Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

If you have been telling stories long enough, you (and/or those around you) will eventually come to accept that repeat performances are inevitable, and as I approach the 15-year milestone of writing this blog, today's Fresh Fitted Friday post marks the first time I have featured the exact same cap for a second time. There are a few contrasting factors between both posts, with the notable being that today's photos were taken just a few years ago. Another difference is that this post is being published on a Friday, while the double feature post featuring a Brewers and Tigers hats from 1993 has a date stamp of Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011. Evidently, I did not make any note of it being "Fresh Fitted Friday" until my  1992 Seattle Mariners post on August 16, 2013 . It was fun revisiting that double feature post where I weighed in on the likelihood of a Brewers-Tigers World Series, especially considering neither team made it past the LCS that year. What I enjoyed even more wa...

The only time I feel listless during the baseball season is All-Star Week and that is because my options for watching baseball games become limited on the Monday leading into the All-Star Game up through the Friday following it. The Home Run Derby and All-Star Game are both fun events, but I miss having the full daily slate of games available where I can truly immerse myself. Perhaps I am dreading this year's Midsummer Classic because my San Francisco Giants 39-54 start is their worst since 2017, with that mid-season record being 35-56. Thankfully, the Colorado Rockies are just a smidge worse than the Giants this year, and they just happen to be in San Francisco for one final series before the break. Whether the Giants win or lose this series, I hope this week gives them an opportunity to reflect and recharge in preparation for the second half of the year. I do not expect them to have a miraculous turnaround; however, that would present a welcome set of new emotions for Giants fans...

Tomorrow is the United States' 250th anniversary and for beachgoers, the busiest weekend of the year will be extra amplified over this Fourth of July holiday weekend. Sadly, I won't be enjoying time by the ocean this weekend, but this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection makes me feel like I'm there  but at least I did not have to need to  dig  deep for a topic for this post. The Jersey Shore BlueClaws debuted this new beach-coded alternate logo to commemorate their 25th anniversary season, which as it happens coincides with the United States celebrating its 250th birthday. I love that MILB caps have gone back to grey undervisors and hope the trend continues for many years to come. A large majority of the MLB caps I feature on this blog have a red, white, and blue batterman, but to me the stars seem to be shining extra bright here in tribute to the big birthday party happening for the U.S. tomorrow. I love minor league logos that incorporate baseball elements as well as...

After  posting to this blog for over a dozen years, I sometimes ask myself if I have run out of ideas to write about or if I am conveniently revisiting themes to the point of there no longer being a point in continuing on. And then there are moments when I consider the significance of those themes and the importance of continually reminding myself of the values that define me. Earlier this week I realized this coming Sunday was the NYC Pride March and instantly thought it would be fitting to feature a Charleston Rainbows hat for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post. I wanted to know how long it had been since I had last written about the team so I dug through the archives only find  this post from almost exactly ten years ago , which was the first—and most recent—time I had written about the Rainbows. I felt chills reading my thoughts on the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016, which frankly is a sensation I expect to sense again in ten years when I think back on how the San Fra...

It has been a wild past few weeks here in New York as the Knicks journey to their first championship in 53 years has been achieved and just yesterday the team was feted with a parade for the ages.  I am not big on crowds  so I walked around the parade area before it kicked off as well as after its conclusion and even those were special experiences I will not soon forget. I have published over 500 entries to this blog and even though I have  mentioned my Knicks fandom in three separate posts , I have only featured two caps of NBA teams and neither was the Knicks! The reason for this is I have not yet found a Knicks hat that I love so this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is a different sort of blue and orange gem to honor the team's historic W. I was fortunate to grow up in Norfolk where I spent summers watching so prospects of the New York Mets farm system and always felt a kindred connection to the organization's lower levels, especially the  Jackson Mets...

It has been over six years since I've featured a Portland Rockies cap here so I think not only has enough time passed, but because today is National Red Rose Day, I just have to feature a Portland Rockies hat to show love to the Rose City for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post. The embroidery here feels a bit rougher than what I see on my fitted variant of this cap but I am actually fine with it as a snapback is allowed to be a little rugged if it feels the need to be! The sweatband tags here do not feature a New Era flag like the caps from 1997 trough 2000 so I am confident in asserting this one is from either the Portland Rockies inaugural season in 1995 or the following year in 1996. The MILB batterman was present in 1995 which also brings me comfort in my estimation of this cap's age. I have been thinking a lot about Portland because it continues to be a contender for a MLB expansion team. I haven't broached the topic since my Nashville Sounds post this past Augu...

