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Showing posts with the label 1996

1994-96 Wichita Wranglers - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

A few weeks back I mentioned wanting to write about teams in the playoff race but instead opted to feature the  "Mystery 'N' Star" post —which in a way is adjacent to the Texas Rangers, who are now in the postseason—however despite the League Division Series starting this weekend, I am holding off on showcasing any of those eight teams until the games are officially underway. Of course, half the teams could be eliminated by the time next Friday comes along but I am taking that risk because today's date is October 6 and any fan of Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  should associate 10/6 with the Hatter and thus felt compelled to write about a cap where the logo prominently features a hat for National Mad Hatter Day. I write about the Trading Block a lot and while I do hoard a large portion of my caps, there are a good amount that I am willing to move if I can find the right trading partner. And that's what happened recently when

1994-96 New Orleans Zephyrs

It's been over a month since my last post but things don't feel all that different for me as it's just as cold in New York now as it was then although at least I've got a little change of scenery right now as today I'm en route to New Orleans for my first time as an adult! I was hoping to make this trip during Jazz Fest but the timing worked out for it to happen this weekend so here we are! I won't be in town long but I'm going to cram in lots of food and music-laden adventures and thankfully I've got a fresh New Orleans Zephyrs hat to wear while doing so. I love the distinctive logo on this cap and even though this team's origins are based in Denver, the vibrant colors worked well when the team moved to New Orleans in 1993 as the team used the Zephyrs moniker until changing their name to the Baby Cakes in 2017. The sweatband tags here are consistent with MILB caps that New Era produced from 1994 through 1996 and writing ones initials on the undervis

1996 Erie Sea Wolves (Carolina Blue Snapback)

The past two posts since returning from my mini-break have been proper Fresh Fitted Friday entries however this week I'm switching it up with an Erie Sea Wolves snapback in honor of National Dog Day which is today, August 26. Erie sported this Carolina Blue look on their caps from their inaugural season in 1996 through 1998 however the next photo will support my argument that this cap is most likely from their first season. The lack of New Era flag branding on this cap supports my conclusion that it's probably from 1996 since the flag logo came about the following year. And judging by the condition of the sweatband on this cap, I don't think anyone has washed it since 1996 either. I obtained this cap in a big haul a few years ago in order to scoop up an  Appleton Foxes cap  and while that was a worthwhile purchase, I haven't even worn that cap nor this one because the sweatband situation is so dire. I mentioned earlier that today is National Dog Day and while a Sea Wolf

1995-96 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Black Crown/Black Brim)

We are about to enter the final weekend of MLB's regular season and a t the time of writing this, t he National League West is the only division that has not been clinched. My beloved  San Francisco Giants have the best record in MLB but have yet to clinch due to the pesky nature of those bum Dodgers! Nevertheless, I have no doubt that my team will emerge victorious. So to take my mind off this stressful situation I'm putting the focus of this week's Fresh Fitted Friday  on a vintage Tampa Bay Devil Rays cap to celebrate the team that will without a doubt finish the season with the best record in the American League. I remember not being moved by this this logo when it was introduced to the public in late 1995 but now I've come to realize that I was just a very young curmudgeon at that point in my life. The rainbow gradient logo rules.  The Devil Rays played their first game on March 31, 1998 however these sweatband tags are clearly from the 1993-96 era which tells me t

1993-96 Syracuse Chiefs

I was speaking with someone recently who made reference to some album having come out 30 years ago and after a few automatic nods in obligatory agreement, it dawned on me that we were talking about something that happened in 1991, folks! I'm not sure if this type of confusion becomes a more frequent occurrence the older we get but, this one really threw me for a loop. I happened to be watching baseball during this conversation so it's no surprise I started to think about how this year's top teams fared thirty years ago.  The Atlanta Braves were the big story in 1991 when they became the first National League team to appear in a World Series after having finished the previous season in last place. Even though they ended up falling to the the Minnesota Twins in Game 7 of that most memorable series, that season brought the team its first of 14 consecutive division titles. The Braves had an even better record the following year, returning to the Fall Classic once again however

