Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

While looking for a birthday-salute photo for Mickey Rivers, who turns 67 today, I found this from June's Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium. If not quite a "one picture, one thousand words" image, there's so much here. "Mick the Quick" (who stole 267 bases during his career) is joined by Roy White, his teammate on the 1977 and 78 World Series champions. Between them is Roy's grandson. What do you read from is moment I captured? The youngster is clearly delighted that Grandpa brought him along to experience the wonder of this day. Through his eyes, it's the big ballpark and a lot of guys dressed just him, in their pinstriped outfits. As for Mickey and Roy? Friendship. Shared memories. Some crazy days and nights. Common achievements. Being a part of an amazing history -- that tens of thousands of fans turn out to celebrate.

Is there another world to describe Johnny Cueto's performance in World Series game two? The Royas righty (seen here while still a Red in 2014) held the Mets to a run, two hits and three walks in a complete game 7 - 1 victory. He kept the scorching-hot Daniel Murphy hit-less, quite an achievement in itself. And he made several other Mets hitters -- such as Yoenis Cespedes -- look awful fishing for his pitches. In contrast, the contact-first Royals got to Jacob de Grom in the 5th inning, launching hit after hit, alwas making good contact. Now a pause in the action: when the Series resumes Friday night at Citi Field, the Mets will be in the same spot they were in back in 1986 against the Red Sox -- down two games to none.

Alcides Escobar scored the first and last runs of the Royals 5 - 4 win in the opening game of World Series. The first play was spectacular and historic, as he crushed Matt Harvey's first pitch in the bottom of the 1st inning to the left-center field wall. Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto came close, but whether due to mixed signals or the ball's flight path, neither caught up. The ball bounced off Cespedes' leg, fell to the ground and rolled away, giving Kansas City an instant 1 - 0 lead. It was the first inside-the-park homer in Baseball's Fall Classic since Mule Haas of the 1929 Philadelphia A's -- and just the second time ever by a team's first batter of the game. Patsy Dougherty of the Red Sox did it in Game 2 of the 1903 Series -- the first Series ever. But there's no record whether that happened on the first pitch he saw, so we'll likely never know if Escobar accomplished a true baseball first. The bookend took place leading off the bottom

David Wright and Alex Gordon have played their entire careers with, respectively, the Mets and Royals. They've seen their teams through good times and bad, so the matchup in the 2015 World Series might mean more to each in a personal way. Both missed significant time this year -- Wright with hamstring and back issues, Gordon with an injured groin. So just regaining good health was an achievement. Did you realize this is the first time two expansion clubs (Mets in '62, KC in 1969) have ever been paired in Baseball's Fall Classic? It's also the first time since 2000 that two teams whose primary colors are blue and white (though the Mets wore a lot of black in those days) are playing for the ultimate prize? Great matchup here: the Mets with their outstanding starting pitching and lockdown closer against a smart-hitting Royals team that avoids mistakes -- and has the experience of coming within one run (and Madison Bumgarner's unworldly pitching) of winning it

...perhaps this will. I spotted this seasonal special prominently displayed Saturday at a Shop Rite in Parsippany, New Jersey.

(Seen here at Yankee Stadium this past May), his 8th inning single drove in Lorenzo Cain with the go-ahead run as the Royals took game six last night over the Blue Jays to win their second straight American League pennant. Thanks to the AL's All Star Game victory, the Royals will host the Mets for games one and two of the World Series, beginning Tuesday night. So there will be plenty of time to discuss Cain, Hosmer and the rest of this nicely balanced Kansas City team as they battle Miraculous Murphy and those sensatioal starting pitchers over the next couple of weeks.

Yesterday after five seasons -- and three consecutive NL West titles -- the Dodgers parted company with manager Don Mattingly. An iconic Yankee who coached under Joe Torre and then followed him to the west coast, "Donnie Baseball" couldn't turn the highest payroll in the game into a champion. Losing in the Division Series to the Mets last week was clearly the last straw. But to paraphrase another notable New York sports hero, football's Bill Parcells, Mattingly didn't "shop for the groceries." He didn't construct the roster, and didn't make the trades that sent away Matt Kemp, Dee Gordon and several other potentially productive players. Sure, he had Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke. But something was wrong when his best player this year was Mets castoff Justin Turner. The Dodgers front office, led by analytics mavens Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi inherited Mattingly from their predecessor Ned Coletti. With the Dodgers having missed the Worl

Daniel Murphy, who dominated the National League Championship Series with a performance that rivals the most revered names in October baseball history. Yes, he homered again last night -- that 8th inning blast giving him the record with home runs in six consecutive post-season games. Oh, and he had three other hits, and played flawless defense at 2nd base. So, sorry Marty and Doc, the DeLorean stays in the garage. 2015 won't belong to the Cubs. The Mets find out in a day or two who they'll face in the World Series -- with games three, four and five set for Citi Field beginning next Tuesday. Before hitting "30" for the day, let's give honorable mention to Lucas Duda. His 3-run homer in the top of the 1st (the one time where Murphy was actually retired!) gave the Mets an instant lead, which they held all night.

