Just last week, I attended my final New York Yankees games of the season but unfortunately had to see them lose to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday and then again to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday for Paul Skenes' final start of 2024.
Had I known that the Pirates would pull Skenes after just two innings, my decision to venture to the Bronx on that rainy afternoon might have played out differently but despite the loss I am grateful to the Yankees for putting forth their best efforts as well as their fans who by dumping their tickets for cheap allowed me to see the potential Rookie of the Year strike out Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisolm Jr.
This "load management" that is de rigueur makes sense to a point but teams not competing because their last games "don't count" is disenchanting to fan. I experienced similar feelings of dismay the following day when Blake Snell opted to skip his final start for my San Francisco Giants because the game "had no meaning" as there were no playoff implications in the result of that match up against the St. Louis Cardinals.
So now that I have decided this week's Fresh Fitted Friday will completely disregard the postseason happenings,I present this Ebbets Field Flannels retro cap worn by the indisputably defunct 1955 San Francisco Seals. I suppose I have to provide at least some relevancy so I admit this hat was also selected in consideration of today's date being October 4 and thus the Feastday of St. Francis of Assisi who is the namesake of San Francisco.
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| I love how this Seals logo leaned into the New York Giants serifs before the team even moved out west. |
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| The undervisor and sweatband are still in great shape after all these years! |
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| I considered sharing the photos when I originally got this cap back in 2011 but ended up deciding the worn look is more aesthetically pleasing even though the older camera technology somehow makes both look about the same. |
Over the years I have made an effort to see the Giants play in a new-to-me ballpark but in 2024 I only got to see them play at CitiField here in New York. As someone who's spent many years in each place, I have a hard time deciding which one is more like "home" to me but I suppose that speaks to how special the cities of San Francisco and New York are to me.
I will say that my affinity for San Francisco has waned in recent years because of my dissatisfaction in how much it has changed since I left but undoubtedly folks could say the same thing about New York. I do enjoy my trips back to the Bay despite the the time in between trips continues to increase but my goal for 2025 is to get back to Oracle Park for a Giants home game in addition to maybe seeing the team play at a stadium I have not yet visited.
One interesting possibility would be to catch the Giants' series in Toronto immediately following the All-Star break or perhaps at their road stop in Milwaukee during August. It would be extra special to catch at least one game where the home team wears their City Connect uniform as the ones worn by the Blue Jays and Brewers are neat in my view and luckily neither are in the list of six teams that are due to get new ones in 2025.
It goes without saying that I am most interested in seeing what the Giants will be wearing next year and I am still holding out hope that the new uniforms implement the colors of the San Francisco's flag as well as its Firebird or perhaps even a nod to the Seals as I mentioned in my write-up of the Milwaukee Brewers City Connect "Grill" Rail with Cooler Patch (Hat Club exclusive).
Of course, as a uniform enthusiast I am also looking forward to the future offerings of the Miami Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros. In retrospect, I undervalued the Rockies "City Connect" uniform whose tribute to their ubiquitous mountain range was a thing of beauty. Perhaps the next iteration can pay tribute to the historically-maligned "Strike Zone" uniform of the American Association's Denver Bears.
I have not yet decided on a topic for next week's post so I will most likely be returning to a "current events" theme as related to the MLB playoff scenario at the time!
This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is not going on the Trading Block however please don't hesitate to reach out if you want any other cap from that list and you are willing to part with any of the hats on my Wish List.
As always, thanks for coming back to read about baseball hat geekery. If you'd like to discuss a trade or simply just chat about hats, please feel free to connect via the following social sites:
Instagram: @baseballmilquetoast
Twitter: @FittedFriday
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