Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

  ...you share it with Aaron Hicks .  The Twins 2008 1st round draft pick struggled in his three Minnesota seasons, before being traded to the Yankees. After a couple of ordinary years, he blossomed in 2018, taking over for Jacoby Ellsbury as the everyday center fielder.  But he never posted similar numbers after signing a long-term contract extension.  Released in 2023, he spent time with the Orioles and Angels before calling it a career. October 2nd's birthday circle lacks star power.  You'd recognize some of the other names such as Earl Wilson, a starting pitcher for the 1968 World Champion Tigers, Lance McCullers Junior, an effective pitcher for the Astros and Brewers, longtime reliever "Everyday" Eddie Guardado and Andre Robertson, a promising Yankee infielder of the early 1980s whose career was derailed by injuries in a Manhattan car wreck. While no one born on this date has made the Hall of Fame, the best player (by WAR) with this birthday deserves more C...

Do you think Mets baseball operations head David Stearns would want a do-over on letting Pete Alonso leave for the Orioles as a free agent?  While New York had tons of trouble finding a dependable replacement, the former NL Rookie of the Year led the American League in RBIs (113) and homers (43) -- his sixth consecutive season with 30 or more! (Below:) I'd be shocked if Max Venable doesn't win AL Manager of the Year honors.  After leading the White Sox to almost a 20-win improvement in his first season at Rate Field, Chicago not only added 24 wins to their record but claimed the final American League Wild Card!  They’ll battle the Astros in one of the AL series.  Eduardo Valencia gave Justin Verlander a special send-off last Saturday.  The rookie catcher, whom I saw early in the season with the Tigers' AAA club, the Toledo Mudhens, hit a walkoff homer in the bottom of the 9th, lifting Detroit to a come-from-behind win in the future Hall of Famer's final game...

  ...you share it with  Ben Rortvedt , who came close to joining the select circle that have played for both New York teams.  Having already seen action for the 2023 Yankees, the well traveled catcher suited up 48 times this season for the Mets AAA club in Syracuse -- where, despite injuries to Francisco Alvarez, he never got the call to Queens.  Instead, he returned to the Dodgers in a deadline deal for pitching prospect Chayce McDermott.  Vance Worley looked like he was about to become the Phillies next stellar starting pitcher, going 11-3 on the 2011 NL East champs.  But "The Vanimal" could never duplicate those numbers; never again reaching double digit victories and only once posting a winning record over the next half dozen years, as he bounced from Philadelphia to Minnesota, Baltimore and Miami.  In case you're curious, of the nearly 70 major leaguers born on September 25th, the best player (in terms of WAR) and only Hall of Famer, is the Yanke...

At Saturday night's Syracuse/Lehigh Valley game, I paid special attention to several players that could be on the bubble for the Phillies post-season roster.  One was the former American League All Star Nestor Cortes .  Signed in August -- just in time to be playoff-eligible -- he had a couple of rough outings initially, but looked solid on Saturday, tossing three shutout innings against the AAA Mets (whose lineup featured top prospect Jefferson Rojas and former big leaguers MJ Melendez and Vidal Brujan).  Between injuries and ineffective by the current 'pen crew, there could be an opening for Cortes if the Phillies make it through the final week and claim a Wild Card. Remember Otto Kemp ? After opening the 2026 season with the Phillies (and big expectations), t he failed to provide that right handed bench strength that Derek Hill and Bryan De La Cruz produced.  And he didn't do make to boost his cause at Lehigh Valley, hitting just .226 (albeit with 17 home runs a...

...you share it with the late Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg .  In a deal that nearly parallels Fergie Jenkins, the promising Phillies infielder was traded after the 1981 season to the Cubs (along with Larry Bowa) for veteran shortstop Ivan deJesus.  The move worked short-term: with deJesus in the lineup, the "Wheeze Kids" won the '83 pennant before fading quickly.  After a slow start in Chicago, Sandberg's career took off against the Cardinals in the now-iconic NBC Game of the Week , where he twice homered to tie the game, which the Cubs won in 11 innings.  From there, it was a decade of stardom, with  10 consecutive All-Star appearances, nine consecutive Gold Gloves and a pair of division titles. His baseball IQ and sustained success seemed to mark him as a future standout manager.  After leading the Phillies Lehigh Valley farm club to the playoffs in 2011, he was promoted to Charlie Manuel's coaching staff -- and succeeded him in August 2013. ...

One of my goals every year is to visit a ballpark that's "new to me."  Last week, I sorta added Asheville, North Carolina's HomeTrust Park to my list.  Sorta, because the High-A season ended on Sunday September 6th and I didn't arrive until the following day.  And while there were no remaining games -- and no permission to get past the gates -- that didn't stop me or my camera from capturing as much as I could. Previously known as McCormick Field, minor league ball has been played on this site -- a hillside not far from downtown Asheville -- for 102 years.  The current version of the South Atlantic League's Asheville Tourists has been here since 2021.  Riffing on the club's name, here's a look inside the team store, a/k/a "The Tourist Trap." I'm not sure every ballpark should have a brick facade, but this one looks perfect. Six future Hall of Famers played for Asheville on their way to the majors: Sparky Anderson, Craig Biggio, Todd H...