I had a memorable family excursion to Atlanta last weekend, and the Kinship Road-trip tour continues this weekend in Richmond, Virginia. In case you're wondering, I still have not been to a Yankees game this season, which might be a record for me. All is well though, as last night was my first time at CarMax Park, which is the new home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels. I loved every step I took in that ballpark, and I am looking forward to returning if the Squirrels are in town on my next visit. I figured “ no cap” would be more fitting to wear to a new ballpark than one of the fantastic fauxback hats issued by the team. Apologies for mentioning the Yankees again this week; however, I am a New Yorker, and  Richmond was once their Triple-A home ! The team's mascot, Nutzy, is in the midst of a majestic and hurried sprint here, and the only thing that would make me love this cap even more is if the crown were black and the visor were red, but even still, this cap is incredible. I...

There is no national holiday or major event happening this weekend for me to reference for this week's theme, but luckily I only have to look at the boarding pass in my phone's Delta app for my upcoming flight to Atlanta tomorrow morning to get me hyped up to eat some incredible BBQ and peaches that are now in season. Sadly, the Atlanta Braves are on the road, and so are their Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, but that's not stopping me from posting a peach-hued variant of the Stripers home cap for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post! This is the third Stripers hat I've written about and while I like the ball-on-hook here, I have to strain to see the ball so I think I might prefer the alternate logo I wrote about in 2021 . I love the pop on the undervisor here more than that alternate cap, though. It's just so peachy! The light and breezy look is completed with the peach-laden MILB batterman and New Era embroidery on the side. The timing of this trip to the Peac...

Just a week ago, I wouldn't consider walking out the door without a hoodie to keep me warm, but then the following Sunday, temperatures reached the mid-80s and rose up to the low 90s, which stayed steady through this past Wednesday. I should mention, the purpose of this weather recap is really only to provide an excuse as to why I haven't been to a Yankees game yet this season! Considering the past few posts went from Yankees to Mets, you would think the Subway Series theme would be wrapped up, but today is National Maritime Day, and the most nautical cap I own just happens to be one worn by the Columbus Clippers, who were the Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees from 1979 through 2006. The last time I wrote about this cap logo was almost exactly 11 years ago although this week's hat is the one the Clippers wore in 2001 to commemorate their 25th season in Columbus.  If the Clippers celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2001, this year would be their 50th season; however, as ...

Last week's Fresh Fitted Friday highlighted the New York Yankees and today's post shifts the focus to the New York Mets as the two teams are set to face off for the first time in 2026, with tonight's meeting being the first of a three-game series in Queens. The Mets season has gotten off to a rocky start, but cheerier times loom as they are fresh off their first sweep of the year, with that triumph over the equally struggling Detroit Tigers bringing their record to 18-25. I would not expect the Mets to sweep the Yankees, but even a series win would do a lot to boost morale for a team looking for bright spots, so maybe Mr. Met can help! I might be a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan, but as far as mascots go, I rate Mr. Met right alongside Lou Seal without must hesitation.  The 25th Anniversary embroidery is a bit messy here, so I opted to show it alongside the main cap logo. Pairing a white sweatband with a warm-weather cap material like rip stop is a bold choice, but on th...

My MLB game count for 2026 thus far includes three Mets games at CitiField and zero visits to Yankee Stadium, which might be the longest I have gone into a season without seeing a game in the Bronx. To be fair, I had very little desire to see the Yankees play the Marlins or Athletics for their first homestand, and I was in Paris during the second one when the Angels and Royals were in town. Tickets can get pricey for weekend series against popular teams, especially when the Yankees are playing well, which has been the case through this point. So, their recent series against the Orioles was not an option because of a combination of those factors as well as me simply being too tired to make it happen. There is not much of a point of listing out all these excuses other than reinforcing my desire to catch a Yankees game during their homestand later this month. My options will be either the Blue Jays or the Rays. To commemorate this big decision, this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selecti...

We are going port-to-port for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday as we set sail from the Portland Beavers to the cap worn by the Stockton Ports for their "Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond" games. The logo on this cap also just happens to be the perfect way to honor International Workers’ Day, which is celebrated around the world today and every year on May 1. The stevedore grasping this huge asparagus spear is a reimagining of "5 O'Clock Dock" identity designed by Brandiose for the Ports ahead of the 2013 season . I love the original but the menacing look on this version as he holds the asparagus like a bat is top-notch. So many sweatband tags!  I had been eyeing this cap ever since the "Defenders of the Diamond" logos were first unveiled ahead of the 2022 season, and I was especially happy to finally pick up this cap when it went on sale during the holidays last December. The MILB batterman logo's stars’ alignment confirms this cap was produced...