Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

After bringing the heat last week, I really wanted to continue the love for the Albany Yankees and since I just happened to have an even more rare hat of theirs on ice, you know I had to do it to ‘em! Even though Albany wore two different cap logos in 1994, the one shown here was only worn during that final season in Albany which makes slapping a year on this hat a slam dunk. I also love that future Hall-of-Famers  Andy Pettitte  and Derek Jeter  wore this cap during that season. The New Era and size tags on this cap are the same as last week although u nlike last week’s cap, the New Era and MILB tags haven’t been ripped out of this one. Also of note, last week's ripped out MILB tag looks to be an older version of the one used for this cap. While I would love it if the Albany Yankees caps that I’ve featured over the past few weeks receive the retro treatment, I just hope they don’t get MAGA-tized with a custom all red release. I know I’ve been r

In celebration of the first Spring Training exhibition games of 2018, I’ve got something extra special to share for this week’s Fresh Fitted Friday : a 1994 Albany-Colonie Yankees cap. I'm glad to finally check this cap off my wishlist. Well, really it's just moving into the second tier because I'd like to eventually find one without the red button and eyelets but enough with the nitpicking! If you look closely you can tell that the tags that were ripped out are ones that were used from 1994-1996. Because the Double-A affiliate's last season in Albany was 1994, this cap could only be from that year. I've seen the MILB batterman on caps that could be from 1993 but I'm holding firm in my estimation that this cap is from 1994 due to the ripped out size tags used in the photo above this one. If you are familiar with my cap wishlist, you know most are there because I love their logo design but some are also there for the rarity. This cap meets both

As I mentioned last week, it was hard for me to take a break from the "Houston Astros Minor League Cap Extravaganza" but now that I've secured this Osceola Astros cap as the latest installment in the series, I also need to share a valuable piece of knowledge regarding Florida's geography that you might not know: there is not a city in Florida named Osceola. From 1985-2016, the Houston Astros made their Spring Training home at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida. It's now home field to the Florida Fire Frogs of the Florida State League and from 1985-1994, it was home to the Osceola Astros (who later became the Kissimmee Cobras) as well as various Gulf Coast League affiliates over the years. The O-Astros used this cap logo without much variation from  their inaugural year in 1985 until their rebranding as the Kissimmee Cobras in 1995 . For this reason it's foolish to try to assign a year to it but if I had to guess, I'd say it's from th

My goal last week was to extend the " Houston Astros Minor League Cap Extravaganza"   but I sadly was not able to obtain a qualifying hat in time. I did find a gem recently but since it hasn't arrived yet, last week's  Carolina League Jackson Generals hat will have to segue into the cap worn by the now defunct Fayetteville Generals of the South Atlantic League. The Fayetteville Generals were in existence from 1986-1996 and this is the cap logo they rocked for the majority of that time. I'm not a Detroit Tigers fan by any means but I am a big fan of the stars and Old English lettering. The Generals switched to grey underbrims in 1994, so this hat is from somewhere between 1991 and 1993.  I doubt a fitted version of this cap exists but you better believe I'm hunting for it just in case! Still in disbelief that a hat that is at least 25 years old has made it's way into my possession with the tags still on it. What a world! I chose th

One of my favorite parts of this pseudo-weekly communiqué is to tie in some sort of significance to each week's featured hat with a place, thing, event or feeling that I'm experiencing. It's usually something as simple as trying to write about a hat from a city that's been featured in recent news or even one that I'm getting ready to visit.  I was shocked—as I'm sure most other New Yorkers were—by the New York and New Jersey bombings  and I was deeply saddened by Tuesday's fatal police shooting of Keith LaMont Scott .  As I was trying to decide on this week's hat, I wanted to incorporate one with a connection to one of these recent tumultuous events as a way to honor those affected. I don't have a Charlotte Knights hat (yet) and there wasn't a New York hat that I wanted to write about so I looked through my collection for one pertaining to either one of those cities. I was about to give up and write about another Asheville Tourists hat whe

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

As stated in last week's post  and many times before, it's always special when a Fresh Fitted makes its debut at a ballgame. Those of you who have seen the love given to minor league caps will know that wearing this Spokane Indians cap to a minor league game tonight is going to be extra special. As much as I'd love to debut this vintage gem at a Spokane Indians game, that's not an option. So instead of catching a Pacific League Baseball game on the west coast, tonight I'll be taking a ferry from Manhattan to my first Staten Island Yankees game.   I know this is another team's cap but I figure the S.I. on the logo is close enough to fit in with the locals even though the cap is red, white and blue. Of course, the best part about this logo is the serifs on the letters which are reminiscent of a Shreveport Captains cap that remains one of my favorites. I've only written about one other DeLong hat, but this is the my first snapback from this

I know what's going through your mind right now: "enough with the snapbacks, already!" is what you are thinking, right? Well, you're correct in that the snapbacks have gotten much love around here lately but I couldn't help myself from sharing this particularly fresh 1990 Everett Giants snapback with you.  The reason it's releasing from the vault today is because my beloved San Francisco Giants are in town to play the New York Mets this weekend and I wanted a unique hat to wear to the game tonight. I also decided to wear this snapback to the game because it fits me a little better than the fitted 1992 version of the cap that I wrote about a few weeks ago.  This particular variation of the cap is one that they wore only for the 1990 season A closer look at the single-season beauty that is this cap logo. The only inside tag on this one is of the New Era variety Here's a look at the Made in U.S.A. writing on the back of the sn