retire Steve Carlton 's uniform #32 during a pregame ceremony at Veterans Stadium.  Traded to Philadelphia in February 1972 for Rick Wise, "Lefty" became the greatest southpaw pitcher in franchise history, beginning by winning 27 games his first season -- on a club that won just 59 games.  Still, Carlton's arrival marked the beginning of the Phillies revival.  Joined by the home grown stars Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski and Bob Boone, the Phillies won their first division title in 1976 and the franchise's first ever World Series championship four years later. The totals are impressive: 241 victories, with 185 complete games, a 3.09 ERA and 3,031 strikeouts across 499 starts.  And Lefty picked off 144 base runners, by far the most since it became an official statistic (in 1957). Released by the Phillies in 1986, he ended his career with the Twins two years later. Steve Carlton would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of F...

...you share it with Billy Wagner .  A dominating lefty reliever best known for his nine years with the Astros and three with the Mets (I snapped this at Shea Stadium in June 2008), the Virginia native saved 422 games while punching his ticket to Cooperstown.  He'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame this Sunday alongside CC Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki. Just 5-foot-9, Wagner's 100 mile an hour fastball helped him stand tall on the mound.   The first left-handed relief pitcher voted into the Hall, Wagner also stands out as the first player from a Division III school -- Ferrum College -- to receive baseball's highest career honor.  And, in one of those "only in baseball" fun facts, Billy is naturally right-handed but, after breaking his right arm twice at age seven, learned to throw left-handed by tossing a ball against a barn.  That's the kind of determination that can turn a kid with a dream into baseball legend.  

With CC Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki being inducted into the Hall of Fame this Sunday, it was a no brainer to put together a post featuring both.  While going through my archive, I got a pleasant surprise -- a game when these two legends opposed each other.  We're at Yankee Stadium on July 1st, 2010 -- Yankees hosting the Mariners; CC on the mound and Ichiro at bat.   Then, my favorite discovery:  both players in the same image, as Sabathia stares back Suzuki as Ichiro takes a lead off first base.   How did the game turn out?  The Yankees downed the Mariners 4-2 , with CC pitching eight innings and Ichiro going 1-for-4.  Postscript: two years later, Sabathia and Suzuki would be teammates after the Mariners sent Ichiro to the Yankees in a mid-season trade.  And as of  Sunday, the rivals-turned-teammates will be classmates forever -- both members of the Hall of Fame class of 2025.  

...you share it with the manager who helped restore the Yankees success, stability and pride, Joe Torre .  A first-rate catcher who enjoyed a career renaissance after moving to 3rd base with the Cardinals, the Brooklyn native's first three managerial jobs were for the teams where he once played -- the Mets, Cards and Braves (whom he led to the 1982 NL West title).  But who could have predicted that after being fired by St. Louis, the best was yet to come?  Hired by the Yankees after George Steinbrenner fired Buck Showalter (whose '95 club lost to Seattle in the playoffs), the local tabloids were  skeptical -- remember that Daily News back page proclaiming "Clueless Joe" -- especially since Torre hadn't led a team to the post-season in a dozen years. Well, Joe was more than clued in. His 1996 Yankees won the Worlds Championship for the first time in 18 years.  And the teams kept winning, racking up titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000. In fact, the Yankees made the po...

A few players worth focusing on as we reach the All Star Break:   Cristopher Sanchez   -- whose omission from the "Mid Summer Classic" was a true injustice -- brought the Phillies to the break in first place, with an other dominant outing.  Sunday, he worked 7-1/3 innings, and held the Padres to a run and six hits as the Phils won 2-1.  The lefty is 8-2 with a 2.50 ERA and just 32 walks in 122 innings. The Red Sox didn't want to hit pause on the schedule.  Alex Cora's club has won its last 10 straight, and join the 2022 Mariners, the ‘75 Reds and ‘35 Tigers as the only clubs in history to have a 10-game winning streak or longer going into the break.  Also worth nothing: it's the first time the Red Sox have have won 10-in-a-row since July 2nd-11th of their 2018 World Series championship season.  Centerfielder  C eddanne Rafaela  has been a big part of this streak: a walk off homer Friday night that beat the Rays, another  home run Su...

...you share it with pitcher Johnny Barbato .  The Miami native relieved in 13 games for the 2016 Yankees, posting a 1-2 record with 15 strikeouts in 13 innings.  He later appeared with the Pirates and Tigers. The other Yankees born on this date include: Stan Thomas , who wrapped up his major league career pitching in three games for the World Champion '77 Yanks (but didn't make the post-season roster. Vito Tamulus , a pitcher who broke into the majors with the 1934 Yankees (Babe Ruth's final NYY season) and later played several seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (alongside Pee Wee Reese). Harry Wolter , an outfielder who spent four seasons in Manhattan (1910-'13) as a Highlander and then a Yankee.  The Northern California native made history when he had the first hit in the first game ever player played at Fenway Park in April 1912 -- but achieved his greatest baseball fame as Stanford's coach in three separate stretches between 1916 and 1949.

Dialing it back to April 14th, 2015, Phillies visiting the Mets at Citi Field.  Chase Utley facing reliever Sean Gilmartin -- and the ball soars toward the right field seats. Utley watches, just to be sure... Utley rounds the bases after pulling the Phillies to within a pair; it's 6-4 New York.  But that's close as they came on this early spring evening.

...you share it with Mike Ford.   The Belle Meade, New Jersey native grew up rooting for the Yankees, where he spent parts of the 2019, '20 and '21 seasons, hitting 17 home runs in 101 games.  After bouncing around five other teams since leaving the Bronx, he's trying to earn his way back to the majors this summer with the Twins AAA farm club in St. Paul. I first saw Ford during his 6-1/2 year journey through the Yankee farm system.  You can catch him in his Trenton Thunder days in this 2017 post .   (Below:)  José Oquendo  played a dozen MLB seasons, the last 10 as a Cardinal, then coached 18 years with St. Louis.  A defensive standout known for his ability to field capably at any position, he's now the Cardinals minor league infield coordinator. Of course, the most famous baseball figure born July 4th never donned a uniform -- but certainly ranks among the game's most historic and controversial figures.  George M. Steinbrenner III -- to Yan...

MLB Network revealed the rosters for the upcoming All Star Futures game on Monday -- including two of the players I saw Friday night when Binghamton hosted Portland.    Jonah Tong (above), the Mets best starting pitching prospect, threw five dominating innings out of six, striking out eight and underscoring why he'd been named the Eastern League's Pitcher of the Month . And a player who just became Tong's teammate will join him for that July 13th game in Atlanta.  Outfielder Carson Benge , the Mets first round draft pick in 2024, hit over .300 with an OPS just under .900 for Single-A Brooklyn, earning a promotion to Binghamton.  The lefty hitter showed good power his senior year at Oklahoma State -- popping 18 homers in 61 games a year ago.  With the Mets seeking a longterm answer in center field, Benge needs another good half season (against strong competition) to put himself in the conversation to play alongside Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo.   Even with t...