Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

In this data-driven era, managers have often had their authority and autonomy trimmed back.  Often, lineups are a collaboration between the GM and the team's analytics department.  While the job always comes with a large supply of thin ice, there's growing sense that skippers don't make as much of a difference as they did in the eras of Stengel, Durocher, Hodges, Martin, Herzog and Torre. This year, one manager proved that cliche dead wrong.  After taking a year off to regain his health, Terry Francona took over the Reds and took his budget priced collection of talented kids back to the playoffs.  In outlasting the Mets for the final NL Wild Card, the man who'd turned around franchises in Boston and Cleveland worked his magic in Cincinnati, bringing accountability and positivity to a franchise that had gone more than a decade without making the playoffs in a full season.  Even with his best player Elly de la Cruz having an off-year, the Reds had just enough hit...

 ...you share it with Albert Abreu .  The Yankees hoped his power pitching would become a big weapon out of the bullpen.  But he walked too many batters and, after bouncing to the Rangers and Royals -- and then back to the Bronx -- he spent 2024 in Japan and this past summer with the Reds' Louisville farm club. Today is also the 100th birthday of Bobby Shantz , one of the best fielding pitchers ever and the last Philadelphia Athletic to win an MVP (1952 -- when he won 24 games).  The 5-foot-6 lefty was a World Champ as a '58 Yankee and ended his career with the near-miss1964 Phillies -- which also made him the last player to play for both of the city's MLB franchises!   Here's Shantz - who posted a career 119-99 record over 16 seasons -- on the cover of Sport magazine in February 1953.

  Thursday's Eastern League semi-final round playoff game was a showcase for a couple of top New York prospects: the Yankees' George Lombard Junior , a very athletic shortstop, is ranked number one among the organization's prospects.  While his 2025 line -- 8 homers, 36 RBI and a .215 average don't blow you away, September's .820 OPS should.  Just 20 years old, this very "toolsy" player could ready to challenge incumbent Anthony Volpe by 2027. One of the reasons the Mets farm system has graded near the top this year is a talented group of middle infielders, who can also slide into the outfield.  A.J. Ewing  jumped two levels this season, ending the year at AA Binghamton, hitting a neat .400 after starring with High-A Brooklyn.  When I saw him September 18th, he was front and center in a two-run 3rd inning rally, delivering an RBI-triple, then scoring moments later on a Scomerset error.

 ...you share it with the late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan .  Joining Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench on the Reds 1970s dynasty, his combination of speed, power and leadership rank him high on the all time list of 2nd basemen.   Morgan enjoyed a successful second career, spending 21 seasons teaming with Jon Miller on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Did you know that Joe Morgan shared September 19th with fellow Hall of Famer  Duke Snider ?  The beloved Duke of Flatbush.  In case you're curious, they appeared together in one and only one game.  On September 21st, 1964 -- the first anniversary of Joe's MLB debut with the then-Colt .45s, he went 1-for-4 against the Giants, while Duke (then finishing his career with San Francisco) pinch hit in the 8th inning and was retired on a fly ball. 

Having been to Citizens Bank Park numerous time, I wanted to share some different views this time around.  Head to the far left field end of the upper deck concourse, where you're not just facing center city, but you can frame it through this signage. Same level, on the right field side, you'll see the Eagles' home Lincoln Financial Field; good time to catch it with the Super Bowl 59 championship banner displayed. Here's another long-range view, this time from the seating area far above home plate.  Soak it all in, the advertising, the retired numbers, the ivy-covered batters eye.  This is one of baseball's best parks -- and once it fills up, with one of the most energized atmospheres. (Below:) Walker Buehler made his Phillies debut last Friday night... giving up just a run over five innings and earning the win over Kansas City.  With Zach Wheeler out, and Aaron Nola and  Taijuan Walker less than dependable these days, would anyone be surprised if the Dodgers 20...

...you share it with Freddie Freeman .  The sweet-swinging 1st baseman capped his dozen years with the Braves with a 2021 championship -- using it as the launching pad for a huge free agent contract with the Dodgers.  There, he earned last year's World Series MVP honors after setting a record for consecutive World Series games with a home run, including the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.   A nine-time all star with over 360 homers and career average right around 300 to go with his two rings, Freeman is a nearly a lock for the Hall of Fame   Ironically, the Orange County native grew up a fan of Southern California's other MLB team, the Angels. Also in today's birthday circle: Cal Stevenson , a longtime minor leaguer, who has had brief runs with the A's, Giants, and in 2024, the Phillies, where the made his mark last September 14th, against the Mets.  His two-run 7th inning double put the Phils ahead; moments later, a  game-saving cat...

The stories I post are based on or connected to photos I've taken.  While watching the remarkable conclusion of Saturday night's Orioles game on TV, it struck me that I'd seen one of the key players on a recent trip to Baltimore -- and the other as a Mets minor leaguer a year ago: In the most dramatic bottom of the 9th I've seen all season , Yashinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers was one out away from no-hitting the Orioles.  Two outs, no one on, LA up 3-0 -- standing on the verge of history.  And indeed we were... just not the way you'd expect. Down to their last out, Baltimore's rising star  Jackson Holliday  faced  Yamamoto.  He crushed the righty's 2-1 pitch and launched it into the right field seats, ending the no-hit bid and shutout -- but still leaving the O's down 3-1.   That was just the start of a remarkable comeback.   Next up, former Mets prospect  Jeremiah Jackson  (below) doubled to the wall in left -- followed by...

...you celebrate it with  Bill Mazeroski , the first player to end a World Series with a walk-off home run. 65 years ago next month, leading off the last of the 9th in game seven against the Yankees, he crushed Ralph Terry's second pitch over the left field wall, giving Pittsburgh perhaps its greatest baseball moment. A gifted defensive player with more modest offensive skills, Maz remains one of the more controversial inductees of the Hall of Fame. A statue, depicting his joyful scamper around the bases following that 1960 home run, is one of several outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh. And below,  Pablo Lopez  , who earlier this season, added his name to the nearly 170 who have played for both the Yankees and Mets. The utilityman got into 24 games for Bronx Bombers -- highlighted by driving in the go-ahead run against the Royals on June  12th,  His Mets tenure was microscopic -- he pinch ran for JD Martinez (and scored a run) in the September 1st, 2024 game against...

September 2nd, 1955 :  Whitey Ford takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning, while Yogi Berra adds two hits and Mickey Mantle crushes a three-run homer as the Yankees beat the Washington Senators 4-2 . It's also a big day for Billy Martin .  Back from a year and an half of active duty in the Army, the shortstop goes 2-for-4 as the Yanks stay a half-game back of the league-leading White Sox. (They would regain 1st place on the 16th and go on to their 21st American League pennant.   Martin would hit .300 over the final 22 games.) The Monument Park plaques are from a 2021 visit to Yankee Stadium.  The image of Whitey and Yogi up top is from the 2012 Old Timers Day at the Stadium.