Many of the themes for this blog's posts are planned out well in advance however there are times when inspiration strikes or perhaps some current event takes priority and this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection falls somewhere in between the latter two categories.
I considered a few ideas related to the playoff race in the mighty American League East, whose second and third best teams will likely be the ones battling during the Wild Card series. At the last minute though, I decided to hold off on the congratulatory posts because I became aware of a significant baseball-related event that happened on this date 30 years ago.
When I first starting got into baseball in the mid 1980s, the style and gas of pitchers like Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens held my full attention however I am thankful to have eventually learned to appreciate the mastery of future Hall of Famers like Nolan Ryan and Jack Morris before they retired.
While I have not yet discussed Morris in any previous posts, I have brought Ryan up a few times before and this time it is because he pitched in his final MLB game for the Texas Rangers on September 22, 1993. Ryan was set to retire at the end of that season until a torn ulnar collateral ligament spoiled his plan of pitching the remaining starts left on his rotation.
Interestingly enough, a torn UCL is the injury that shut down Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels this year. While Ohtani must forgo pitching until 2025, thankfully with today's medicine—as well as Ohtani's superhuman athletic abilities on a baseball diamond—he should be healed enough to DH in 2024 no matter where he ends up signing during this off-season.
But back to the former Angel who is the subject of this week's post, Ryan has steadily been racking up the wins along with his sons, Reid and Reese, as principal owner of of Ryan Sanders Sports and Entertainment which has operated Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League since 2000.
Nolan Ryan has also seen some big leagues success in his 2010 return to Arlington as part of an ownership group buying the Rangers, for whom he served as CEO for four years before leaving to become an executive advisor for the Houston Astros which was another team whose uniform he wore during his storied career.
I could go on about Ryan's post-playing achievements but I should start talking about how "the Ryan Express" relates to this week's hat! The only problem is for the very first time in over 400 posts here, I have no idea what team wore this hat but what what I do know is when I look at the red star on a royal blue cap, only two things come to mind: Nolan Ryan and Texas.
I considered a few ideas related to the playoff race in the mighty American League East, whose second and third best teams will likely be the ones battling during the Wild Card series. At the last minute though, I decided to hold off on the congratulatory posts because I became aware of a significant baseball-related event that happened on this date 30 years ago.
When I first starting got into baseball in the mid 1980s, the style and gas of pitchers like Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens held my full attention however I am thankful to have eventually learned to appreciate the mastery of future Hall of Famers like Nolan Ryan and Jack Morris before they retired.
While I have not yet discussed Morris in any previous posts, I have brought Ryan up a few times before and this time it is because he pitched in his final MLB game for the Texas Rangers on September 22, 1993. Ryan was set to retire at the end of that season until a torn ulnar collateral ligament spoiled his plan of pitching the remaining starts left on his rotation.
Interestingly enough, a torn UCL is the injury that shut down Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels this year. While Ohtani must forgo pitching until 2025, thankfully with today's medicine—as well as Ohtani's superhuman athletic abilities on a baseball diamond—he should be healed enough to DH in 2024 no matter where he ends up signing during this off-season.
But back to the former Angel who is the subject of this week's post, Ryan has steadily been racking up the wins along with his sons, Reid and Reese, as principal owner of of Ryan Sanders Sports and Entertainment which has operated Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League since 2000.
Nolan Ryan has also seen some big leagues success in his 2010 return to Arlington as part of an ownership group buying the Rangers, for whom he served as CEO for four years before leaving to become an executive advisor for the Houston Astros which was another team whose uniform he wore during his storied career.
I could go on about Ryan's post-playing achievements but I should start talking about how "the Ryan Express" relates to this week's hat! The only problem is for the very first time in over 400 posts here, I have no idea what team wore this hat but what what I do know is when I look at the red star on a royal blue cap, only two things come to mind: Nolan Ryan and Texas.
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| It is rare for me to get a cap whose logo I do not recognize however first initial in my name is "N" and I think stars are neat so I really had no choice but to click "buy" on this one. For what it's worth, I tried a Google image search but my only results were the Rangers, Astros and New York Mets which were all teams for whom Ryan played. |
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| Another notable first for this cap is the blue sweatband tag is nothing like the other Pro-Line caps that I have written about previously although one characteristic it shares with all those others is referencing Fort Worth, TX. You see, I was able to find a proper connection to Nolan Ryan after all! |
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| This cap has held up great considering it is likely as old as any person who has been alive since the day Nolan Ryan threw his last pitch in the major leagues. |
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:
Instagram: @baseballmilquetoast
Twitter: @FittedFriday
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:
Instagram: @baseballmilquetoast
Twitter: @FittedFriday
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