Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

As I'm sure anyone reading this is already aware, Monday, April 3, 2016 was Opening Day however I have a question for the baseball purists out there: did it feel less special because there were three televised games on Sunday, April 3, which was the day before Opening Day? This question is tricky because some might say having Opening Day on a Monday is a tradition that must be observed but then there are also those that wonder who in their right mind would be upset that the baseball season began early ? I love the traditional aspect of the game but I admit that I fall into the latter camp simply because my motto is "more baseball, more better". Well that's not really my motto but one of my dreams is for Major League Baseball to expand and have a short-season league in the Southern Hemisphere (or make the Australian Baseball League a thing) so that MLB could have games year-round, meaning there would be two Opening Days! In that case, let's talk logistics

I’ve been holding on to this pristine gem for far too long and now the time has come for you to enjoy its freshness. You may be wondering what is the story with this logo so let me fill you in on  this barely worn Denver Bears cap from the early 1980’s. The red, white and blue colorway is something that Colorado baseball has not embraced in over 30 years and I'd like to see the Rockies to wear this hat as part of a Throwback Thursday promotion. Ok, maybe they can forget the mesh part, unless they were going to do a hipster-themed Throwback Thursday and incorporate the trucker-hat phenomenon of a few years back. Wow that sweatband is immaculate! One thing I like about this snapback is that there is a vague size tag noting this cap is a "Large" meaning it's for anyone who is between a size 7 and and 7 5/8. Good information! The green underbrim and (at one-time) white sweatband are a must if you are going to retro a cap properly. The reason yo

This week’s Fresh Fitted is special for a number of reasons but it also has the distinction of being the first cap I’ve featured of a team has yet to play a single game! A buddy of mine  — who also happens to be an avid reader of the site — recently visited his old hometown of Columbia, SC and was kind enough to pick up a special gift for me: the official on-field cap that the Columbia Fireflies will wear during the majority of home games in their upcoming inaugural season.  It's a refreshing change to find unique logo that does not feature any stale font lettering nor a cartoonish animal It’s no secret that I’ve got a special place in my heart for teams of the South Atlantic League, which is also affectionately known as the Sally League. As an aside, it’s also no secret that I enjoy using the phrase “it’s no secret” in these write-ups and to prove this point, simply open a new browser tab and query “it’s no secret baseball milquetoast” in your favorite search engine. You

Chances are if you are wearing a black hat with an orange B on it, people will just assume you are a Baltimore Orioles fan which I suppose isn't necessarily a bad thing. That assumption however can become problematic if you are really fan of the San Francisco Giants. I spent many years rooting for the Giants when I lived in the Bay Area of California but now that I live in New York, I need a more subtle way to root for my team. One way that suits me well is wearing caps from the Giants' minor league teams, both past and present. This Bellingham Giants cap is an example of the former and I really connect with this unique logo. A simple design such as the orange B over the silver batter is pure elegance although the baseball diamond in the back reminds me of certain Brooklyn Dodgers retro caps that I've seen.  The combination of the grey underbrim, white sweatband and the Made in U.S.A. tag from the mid-1990's makes me so happy.  The black and orange MILB

This week's  Fresh Fitted Friday  selection is the official on-field home cap of the Great Falls Voyagers of the Rocky Mountain region's Pioneer League.  This big red "V" over the poison-green planet reminds me of both of what happens when it's your first time seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show in a theatre as well as this insanely awesome TV miniseries from the 80's called... V   Made in U.S.A. tag is a must once again although I would like to see what kind of quality can be produced on the other planets of our solar system... How much I would give to have the MILB batterman be red and poison-green? From 2003 to 2007, this minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox went by the name of Great Falls White Sox but enlisted the help of a local advertising agency in Montana named Banik Communications to help them rebrand in time for the 2008 season.  Banik's efforts were a great success and a catchy slogan emerged around it: "

I've written about the Spokane Indians only once before  but this week's Fresh Fitted is a cap logo redesign brought to you by - big surprise here - Brandiose. This collaboration was one of their earlier projects and what I appreciate most about this insignia (besides the artwork, of course) is the respectful path the designers followed in the rebranding effort. The Brandiose team (which was known then as Plan B) worked closely with the elders of the official Native American tribe in Spokane when crafting this new look. Their driving force throughout the process was that every design element was executed gracefully and with the sign-off of the tribe's leadership which you can read a bit more about here . The design team wouldn't be able to produce such consistently elegant work if it wasn't for the lengthy amount of research that is done at the onset of the process. Here is a quick retrospect Brandiose performed which covers some of the art that inspire

During the December 4, 2015 write-up of my Vermont Lake Monsters vintage cap, I discussed the wide-range of fan reactions regarding the newly redesigned Norfolk Tides cap logo. Naturally, the old guard was hesitant to swap out the beloved wave-topped T logo that the Tides have employed since 1993 in favor of the trident-wielding seahorse created by Brandiose which for the unfamiliar is a design firm based in San Diego. It turns out that the fans ended up appreciating Brandiose's efforts to the point that the Tides cannot keep the caps in supply enough to match the demand. I've followed Brandiose's output over the past few years and I'm thrilled with this collaboration with the Tides and that my hometown team now has a much-needed fresh new look. If you are browsing this page on a desktop machine, check out the social links on the right and if you are on a mobile device, click these links below: Instagram:  @baseballmilquetoast Twitter:  @FittedFriday F