Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

  ...you share it with Orlando Hernandez , the Cuban expat righthander who was a key rotation piece on three consecutive Yankee World Series champs, as well as the near-miss 2001 squad.  El Duque, with his distinctive pitching motion and big game reputation made his USA debut at age 32 and went onto win 90 games in a career that later brought him to the White Sox and Mets -- where I caught him in action against the Nationals in 2007 at RFK Stadium.

Perfectly fitting for a city whose greatest sports hero is the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, the Phillies and Mets traded punches back and forth to produce an incredible game two of the NLDS.  To illustrate, I drew from some of my 2024 Grapefruit League photos -- Nick Castellanos , who followed Bryce Harper 's 6th inning blast with a game-tying homer... and later produced a dramatic catch... and topped it off with the walk-off single scoring Trea Turner with the winning run to tie the series. His co-star was Harper, who woke up a slumbering and suffering home crowd with a rocket to the ivy beyond center field.  Does this guy have a sense for the dramatic?  Down 3-0 and four innings from falling behind two games to none, the Phils franchise player again put the team on his back and wrote another storybook chapter in his South Philadelphia career.  And, like Castellanos, Harper had more to offer.  Bottom of the 9th, the game tied again,  Turner on 1st base, Bryce worked a walk, sett

Normally on Fridays, I spotlight ballplayers whose birthdays fall on that date.  But with October 4th not populated by any superstars -- and its only Hall of Famer being manager Tony LaRussa -- I'd rather respond to last night's season-saving headline-making hero, Pete Alonso .  Facing Brewers all star closer Devin Williams, with the Mets down 2-0, two men on and two outs away from elimination in this winner-take all Wild Card game, the Mets "Polar Bear" crushed a changeup over the fence in right center to put his team on top. For doing something THAT big -- sending the Mets on the NLDS against division champion Philadelphia -- Pete deserves an extra photo or two... Was it the BIGGEST home run in Mets history?  This we do know:  it was the first time in MLB history that a team has hit a go-ahead, ninth inning homer with a team trailing in a winner-take-all playoff game. 

In a regular season full of big moments, Francisco Lindor authored his biggest in game 161.  The Mets shortstop's two-run top of the 9th homer brought his club from behind in a wild-card clinching 8-7 victory over the Braves in the opener of Monday's makeup doubleheader.   Three hours later, the Braves claimed the final spot in the NL playoffs.  Former Yankee Gio Urshela , one of the wave of Atlanta fill-ins making big contributions after Ronald Acuna Junior, Austin Riley and Michael Harris suffered season-ending injuries, put the Braves on the board with a 2nd inning RBI single.  Atlanta never looked back -- rolling to a 3-0 win.  The Braves get the Padres, while the Mets visit the Brewers in this week's Wild Card Series. After five losing seasons in six years under Farhan Zaidi, the Giants have a new President of Baseball Operations.   Buster Posey , the star catcher on San Francisco's three Championship teams of the 2010s, will now oversee the front office, and try

...you share it with the greatest all-around 3rd baseman ever.  Over 18 seasons, all with the Phillies,  Mike Schmidt  won 10 Gold Gloves and two Most Valuable Player awards -- including 1980 when the club won its first Worlds Championship and he was named Series MVP.  This is my favorite photo of Schmitty -- outside the batting cage during Spring Training 1985 at Clearwater, hanging with teammates Tim Corcoran and Len Matuszek   -- who also celebrates today.  (Thanks to reader Todd Shafer for tipping me to that cool coincidence.) Matuszek's bat caught fire in September 1983, as the Phillies "Wheeze Kids" went 23-8 down the stretch to capture the NL East. But he never again hit with such authority and bounced to the Dodgers and Blue Jays before his MLB career ended in '87. Also getting cake and cards on Friday:   Luis Guillorme , the longtime Mets utilityman who saw time this season with the Diamondbacks, Angels and Braves.  I was in the right spot to snap this dugout

With three of its four games televised nationally (and typical of MLB on three different platforms), the Mets/Phillies showdown at Citi FIeld was the game's top attraction this weekend.  Brandon Nimmo was the hitting star; he untied a 1-1 game when he homered off Zack Wheeler.  The Mets bullpen held on for a vital win that puts New York two games up on the Braves for the final NL wild card just ahead of their three game series in Atlanta. The pitching star was Edwin Diaz , whose two inning save -- with four strikeouts -- prevented any Philadelphia comeback. ( Both these Mets images are from the May 2nd game against the Cubs .) While the "big" weekend series matched the Mets and Phillies, the Dodgers also grabbed a headline: their Sunday victory over the Rockies jumped them past the Phils for the best record in the NL.  Down 5-4 entering the bottom of the 9th, Shohei Ohtani homered to tie it, followed by Mookie Betts ' walk-off blast.  Two batters, two runs, one key Lo

