Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

The free agency hot stove reached its boiling point in the past week or so with announcements of Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, and Cody Bellinger finally signing contracts with teams ahead of next season. We are a few weeks away from pitchers and catchers arriving at Spring Training, so hopefully, your team has made moves to give you hope going into 2026! My San Francisco Giants have not made any significant roster moves, but I sense Tony Vitello will be impactful as our skipper, and I am not giving up on us making a play for Framber Valdez, as the teams closely linked to him besides us are the Orioles, Cubs, and Mets. Each of those teams has made a big splash either through free agency or trades, so I'm keeping the faith. As a New Yorker, I am happy for Bellinger's return to the Bronx and even happier for Bichette coming to America (ie. Queens), which, combined with the news of Carlos Beltran being voted into the Hall of Fame earlier this week, serves as the inspirat...

Animal imagery is a prominent theme in many of the cap logos I share here with the most common types lately seeming to be some sort of bird or fish, with the latter being the topic of  last week's Gwinnett Stripers post . As I've mentioned in previous posts around Thanksgiving, a tradition I look forward to each year is spending the holiday with friends in Baltimore and this  Chesapeake Oyster Catchers hat seemed like the fine choice for this week's  Fresh Fitted Friday selection as it has both bird and fish elements! I admit I was unaware there was a bird known as an Oystercatcher before the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles unveiled their alternate "Oyster Catchers" identity at the beginning of 2025. While the visual element is a clear nod to  the parent team, the name of the bird itself honors oysters which is just a small part of the  legendary seafood for which the region is renowned . This is currently my only cap of the Orioles' Double-A affi...

It was a real treat to attend the RD Vs. PR Showdown  at Citi Field last weekend and the reality is starting to sink in that I won't see another game until April at the earliest. Thankfully I've got Mexican and Dominican league games to keep me distracted. I  can't claim much else in terms of hobbies but food is a big love of mine so I'm very much looking forward to some holiday meals. One food item holiday that is not synonymous with Thanksgiving is seafood but if you've ever been invited to a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner on Christmas Eve, you are likely extra grateful for World Fisheries Day which is celebrated annually on November 21. For those unaware, the purpose of the holiday is to raise awareness of sustainable fishing practices so that we can ensure future generations will be able to properly enjoy the vast deliciousness of the sea! Since the holiday falls on a Friday this year, I've decided to showcase a Gwinnett Stripers hat for this week's Fr...

While the Blue Jays were leading the score throughout most of Game 7, I was collecting my thoughts for this week’s Dodgers-themed post to have a consolatory tone as opposed to a congratulatory one but alas, baseball is weird.  Baseball is also entertaining, as well as thought-provoking, and the unexpected ending  of the 2025 World Series sent me in such a frenzy that I found myself ruminating for days over so many of the seemingly insignificant plays during Game 7 that ultimately led to the Blue Jays losing the series in the 11th inning. It has been almost a week and I’m still stunned. I turned off the TV immediately following the game’s final out. Maybe in my heart it was because I was angry at myself for believing there could really have been any other winner besides the Dodgers. Maybe  I’m still not over witnessing the their on-field celebration after defeating the Yankees in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. I even attempted to abstain from social media this past week ...

Ahead of the Modesto Nuts final homestand, I have finally procured my first ever Nuts cap as I stated that I hoped I would do this year back in my  San Bernardino Spirit post   from December 20, 2024. As I mentioned in that post, Modesto has fielded a team for almost 80 years so closing out the California League's season with this cap seems like a fitting tribute. This logo is not the first one that comes to mind when minor league fans first think of the team but it has made its fair share of appearances over the past 20 years of their existence and it plays a fine straight man to the wild embroidery design of the side patch. I had a hard time trying to decide if I wanted a cap featuring Al Almond or Wally Walnut so thankfully Topperzstoreusa came through in the clutch by featuring both on the embroidery. It is done up in a metallic style that is not easy to read however if you are familiar with the team's designs it's fairly obvious. The embroidery is so massive the hat is...

Since the close of the 2024 MLB season, I have had no shortage of blog topics thanks to the flurry of roster moves this offseason. Ass a San Francisco Giants fan I am thrilled at the seven-year deal the team made with shortstop Willy Adames and I am also hoping for a solid addition at first base like Christian Walker and as well as a strong starting pitcher like Corbin Burnes. Even if neither happens, the Adames signing is huge but sadly I do not have a Giants-related cap with a "W" or "A" logo to write about like I did when having a bit of fun  with the "J for Juan" on the Jackson Mets cap for last week's post. Perhaps the "S" can be for Soto on this week's San Bernardino Spirit hat and thus be the conclusion of the "Soto Sweepstakes" celebrations. This week's post is my first featuring a cap from Topperzstore and I have to give them credit for knocking it out of the park with the simple white "S" over the gold st...