Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

I've been holding onto this 1927 Brooklyn Royal Giants retro cap that the New York Mets wore during Negro Leagues Tribute games from 2014 through 2016 and I'm ecstatic to finally break it out in recognition of Buck O’Neil, Bud Fowler, and Minnie Minoso being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this past Sunday, December 4 . In addition to that formidable trio of Negro League superstars getting their due in Cooperstown, another reason to showcase this cap today is to celebrate Human Rights Day which is observed on December 10 every year. Baseball's history has been marred by inequity every step of the way and it is important to take note of events like Sunday's that aim to correct those wrongs.  Unique hats with this colorway are a great option for non-Mets fans to wear at a Mets game in New York. Most people won't know or care about the logo is but it's all worth it when someone gives you props when they recognize it.  That "Made in U.S.A."

This week's Fresh Fitted Friday entry is a Utica Blue Sox retro from Hat Club and in the spirit of being completely forthcoming, my main inspiration in selecting it for this week's post is National Sock Day being tomorrow, Saturday, December 4, 2021.  Utica wore this logo during its tenure as the Short-Season A affiliate of the Florida Marlins in the New York-Penn League from 1997 through 2001, which sadly was its last season in the league. I've always found it interesting that the socks were not teal to match Florida's colorway but perhaps they had exhausted that theme with the Elmira Pioneers who were their previous affiliate in the league.  Over the past few years, Hat Club has slowed down its production of MILB cap retros in favor of releasing brightly colored variants of MLB logos, usually with some sort of commemorative patch embroidered on the side. I'm glad I was able to pick up this "Made in U.S.A." cap before that transition happened. That bab

I was thinking of taking this week off due to the holiday but a few days ago I was thinking a lot about the origin story that's usually told of Thanksgiving and  came across an article from Smithsonian Magazine this past Tuesday (November 21, 2021) titled  How to Tell the Thanksgiving Story on Its 400th Anniversary  which offers new insights and perspectives. From a baseball standpoint, I also thought about how Native American cultural depictions have historically figured into baseball as well as some changes I think are appropriate and might happen one day soon. That plus the Friday after Thanksgiving being officially known as Native American Heritage Day was another contributing factor in my desire to post this week. The American Indian imagery the Atlanta Braves continue to disrespectfully incorporate into their branding of a people's culture into a mascot is a practice I believe needs to end. A worthwhile read on the topic is National Congress of American Indians Respond to

Many thanks for your understanding of my absence the past few weeks. I've been meaning to do one final Fresh Fitted Friday tribute to the  2021 Atlanta Braves for putting an end to both of baseball's top villains of this season  in the last two rounds of the playoffs but just haven't been able to get to it until now. I suppose the beauty of the offseason is I've got nothing but time on my hands so without further ado, I present to you the 2018-present Gwinnett Stripers on-field alternate cap. This is the Brandiose-designed cap that the Stripers have worn as an alternate since their rebrand in 2018. I personally love the thought of a fish smacking a baseball with its tail rather trying to hold a bat with its tiny fins. I think when you're playing baseball in the water, you should have a special set of rules but maybe that's just me.   This cap is of the Made in Bangladesh variety and to be honest I can't speak to the quality of its construction as I haven&

 Sorry I have to do this to you one more time, but hopefully I'll be back for you next week!

I need to take a little break, y'all. See you good people next week!

My prayers to the baseball gods for the Dodgers' elimination from the NLCS have been met with smiles as the Atlanta Braves emerged victorious. To show my appreciation for this miraculous event, I dug up a 2004 Richmond Braves hat which I was not planning on writing about until now. I grew up seeing the R-Braves quite often when they came to play my hometown Norfolk (then known as Tidewater) Tides however I associate with the team with the navy crowned version of the cap rather than this red and black version which appeared around 1996 at the earliest. The satin taping in the crown is consistent with hats from 2002-04 as are the New Era and size tags although the MILB tag is something that I have only seen on caps from 2004 so that is my best possible guess of years that this one was worn.  I really like how the black pops on the MILB batterman here but I'm still not crazy about red hats so one day I would love to see a retro feature a reversed colorway of this cap with a bla