Skip to main content

2015 Stockton Ports

This week's Stockton Ports hat is similar to last week's High Desert Mavericks cap in that they are both California League caps that I was completely certain I had already featured but alas, had not. I wish I had a cool backstory here but to be completely honest, I don't even remember when I purchased it. 

I tried digging through my emails for a confirmation for more details and the closest I got was one from 2015 for a purchase for "STO NE AU ROAD 5950 CAP RYL/SCARLET-HAT" which isn't too descriptive but "STO" seems to be an appropriate abbreviation for "Stockton" and the colorway listed checks out for the Ports "road" cap.

The Ports road cap is my favorite of all the versions they currently wear. I love the anchor's hook piercing the baseball and the colorway surrounding the "P" reminds me of the Peninsula Pilots, which, as I've mentioned before is one of my all-time favorite cap logos.

Made in U.S.A. quality here y'all

Not sure if anything is more 'merica than featuring a wearing a cap with a red, white and blue batterman over Labor Day weekend!

I've got a few more California League caps to share over the next weeks but another thing I didn't realize before I sat down to write this week's post is that it has now been six months since I began this westward-themed "road trip" of MILB teams! While I've had fun focusing on these western leagues, I know nothing can replace the "lost summer" that baseball fans endured this year.

When is the last weekend of summer, anyway? Are you one of these, "well technically Summer 2020 ends on September 22 so…" people or do you subscribe to the belief that Labor Day weekend is when summer ends in earnest? 

Maybe I'm the only one who wastes time pondering the answers to trivial questions. And besides just like everything else these days, this point doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. Regardless of all that, let's pass the time by arguing about something folks!

I think perhaps our collective fist-shaking energy could better be used in protest of MLB moving forward with their callous plan to dismantle the Short-Season A and Rookie Leagues. As someone who grew up in a minor league market, I cannot stress enough how important it is for baseball's long-term health to have teams playing in these smaller cities across America.

What really grinds my gears about all this is that many of these small market cities placed all their faith in MLB's system without having a contingency plan. I understand most of these owners operate in "survival mode" throughout the year but I truly hope one outcome from all this is a resurgence in independent baseball, especially collegiate summer leagues.

Of course, the success of these unaffiliated teams largely correlates to the support they receive from their communities. It might be a little too late in the season to make this request but I am urging those of you who live in a region where a collegiate summer league plays to please attend the games! I truly believe homegrown baseball is the best flavor of all so let's give it a try!

This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is not going on the Trading Block however please don't hesitate to reach out if you want any other cap from that list and you are willing to part with any of the hats on my Wish List.

As always, thanks for coming back to read about baseball hat geekery. I've got comments disabled here so if you'd like to discuss a trade or simply just chat about hats, please feel free to connect via the following social sites:

Twitter: @FittedFriday

Comments