You might have expected the first week of spring training games to bring news of a particular player or team about to have a breakout season but the biggest story in the baseball world since my last post is the New York Yankees are now allowing players to sport "well-groomed beards" which is a major shift away from their stringent facial hair policy of nearly 50 years.
While I am personally not fond of the effort needed to maintain a beard or long hair, I can appreciate how some players enjoy expressing their unique sense of style through their grooming methods so from that aspect, the rule was needlessly restrictive. This is especially true for players who perform at a high level and also treat their teammates and coaches with respect.
At the same time, I appreciate then-owner George Steinbrenner initiating this practice because certain players were not putting their "best foot forward" at work. Pushback is to be expected but as everyone complied it showed unity from a team perspective. Whether you bought in or not, it instilled a level of discipline that might not have been tapped into otherwise.
I also admire the Yankees commitment to this longstanding bit that is older than myself but as is the case with most things, adapting with the times is inevitable. Because of the historical significance of this change, this week's post just had to showcase a cap with a beard in the logo design although we've actually got triple trouble here because this one features three beards!
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| There were two pitching Triple Crowns last year but there hasn't been one for hitting since Miguel Cabrera did it in 2012. Interestingly enough, Miggy wore sweet Macho Man shades just like the three kings here. The same is true of "Mr St. Lucie" from last week's post as well as the happy guy on the late-era Hagerstown Suns caps. |
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| Standard sweatband tags for a Clink Room release. I'm still pushing for them to get their own branded tag on the inside here to help with the symmetry. |
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| The gold Clink Kong is a regal touch here! |
If you'd like to check out some of Clinker Leif’s other designs, you can do so by following this link for other hats they produced for The Clink Room. The "Crowned" hat is my first from Leif and after perusing the designer's other work on the Clink site I am kicking myself for not jumping on the Battsburgh Bones so hopefully that one gets reissued or remixed somehow!
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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