Last night, as the Mets moved within a win of the National League pennant, the guys who've been their October headliners again led the way. Daniel Murphy homered for the fifth straight postseason game -- tieing Carlos Beltran's record -- while Jacob DeGrom, with all that hair and all that talent and guile, turned in another strong effort, with Jeurys Familia nailing down the save. Let's get back to Murphy, whose biggest at bat of the night didn't clear the fences. In the top of the 7th inning, with the Mets up 3 - 2, he legged out an infield single, advaning David Wright to 3rd base. Yoenis Cespedes drove in Wright; Murphy scored when he beat 1st baseman Anthony Rizzo's throw to the plate with a great slide. Doing the big things -- and the little things. And, barring a collapse accomplished only by the '04 Yankees (man, it hurts to bring that up), Murphy has just about locked in NLCS MVP honors.

Just across the street from Wrigley Field is the legendary sports bar Murphy's Bleachers . While its name derives from its owner, most other uses of the name Murphy have a negative connection to Cubs history. Murphy was the name of the goat that then-owner Phil Wrigley turned away from 1945 World Series, the last one the Cubs played in (and, of course, lost). Jack Murphy Stadium was where the Cubs completed their collapse in 1984 NLCS. And the current Murphy is the Mets 2nd baseman and batting star of the first two games of this year's series -- both won by New York. So, today, here's a look at the corner bar bearing that oft-infamous name.

With all the attention paid to Daniel Murphy and the Mets this past weekend, the other League Championship Series needs a little love. Much like the Mets, the Royals grabbed a two games to none advantage on their home field. While Friday night's victory centered around the strong pitching of Edinson Volquez, Saturday's come-from-behind win over the Blue Jays was a team effort. Left fielder Alex Gordon (seen here against the Yankees in May) earns my spotlight by driving in the go-ahead run on a double and then scoring the insurance run when KC's other Alex... Alex Rios singled him home. Down 3 - 0 at the 7th inning stretch, the Royals scored five times and defeated the Blue Jays 5 - 3. That series resumes tonight in Toronto.

Daniel Murphy stood tallest among the Mets batters in Thursday night's NLDS-deciding win over the Dodgers. The veteran 2nd baseman had a big hand in all three of his club's runs: he drove in Curtis Granderson with a 1st inning double. Three innngs later -- in the most daring play of the night -- he noticed that all the L.A. fielders were out of position and stole 3rd base while advancing on Lucas Duda's walk. Travis d'Arnaud then brought him home on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2. My pal Dennis reminded me that Murph stole a base -- again taking advantage of fielders not paying attention -- right in front of where we sat during our trip to Wrigley back in May. And in the 6th inning came the biggest hit of his Mets career -- a line drive home run off Zack Greinke into Dodger Stadium's right field stands that put his side ahead to stay. It's not fair to downplay the pitching -- Jacob de Grom gutting it out over six innings despite not hav

Both American League Division Series went to fifth and deciding games. And here are the players who delivered the respective game-winning hits: Jose Bautista's three-run 7th inning homer snapped a tie and gave the Blue Jays their margin of victory as they eliminated the Texas Rangers by a 6 - 3 score. "Joey Bats" added an exaggerated flip of his bat to underscore the moment -- and likely fuel an intensified 2016 rivalry with Texas. Ironically, a former Ranger came up with the Royals' decisive hit -- Alex Rios doubled down the left field line in the 5th inning as Kansas City came from behind and rolled to a 7 - 2 win over the Astros. So now, the American League's two best regular season teams get set to face off for a trip to the World Series. My image of Bautista came from the Jays' visit to Citi Field in June; Rios is from July 2014, also snapped during an interleague game against the Mets in Queens.

Cubs 1st baseman Anthony Rizzo (seen here against the Mets back in May) belted a 6th inning home run to put Chicago to stay in Tuesday's NLDS clinching win over the Cardinals. Not only was it the first time the Cubs had won a postseason series since 2003, but the first time ever they'd clinched a series on their home field! The sweet-swinging Rizzo -- with consecutive seasons of 30-plus home runs -- can relax for a few days along with his teammates, while waiting for the Mets and Dodgers to settle their series Thursday night in L.A.

Curtis Granderson (above), Travis d'Arnaud (middle) and Yoenis Cespedes (bottom) were the big bats in Monday night's Mets NLDS victory over the Dodgers. Granderson's bases loaded double in the 2nd inning erased an LA lead and put the Mets ahead for keeps. An inning later, d'Arnaud delivered a two run homer to push the Mets lead to 6 - 3. Then came the 4th inning as Cespedes sealed the deal with a three-run laser of a home run into the middle deck of the left stands. Cespedes and d'Arnaud had three RBIs, while Granderson -- who added a two-run double in the 7th that capped the Mets scoring -- drove in a club postseason record five runs in the 13 - 7 punishment of the Dodgers. Were the Mets motivated by the season-ending injury to Ruben Tejada? Just happy to be playing before the home fans -- in the first playoff game ever at Citi Field? What ever the cause, you know the effect: the Mets stand 27 outs from advancing to the leaue Championship Series for the f

