Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

I shared lots of words in last week's impromptu tribute to Willie Mays and the topic for this post is another one that needs discussion as today is the anniversary of the Stonewall riots which began on June 28, 1969. The police brutality inflicted upon the  gay and lesbian community brought national attention on the desperate need to ensure civil rights in the protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition to being an important political moment, one of the  cultural effects was those who were marginalized began to openly "come out" regarding their gender identity. I was born a decade after these events began to unfold and feel fortunate to have gotten to know so many lovely gay and lesbian folks growing up which shaped my inclusive nature early on. I was also inspired by queer icons in entertainment such as Elton John and Freddie Mercury however it was John Waters' 1972 film 'Pink Flamingos' that made the greatest impact on me.

While writing this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post, I am also watching the telecast of  this year's special  "MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues" with the   St. Louis Cardinals (as they wear the uniforms of the St. Louis Stars) playing my San Francisco Giants (wearing uniforms of the San Francisco Sea Lions) at the oldest professional ballpark in the United States in Birmingham, AL. The Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues called Rickwood Field home as did Willie Mays when the  Alabama-native  got his first professional baseball assignment playing for the Black Barons as a 17 year old in 1948. All three scheduled events were set to honor  Mays who was the last living member of the Black Barons but died two nights before Thursday's finale. There were so many tributes (both large and small) to Mays when news of his passing arrived during Tuesday night's MILB showcase in which the  Birmingham Barons (playing as the Black Barons) hosted

When I began posting about my caps back in August 2011, there were only a few sites out there dedicated to the hobby of collecting but two posts that I was thrilled to come upon in those early days were  Paul Carr's   The Chronology of New Era Cap Tags: A Guide and The San Diego Padres "Taco Bell" Caps . Over the years, Paul has since added more  brilliant blog  entries  in his  "Taco Bell"   series and even worked with Ebbets Field Flannels to create a retro of the 1978 Reno Silver Sox cap which was the focus of his  Minoring in Taco Bell  post. Also in that time, I as well have endeared myself to this wacky style enough to  run for the border to join in the "Taco Bell" fun when possible! I chose  the Reno Silver Sox retro to be  this week's  Fresh Fitted Friday  selection   to continue in that paternal theme  that I started in my only  previous "Father's Day" post which as it happens was for a  Early 1980s San Diego Padres "T

There is no MLB-wide holiday to commemorate this week so for this Fresh Fitted Friday post I have decided to highlight what would have been the 66th birthday of legendary musician, Prince Rogers Nelson (aka Prince) with Hat Club's  "Grape Jelly" colorway of a  Minnesota Twins cap which features a Target Field 10th anniversary patch. As someone who grew up in the 1980s, Prince's songs figure largely in the soundtrack of my youth however a genuine appreciation of his music would only truly occur as I grew older and it continues to grow to this day. While his mastery as a recording artist is beyond compare, I think there should be more discussion around how strong he was as a performer as well. I regret never having seen him in concert however I am fortunate in that there are lots of videos out there that document his showmanship. And even though this is a baseball blog, I want to shout out  Prince's performance at Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show in 2007  which I high