Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

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

The South Atlantic League celebraish officially "goes to 11" today and I think I'll be wrapping up the series next week as I'm sure everyone is about ready for a new topic. Until then, let's talk about this sweet 1980s Asheville Tourists cap which is all about simplicity —while perhaps even teetering on the edge of basic—  although is a classic nonetheless. A cursory glance of Tourists cards from 1986 and 1987 shows players wearing hats with this week's logo and on a royal blue crown, albeit with a grey underbrim, unlike this week's cap. The navy crown seen on  this  1989-93 Asheville Tourists hat  I wrote about just a little over two years ago proves this cap is from no later than  1988. I had troubling finding Asheville Tourists baseball cards from 1981 through 1985 so I can't say with certainty  the earliest year this cap could be from . The closest thing I could find is this image of former Houston Astros pitcher Charlie Ke

I can't recall when I first saw a cap that was designed by Brandiose but I'm guessing it was the current Asheville Tourists home cap that I picked up in 2014. I think until then I was more into collecting vintage caps but once I acquired my most sought-after logos, I was better equipped to appreciate the recent designs that had come onto the scene. We have seen a great many Asheville Tourists alternates ever since their Brandiose rebrand was pushed live in 2011 but I believe this week's "White-Navy-Light Blue" colorway was done as a custom rather than an on-field. The starry night motif really pops on top of the white panels but I also think the blue stitching along the edges of those panels pops but in a distracting way. This is definitely the oldest cap I've seen with that contrasting stitching so it might be all that nonsense started in 2014. I've got more Asheville caps than any other team but this is my only one with the craftsman-

If you feel the same as me about the two-game "regular season" series last week between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners in Japan, you recognize today as the true Opening Day of the 2019 baseball season. While I have no qualms with special series overseas, I do feel that having all 30 teams beginning their season on the same day is a sacred rite of passage. While all teams technically did play today, it's strange to think that the Mariners already have a 3-0 record. Hell, I'm just happy baseball is back so I'll stop complaining for now. I'm really excited for this season and for a change I'm actually into the side-patch that will be worn for year's All-Star Game which will be held in Cleveland for the first time since 1997. I'm probably going to pick up the cap that the San Francisco Giants will wear even though I'm still not a fan of the patch being on the right side due to the New Era flag placement on the left. I know it seems

Today's date is March 15 and this day is always a special one for me as it marks the anniversary of my move from the Bay Area to New York City. While it commemorates a major life event for me personally, March 15 is one of the most infamous dates in all of history and it even has an ominous saying to accompany it: "Beware the Ides of March."   As you can imagine, I had difficulties finding a South Atlantic League hat with some kind of connection to Julius Caesar but alas I stumbled upon an Augusta GreenJackets cap that I had not yet written about.  It's common knowledge that the city of Augusta in the US state of Georgia was named for Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha , but the etymology of her given name dates back to  Augustus of Prima Porta , who for those who  need reminding was Julius Caesar's adopted son and thus the eventual and rightful heir to the Roman Empire. Anyway, enough with the super fun history lesson; let's talk about this classic cap

I thought about writing about another Buffalo Bisons hat this week but I don't think that will do much to alleviate my sadness regarding New Era closing its Derby plant. Instead I think I should focus on another legendary International League team from Western New York like the Rochester Red Wings. As I've mentioned before, my hometown team growing up was the Norfolk Tides and I got to see a lot of games against the Red Wings who were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles during those years. Something interesting I just found out about Rochester is that the "Flour City" has been a charter member of the league since its earliest incarnation in 1886! Like all minor league teams in the late 19th century, the first Rochester squads were all independent clubs however another thing I learned recently is that moniker is likely derived from the fact that their first major league affiliation which was with the St. Louis Cardinals which lasted from 1929 through 1960 and exp

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

I made it to my first and only game in the month of June last Saturday and while I considered posting the new hats I picked up at the stadium that night, this week's Portland Sea Dogs hat is even more special as I am choosing to feature it in honor of my friends getting married in Maine this weekend.  You have to respect this logo's longevity as the design has been with the club since the inaugural season in 1994. There's no chatter of it going away although there are a few weekend specific caps being worn this year. As we've seen on other hats, the blue box sweatband tags came about sometime in 2005 as did the "Originators of the True Fitted" text on the satin taping, both of which are featured here. I don't usually have much to say about the MILB batterman but one thing of note on this cap is that it's a thicker patch similar to the 2006 West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx hat I wrote about in June 2017. As I mentioned earlier, there a