Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Hat Club

1989 World Series - Oakland Athletics “Battle of the Bay”

Throughout this blog's history, my pettiness as a San Francisco Giants fan has led me to systematically avoiding write-ups of caps worn by my team's rivals. While there have been less than a handful of Los Angeles Dodgers posts over the years, this week’s post is my first time ever featuring an Oakland Athletics cap as a Fresh Fitted Friday selection. In my defense, the previously featured Dodgers caps were (objectively speaking) absolute bangers that I mostly posted in hopes of finding a trade partner. And today my justification for breaking the A’s streak is January 12 being “Kiss a Ginger Day” which left me choice but to pay tribute to Mark McGwire who is indisputably the All-Time Mack Daddy of Baseball Gingers. Owning an item commemorating 1989’s “Battle of the Bay” is obviously not something I would ever own personally but that did not stop me from scooping up this beauty as a gift to a friend who is an A’s fan. The 1989 World Series patch brings about some mixed emotion

2020 Abejas de Salt Lake - (Salt Lake Bees -Copa de la Diversión) - Fresh Fitted Friday

We are two weeks into Hispanic Heritage Month and calling back to last year's Los Murciélagos de Louisville  post is this week's Abejas de Salt Lake cap, which is another stunning logo created for the Copa de la Diversión campaign which itself is an expansion of the Es Divertido Ser Un Fan ("It's Fun to Be a Fan") fan engagement program that began in 2017. This logo is one of the more understated Copa designs but the clean lines and bright colors—featuring just the right amount of Tealism , by the way—caught my eye instantly and I especially  appreciate how they implement the bee stripes into the "A" here.   The grey undervisor is a special treat due to this cap being a Hat Club exclusive that I purchased in March 2020. Obviously the entire MILB season was canceled that year but even it had not, the team would not have worn this cap as this was a fan only release.  I love how relaxed the Miami Nights/San Antonio Spurs vibe is on this batterman. All of a

1986-87 Burlington Expos - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

As a general rule of thumb, I tend to keep the theme of these posts topical with current events, anniversaries of historical occurrences and the like however this Burlington Expos hat was selected as tribute to my favorite band, Phish, who originated in Burlington, Vermont. Tonight is the first of  7 consecutive shows that Phish will play at Madison Square Garden and as you can imagine, I'm thrilled about attending all of them however if you are reading this blog you are perhaps knowledgeable enough about minor league baseball to know that the Burlington where these Expos played is actually in the state of Iowa. According to my latest tally via Wikipedia , approximately half of the states in the US have a town, city or county named Burlington however the cities in Iowa and Vermont are actually connected in the sense that a native of the latter called John Gray chose the name Burlington for the former as a tribute to his hometown back east. I was thrilled to pick this cap up from Ha

San Francisco Giants Beer Pack 25th Anniversary Patch Hat Club: "Anchor Steam"

The Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend begins today  in Cooperstown and ends on Sunday when Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen are enshrined in the Class of 2023. As a San Francisco Giants fan, I have yet to see a Giant who I actively cheered for get inducted in my lifetime and our next best shot means waiting until Buster Posey appears on the 2027 ballot. Giants fans will just have to hate-watch the results starting with Chase Utley who makes his  BBWAA  ballot debut next year. This will be especially poignant considering 2023 was Jeff Kent's last year on that ballot. Kent was a notoriously bad fielder so despite  outslugging Utley in almost every offensive category,  comparing the two second basemen is futile. Both played for 16 seasons but the writers will likely vote Utley in based on some combination of his superb defensive metrics and his solid offensive numbers while Kent was discarded from the ballot because his defensive capabilities left so much to be desired. Personally,

1974 Washington Stars Prototype (What If?!?)

This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is a 1974 Washington Stars prototype that I picked up from Hat Club. I think this cap is a nice continuation  of last week's "Nationals" theme as that is the name of the current team in Washington as well as the design on this week's cap seeming like a dead ringer for a Nats alternate logo in current times. The single serif is a curious design element here but I am intrigued they chose a logo that so closely resembles the one on the caps worn by the Washington Senators who left for Minnesota in 1960. Interestingly enough, Minnesota is incorporating a nod to the North Star on this year's road caps.    It would be fun if this cap featured a red, white and blue pinwheel crown similar to what the Montreal Expos wore, especially considering the Expos eventually left Montreal for Washington in 2005. Interestingly enough, besides both teams being NL expansion teams in 1969, this article lists out a few other congruities betw

NY Icy (aka "NYC Ice" Hat Club Exclusive)

Another week of free agency frenzy has gone by which on Wednesday had me hopefully optimistic due to the 13-year deal brokered between the San Francisco Giants and Carlos Correa, yet the very next day I found myself once again perturbed by the New York Yankees as they signed Carlos Rodón to a six year deal. I think the Giants took a huge risk with Correa that could ultimately pay off if they get six to eight good seasons of output from him who in all likelihood could retire from the game before reaching the end of this contract. As for  Rodón, I have my concerns of him being injury-prone so all I can say is that I wish him good health and success throughout his time in New York. By the way, the diplomacy shown in the last sentence of the previous paragraph even caught me by surprise as I read it out loud but since today is National Underdog Day, I'll take that as my motivation to not drive the bitter bus right now. Also, Giants fans have a lot for which we should be grateful. Even

