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Showing posts with the label snapback

1998-2001 Fresno Grizzlies Snapback

After last week's double-dose of Denver Bears hats, I must ask if you are prepared for yet another bear-themed cap this week because today is National Teddy Bear Day as well as National Care Bears Share Your Care Day and I had no choice but to break out this 1998 Fresno Grizzlies snapback for the occasion. It's also California Admission Day and if you've ever glanced upon California's state flag, you are most likely envisioning the grizzly bear featured on it at this very moment. I am almost ashamed to admit this as a former resident of California yet I never once took interest in researching why the state is known as the  "Bear Flag Republic" until today. I'll spare you the history discourse on the Mexican-American war and Mexico's War of Independence for the time being but I should note the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846  only lasted a total of 25 days and the events that transpired were a key component in California being officially annexed by the United

1996 Erie Sea Wolves (Carolina Blue Snapback)

The past two posts since returning from my mini-break have been proper Fresh Fitted Friday entries however this week I'm switching it up with an Erie Sea Wolves snapback in honor of National Dog Day which is today, August 26. Erie sported this Carolina Blue look on their caps from their inaugural season in 1996 through 1998 however the next photo will support my argument that this cap is most likely from their first season. The lack of New Era flag branding on this cap supports my conclusion that it's probably from 1996 since the flag logo came about the following year. And judging by the condition of the sweatband on this cap, I don't think anyone has washed it since 1996 either. I obtained this cap in a big haul a few years ago in order to scoop up an  Appleton Foxes cap  and while that was a worthwhile purchase, I haven't even worn that cap nor this one because the sweatband situation is so dire. I mentioned earlier that today is National Dog Day and while a Sea Wolf

1992-94 Chandler Diamondbacks Snapback

It's been a month since my last post but in all likelihood it's going to be a more weeks before I'm ready to return to posting more regularly. Nothing to worry about though as there are lots of good things happening on my end and I have a feeling I'll be fully energized once I get a bit more charge in me! Let's just consider this week as a sort of check-in at the halfway point of the hiatus which, as the All-Star break is almost upon us strikes me as a bit ironic considering the players who have been grinding up to this point of the season are ready for a well-deserved break so here I am to relieve them! I normally like to feature All-Star Game caps for posts around this time of year but since tomorrow is National Snake Day, I feel compelled to showcase my Chandler Diamondbacks cap which was most likely worn during the Arizona Fall League's inaugural season in 1992. I'm not the biggest fan of snakes but I definitely don't get squirmy when I see one on TV

1992 Reading Phillies

Well folks, thanks for being understanding of my need to take a minor break from the good ole Baseball Milquetoast blog experience last week but rest assured because we're back now and ready to be better than ever!  I've spent most of this pandemic writing about West Coast caps and since I'm ready to start showing love to the East Coast once again, we're going to start that trend off with a Reading Phillies hat which is fitting as I'm totally STOKED on Pennsylvania at the moment. I've never been much of a fan of red hats and especially less so over the last four years but there's a small chance I'll warm up to them again soon because 2020 has been a wild year so who knows what's going to happen next, right?!? Reading wore this cap from 1992 through 1997 but the lack of the New Era flag tag on the sweatband confirms that this particular one wasn't worn after 1996. I have come to believe that the MILB batterman began to appear on MILB caps in 1993

Early 1990's Yakima Bears

Welcome back to another week under quarantine, folks! This post takes our talents on a road trip out west so that we can discover all the rugged beauty that it has to offer. To mark this special occasion, I've got a Yakima Bears snapback from the early 1990's that I believe to be one of the more rare caps that the team wore during its existence. The simplicity of the Yakima "Y" in the cap logo provides a sense of timelessness and even though the team is now-defunct, the design should be revived by the next team that makes its home in Yakima. Besides the copious amount of schmutz on the sweatband, the tags here tell a very short story as to what year this cap was worn as these two specific tags are prevalent on many of the early 1990's snapbacks that I've seen before. The missing MILB batterman embroidery is suggests to me that this cap is most likely from the early 1990's. I have found no evidence of the team wearing this yellow crowned cap in

