Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

This Riverside Pilots cap has to be one of most unique caps in my collection and that's mostly just because the team only existed from 1993 through 1995! Their ephemeral existence combined with the fact that they were only a High-A team with a tiny fanbase makes me wonder if I'll come across an unworn vintage Riverside Pilots hat ever again. The spirit of the 1990's is strong here as Tealism is in full effect. The sparkle from the silver lining is regal and that plane on the "R" makes you want to blast off, right? The MILB batterman logo started appearing on the back of minor league caps in 1995 and because that was the Pilots final season, we can be fairly certain this cap is from that year. The three tags were most predominantly used from 1994-96 and to me, they represent the Golden Age of New Era sweatband tags. Here's a rare shot of Raul Ibanez during his time as a Pilot. Special thanks to Mickey's Cards for not only having this card, but a sig

Are you a U.S. citizen who has recently been considering a move to Canada? Perhaps a single-payer healthcare system appeals to you? Maybe you are intrigued that their nation's leader has actual political experience as opposed to simply being a crass reality TV star who inherited a real estate business from his father? Either way, no judgement!  Keep in mind, as a baseball fan in Canada you probably will not attend many live games. The Toronto Blue Jays are an option but what if you are moving to a western province? If your new home is in British Columbia, consider yourself lucky since the only minor league team in Canada affiliated with Major League Baseball is the  Vancouver Canadians . If you don't live in Toronto or Vancouver, independent leagues like the  Can-Am League  and the American Association  have teams representing cities such as Ottawa, Quebec City and Winnipeg. Of course, Montreal is still in serious need of a professional team but so are Canada's 4th a

At this point last week I made a desperate plea for Joe Maddon and the Chicago Cubs to swiftly "take care" of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS…because I hate the Dodgers. Well, a week has passed and the Cubs are one win away from making that request a reality. The end of the Dodgers season basically means I can stop worrying about them potentially being World Series champions. This frees up lots of time for fall activities such as getting in Halloween mode by watching horror and sci-fi type movies. Like any normal person I enjoy movies about supernatural elements that set out to destroy the world (or small towns) and the supernatural forces that aim to defeat those forces. A lot of times sorcery is involved and I'm very cool with wizards. FYI, I especially appreciate wizardry that incorporates baseball so I would be thrilled if Joe Maddon could cast a spell on the Dodgers bats, turning them into papier mâché from wood. Also, I like when clubs have Wizar

You've probably noticed that I've been on the snapback tip for the past few weeks and it's not just because of the nasty heatwave we've recently experienced here in New York City. You might remember that my selection of the Elmira Pioneers and Spokane Indians caps were symbolic and this week's is no different.  Tomorrow, August 20, is MCA Day at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY and I'll be wearing this Asheville Tourists hat with the A logo as a sign of respect for the late Adam Yauch. If you happen to be in the NYC area and are looking for something to do that is fun, inspirational and FREE then you should definitely stop by Littlefield anytime from 12-6 PM on Saturday. This is the cap logo that the Tourists wore from 2005-2010 aka the cap's serious period between the solo reign of Ted E. Tourist  and the arrival of  Mr. Moon . There were 15 seasons of this cap logo but wool versions with grey underbrims are rare because of MLB and MILB's tra

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

I wasn't into this Houston Astros logo when it showed up in 1994 but now I think it's a classy alternative to the garish style of old...and current, though I like them both!* This has that messy style of New Era crown panel lining that I have mentioned previously. Here is a good view of the sweatband tags that were used in 1999. We are almost two months into MLB's 2015 season and I don't think that anyone's preseason predictions had the Houston Astros playing as well as they are. I hope I'm not jinxing them By saying that (although I think I just did jinx them; I'm sorry, Astros fans!) but  I think it's a welcome change of pace considering the homogenous selection of successful teams over the past few years. This unexpected success is  good for Houston fans and I feel that it's beneficial for baseball overall. I like it when people get excited about clubs that aren't necessarily their hometown team. Even though I'm

Not long ago I picked up this 1999 Columbus Clippers cap but haven't worn it until right now because it looks like next week will be my first Yankees game of the year. I'll need to be rocking a Yankees cap with some uniqueness to it and I think this will do the trick. This is the classic "Big C" logo that the Clippers wore from 1996 through 2008. You can pick up a legit reproduction at Sole Collector while supplies last. Get on that! The sweatband tags match the ones from the  1998 World Series New York Yankees cap , yet the "New Era" flag didn't show up  on Clippers caps until 1999, making this the earliest year this cap could have been produced. That MILB batter man is completely murdered-out. I haven't seen one like that before or since this cap! The Clippers wore this cap from 1996 through the 2008 season and while it's not going to be the most obscure cap in the bleachers, I still doubt most of the fans will recognize

Behold the signature colorway of the 1990's: teal and purple.  Here we see the same inner sweatband tags as these previously featured caps: Stockton Ports , Midland Angels and Hickory Crawdads If it wasn't for the MILB batter man logo I'd guess this was a Florida Marlins cap for sure.  You have to respect a cap that keeps the tags unpopped for so long. After last week's spotlight on a cap from a South Carolina team, I thought it would be appropriate to continue that theme for this week's Fresh Fitted  with a relic from the mid-1990's.  This cap's garish "Charlotte Hornets style" colorway of teal and purple sums up that era to a T.   While I'm less than enthusiastic about the dated colorway, I'm not completely sold on the cap's logo either.  I get that it's a cute dog biting so hard on a bat that it breaks in half but this logo has been around for almost twenty years and it hasn't evolved v

I think this is a sweet World Series side patch, but I like the ones from 2012 and 2013 that have the trophy on them even more.   I go to lots of Yankees games and I love it when I see the veteran fans wearing this cap! Get a good look at those sweatband tags from 1998!  It's not common to find this cap in unused condition. I guess some fan was still rocking his 1996 World Series cap when this one surfaced. By the time he was ready for it, the Yankees were selling caps for the 1999, 2000 and 2001 World Series, though the 2001 cap is not one that you'll see fans wearing for obvious reasons. You all know what the Yankees logo looks like and represents: pure Death Star status right there! The 2015 baseball season is officially underway and if your favorite team is 0-4, I offer my condolences and I wish you the best of luck for next season. However, if your favorite team is 4-0 at this point then I must congratulate you on your all-but-guaranteed World Ser

To most baseball fans, today's date is significant insofar as how many days are left until their favorite team's pitchers and catchers report to spring training. For others, this day also marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of the greatest hitter (as per  Baseball Reference 's most recent EloRater ranking) in baseball history: George Herman "Babe" Ruth. So, in honor of today's date and in keeping with the Chicago White Sox theme,here is a fun photo of "The Babe" and "Shoeless Joe" Jackson: A few things come to mind when looking upon this photo. The first is that ballplayers had some gee-golly-neat nicknames back in those days. It also seems like Jackson (pictured on right) is wearing two shoes and after looking up his nickname's origin, it turns out there was only one occasion when he went up to bat without wearing shoes.  At times, baseball fans can be real jerks and they are jerks with very literal minds and spotless