I guess since BirdFest is over, it's finally time to look at a cap that is not an Orioles affiliate. There is however a connection between last week's Aberdeen IronBirds post and the 2000 Utica Blue Sox hat that is this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection. We know Cal Ripken, Jr. owns the IronBirds but you might be surprised to learn the Utica Blue Sox was the team he bought and moved to Aberdeen. These sweatband tags are consistent with caps from 2000 and 2001 but this cap can't be older than 2001 since that was the team's last season in Utica. The Carolina Blue MILB batterman here is top-not stuff. Utica doesn't host a minor league team anymore but they were lucky to have Miguel Cabrera play during the penultimate Blue Sox season in 2000. I hold Utica with the same reverence as other classic New York-Penn League locations such as Auburn, Batavia, Elmira, Vermont and Oneonta. While I've gotten my hands on a vintage c
I'm a life-long baseball addict. Now I'm documenting it.