1995-96 Kissimmee Cobras

I have been so hyper-focused on trying to achieve so many firsts  with recent posts in celebration of this blog's tenth anniversary that I think I've lost touch with what drew me into cap collecting in the very beginning which is fitted MILB caps from the mid-1990's. It's been fun showing off some of my vintage MILB snapbacks and the newer gems which are mostly from Copa de la Diversion but for me minor league caps peaked in the 90's and this week's Kissimmee Cobras cap is a shining example of that. Its also the perfect cap to feature on World Snake Day which as it happens is today, July 16! I admittedly was not the biggest fan of this cap when it debuted in 1995 but maybe that's because it felt a little too reminiscent of The Karate Kid for me. Over the years though, I've realized the snake wrapping its tail around the baseball is a total power move that other limbless animal logos can only try to emulate   The sweatband tags here are of the 1994-96 v

1996-97 Bangor Blue Ox

I hope everyone has enjoyed the "Buffalove" over the past five weeks and if you didn't that's ok because at least you got to momentarily experience the blog delving into the realm of football, which was definitely a new sort of sensation for me after all these years! Another first that I'm excited about is this week's Bangor Blue Ox cap is the first-ever Northeast League cap to be featured here. It might seem hard to believe that even in this blog's tenth year  I'm still finding new leagues to write about but I think the sheer volume of obscure teams out there is a testament to the widespread reach that baseball has across this country. This cap came to me as part of a larger lot purchase and I have to admit I had no idea what team used this logo when I first saw it. Thankfully the hat nerds on Instagram were out in full force that day and provided me with an answer within minutes! The sweatband on this cap is rather soiled and I have to admit I'm

1994-96 Oneonta Yankees

For those with a keen sense of foreshadowing, last week's Oneonta Tigers cap might have been a pretty good clue that I would be featuring the infamous Oneonta Yankees for  this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection . A class-act logo like this deserves the retro treatment although I'd be hoping for true-to-original dimensions and flat embroidery. My sweet spot for sweatband tags (sweat spot?) has always been 1994 through 1996 and I'm so happy that a cap I've been on the hunt for all these years features that set of tags. I would have been ok if this cap didn't feature the MILB batterman but it's a nice touch on this one because at least no one would mistake it for a college team or one from any other sport for that matter. If you're a regular reader here you know that that the Oneonta Yankees hat is one that's been on my  Wish List  for a long time and I imagine that being the case for anyone who collected MILB cards in the 80

1994-96 Fayetteville Generals - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

Something I enjoy doing with this blog is reflecting on previous posts while working on new ones. This week's Fayetteville Generals cap not only harks back to a  Generals snapback that I wrote about just over two years ago  but it also relates to the  Lakewood BlueClaws  which was the first team featured in this run of South Atlantic League caps. What I appreciate most about the Generals logo is that it pays tribute to a legendary figure of the American Revolutionary War from France named Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, or as he's more commonly known, Marquis de Lafayette.   Not only is the team's name derived from his role as a major general of American forces in the war but the city of Fayetteville, NC is also named in Lafayette's honor. I should have mentioned this information when I wrote about the Generals snapback in 2017 but I'm glad to be able to right this wrong now.  One wrong that can't be righted

1994-96 Columbus RedStixx

Y'all know how much I love these little "mini-series within a series" things so brace yourselves for the second part of the Columbus RedStixx celebration within the greater South Atlantic League jubilee! To celebrate this meta-gala proper, I'll be popping the tags on a cap that is about 25 years old! This week's cap is special because it's the logo I remember most from my time as a minor league baseball fanatic in the mid-1990's. The RedStixx wore this one from their inaugural season in 1992 through 1994 but possibly up until 1997. For some reason MILB cards from seemed to become more scarce as the decade progressed. The sweatband tags here are standard issue for the mid-1990's but the white satin taping has inspired me to create a new label that I'll be applying to previous posts as needed. The MILB batterman on the back of the cap here tells me this one's from 1994 at the earliest and the last year it could be from is 1996 

1994-1996 Trenton Thunder

As difficult as it was for me to be a Boston Red Sox fan for almost an entire week as they faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, it's all over now. I was happy to watch the Dodgers be eliminated at home for the second year in a row but... That's it. I was happy to watch the Dodger be eliminated at home for the second year in a row.  Ok but now it's time to reassess my priorities and the first thing I'll do is sulk about the fact that there are no baseball games to watch. At some point in mid-February I'd sell my soul to watch an impossibly tortuous game where the Dodgers play the Dodgers or something silly like that so someone please remind me not to make this deal! Thankfully, I know that soon enough the 2019 season will be here and I'll be going to lots of games at CitiField and Yankee Stadium so— Wait a second. How am I going to go to Yankee Stadium after I've actively rooted for the Red Sox in the World Series? I guess my saving