Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

I was recently asked again if I had a favorite minor league cap and once more I was unable to field that seemingly simple question! To think it was only a year ago that I last discussed my struggle coming up with a definitive answer in my post on my  Carolina Pescados (Carolina Mudcats - Copa de la Diversion) cap . The hats mentioned in that post still rank highly up there in my view however I should have given a nod to the Nashville Sounds, especially the musically inspired logos Brandiose designed for the team's rebrand in 2015. This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is the Diamond Era cap from that set which I consider to be a true unsung hero of the collection. This cap was a wedding gift from a good friend of mine I met in college who grew up in Nashville and still lives in Music City today. Thanks again, Nate! I love how the soft nylon material on the inside of these caps serves as a guard against summer heat. I can imagine it must have been especially handy on some h

The Pacific Coast League theme continues this week as another Tennessee team worth a look is the Nashville Sounds. Sadly, their road cap has just hit the road itself after the 2018 season as  the Sounds rebranded once again leading up to the beginning of their affiliation with the Texas Rangers the following season. I'm not sure  why the Sounds would abandon such an amazing logo, especially after such a brief time. It's also hard to believe that it's been a little over three years since  the home cap was featured on the site ! Unfortunately this is a "Made in China" cap and it definitely feels stiffer and boxier than other caps. It also feels like it's a size or two bigger than 7 3/8 but I suppose that's the risk you take buying New Era caps nowadays. Another thing that's hard to say goodbye to is the "Bred" (black and red) MILB batterman as the newest Sounds caps are dark navy, which I find to be interesting because they certainl

I’ve been spoiled with all of the baseball games I’ve been to lately and it continues this weekend as I’m seeing the Oakland Athletics — who are, of course the natural geographic rival to my San Francisco Giants — on their annual visit to Yankee Stadium. I’m the furthest thing from an A’s fan but it’s the perfect opportunity to wear this vintage Nashville Sounds cap to the game as Nashville has been Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League since 2015 and were also the Yankees Double-A affiliate from 1980 through 1984. I love the honky tonk guy swinging his gee-tar at a baseball in front of the fattened version of the note-shaped letter “N” which had been the team’s cap logo since its inaugural season in 1978. The sweatband tags here are what you’d typically find on caps from before 1994 so that's really the earliest year this cap could be from because this logo wasn't worn until that year. Red, white and blue batterman here is perfect fo

I was considering writing about a cap of a minor league affiliate of one of the teams currently in postseason contention but I decided to write about the Oakland Athletics' Triple-A affiliate instead.  The main reason I chose the Nashville Sounds for this week's post is a good friend of mine from Nashville is getting married in Music City this weekend and unfortunately I cannot be there.  Kind of impossible to deny the awesomeness of the f-hole style "N" over a guitar pick. Standard inside tags and panel taping but I figured I'd offer a glimpse in any case. I've written about a few Sounds hats over the years but this newest version of the cap logo might be my favorite yet. It was designed by Brandiose who you know by now is widely recognized as the clear leader in minor league brand architecture.  Made in U.S.A. guarantee. Here's hoping New Era continues to make efforts to produce some of their caps in the States.

I'm back on the train and I have to admit that it feels pretty darn good to post two weeks in a row after such a long absence. One benefit of the hiatus is that I've got a steady pipeline of hats to write about. This one is from a team whose cap logo  I've admired  for a while now and that team would be none other than the Nashville Sounds: Since 1901, Nashville has enjoyed virtually continuous professional baseball, the only interruption being a 14 year dearth that occurred between the Nashville Volunteers' final season in 1963 and the Nashville Sounds' inaugural season in 1978. Interestingly enough, the earliest images I could find of anyone wearing a Nashville Sounds cap or uniform was from a 1981 team set issued by Arby's. Yes, that Arby's. Here's a card from that set showing Don Mattingly in this iconic get-up.  It looks like that same photo shoot also provided the shot used for a 1982 Nashville Sounds promotional sc