Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

Looking back at the past few posts made me realize that all of these recent caps have featured either green, yellow or orange hues which are ones that some might consider garish. So continuing on in that tradition, this week's Fresh Fitted Friday  selection is the "Trident" variation of the Norfolk Tides logo which falls within that loud category that tend to gravitate towards. I took the seam ripper to work here and I'm pleased with the results. Also, I'm not sure exactly when the Tides wear the "Trident" logo but this and the road cap are easily my two favorites. No knock on the home hat but it is going into its eighth year and I wish the team would play around with the colorblocking by at least featuring black panels on the front. Standard issue sweatband tags here. All good. I like the "Gatorade" vibes on the batterman here enough to add a new label for it on the this post and am committed to tagging future and past posts with featuring b...

Now that the 2023 ALCS and NLCS matchups are fully fleshed out, this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post seems like a good time to finally discuss the MLB teams that have had memorable campaigns and have earned the chance to compete in this year's postseason. I'd like to begin by first shouting out the clubs who are not moving forward in the playoffs. As a San Francisco Giants fan, my Schadenfreude was firing into overdrive as the "looking good on paper while winning 100 regular season games"  Los Angeles Dodgers were swept in the NLDS  this past Wednesday although I would have taken greater pleasure in that event had it not also meant success for the Arizona Diamondbacks. To their credit the Dbacks finished the season strong and have not lost a postseason game however they are a division rival so that is the extent to which I will tip my cap. I admittedly enjoy watching Zac Gallen pitch and Ketel Marte was a solid performer on one of my fantasy teams this year but I...

For the second week in a row I'm featuring a Favorites cap from my collection and before you start thinking "every cap is my favorite" I want to mention  the reason for posting this cap the Norfolk Tides wore from 1993-2015 today is because International Surfing Day is held annually on the third Saturday in June which happens to be tomorrow, June 17th. Until the team rebranded in 2016, the "wavy T" logo was the main cap logo worn by the Tides since 1993 which was their inaugural season at Harbor Park. The combination of a new uniform and ballpark undoubtedly ushered in a new  wave  of appreciation for the team. Luckily the "Made in China" tag is hiding underneath the sweatband here! The sky blue on the brim, button and batterman are a nice touch here but if we are being honest, they give off too much of a UNC vibe for my taste. Earlier I mentioned how the "new look" Tides of 1993 reinvigorated the team and I imagine after wearing this cap fo...

I didn’t end up going to a game during the Orioles-Mets series earlier this week but regardless of that, the hat that I would have worn to the ballpark is one that pays tribute to both teams. The road cap that the Norfolk Tides have been wearing since 2016 is another gem designed by Brandiose. When I wrote about the current Tides home cap previously, I brought up how the locals were not impressed when the main logo was revealed. Now that I have the road version, I think this one should have been introduced as the home cap as its nautical design is better suited to the conservative population of Norfolk, VA. Having grown up in Norfolk, I can tell you that history plays a huge role in the city’s identity. In fact, I still hear folks griping about missing the Mets, who were the Tides’ parent team from 1969 until they became affiliated with the O’s in 2007. Even though Norfolk isn’t yet on board with the cartoonish logos that are de rigueur, their commitment to the ...

During the December 4, 2015 write-up of my Vermont Lake Monsters vintage cap, I discussed the wide-range of fan reactions regarding the newly redesigned Norfolk Tides cap logo. Naturally, the old guard was hesitant to swap out the beloved wave-topped T logo that the Tides have employed since 1993 in favor of the trident-wielding seahorse created by Brandiose which for the unfamiliar is a design firm based in San Diego. It turns out that the fans ended up appreciating Brandiose's efforts to the point that the Tides cannot keep the caps in supply enough to match the demand. I've followed Brandiose's output over the past few years and I'm thrilled with this collaboration with the Tides and that my hometown team now has a much-needed fresh new look. The incorporation of the N on the Trident pays tribute to the team's home in Norfolk and it is an amazing showcase of nautical weaponry as well. I'm not crazy about the green-orange colorway but I'd like t...

When I wrote about my F t. Myers Miracle cap   a few months ago, I briefly mentioned  Jeffrey Loria ’s  role in moving the Montreal Expos to Washington , D.C. Well, this week's Fresh Fitted is a  Vermont Lake Monsters cap from  2009-2013 that I picked up  a little while back and it ties back to that story...at least partially, but we ’ ll get to that later.  This is a very unique cap design and I appreciate the white front panel here. This close-up shot kind of brings attention to the poor detail in the artwork. Does that even look like a baseball bat? Some standard inside sweatband tags...no big whoop. I definitely dig the green on the batterman patch. This is a nice touch. The reason I chose to bust this  hat out now is because the cap logo reminds me of the newly rebranded logo for the Norfolk Tides, which is my childhood hometown team.  I don’t wish to take the focus too...

If you are reading this post then you are probably some sort of a baseball nerd which means you know that the last time the New York Mets won the World Series was in 1986. If so, then it's also likely that you recognize this week's featured cap as one the Tidewater Tides wore in the early 1980's when they were the Mets' AAA affiliate.   This is the most iconic Tidewater Tides cap of all time. Clearly the "T" here is more stout than every other Tides cap you will see from this period. Holy Orange! It's held up great after 30 years in storage. Thank you Polyester! Negative points for the flimsy foam construction on this snapback but it captures the spirit of the era perfectly! I'm going to try to keep this gem as crisp as possible so for everyday wear, so I'm thankful that Ebbets Field Flannels has just released this reproduction of the 1983 version of the cap: This is what the "T" should look like on the pi...

I spent this past Memorial Day weekend relaxing in my childhood hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The holiday always symbolized the beginning of summer to me and because I can only associate this impending season with baseball, I feel compelled to showcase a hat from the team that entertained me for so many summers: the Norfolk Tides. ....and now for some sad news: This style is one that the Tides only wear on the road and sadly I've never actually seen them wearing this cap as I haven't yet had a chance to see them play anywhere other than Harbor Park in Norfolk. This particular cap is from 2011, but I've been unable to find any photos of Tides wearing the cap in any cards before 2009 and there doesn't seem to be too many recent cards out there where they are wearing it either. On a more positive note, I personally like this logo more than any of the other versions from recent years, though I'm not sure if I could really describe what action is happening on...