Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

...you share it with Jackie Robinson , who boldly and courageously made baseball truly live up to the term America's Pastime. Today's tribute is the park and statue that honor Robinson in his  adopted home town of Stamford, Connecticut. Notice the words on the base of the statue: Courage - Perseverance - Confidence . Words to live by; words to succeed by.  Words that help remember and follow the example of a strong and talented man who helped make America a better place -- in the face of often vicious opposition. Number 42, retired across baseball and symbolic of the best in the sporting character.   :

Bryce Harper was already the most talked about rookie in baseball when I first saw him.  It's mid-July 2012 as the Nationals host the Mets in DC.  Games 69 and 70 of the budding superstar's big league career...  Harper would go on to hit 22 homers , drive in 59 and hit .270 -- as a 19 year old!    He'd best Wade Miley and Todd Frazier to grab the Jackie Robinson Award. Jump ahead to 2025 and Harper, now 32, begins his 7th Philadelphia season with 336 homers and is just 24 away from reaching one thousand RBI. With eight All Star appearances and a pair of MVP awards to his credit, Harper is well on his way to Cooperstown.  What he's more corned with is getting this year's Phillies back to the World Series, as they prepare to battle the Juan Soto-fueled Mets, the always tough Braves and the beyond-loaded Dodgers once the regular season begins two months from now.

...you share it with  Whit Merrifield .  The three-time AL stolen base champ seemingly fell off the table in 2024.  After signing with the Phillies, who expected him to be their "Swiss Army Knife," he played more like a bent fork -- hitting under .200 in 53 games, and adding little of the spark he showed in previous seasons with the Blue Jays and Royals.  Released mid-season, he signed with the Braves, but wasn't much of a difference-maker there, either.  With camps opening in less than a month, he's still unsigned.   Scott Kazmir, a first round draft pick by the Mets, never pitched for New York.  Instead, while still apprenticing in the minors, he was sent to the Cubs in a forgettable deadline deal for Victor Zambrano, who won just 10 games over parts of three seasons for the Mets.  Kazmir did his best work for the Rays, winning 10 or more games four times during the '00s.  He later bounced through several other organizations, finishing wit...

  Winding it back to May 1992 as the Phillies visit the Reds.  Since my friends and I stayed on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, here's an image of the ballpark from across the water. (Below:) Looking towards center field, notice how similar the design is to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.  Rounded, symmetrical and carpeted with artificial turf. It's Reds batting practice... easy to spot manager Lou Piniella (#41) behind the cage. (Below:) Now, it's the Phils turn.  That's utility player Jeff Grotewald wearing #48. Phillies manager Jim Fregosi (#11) and pitching coach Johnny Podres (#46) keeping an eye on their club.

..you share it with Trevor Bauer .  Cleveland's ace for much of the 2010s, who spent 2019-'20 in Cincinnati before jumping to the Dodgers as a 2021 free agent.  There, he saw his career put on hold by sexual abuse allegations.  Suspended but never tried in a courtroom, he was forced into exile playing the next two years in Japan, and 2024 posting a 10-0 record in Mexico.  Despite that success, his personal issues have kept any MLB team from signing him. Also in today's birthday circle: Kyle Tucker , who developed into one of baseball's top all-around players with the Astros.  Fearful they wouldn't be able to extend the pending 2026 free agent, he was traded last month to the Cubs in one of baseball's biggest winter deals. Chili Davis , the hard-hitting outfielder/DH who played 19 big seasons, capped by coming off the bench for the champions 1998 and '99 Yankees. Pete LaCock , the 1st baseman-son of game show legend Peter Marshall, who was born in (Beautiful ...

Winding it back a decade, here's a gallery from Wrigley Field.  It's May 14th, 2015 , the Cubs hosting the Mets on a cloudy, chilly afternoon. (Below:) Manager Terry Collins behind the cage as his Mets take batting practice. A casual pre-game moment... I recognize Daniel Murphy, but not the player in front of him.  Do you? (Below:) Reliever Jeurys Familia chats with a fan in the front row.   Legendary broadcaster Harry Caray's image is mounted above the Cubs TV booth, Wrigley is the midst of an extensive modernization -- but one that keeps with the classic ballpark's character.  Bleachers are being rebuilt; the video board posts the lineups with an old fashioned look. Jon Niese is on the mound for New York. (Below:) Curtis Granderson takes his lead, with Cubs 1st baseman Anthony Rizzo keeping him honest. Top of the 9th, the Mets last chance: down by a run... a runner on 1st and Dilson Herrera at bat. (Below:) After Herrera strikes out, it's time for the Cubs victory...

...you share it with Oscar Gonzalez .  The Dominican outfielder showed good power with 11 homers for the 2022 Guardians, before his production dropped off the following year.  After being waived, he tried to make the '24 Yankees in spring training -- I caught him in a March game against the Phillies -- and then during the summer with AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre. which visited Syracuse on July 9th. Next month he'll head to Arizona to try and catch on with the Padres. The biggest bat with a January 10th birthday belonged to  Willie McCovey .  The Giants legend wrote his ticket to Cooperstown with 521 homers over 22 seasons, while teaming with fellow Hall of Famer Willie Mays in one of baseball's most dynamic power duos. His prowess in pulling the ball led to the Giants dubbing the part of China Basin just beyond the right field wall and concourse as McCovey Cove.  More than 160 "splash hits" have landed there since the ballpark opened, while boaters trying to r...

Dialing up April 1993 and my one and only visit to the Kingdome .  One of the more maligned examples of early domed design, the Mariners' former home was, in a word, dark...  A grim concrete exterior matched with a poorly lit playing field and seating bowl. The multi-purpose stadium opened for the NFL's Seahawks in 1976 and welcomed the Mariners a year later.  Big baseball crowds weren't the rule -- unless the Yankees were in town.  Over 52,000 fans were on hand Saturday night April 22nd, 1993  when the Yankees won 1-0 in 11 innings (on a Kevin Maas sacrifice fly). To give you a different sense of the space, I snapped this before the game from the upper deck above deep right field. While a flawed venue for baseball, the Mariners began to pack the place with their "refuse to lose" 1995 run to the AL West title, followed by a division series win over the Yankees -- which was credited with saving baseball in Seattle and convincing the public to approve the funding ...

...you share it with AJ Burnett .  The well traveled righthander, who after seven years with the Marlins. spent time with the Yankees, Pirates, Blue Jays and Phillies, won 164 big league games and struck out more than 2500, but inconsistent control kept him from becoming an ace: he twice led the American League in wild pitches and once in hit batters. The Arkansas native earned a pair of World Series rings -- with the 2003 Marlins (while recovering from Tommy John surgery) and 2009 Yankees (where he set a record for hitting five batters in a post-season series).   Also in the January 3rd birthday circle: longtime big league reliever Gary Lavelle , the late Phllies catcher Darren Daulton  and utilityman Luis Sojo , who between his time with the Mariners and Yankees, made the post-season six times in 13 seasons.  But among the 68 players born on this date who've played in MLB, Burnett was -- if you go by WAR -- the most productive of them.