Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

I'm realizing that I've been fixated on this need to spotlight teams with "original" monikers and I think it's time to switch things up a little bit. Just because a team was called the "Midland Angels " doesn't mean it lacked an identity of its own. It might just seem like some weird combination of logos from the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers, but this Midland Angels cap from the mid-1990's is a fine example of a minor league club achieving an ideal balance of showing respect to its parent team while also displaying (Texas-sized) state pride. In 1999 though, things became more confusing for baseball fans in the Southern Plains of western Texas when the team's 14 year long affiliation with the Angels ended and a new one (that still lasts today) began with the Oakland Athletics. They rebranded themselves as the Midland RockHounds, a nickname that I still do not understand. I guess there are special dogs that roam patches of rocks in

Update : While I originally stated that this cap was probably from 1992, I really should have also mentioned that 59Fifty tags didn't appear until 1994. I've seen New Era use older, leftover tags on caps, if this is really from 1992 then this is interesting because they applied a 59Fifty tag from 1994 on a cap with a green underbrim and no MILB batterman. Either I've been wrong about the 59Fifty tag first appearing in 1994 or they ran out of the 1992 tags at some point in the manufacturing process and had to use the ones from 1994 ahead of time, which is so weird. Update (4/20/2019) : This blog has been a learning experience for me over the years but sometimes new information comes to light so I've got to fall on my sword about something here. The previous update to this post mistakenly states that the 59Fifty tag first appeared in 1994 but I've seen caps from 1992 and 1993 that have it so there's that.  More importantly, I should mention that the only Rive

Update : While I originally stated that this cap was from the later years of the Sun Rays history, I really should have also mentioned that 59Fifty tags didn't appear until 1994. This is important because while I've seen New Era use older, leftover tags on caps, this is the first clear example I've seen where they applied a 59Fifty tag from 1994 on a cap that was defunct by 1993. E ither I've been wrong about the 59Fifty tag first appearing in 1994 or that they ran out of the 1992 tags at some point in the manufacturing process and had to use the ones from 1994 instead, which is so weird. Update (4/20/2019) :  This blog has been a learning experience for me over the years but sometimes new information comes to light so I've got to fall on my sword about something here. The previous update to this post mistakenly states that the 59Fifty tag first appeared in 1994 but I've seen caps from 1992 and 1993 that have it so there's that. Because the SunRays only wo

As a current resident of New York City, I can't help but root against the Boston Red Sox. I've been to a fair number of Yankees games since I've lived here and the ridicule that the Yankees' fans bestow upon the Red Sox Nation is a true marvel to observe. It's fair to say that Yankees fans are often described as being "entitled" due to their successes over the past two decades. They are also known to be abrasive in comparison to - and in their treatment toward - their counterparts in Flushing. Mets fans embrace their lovable losers and that's admirable but Yankees fans are not as forgiving of their team. Mets fans have fun at games even if they know that their team's losing record in the season means no chance of making a playoff appearance. Yankees fans have become spoiled to the point that not winning a World Series is unacceptable and not making the postseason spells out disaster. I appreciate the dynamic between Mets fans and Yankees fans bu

Before I get started on this week's Fresh Fitted, I feel obligated to offer hearty congratulations to the Boston Red Sox on their 2013 World Series championship. It's too difficult for a New York City resident to actively root for a Boston team, but in light of the Boston Marathon bombing earlier in the year my thought is that losing the World Series would have been an especially hard pill to swallow for Red Sox Nation. My only positive spin on this victory is that the New York Yankees will undoubtedly feel extra pressure to dominate the AL East next year. In light of all this, I deemed it appropriate that the first post of the off-season should showcase a rare cap from one of my favorite former Yankees farm teams: the Columbus Clippers. I know I've featured the Clippers in the recent past but this cap really stands out as one of the great forgotten ones of yesteryear. Behold the official (short-lived) on-field batting practice cap that the Clippers wore when they were a

There will be no more "winter is coming" warnings; the end of MLB's 2013 season means winter has come. For those who are already starved for baseball, there is the option to turn one's eyes to the "Land of the Rising Sun" as there is at least a one more game left to play in deciding the next Japan Series title champions. As of now the Ratuken Eagles are up 3-2 in the series against the Yomiuri Giants.  While the Giants have competed in the Nippon Professional League since it's inception in 1950 (and since 1934 as part of Japan's Independent League and the Japanese Baseball League) the Eagles have only been around since 2005. The Giants - along with the Hanshin Tigers - are the most known and profitable teams in Japanese baseball so it's nice to see a newer team like the Eagles contending with these heavy hitters. As a San Francisco Giants fan, it seems unfitting to root for any team other than one called the Giants. Even though there is no a

I know I did a tribute to a San Francisco Giants minor league team last week but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to honor another former Giants farm club: the Phoenix Firebirds.  As time goes on, t his cap's logo becomes increasingly more obscure to even longtime ("die-hard") Giants fans. After all, who can really be expected to remember a team that has been defunct since 1998? Because of the Firebirds' affiliation and that the Giants have held their spring training in Arizona since 1947,  Phoenix was always full of Giants fans . When MLB awarded Arizona with an expansion team, the Firebirds packed up and moved to Tuscon and became known as the Sidewinders.  The team that was already there was called the Tuscon Toros (which was an Astros affiliate at the time) so they in turn moved to Fresno and called themselves the Grizzlies. There was also an organizational shake-up as the Sidewinders became an affiliate of the Diamondbacks while the Grizz