...you share it with Jason Bay .  A rising star with the Pirates and a big contributor to the 2009 AL East-winning Red Sox, with 119 RBIs, he looked like the big bat the Mets needed as a new decade began.  But things went off the rails near the 7-line -- his performance dropped off markedly, and he was further impacted by a pair of concussions from running into outfield walls.  The Mets bought him out after 2012, and the Western Canada native was out of baseball a year later. Reliever  AJ Ramos  was a Marlins all star in 2016 and came to the Mets in a mid-season trade a year later.  But his time in Flushing was cut short due to a shoulder injury.  These days, he appears on MLB Network Radio. Saturday's spotlight shines on Greg Burke , the submarine-tossing righthander who spent half the 2013 season with the Mets.  He appeared in 32 games, but registered neither a win nor a save. Wally Backman gets his cake and cards on Sunday.  The scrappy half of the champion '86 Mets 2nd bas

The Phillies bookended last week -- when they went 5 - 1 -- with a pair of walk-off victories.   Kody Clemens  (seen here during a May game against Washington) authored Monday night's win over the Rays with a bases-loaded single in the last of the 9th. (Below:)    JT Realmuto  (snapped during the London Series in June) smacked Sunday afternoon's decisive two-out single to make it two out of three wins against the division rival Mets.  As the Phils chase the best record in baseball and post-season home field advantage, it's timely to see their catcher's bat heating up -- especially since his mid-season knee injury will limit him to under 100 games this year. Is there cause for concern with  Ranger Suarez ?  Through his first 10 starts (ending May 21st), he was the most effective starter in the NL, winning nine straight decisions with a sparkling 1.36 ERA.  Since then, he's made 15 starts, going 4-7 with an ERA closer to 5 than 4.  The Phils have a terrific trio of Wh

...you share it with Bernie Williams .  The Yankees centerfielder during their most-recent dynasty was a five-time All Star and four-time World Champ.  This dependable run producer hit .297 over 16 seasons with 287 home runs -- and has plenty of memorable post-season moments: remember game three of 1996 ALDS, when he homered and then robbed a homer from the Rangers?  His walk-off homer in game one of the 1999 ALCS and catching the final out of the 2000 World Series against the Mets...  A gifted guitarist, he's concentrated on music since his playing days ended in 2006.  Bernie's number 51 -- chosen in honor of his native Puerto Rico's aspirations to become our 51st state -- was retired in 2015. Taylor Trammell , once a 1st round draft pick of the Reds, spent parts of 2021-'23 with the Mariners, then bounced from the Dodgers to the Yankees in 2024, spending most of the year at Scranton-Wilkes Barre.  17 home runs and 17 steals in AAA show his potential, but he's yet

Yankee fans got their wish on Monday, when top level prospect Jasson Dominguez was recalled from Scranton Wilkes-Barre.  After an especially hot series against Syracuse -- where I saw him last Tuesday -- the move makes sense, especially with the rest of the Yankee lineup struggling.  Jasson's arrival might lead to more rest for Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, who seem to be slowing down after 140 games. While I caught "The Martian" in a lighthearted move before the game, he wore a more serious expression once the action began. Monday in the Bronx, he went 1-for-4, with a stolen base, that thanks to a Royals error became a run scored. Then on Wednesday, I zoomed in on the two hottest bats for the AA Yanks.  I'd already seen Spencer Jones in early August when Somerset visited Bowie; the young centerfielder impressed again in the series against the Mets prospects in Binghamton, leading off the opening game of a twi-nighter with a bullet of a double. Rafael Flores  is finish

Next to Tom Seaver, there was arguably no player more synonymous with the New York Mets than Ed Kranepool.   His franchise-most 18-season run began in 1962 under Casey Stengel at the Polo Grounds; slowly but surely, the club then assembled a strong core of young talent.  Playing alongside Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee and Tug McGraw, Kranepool was a key player on the 1969 World Champs (he homered against the Orioles in game three) and '73 NL pennant winners.  Never the biggest bat in the lineup, he was a steady contributor who hit a lifetime .261.  As his career wound down, Ed found (and excelled in) a new role, becoming one of the game's most effective pinch hitters.  Kranepool was a fixture at Mets-themed events in the New York area.  The top photo is from the 2014 BAT Dinner, where he enjoying reminiscing with Solly Hemus, a coach on the 1962 and '63 Mets. Signed out of James Monroe High School in the Bronx -- where he broke home run records set by Hank

  ...you share it with a trio of players who called New York home during the 2010s.  Clint Frazier , touted for his "legendary bat speed," joined the Yankees in a 2016 deadline deal for reliever Andrew Miller.  Despite flashes of brilliance -- and several serious injuries -- he never stuck as a regular and later bounced in and out of the White Sox and Cubs. (Below:)  Tyler Austin made history in  '16 when he and Aaron Judge homered in their first plate appearances.   Never in 147 years -- reaching back to 1869 -- had there   back to back blasts by two teammates making their big league debuts in the very same game.  But while Judge went on to become the Yankees biggest star and re-write the American League single season home run record, Austin played in just 85 games as a Yank and was out of the majors just three years later. Jerry Blevins was a media favorite during his four seasons as a Mets reliever: so it's no surprise he's going into broadcasting.  He now ap