Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

May 29th, 2010:  Roy Halladay pitches a perfect game -- with little margin for error --  as the Phillies blank the Marlins 1-0 at Miami. The righthander strikes out 12, and uses 115 pitches the become the 20th man to throw a perfect game -- and the second of the 2010 season (Oakland's Dallas Braden did it weeks earlier, marking the first season since 1880 with two perfectos in the same year). Halladay joins Jim Bunning as the only Phillies ever to throw a perfect game; ironically both occurred in the first seasons with the club. May 29th, 2000: Ex-Yankee Randy Velarde completes the tenth unassisted triple play in major league history -- and does it against his former club. Even tacking on a 9th inning solo homer, it's not enough to overcome the Yankees, who win the game 4-1. May 29th, 1996: Cal Ripken becomes the Orioles all time home run leader, belting the 334th of his career (off Sterling Hitchcock) to move past Eddie Murray. The Orioles wind up losing to the Mariner

I am not sure there was ever another ballpark view quite like this. Certainly not any place I'd visited since the '70s. From Tiger Stadium's upper deck above the right field corner, a space to look straight down at the field. To call it obstructed is being kind, but you're actually looking through the superstructure and peering down on a group of Oriole pitchers: 34 is Storm Davis; 19, Ben McDonald' and 30 Gregg Olson. Not sure about the fourth player, looking toward the camera.

...you share it with one of the White Sox rising stars, Yoan Moncada . The Cuban expat, signed to a pricey contract by the Red Sox, enjoyed a breakout 2019, belting 25 homers, hitting .315 and most crucially, cut his strikeout total by more 60 compared to '18. Garrett Richards posted two strong seasons for the Angels, going 13-4 in 2016 and winning 15 the next year, before being tripped up by arm injuries. Working his way back, he appeared in three games with the Padres late last season. Jose Berrios has quietly developed into one of the American League's better starting pitchers, winning a dozen or more in each of the last three seasons. He posted a 14-8 mark and made the All Star team in 2019 as Minnesota won the AL Central. Isan Diaz , the Springfield, Massachusetts product who made his major league debut last season with the Marlins. Drafted out of high school by the Diamondbacks, he moved through their organization and then the Brewers before coming to Miam

Darin Ruf gave hints in the mid 2010s that he might become an important Phillies player. The Omaha native showed impressive home run power, but struck out in more than a third of his plate appearances (an ugly 36.3%). His progress wasn't helped by being stuck behind the expensive but declining Ryan Howard. After spending parts of five seasons in the majors -- even after Howard retired -- Ruf fell behind in the organization's pecking order, with the younger and more promising Rhys Hoskins and Dylan Cozens the new apples of the Phanatic's eye. A winter 2017 trade to the Dodgers, didn't provide a path back to the show. Instead, he signed with Samsung in the Korean Baseball Organization, where he smacked 86 homers over three seasons, hitting .290 or better each year. That led to one more big league chance: the Giants gave him a minor league contract and invitation to spring training in Arizona. Making the most of this chance, Ruf was hitting .429 with three ho

May 22nd, 1976: Reggie Smith belts three home runs and drives in five, as the Cardinals outscore the Phillies 7-6 at Veterans Stadium. May 22nd, 1963: Mickey Mantle 's homer off Bill Fischer of the A's bounces off the facade high above the right field seats at Yankee Stadium. It's the highlight of an 8 - 7 win over the Kansas City A's. May 22nd, 1930:  The Yankee bats were blazing! In the second game of a doubleheader, Lou Gehrig hits three home runs and Babe Ruth adds another in a 20-13 win over the Philadelphia Athletics. The Bambino had a pair in the opener after belting three in the previous game. Ruth ties a major league record with six homers over a three-game span. May 23rd, 2004: Tom Glavine shuts the Rockies out on just one hit. Kit Pellow breaks up the no-no bid with an 8th inning single of the Mets 4 - 0 victory. May 23rd, 2002: Shawn Green becomes the first Dodger since Gil Hodges (in 1950) to belt four home runs in a game -- and adds a double and

June 12th, 1992, from the field level seats in lower right field. Once again, arriving well before game time paid off in views the fan who just comes in for a game can't capture. As Tiger Stadium's classic splendor sparkles in the late afternoon sun, there's a different dimension when the image is converted to black and white. Doesn't it remind you a bit of the first time you saw Tiger Stadium on TV? Or a game photo from a daily newspaper?

