Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

Here it is -- the most attended baseball game ever played in North America. The Dodgers honoring their 50th anniversary in LA, returning to their first West Coast home, the Los Angeles Coliseum. Not surprisingly, Vin Scully, whose voice has been the melody of baseball ever since the major leagues arrived in L.A., was among those honored in a pre-game ceremony. So was Roz Wyman, the Los Angeles city council member who spearheaded the effort that brought the Dodgers to Los Angeles. The national anthem was sung by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Junior. They were a perfect choice for an event whose proceeds benefit the Dodgers newly established Think Cure cancer charity -- Davis is a prostate cancer survivor, as is Dodgers manager Joe Torre. The sense of community, of so many people sharing an event and celebrating this anniversary in one place at one time, is incredibly powerful. Built for the 1932 Summer Olympics and designed for track events and football, wedging our diamond ont...

First stop on my Southern California baseball weekend was Angel Stadium. The "big caps" area a unique decoration as you enter. New Era, the company that make the caps the players use, posted signs claiming these mammoth chapeaus are "size 649-1/2." And speaking of oversize... These concrete balls serve as a barricade separating cars and pedestrians at the entrance. They do stir up visions of now-Governor Schwarzenegger using them as exercise gear in his Hollywood days. I can't resist the palm trees, especially at the outdoor food court along the 3rd base line. Vladimir Guerrero's home run was the Angels' lone highlight of a 2-2 10-inning tie. While not dramatically distinctive or blatantly retro, Angel Stadium has a comfortable layout, even the upper deck seats offer a good view. A bit reminiscent of Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium. Most ballparks now do a "baseball race" or other animated time-filler between innings. The An...

Boarding my flight from LaGuardia to LAX yesterday morning, I was in the typical backed-up line in the jetway (isn't that what they call that tubelike connector from the gate to the plane?). Killing time, I glanced out the window and caught a totally unexpected side-by-side view of Citi Field and Shea Stadium. Having my camera in my pocket, I snapped this. Pretty good picture quality for having to shoot through a thick (and not completely clean) window obscured with wire reinforcement. The Present meets the Future in Flushing. Truly a work in progress.

Last spring, the Mets' Florida home Tradition Field earned my personal MIP Award -- Most Improved Park. Our 2007 visit came for an evening game just after daylight savings time began. Batting practice time for the visiting Orioles. The late day sun mixing with the stadium lights... and a nice view of the berm, the hill beyond the right field fence that serves as a grapefruit league variation on bleacher seats. Top of the 1st inning, the Orioles bat first. When did ballpark names or club logos start being chalked into the area just behind home plate? The Yankees did it, then the Mets adopted the practice, first at Shea and now in Port St. Lucie. The power stroke of Mets 3rd baseman David Wright. More and more common every March -- Grapefruit League action under the lights. Renovated and upgraded from its previous life as Thomas J. White Stadium, the ballpark is now color-splashed and far more inviting. Having a contending club as the tenant doesn't hurt, either.

So much is being written this week about the Dodgers' departure from Vero Beach, I felt it only fair to serve up a few more glimpses of this baseball oasis from my 2005 and '07 visits. Six World Series champions began their preparation here. While a little commercialism has encroached over the years, Holman Stadium is still open, airy and uncluttered. This view of the press box and grandstand brings to mind the terrific article David Hinckley wrote in the New York Daily News on his youthful connection to the Dodgers: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2008/03/17/2008-03-17_a_farewell_to_dodgertown.html Baseball's easy going pace makes an ideal match with a small field in rural Florida. Fans are so close, you wait to hear the thunk of the ball hitting the catcher's mitt -- except when it bounces away. And at times, you can even hear the quiet of a bygone day.

They're playing while we're working. Their grass is green, ours is dormant. We're at Cardinals practice in St. Petersburg, March 1985. I'll admit it, views like this easily make natives of the northeast envious. Around the batting cage at Al Lang Stadium: Tom Nieto, Jack Clark, Lonnie Smith, Glenn Brummer, Mike Jorgensen. (Above:) Just a month after being traded to the Cardinals, 1st baseman Jack Clark gets in his swings. That October, he'd belt the game-winning 9th inning home run in the sixth and final game of the National League Championship Series. (Below:) A wide shot during morning batting practice at Al Lang Stadium.

He was the first home-grown home run hitter in Mets history. 1983's National League Rookie of the Year Darryl Strawberry possessed a catchy name, great natural ability but was always beset by massive, and likely unfair expectations. It's not easy for anyone to graduate high school dubbed "the Black Ted Williams." That sweet swing, on display before a 1985 Mets/Phillies exhibition at Clearwater always drew attention. That's manager Davy Johnson (5) peering through the batting cage.

Best known as the Yankees pre-season home, the Orioles have spent February and March in Fort Lauderdale since 1996. While no longer the state-of-the-art facility it was when it opened in 1962 -- scenes for SAFE AT HOME, starring Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and the most avid baseball fan in show biz William Frawley, were shot there -- you still get the up-close-and-personal view of the game that only an 83-hundred seat ballpark provides. Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis in 2007,making a quick and strong throw back to the infield. Below, another of the other charms of March baseball -- not only will players sign autographs, they'll often do so while a game is still in progress. This is Kevin Millar of the Orioles. 2005 was the season Sammy Sosa played for the O's. He always had good form as a batter -- too bad he chose to artificially enhance his physique during the prime of his career, thus tainting his achievements. The O's are eager to leave Fort Lauderdale Stadium, ...