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Showing posts with the label Florida Marlins

1998-2002 Jupiter Hammerheads - Fresh Fitted Friday

It's the third Friday in April and folks, I'm here to tell you that I'm not done playing tricks on you yet as I've got a snapback for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection! I'll get to this week's hat and the inspiration behind choosing it shortly but first I want say I've been giving serious thought to the topic of last week's post and I'm starting to really think it just makes more sense to celebrate the new year in April when Spring has begun rather than during the dead of winter. Another reason to shift the beginning of the year to April is it will then coincide with the start of the MLB season. That particular argument only holds in the northern hemisphere however because the Australian Baseball League season tends to kick off in early-to-middle of November and usually ends near the halfway point in February. I've mentioned in previous Australia Day posts that I share a birthday with the official national day of Australia and I trul

1992-93 Erie Sailors (Ebbets Field Flannels)

Welcome to the third––and perhaps final––Keystone State Party post, folks! After neglecting to discuss the nautical components of last week's Erie SeaWolves logo design, I've decided to dive right into examining the maritime theme in this Erie Sailors retro cap from Ebbets Field Flannels that I've selected for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post. Incorporating the baseball into the ship's wheel tie-in to Erie's deep naval history, especially when one considers Erie's role in the War of 1812, and more specifically the Battle of Lake Erie . In fact, the town's first known and recorded baseball team in 1906 was called the Erie Sailors. A cap that encapsulates the proud naval tradition of this fine nation deserves nothing less than Ebbets Field Flannel's "Made in U.S.A." construction. Their faithful reproductions and attention to detail in workmanship is what every cap maker should strive to emulate.  The shade of green featured on the underv

1993-94 Elmira Pioneers

Folks, it's taking a lot in me to stop dwelling on the fact that yesterday was supposed to be MLB's Opening Day for the 2020 season. The reality is really starting to set in and to be honest, I'm not in a big mood to do big long blog post about it but I still feel the need to at least acknowledge the situation for posterity. To that point, I think it's only fitting that I end this good run of New York-Penn League caps with a super rare cap so without further ado, feast your hungry eyes on this Elmira Pioneers cap which was only worn for two seasons. I failed to mention this when I wrote about my other ( I know; I'm obnoxious) Elmira Pioneers cap but the team only sported this logo in 1993 and 1994 before they switched it up to a totally random cap logo . So sorry for the random Josh Booty photo if you clicked on the second link in the previous caption but he was the closest thing to a household name as it pertains to the Marlins incarnation of the Elmira P

Greensboro Grasshoppers - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

As you know I’ve been wearing caps from visiting club’s minor league affiliates to games I’ve attended this season. So when I went to the Marlins-Mets series finale at CitiField this past Wednesday night, I wore a cap from the Greensboro Grasshoppers, who have been the Marlins’ Single-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League since 2003. The Grasshoppers have stayed true to this cap logo since 2005 and it has appeared on a variety of different colored crowns such as green, orange and this light khaki one which I think suits it best. This cap was a recent purchase so it's no surprise it's not USA-made but that's still a shame. I also like the way the orange and green MILB batterman looks on the back of this cap's crown. Even though this is not a rare or vintage hat, you can count on me to do some digging to tie in a cap’s present to its past. For me, the biggest connection is the Marlins new owner, Derek Jeter, who played in Greensboro when it was affiliat

Jupiter Hammerheads - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!

This week's Florida MILB selection is the current Jupiter Hammerheads cap and it's one that shares a common trait with last week's Brevard County Manatees hat:  Since their inception, both Florida State League teams have hardly altered their cute logo at all!  The shark's name is Hamilton R. Head (Get it? Ham-r head? Dumb right?) The team should have been called the Jupiter Gassers. (Get it? Jupiter is a gas planet? And "gas" is a term for a fastball? I'm a genius? I know.) Standard-issue current day MILB tags here but I appreciate the "Originators of the True Fitted" on the satin taping, which means this cap has some age. Loving this mostly teal MILB batterman. Or is that cyan? I don't care; I'm calling it teal. From 1994-2001, the Manatees had a grey, teal and black cap logo to match the Florida Marlins, who were their original parent club, but traded in that colorway in for grey, blue and red in 2002 when they b

1994-96 Brevard County Manatees - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!

We're wrapping up the second week of MLB's 2018 season however I'm showing no signs of slowing down with the inventory of minor league caps from Florida teams. This week's cap is a Florida State League classic: a Brevard County Manatees cap from 1994-96. From what I've seen, this version of the cap with a teal brim is less common than the all black. For what it's worth, I've only seen it on cards from 1994. Usual suspects as far as sweatband tags from 1994 to 1996 are concerned.  The black and teal batterman here makes me think of pure waters where Manatees may float and snack as they please. Graze on. I've mentioned this before but it's worth repeating that the peak level of my interest in minor league baseball came in the mid-1990's so it's no surprise that when the Portland Sea Dogs and the Brevard County Manatees showed up in 1994 with black and teal caps, I was sold on these teams immediately. The Manatees and Sea Do

2001 Utica Blue Sox

I guess since BirdFest is over, it's finally time to  look at a cap that is not an Orioles affiliate. There is  however a connection between last week's Aberdeen IronBirds post  and the 2000 Utica Blue Sox hat that is this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection.  We know Cal Ripken, Jr. owns the IronBirds but you might be surprised to learn the Utica Blue Sox was the team he bought and moved to Aberdeen. These sweatband tags are consistent with caps from 2000 and 2001 but this cap can't be older than 2001 since that was the team's last season in Utica.  The Carolina Blue MILB batterman here is top-not stuff. Utica doesn't host a minor league team anymore but they were lucky to have Miguel Cabrera play during the penultimate Blue Sox season in 2000. I hold Utica with the same reverence as other classic New York-Penn League locations such as Auburn, Batavia, Elmira, Vermont and Oneonta. While I've gotten my hands on a vintage c

Florida Marlins 1997 World Series Cap - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

After writing about Tim Raines and his connection to the New York Yankees  1996 World Series cap last week, I wanted to cover  another cap from a team that Raines played for.  I was also itching to write about another World Series cap which is why   I'm glad I found this 1997 Florida Marlins cap.  Even though Raines wasn't on the team in 1997, he did spend his last season there in 2002. Sadly, I o nce again need to come clean to state that I do not own this cap. The good news in that admission is that if you head over to eBay fast enough the cap can be yours! Of course I'm not going to provide a link to it or anything but hopefully you can forgive me for that. My opinion often wavers when it comes to colorway preferences, but I dig the teal & black more in comparison to the all-teal and all-black versions.  Not much of a difference between the 1997 World Series patch and the one from the year before  but this patch has become somewhat iconic over time.

1993-94 Elmira Pioneers Cap

It was lots of fun when last week's Fresh Fitted (er, snapback) made its debut at a ballgame but the first ever appearance for this week's cap will my friends' wedding! Well not at the wedding of course because that would be a violation of my household covenant but rest assured, it will be worn before and after the wedding ceremony.  When it came time to pick this week's cap  my preliminary desire was to a feature one with a letter combination of  "S" and "C"  in the logo as those are t he first initials of the bride and groom.  It turns out that my only cap that matches that qualification is a Shreveport Captains hat which I've already featured.  My fruitless search led to frustration. It seemed that I would have to stretch to find a cap relating to my friends when all of a sudden, I recalled that the groom went to SUNY Geneseo. That town doesn't have a professional team but Elmira is 90 miles away and it does: the Elmira Pioneer