...you share it with Jayson Werth . The power-hitting outfielder whose hair and beard seemingly grew longer year-by-year was a late bloomer. Once a top Blue Jays then Dodgers prospect, the Phillies picked him up after he missed 2006 with a serious wrist injury. From that point, he rose to stardom on four consecutive NL East winners -- highlighted by the 2008 Worlds Championship. The love from Philadelphia fans turned to hate when he signed a seven-year nine-figure contract to jump to the division-rival Nationals, where, between injuries and inconsistency, he only authored two impressive seasons. Werth sprouts from an impressive family tree: his grandfather and uncle, both named Dick Schofield, were both longtime infielders; and his stepfather Dennis Werth saw time in the majors with the Yankees and Royals. Also on our cake and candles parade: Austin Kearns , a power-hitting righty outfielder who never hit enough to remain a regular. Still, he popped 121 home runs over a dozen

Another of the timeless traditions we'll do without in 2020 baseball is the pre-game exchange of lineup cards at home plate. From just before a Yankees/Mariners matchup in April 2016, coaches Joe Espada and Manny Acta confer with umpiring crew. For decades, that was part of the game-in, game-out ritual. Now, the first thing you notice is how close everyone is in that circle.

Such a familiar sight: back in the dugout after a home run, a player receives a steady stream of high fives from his teammates. But not if we have baseball in 2020. The 67 page operations manual proposed by the owners would ban that and many other aspects of the game that players and fans take for granted. No tobacco or seeds in the dugouts, to eliminate spitting. Players in the dugout spaced six feet apart, with others six feet apart in the lower rows of the empty stands. No fist bumps or handshakes. No on-field mascots such as the Phillie Phantatic or Mister Met. No exchanges of lineup cards before the game.  New balls any time a ball is put in play and touched by multiple players.  Players wearing masks except while on the field, standing six feet apart during the singing of the national anthem and “God Bless America.”   Of course, players and fans want baseball to be safe when it gets the go-ahead to resume. And these measures are there to insure health and caution

May 15th, 2005:  There are Yankee highlights galore as they beat the A's 6-4 in Oakland. It's career victory number 250 for Randy Johnson and the 1800th for manager Joe Torre. Tino Martinez is the batting star, crushing a pair of home runs, giving him eight over an eight-game stretch. May 15th, 1984:  Mike Schmidt's 400th career home run, off Bob Welch, is the biggest hit in the Philles 12-1 victory at Dodger Stadium. May 15th, 1981: Len Barker pitches the 11th perfect game in major league history -- and first in the AL since Catfish Hunter in 1968 -- as the Indians freeze out the Blue Jays, 3-0. May 15th, 1976:  Mark Fidrych makes his first major league start one to remember: a complete game two-hitter as the Tigers edge the Indians 2- 1 in Cleveland. The animated rookie held the Indians without a hit until the 7th inning. May 15th, 1973:  Nolan Ryan fires the first of his seven career no-hitters, in the Angels 3-0 win at Royals Stadium. May 15th, 1967: Robert

Thursdays are going to be special over the next few weeks. In the nearly 13 years I've run this site, I'd posted almost none of the images I took on my one and only visit to Tiger Stadium in Detroit. It's June 12th, 1992 , with the Orioles on the field before the game, while the Tigers are still taking batting practice. To underscore the snugness of this marvelous park, I was standing in the box seats when I snapped this. I didn't have a photo pass; I wasn't on the field. Yet, the players seem to be just a few feet away. Mike Mussina (#35) was stretching near the batting cage, just a few feet away from teammate Todd Frohwirth (#49). The only other Baltimore number visible is 54. Anyone know who he is? Just an hour later, Mussina would take the mound and author a complete game shutout. Detroit's #54, standing behind the batting cage, is also a mystery. I would have guessed it's their hitting coach Larry Herndon -- but he wore #53 that season. Unl

...you share it with Justus Sheffield . The Yankees top pitching prospect was the key piece in the James Paxton following the 2018 season. After appearing in eight games for the Mariners last season, Seattle expects him to be a big part of their rotation for years to come. Mychal Givens , the Orioles hurler whose best seasons so far have been 2016 and '17, when he went 8-1 and 8-2 out of the bullpen. Max Moroff , the former Pirates and Indians utility player who was in spring training with the Mets until the pause button was hit in March. Willson Contreras , the Cubs power-hitting catcher. An All Star the past two seasons, he was limited by injury to just 105 games in 2019, but still cracked 24 home runs.. John Ryan Murphy , is another former Yankee prospect to have departed by a trade. After showing promise as a hitter, but stuck behind starting catcher Brian McCann, he was sent to the Twins for Aaron Hicks after the 2015 season. But he's never been able to beco

April 14th, 2019: The White Sox' Leury Garcia faces Masahiro Tanaka in the top of the 5th inning, from just behind the field level seats. A couple of pitches later, he'll single to left field. Not a vintage day for either Tanaka or the Yankees -- Chicago won it 5-2 . Below: a closer look at Garcia, a couple of innings earlier, from the Stadium's 200 level.