1988-90 Utica Blue Sox

If there's a personality trait every baseball fan should possess it has to be dynamism. Accepting the possibility of the 2020 baseball season never even beginning is sobering and I'm searching for coping mechanisms other than reminiscing on all the other times fans have been let down when it comes to the one-sided obsession we have with this game. Besides the strike-shortened season of 1994, I'm fortunate that the only adjustment I've had to make was the prior year. My hometown team, the Tidewater Tides, dropped the alliteration in their catchy team name in favor of acknowledging the City of Norfolk, which in all fairness was an overdue gesture as Norfolk had been hosting the team since 1969. The name change seemed like a big deal at the time but maybe that's because it also came with a change of scenery as the Tides left their well-worn  environs of Metropolitan Park and moved into brand new digs.  Harbor Park  still stands as home to the Tides currently and is

1988-92 Colorado Springs SkySox

Seeing as how this is the last missive of the year, it only seems right to expect a blow-out post although I fear only I will see it as such. Then again, I'm the one writing this dang blog every week so cut me some slack, Jack! I often refer to my baseball fandom reaching its fever pitch in the late 1980's and early 1990's but just in case you need a reminder, some of the hat logos that are specific to that era are my all-time favorites as is the case with this week's Colorado Springs Sky Sox cap. The interlocking "C" and "S" on this cap are something that I will always associate with Colorado Springs although it would be foolish to assume it hasn't been used elsewhere beforehand. The one instance that jumps to mind as a possibility is with the USC Trojans . The tags here are fairly straightfoward considering this cap could be from anywhere between 1988 and 1992. The only reason I'd say it's from the later side is because the MIL

1989-90 Columbus Mudcats

Regular readers of this blog know that I like to get topical on here and while that can  potentially  lead to posts seeming to be dated down the line, I still enjoy the correlation between hats and certain current events and holidays.  That being said, I am surprised that for last week's post I didn't think to write about a team from a city named Columbus as we were l eading into Columbus Day weekend. Thankfully we aren't too many days removed from the actual holiday so it still feels timely to feature this Columbus Catfish hat for this week's post. It might seem tame compared to today's current MILB caps but this  Mudcats logo —a long with the Durham Bulls cap—helped usher in MILB caps into the mainstream consciousness. This New Era tag is commonly seen on snapbacks from the late 1980's and early 1990's. The lack of the MILB batterman solidifies the theory that this cap is not from the mid-1990's at all. The squarish brim and plain

1999 Knoxville Smokies Snapback

It was hard for me not to have a proper Southern League hat for last week's Fresh Fitted Friday, so I'm fully energized this week to be able to share this 1999 Knoxville Smokies hat with you this time around. I have to admit when this logo came out in 1993, I didn't think anything was special about it besides the fact that bonafide prospects like Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green wore the cap that season. My best guess is that this cap is from 1999 as that is the year that the New Era flag began appearing on the side of MILB caps as well as the fact that the white taping and sweatband tags are identical to this 1 999 Capital City Bombers cap . Here's a flipped-up view where if you zoom in you'll see the modernized, yet tonal, New Era branding on the adjustable snap itself. Even though this is a snapback, I feel fortunate to have snagged this cap as it's not one that seems to come around as often as one would think. Another reason my guess is that th

1993-99 Cedar Rapids Kernels

Wella-wella-wella welcome back, y'all! Last week was way too busy for me to turn in a quality post but we are keeping the spirit of the Midwest League theme going this week with a classic cap from another Iowa-based franchise: the Cedar Rapids Kernels. I've written about the current version of the Kernels cap but in truth, that one has never been my favorite. Virtually every sports team has a logo that I feel is their greatest and to me, this week's cap is the classiest and most elegant logo the Kernels have ever worn. Firstly, a baseball gently emerging from a corn husk is about as Midwest as it gets, folks. Corn's importance in the region is boundless but what I appreciate most about the imagery is it represents new life as every spring, a new season of baseball begins in Cedar Rapids. I've never been to Iowa but teams like the Kernels, Clinton LumberKings and Quad Cities River Bandits have piqued my interest since an early age. The movie F