My pre-jitters of the pre-season have subsided with the first game of the 2025 Spring Training is in the books as the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to the score of 12-4. I look forward to more Dodgers losses as well as the first San Francisco Giants win that I hope comes in their first Spring Training game of the year which is this Saturday against the Texas Rangers.
The Giants made some respectable off-season moves but thankfully nothing so crazy where my expectations are too outsized. While I'm neither a Yankees nor Mets fan, as a New Yorker I have to say things are always better when our teams play well, which unfortunately neither did against the Dodgers in last year's postseason.
Now is not the time to hark back to the past though as the best recovery from the Yankees Game 5 embarrassment in the 2024 World Series is to win their Spring Training opener against the Tampa Bay Rays today. I would like to see them ride that energy all the way to another Fall Classic where ideally they will face my Giants but I really shouldn't get ahead of myself.
My team is good but the Mets are a more serious contender for the National League pennant and I wish them the best, but not at the expense of the Giants. The only ALCS game I attended was in 2012 where Derek Jeter broke his ankle and to add insult, the Yankees lost that one to the Detroit Tigers who advanced onto the World Series where they fell to the Giants.
It is remarkable that my only World Series game was that infamous Game 5 last year where I had to witness the Dodgers clinch it all. So now the only notch left for me to is to watch the Mets in an NLCS game and if fate says they have to lose, I would selfishly want it to be at the hands of the Giants. And once again, I realize I'm getting ahead of myself!
This week's post should be all about sending good vibes to both New York teams, starting with the Mets who have won my heart by having my favorite Spring Training cap this year. If you check out the article I just linked to you'll see it's not to everyone's liking but I personally I hope it sticks around for a few years and maybe sees a colorflip with the visor and the crown.
Of course, I'll pick up whichever variant is available if I ever make it to a Spring Training in Florida but until then I'm celebrating that logo design by showcasing its Florida State League counterpart for today's Fresh Fitted Friday selection. Like last week's Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino "Cherubs" cap, this "Mr. St. Lucie" cap is another New Era Buffalo exclusive release.
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| This one takes the logo from St. Lucie's all-orange batting practice cap made of mesh material and places it on a standard polyester material of the on-field ballcap along with a blue visor which is more balanced and aligns with the big league team's Spring Training color scheme. |
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| I love the Gatorade effect that a green undervisor and an orange crown convey so this is another welcome tweak. |
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| The red, white and blue batterman seems kind of out of place against the orange but I don't think anyone's going to pay much attention to to that detail, especially not myself as I never look at the back of the cap once it's on my head! |
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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