Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

With the infielders alongside Ben Rice struggling in the early going, Yankee fans have to be excited by the early results George Lombard Junior has posted in AA ball.  Through the first week and a half at Somerset, the 2023 first round pick has crushed opposing pitchers -- not only hitting .464, but more than half hits hits going for extra bases (five doubles and two homers).  Watching him last Thursday against Binghamton (when he went 3-for-6), he was clearly the best player on the field, fielding crisply and showing good baserunning skills. The Miami native, who won't turn 21 until June, will need to finish out his matriculation -- likely moving up to the Yanks top farm club in Scranton Wilkes-Barre sometime this spring where he'll face tougher pitching, including many with major league experience. My pictures show a confident and talented kid, who seems on target to reach the Bronx sooner than later.  And the timing is right: 2nd baseman Jazz Chisholm is in his walk y...

...you share it with Andrew Painter .  The Phillies top pitching prospect looked to be on the fast track to the majors before Tommy John surgery cost him the '23 and '24 seasons.  After rehabbing a year ago with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he made his MLB debut on March 31st, winning his first start against the Nationals, but had a tougher time facing the Giants this past Monday.  Considered the best pitcher they've developed since Cole Hamels, the Phils expect big things from the South Florida native now  and into the next decade. ( These images are from a AAA game at Syracuse last July . Painter now wears 24 for the Phils .) And we remember Chuck Connors .  Yes, the star of TV's classic western The Rifleman really did play major league ball.  The Brooklyn native was both a baseball and basketball standout at nearby Seton Hall U, before signing with the Dodgers but made just one appearance for the team he grew up rooting for -- grounding out into a double pla...

April 7th, 1984 was a noteworthy day for pitching.  After being their big story during spring training 19 year old Mets rookie Dwight Gooden  was a winner in his regular season debut, striking out five and holding the Astros to a run and three hits over five innings in a 3-2 Mets victory .  It was his first of his 16 wins that season en route to National League Rookie of the Year honors (and 157 career wins as a Met). Very impressive, especially for a teenager, yet not the day's top baseball headline. That belonged to Tigers ace Jack Morris.   Making his second start of the young season, he no-hit the Chicago White Sox, striking out eight, walking six, but otherwise firing blanks in Detroit's 4-0 victory at old Comiskey Park -- their fourth straight win to start the year.  , a streak that would soon reach nine in a row and 35 wins in their first 40 games, the best start to a season ever! (Morris ended the year 19-11, finishing seventh for the Cy Young Award.) Sp...

...you share it with Jay Bruce , whose 14 big league seasons included time with both New York teams and both Ohio clubs, as well as the Mariners and Phillies.  Power was his calling card -- he slugged 319 homers, including five seasons with 30 or more and another with 29.  Hayden Senger waited eight years to finally reach the majors.  The Mets 24th round draft choice in 2018 suited up for Kingsport, Columbia, Brooklyn, Binghamton and Syracuse before making his MLB debut in 2025.  Injuries to and then a bout of subpar play by Francisco Alvarez led to Senger appearing in 33 games for the Mets.  This year, he's back in Syracuse, insurance against Alvarez or backup Luis Torrens missing time. (Below:) And we remember the late Wally Moon .  The 1954 NL Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals was traded to the Dodgers five years later, collecting three World Series rings during his time in L.A.  1959 was his standout season -- as the lefty hitter mastered the ...

Several prominent rookies have already broken in with a splash.  Among them, Cardinals 2nd baseman JJ Wetherholt , who homered in his first at-bat Thursday against the Rays.  I caught this shot in a March 13th exhibition against the Astros. (Below:) The Marlins' Owen Caissie  -- the key return in the Edward Cabrera trade with the Cubs -- grabbed the headlines Sunday.  His a walk-off home run against the Rockies not only produced a 4-3 win over the Rockies, but capped Miami's first 3-0 start since 2009.  This big swing came on St. Patrick's Day, as the Marlins hosted the Mets in Jupiter. The Mets Carson Benge , after advancing through three minor league levels a year ago,  won the club's staring job in right fielder then homered in his first MLB game Thursday against the Pirates. (Below:) Justin Crawford has done just what the Phillies hoped for -- he's had a hit in each of his first three big league games.  Add on a Sunday walk and he's hitting ....

 ... you share it with a Baseball Hall of Famer and a likely future Hall of Famer. Buster Posey , the heart and soul of the Giants trio of Worlds Champions during the 2010s, is a near-lock for induction a year from now.   The NL Rookie of the Year in 2010, and MVP/batting champ two years later, he is also the leader in WAR among the 62 major leaguers born on this date.  Though he played just 11 full seasons and totaled just 1500 hits, his .302 average, strong defense, seven All Star selections and on-field leadership boost his cause. Miller Huggins , manager of the first Yankee Dynasty — the “Murderers Row” of the 1920s led by legends such as  Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri and Combs, that won six pennants and three World Series championships. Dominating a decade and establishing the Yankees as baseball royalty punched his Hall of Fame ticket.  And there’s more to his story: his sudden death in 1929 at age 51, led the club to erect a monument to him by the Stadium’s...