Chase Utley (seen here in 2014 while still a Phillie) changed the course of the post-season Saturday night with his take-out slide on Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada. Was it an aggressive play? A cheap shot? A deliberate attempt to injury an opponent? We're not sure of the intent, but we all know the result: Tejada, in a vulnerable position, was flipped onto his back and suffered a broken leg that ended his season. Utley, initially ruled out on a force pay, was called safe when replay showed Tejada never actually tagged 2nd base. But the controversy spiraled. While the play stood and Utley later scored as part of the Dodgers four-run rally, a day later opinions from baseball's executive offices took a different turn. Utley was suspended for two games -- the two playoff games that would be played Monday and Tuesday at the Mets home ballpark Citi Field. That could change, as well, since Utley has appealed the suspension and could well be back on the field in New York. If that occu

Most of us know at least a handful of famous folks who share our birthday (mine range from Leo Durocher to Alex Rodriguez). But how many of us know someone notable born the same date and year?? I have one -- Brian Kingman , the last pitcher of the 20th century to lose 20 games in a season. (July 27th, 1954) But I didn't realize until yesterday that Joe Pepitone and John Lennon are "birthday twins": both were born October 9th, 1940. A couple of guys who certainly marched to their own drummer. When I see Joe at the next Yankee Old Timers Day, I'm going to have to ask if he ever met Lennon -- or realized that they shared a birthday. And from the "out of left field" file, while John Lennon grew up in the land of Cricket, there was a John Lennon who played a couple of seasons in the low minors. Unfortunately, his career stalled and he left the game after 1956.

Thanks to Jake Arrieta, who turned in as dominating a performance Wednesday as Dallas Keuchel did Tuesday -- then one-upped him by making his a complete game -- the Cubs are moving onto the NLDS, where they'll host games three and four.

Call it the leap of joy: Jose Altuve jumps onto Carlos Correia as the Astros celebrate the last out in Tuesday night's Wild Card victory over the Yankees. There were many Houston heroes on the night -- none bigger than their bearded ace Dallas Keuchel, who totally mesmerized the Yankees. I can only think of two hard hit balls in his six innings of work: Greg Bird's single and a long fly to center field by Rob Refsnyder. That's all. For the third time this year, Keuchel shut out and shut down the Yankees. Their season is over, while the Astros move onto face the Royals in the ALDS.

CC Sabathia 's announcement that was he was entering alcohol rehab was baseball's biggest story on Monday. The big righthander had again become an effective pitcher after he began using a knee brace. But that will be on the shelf this month -- and the Yankees move on without one of their clubhouse leaders and only reliable lefthanded starter. How that will affect the mood of the team heading into tonight's Wild Card Playoff game against the Astros is a guess no one can make at this moment.

Diamondbacks 1st baseman Paul Goldschmidt gave the Yankees a huge gift on Sunday. His two-run, 7th inning homer was the difference in a 5 - 3 win over the Astros -- which kept Houston a game back of the Yanks, and assured that Tuesday night's AL Wild Card playoff would played in the Bronx and not Minute Maid Park. The Yankees -- who once led the Blue Jays by seven games in the division -- struggled the last two months of the season. Injuries and age led to big drops in production by their main offensive threats. Worst, of course, was the season-ending broken leg suffered by 1st baseman Mark Teixeira. Especially over the last five weeks, it seemed the club couldn't buy a clutch hit. They didn't get any over the regular season's final weekend, when -- needing just one win to lock in home field for the "play in" game -- they were swept by the Orioles. Turned out the Yankees biggest hit down the stretch came from a Diamondback. (This image of Goldschmidt is

After two years of missing the playoffs, the Yankees are going back to the post-season. Last night's win over the Red Sox came from the old playbook -- three home runs, by Carlos Beltran (above), Greg Bird (middle) and Rob Refsnyder (bottom). Three homers, that's Bronx Bombers style. Add to that another effective start from the resurgent CC Sabathia, plus solid bullpen work from Warren and Betances, and you've got a 4 - 1 Yankee Stadium victory. Of course, there's always more to the story for this team steeped in history. The win was the 10,000th in team history. The Yankees are first American Leageue team to reach that milestone, and just the second in the majors to reach 5-digits. (But keep in mind, the Giants franchise was established in 1883 -- giving them a 20-year head start!!) So, it's on to Tuesday night, and the American League's wild card "play in" game. The Yanks have a new magic number: 1. One win this weekend against the Orioles

Jason Hayward turned in a great all-around game Wednesday night as the Cardinals clinched the NL Central for the third straight year -- and reached the 100-win milestone for the 9th time in club history. The big rightfielder belted a grand slam and added two more hits along with a pair of acrobatic catches in an 11 -1 victory over the Pirates at Busch Stadium. Despite the tragic loss of outfielder Oscar Tavares, who was killed in an off-season car wreck, and injuries that cost them Adam Wainwright and Matt Adams for most of the year, and the recent thumb injury to Yadier Molina the Cardinals pieced things together and compiled the best record in the National League. They'll have home field advantage through the NL playoffs (but won't in the World Series, since the AL took the All Star Game). This photo of Hayward came from a May 2015 game in New York against the Mets.