1982 Wichita Aeros (Hat Club Retro)

Two consecutive posts since returning from my most recent break and now I'm firmly back in my wheelhouse which is showing love to esoteric MILB logos! This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is a 1982 Wichita Aeros retro that I got from Hat Club back in the early part of 2021 while they were on a tear of releasing retro MILB caps. Wichita only wore this logo for one season in 1982 and despite the original cap being of the "Fresh Mesh" variety and that the thickness of Hat Club's "W" is way too thick here, what grated on me was their decision to use  red stitching on the white panels of the cap . All good though, all I needed was a a seam ripper to be back in business! I have an order in the works with my plug for a vintage snapback version of this cap which also has a green undervisor however for some reason I've always preferred grey undervisors when it comes to Montreal Expos affiliates. Either way I'm happy to have this logo in an "eve

1993-99 Jacksonville Suns (Hat Club retro)

Summer is almost in full swing in New York City and outside of the occasional 90º day, I'm happy to welcome it. The two main things I need to remember at all those fun hangs in the park is to stay hydrated and apply sunscreen, with the former being especially apt as "National Don't Fry Day" is recognized today as it is done each year on the  Friday before Memorial Day Weekend. Overexposure to the sun is something that too often goes unnoticed as we spend time relaxing outdoors and this is especially true during the summer months  so this holiday is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness in regards to the risks involved with those otherwise good times. Because of this, the phrase ‘slip, slop, slap and wrap’—which originated in Australia and New Zealand and is now used worldwide—encourages sun enthusiasts to slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen,  slap on a hat, and wrap on sunglasses. To that point, I'm not sure if there is any better way for me to honor the sig

Jackson Generals (1994-99 Hat Club Retro)

Last week’s Música de Memphis cap was a great accessory to have on my trip to Mexico and I’m so happy to be back in the States in time for March 4 which is an unofficial holiday called March Forth due to its name being a homophone of the date. In reading up on the holiday I learned that the full version of its name is March Forth and Do Something Day but I think “March Forth” gets the message across just fine.  My research also brought to my attention that since 2017, March 4 has been used as the day to celebrate Marching Music Day . Because the “march” music genre traces its roots back to its military origins, this seems like an excellent opportunity to bring out my Jackson Generals retro from Hat Club. The five stars on the cap logo worn by the Jackson Generals of the Texas League is a reference to the highest military rank in the United States. Interestingly enough two stars was the highest rank received by Andrew Jackson, who is the inspiration for both the team’s moniker as well

2021 Fredericksburg Nationals "George" Alt Cap

This week's National Day theme is of the three-day variety as we are about to embark upon Presidents' Day Weekend! To celebrate this much appreciated respite from the routine grind, I cherry-picked a Fredericksburg Nationals "George" alternate cap to celebrate the first President of the United States. I obtained this hat up from Hat Club in early 2021 and to me, this design is a fantastic way to tie American folklore into a baseball cap logo. I cannot tell a lie: I prefer caps that are made in the U.S.A. If there's ever a good time for a red, white and blue batterman, it's Presidents' Day One of the first things schoolchildren in the US are taught about George Washington is the Cherry Tree Myth and I only now  just learned from this article  that the whole story was fabricated so they could sell more books about the President. When students are learning about irony in later grades, this exact scenario should be highlighted as a key example. Well, back to

Québec Carnavals (Hat Club retro)

It has yet to get chilly here in New York so since this Christmas is looking to be a mild one, I will just have to bring in the cold for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post with a Québec Carnavals retro cap from Hat Club. The jolly little fella adorning this cap is called the bonhomme —meaning "good man" in French—and his claim to fame is being the mascot for Carnaval de Québec, which is the city's yearly winter carnival.   This cap is a recent pickup which sadly means it doesn't get the "Made In USA" treatment. As a child of the 1970s, I have nothing but great appreciation for a powder blue cap with a green undervisor. I had never heard of the Carnavals before Hat Club started releasing retro caps of this one and other variants, for which I'm thankful as it inspired me to learn all about the Carnavals being the Montreal Expos first ever Double-A affiliate in 1971. The team became the Québec Metros in 1975 and stayed put through 1977 before moving

Utica Blue Sox (1997-2001 Hat Club Retro)

This week's Fresh Fitted Friday entry is a Utica Blue Sox retro from Hat Club and in the spirit of being completely forthcoming, my main inspiration in selecting it for this week's post is National Sock Day being tomorrow, Saturday, December 4, 2021.  Utica wore this logo during its tenure as the Short-Season A affiliate of the Florida Marlins in the New York-Penn League from 1997 through 2001, which sadly was its last season in the league. I've always found it interesting that the socks were not teal to match Florida's colorway but perhaps they had exhausted that theme with the Elmira Pioneers who were their previous affiliate in the league.  Over the past few years, Hat Club has slowed down its production of MILB cap retros in favor of releasing brightly colored variants of MLB logos, usually with some sort of commemorative patch embroidered on the side. I'm glad I was able to pick up this "Made in U.S.A." cap before that transition happened. That bab