Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

You bet it felt great to be back in a ballpark.  Thursday, the Syracuse Mets held their annual media day.  Before heading to Massachusetts, for Friday's AAA opener against Worcester, the Mets top affiliate held a workout and made several players and manager Dick Scott available for interviews.  Despite the chill of a 44-degree day, there were plenty of good vibrations just a day before the first cry of "Play Ball!" After 2-1/2 years with the Nationals (and a strong season in winter ball, where he said he "fixed his mechanics"), Joey Menesses will be the Triple A Mets veteran at 1st base to start 2025.  He told me his priority is to "hit the ball hard, like [I did] in '22."  Reflecting on his time in spring training with Juan Soto, Joey calls him, "A really nice guy... with a superstar, you'd don't expect [that he'd pay] attention" to guys trying to fight for a roster spot. "He was joking around with us."  Menesses f...

 My final set of Florida Flashbacks for the season... winding it back 20 years for a look at the Mets and Orioles at the now-gone Fort Lauderdale Stadium.  First a pre-game, then in-game look at Mike Piazza .  The future Hall of Famer probably didn't realize it at the time, but at age 36, he was heading into his final Mets season. (Below:) The popular ex-Met and longtime Oriole Melvin Mora hits for Baltimore.  He'd go on to his 27 homers that season and be named to the All Star Game for the second time. (Above:) Moving up the road to Jupiter... The big man with the really big bat: Albert Pujols is in the on deck circle for the Cardinals.  Is he the greatest 13th round draft pick in baseball history? (Below:) Here's something you won't see anymore:  The Cards' Dave Duncan , Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland watch the action from the field -- before the use of protective screens. I'd call this a brain trust. 

...you share it with Carlos Carrasco .  The longtime Cleveland righthander -- who spent the past three seasons with the Mets -- appears on the verge of making the Yankees rotation.  The well-liked Venezuela native, who overcame cancer and resumed his career a few years ago -- has been effective in Grapefruit League action and could soon add his name to the more than 160 who've suited up for both New York ballclubs. (Below:)  Frankie Montas  is also on the verge of reaching that status.  Unlike Carrasco, who had a strong 15-7 season with the '22 Mets, Montas' tenure in the Bronx was an injury riddled failure — he appeared in just nine games in a a year and a half.  Montas helped rebuild his reputation splitting last summer between the Reds and Brewers -- but health is again an issue.  He'll miss opening day (and all of April) after yet another injury,  This time, it's a lat strain. Also born on this date, a longtime big league star and an "almost" ...

Wind it back a decade, this time we land in Kissimmee, Florida.  The Astros host the Tigers in Grapefruit League play on March 15th, 2015, as a couple of infielders capture my attention: Jose Iglesias and Jose Altuve.   Not only would they be big league regulars that season, but they're both ticketed for western division clubs in '25 -- Iglesias, after a big year with the Mets, surprisingly went unsigned until mid-February before joining the Padres.  Jose Altuve  returns for his 15th Houston season, but the first where he'll spend considerable time playing left field in addition to his longtime home at 2nd base,

  ...you share it with Marwin Gonzalez .  The super-utilityman spent 11 years in the majors -- the first eight with the Astros, including their 2017 champions.  His biggest Houston moment: a game-tying home run off the Dodgers Kenley Jansen in game two of the World Series.  A .252 lifetime hitter, the Venezuela native took the field at every defensive position except catcher.  Yes, he pitched in two games, once for the '21 Red Sox, the other with the 2022 Yankees, where he finished his career. Also in our March 14th birthday circle: Kevin Brown , who won 211 games over 19 seasons.  He capped his career winning 14 games with the Yankees between 2004 and '05. Butch Wynegar was traded from Minnesota to New York early in the '82 season and became the Yankees primary catcher for the five seasons.  He caught Dave Righetti's 4th of July no-hitter in 1983 And we remember Kirby Puckett, the sweet swinging, charismatic centerfielder on the Twins 1987 and '91 W...

Dialing it back almost exactly a decade, it's March 9th, 2015 as Bryce Harper and the Nationals host the Braves in their former spring home, Viera.  Already with three seasons under his belt, Harper is on the verge of his first great season, where he would lead the National League in home runs, on-base percentage, OPS and WAR.  Pretty impressive for a 22 year old!!   Four years later, Bryce would leave for Philadelphia as a free agent -- swapping the number 34 for 3 -- and become the heart and soul of a Phillies club that reached the World Series his fourth season there. A last look at Space Coast Stadium, which would host the Nats again in 2016, before the club moved its spring headquarters to Palm Beach.

There have been 63 major league players born on the 7th of March .  If you go by WAR, Jeff Kent was the most productive of them.  And the late J.R. Richard , the leading pitcher.  Unfortunately, I never snapped photos of them, or any of the 61 others with this birthday. I was more successful regarding Saturday (and Sunday): Jim Bouton had a unique baseball life: star pitcher on a trio of 1960s Yankee pennant winners; then, following an arm injury, a journeyman with the expansion 1969 Seattle Pilots -- whose humorous observations of that club, as well as his years in the Bronx, fueled the breakthrough tell-all book Ball Four.   A second career as a New York TV sportscaster,  then a third starring in a short-lived sitcom "inspired" by the book.   W itty and rebellious, Jim made the most of his New York baseball roots.  I met him at the 2013 BAT Dinner in New York; sadly, he passed six years later at age 80. Also in the March 8th birthday circle: H...

  We're back at another of baseball's "lost parks"   Champion Stadium (previously Cracker Jack Field) in the middle of Disney's Orlando campus, was the pre-season home of the Braves from 1997 to 2019. I captured these images during a game against the Mets in March 2015.  Let's start with a big name -- then and now -- Atlanta 1st baseman Freddie Freeman . Talk about being on top of the action... catcher AJ Pierzynski eyes Freeman's 1st inning at bat from the on-deck circle.  Keep in mind, it's 10 years ago -- while Freeman remains one of the best players in the game, Pierzynski was entering the next to last of his 19 big league seasons. (He's now a game analyst with FOX Sports.) The timing worked out nicely a few moments later to capture this closeup of AJ. We've got a pretty good mound matchup for an exhibition game:  (above) its another durable major leaguer, Bartolo Colon , who'd win 14 games as the Mets won the 2015 NL pennant -- before...