Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

  ...you share it with the White Sox 1st baseman  Jose Abreu . The Cuban-born slugger and 2020 American League MVP has been a model of consistency since coming to Chicago -- averaging 30 homers, 102 RBI and a batting average in the .290s. Notably, his 198 career homers are already the most for any player born on this date! Turning 34 today, Abreu is the seasoned veteran leading a group of budding stars that went 35-25 in the 60-game season -- and returned to the post-season for the first time since 2008. Also on today's cake and candles list: Hank Conger had a seven-year run as a backup catcher with the Angels, Astros and Rays. As with many who played behind the plate, he's gone into coaching and will spend 2020 coaching in Korea, the country from where his parents emigrated. Mike Aldrete   spent 10 years in the majors, bookended by the '86 Giants and '96 Yankees. His second San Francisco season was his best, when he batted .325. But he never again posted numbers that ...

Recalling the theme to Green Acres when New Yorkers Oliver and Lisa Douglas left the Big Apple for Hooterville... Time to focus on a pair of pitchers whose New York days came to an end on Wednesday: Two pitchers, with a combined total of 13 New York seasons, are heading elsewhere. After seeing the Yankees trade for Jameson Taillon and sign Corey Kluber Masahiro Tanaka  read the handwriting on the wall and returned to Japan, re-signing with his former team the Rakuten Eagles. While never becoming the ace the organization hoped, he turned in two terrific and several very good seasons, before slumping last summer. His price tag might have also been a detriment to re-upping with the Yankees. Recent performance suggested that the now-32 year old wasn't worth anywhere near his previous $22 million salary. The Mets then parted company with their homegrown lefty. There'd always been big expectations for Steven Matz , especially after his sparkling 6-0 debut during the second half of t...

In the busiest day of this sluggish off season, three big free agents landed big new deals. The lead story was a reunion, as the JT Realmuto and the Phillies each got most of what they wanted. The catcher, widely regarded as the best in the game, is also now the highest paid at his position... ever. A five-year $115.5 million contract pushes him $100,000 a season past what Joe Mauer got on an annual basis from the Twins. And the Phils hold onto a two way player who's been their best overall hitter in the two seasons since arriving from Miami. Then, two of the top shortstops found new homes. Andrelton Simmons  heads from Anaheim to Minneapolis where the four-time gold glove winner takes over as the Twins new regular. A fundamentally sound hitter, the Curacao native has hit over .280 three of the last five years -- and runs counter to trends by not striking out a lot. In his worst season, he whiffed just 67 times, or about a third of what we'd expect from Judge or Stanton. He...

Adam Ottavino 's two-year run in pinstripes ended on Monday, when the Yankees and Red Sox completed their first trade in six years. Easily recognized for wearing Zero on his back, the Brooklyn, New York native signed with his hometown team in the winter of 2019 and turned in five terrific months as a bullpen setup man. But a September slump was a bad sign. And during the 60-game season, he never found his stride, and quickly fell out of Aaron Boone's circle of trust. As Brian Cashman continues fine tuning his roster -- maybe we need a new term, TV's and FM radios tune digitally now, no one is fiddling with a dial like a safe cracker -- Ottavino's $9 million salary looked like an albatross in the plan to upgrade without going past the luxury tax threshold.  Finally, the Yankees found a trade partner -- a surprising one. The Yanks shipped off Ottavino to the Red Sox, tossing in another native New Yorker, mid-level pitching prospect Frank German, for salary relief. While O...

The Yankees continued to roll the dice on rehabbing pitchers, with Sunday's trade for Pirates righthander  Jameson Taillon . A former high draft choice who appeared to be emerging into stardom in 2018, the Texas native was felled by arm problems the following season which led to his second Tommy John surgery. For a rebuilding club like the Pirates, this former second overall draft pick was a bad risk -- or, looked another way, the four prospects they received from New York were a better gamble than holding onto a pitcher with a bad medical chart and just two years of remaining club control. With a 2021 salary under $3 million, Taillon is another lottery ticket whom Brian Cashman hopes pays off behind Gerrit Cole, a bunch of kids and fellow question mark Corey Kluber. Of course, like Kluber, he could also turn into the 2021 version of Troy Tulowitzki, who made it through five games with the 2019 Yanks, before his season and career crashed after another injury. After a thorough check...

Hank Aaron , who broke Babe Ruth's longstanding home run record with grace and dignity, died Friday morning at age 86. The one man that Muhammad Ali said he idolized “more than myself,” was a hero as the Braves helped break down barriers. When the major leagues came to Atlanta in 1966, racial equality was more a goal than reality. The Alabama native was a son of the old, ugly South, having grown up in the era of Jim Crow segregation. But as the best player on the team, Aaron's leadership on the field and in the community made it clear that baseball was part of the New South. On April 8th, 1974, he crushed an Al Downing pitch to center field at the old Fulton County Stadium. Number 715 , despite death threats, despite hate, despite a foolish idea that some records ought not be broken. And he added 40 more round tippers before retiring two years later. The Braves' greatest player was more than just a slugger. A superb all-around talent, he batted .305 over his 23 seasons, and...

 ...you share it with  Jake Cronenworth . The runner-up for 2020's National League Rookie of the Year, the Padres infielder hit .285 -- boosted by a scorching month of August, with a .356 average featuring 16 extra base hits, 17 RBIs and 20 runs over 31 games. Chase d'Arnaud , the older brother of the Braves hard-hitting catcher, has played parts of seven seasons in the majors. A utilityman known mostly for his versatility, I caught him in action during 2016 when playing for Atlanta. Jeff Samardzija   has been a run-of-the-mill pitcher with the Cubs and Giants. What else would you call an 80 - 104 record over parts of 12 seasons? The Giants will be happy to shed his five-year $80 million dollar contract at the end of 2020. Maybe he should have followed his football dreams -- he was a star wide receiver for Notre Dame. Wily Mo Pena  has a catchy name, but never became the star some expected. The lefty power hitter was the big piece who went from the Yankees to the Red...