One of the more fan friendly adaptations in modern ballparks is the way bullpens are out in the open. I was standing above to capture this image. But take a look at how fans, an hour or so before the first pitch can look in from the far side. Houston's Mike Fiers warms up before making the start against the Phillies on July 26th, 2017 at Citizens Bank Park.

May 8th, 2019: Joey Gallo of the Rangers becomes the fastest American League player to reach 100 home runs. His 443-foot blast lands in the Allegheny River, as Texas outscores the Pirates 9-6 at PNC Park. May 8th, 2010: Henry Blanco is the second straight Mets catcher to hit a walk off homer. The day after Rod Barajas' heroics, Blanco connects off ex-Met Guillermo Mota in the 11th inning for a 5-4 victory over the Giants. May 8th, 2001: Randy Johnson strikes out a record-tying 20 batters (out of 29 men faced), but settles for a no-decision in the Diamondbacks 4-3, 11-inning win over the Reds at Bank One Ballpark. May 8th, 2000: Jason and Jeremy Giambi each hit a home run in the A's 9-8 loss to the Angels in Anaheim. It's the first of four times the brothers will homer in the same game for Oakland. May 8th, 1996: Dwight Gooden wins his first game as a Yankee. He works the first eight innings, striking out eight in a 10-3 win over the Tigers. May 8th, 1974: Geor

July 7th, 2010: A perfect early summer night as the Rock Cats' Chris Parmelee hits against the Reading Phillies at New Britain Stadium. The 22 year old Parmelee went on to hit .275 that season. A year later, the Twins promoted him to the majors for the first time. That September, he had his date with destiny -- when Mariano Rivera struck him out for the final out in his record-setting 602nd save. But 14 months earlier, Parmelee could not have imagined his name would forever be tied to a baseball milestone.

You share it with the greatest player in Giants history -- and one of the 10 best in the 150 years history of the major leagues -- the radiant star beloved in both San Francisco and New York,  Willie Mays . 660 lifetime home runs, a .302 batting average -- and 12 Gold Gloves. Want more? Try this: 50 home run seasons 10 years apart, in 1955 and '65 -- the only player with a pair of such bookends. And let's not forgot that memorable World Series catcher, that over-the-shoulder grab of Vic Wertz' soaring fly ball in deepest center field at the Polo Grounds in the opening game of the 1954 fall classic. You still marvel at it every time you see the replay.  Mays' Gold Glove awards are in a special display as you enter AT&T Park. How's this for being a "difference maker": on July 2, 1963, when Hall of Famers-to-be Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal each threw 15 scoreless innings -- as Willie settled things in the bottom of the 16th inning, homering off S

It's the ideal opportunity to zoom in on the Yankees Mexican-born pitcher Luis Cessa . He was an effective middle reliever in 2019, appearing in 43 games -- including July 30th against the Diamondbacks. Did you know that Cessa was originally signed by the Mets and began his minor league career as a shortstop? He was moved to the mound in 2011. Cessa is one of 129 Mexican natives who've played in the major leagues; 82 of them are pitchers -- the most prolific: Fernando Valenzuela , who won 173 games (and tossed a no hitter) during the '80s and '90s. But with just five standout seasons, he fell a bit shy of Hall of Fame consideration.

From July 19th, 2016 : Starlin Castro sends a Vance Worley pitch soaring toward the lower left field seats at Yankee Stadium. No doubt about it: all Baltimore's Ryan Flaherty and JJ Hardy (and umpire Mark Carlson) can do is watch it fly. And the crowd around 350 feet from home plate can't wait for the ball to come down. Castro touches home plate with a quick thanks to the heavens, as the Yankees grab a quick 2-0 lead. It was a New York night -- with Nate Eovaldi pitching well and Chase Headley adding an 8th inning homer, the Yanks won 7-1.

May 1st, 2000:  Barry Bonds becomes the first player to hit a ball into McCovey Cove. The first "splashdown" home run into San Francisco Bay helps the Giants beat the Mets, 10-3. May 1st, 1992: Exactly a year to the day after breaking Lou Brock's stolen base record, Rickey Henderson becomes the first major leaguer ever to reach the 1000 mark... He does it in the A's/Tigers game in Detroit. May 1st, 1991: Rickey Henderson steals the record-breaking 939th stolen base of his career, in the A's 7-4 afternoon win over the Yankes in Oakland. More history was made that night as Nolan Ryan throws the seventh no-hitter of his career; he strikes out 16 as his Texas Rangers blank the Blue Jays 4 -0. May 1st, 1966: Sam McDowell, touched up for just a third-inning double by Don Buford, fires his second consecutive one-hitter, as the Indians blanks the White Sox 1-0 at Cleveland Stadium. May 1st, 1965: Yogi Berra appears in his first game for the Mets. He grounds out