Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

Baseball historian Marty Appel nails it perfectly in his book, Casey Stengel: Baseball's Greatest Character. The most successful Yankee manager ever, who then oversaw the most lovably inept ballclub ever, the '62 Mets, and the only man to have worn the uniform of all four New York franchises while they were based in New York. Thanks to some unique sources, he gives you a bird's eye view of a player, skipper and raconteur whose major league life spanned the presidencies of William Howard Taft to Lyndon Baines Johnson. This date (May 9th) is part of the Stengel legacy -- it's when the Mets obtained former Yankee pheenom Marv Throneberry in 1962.

Impressive work on the bench by Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim.

While Aaron Judge has been drawing the bulk of the attention among baseball's rookies, the Braves have big plans for their young shortstop Dansby Swanson . Even though he's struggled a bit in the early going, his minor league and college numbers point to a very bright future. This image is from their April 5th against the Mets at Citi Field.

 Trying to brighten a cool gray April day at Arm and Hammer Park, here's a look at Trenton's very own Thunder working the crowd..

A badly needed big game on Thursday for Mariners 3rd baseman Danny Valencia . The well traveled infielder (seen here with the A's in 2016) entered the day batting in the .180s. But going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI pushed his average above the Mendoza Line and can only help a Seattle club six games behind the division leading Astros.

...who lose their aces. The Rangers have placed their mainstay Cole Hamels on the 10-day disabled list with an oblique strain. But you don't need to be a co-star of St Elsewhere  to know that the veteran lefty will gone a lot longer than a week and a half. Expect him to return sometime in July -- a devastating blow for a team off to a slow start. Not to mention a pitcher who had been one of the most durable in baseball -- Hamels had worked 200 or more innings the last seven years in a row. These images are from a Rangers/Yankees game in New York last June.

Mets fans were expecting bad news after Noah Syndergaard was pulled from Sunday's start against the Nats after just an inning and third. The fears were confirmed Monday when an MRI result showed a partial tear of a lat muscle. OK, at least it's not a rotator cuff or the kind of elbow injury that necessitates Tommy John surgery. But it's still a huge blow. Already last in the NL East, 6-1/2 back of pace-setting Washington, the Mets will now be without their ace until the July, at the earliest. This image of Syndergaard is from a Mets/Pirates game last June.