July 8- Cincinnati Reds

If there has ever been a moment of a “complete lapse of judgment” in any of these New Era Cap posts today has certainly become the day to show it. Actually, I really shouldn’t be so hard on myself. After all, this is actually the first Cincinnati Reds cap I purchased. 

It was some time during the summer of 2010 when I strolled into the Lids at Valley River Center in Eugene, Oregon to buy this and a few other caps merely off of a whim. See, I hadn’t quite hatched the plan to purchase all of the game-worn Major League Baseball caps just yet. At this point in time I was still in the “one cap for every team” phase. With the Reds I wasn’t particularly picky. The Lids store in question happened to have all three styles from the last few years available and I simply picked out the one that looked the best on my noggin. The winner of the mix? This lucky fella which served as the Reds’ home and road alternate cap from 1999-2000, served full-time as the home cap from 1999-2006 and the team’s road and alternate cap from 2003-present. Actually, it’s a really complicated mess of years and uniform combos which make it really difficult to give a straight answer; so, for the sake of argument, this cap has been used by the Reds since 1999 and is still being used today.

What’s really interesting about this cap is that it ushered in one of the more dramatic changes in any teams’ cap design. Yes, I realize that to most the cap looks virtually identical to their other caps since the 1970s, but I say you’re not looking hard enough. For example, this cap introduced the black bill, which is a pretty significant change when considering that the Reds’ hats were completely red with the exception of their 1993-1998 pinstripe home caps, which I can’t find anywhere. But the most important feature, the one that has caused bits of grief for some Reds fans, is the shadow added to the “C” logo.

Personally, I don’t mind it. From an art perspective it gives the logo a bit more depth; however, from a fan perspective I can how this could be considered frivolous.

Now, keeping in mind with what I said earlier about only making this my one Reds cap purchase it will help explain why I chose the numbers I did for this cap. With almost all of my other caps I’ve done a great job of keeping the stats, dates and people within the timeframe of when the cap was used on the field; however, based on those standards I totally blew this time around. But, I did it all for the sake of the two most important figures (to me) in Reds history who had the greatest impact on my youth years.

#11- 1990 was a weird year for me. I was seven-years-old, in first grade and playing my second year of T-ball… as a member of the Reds. When the season started I didn’t think much of it, nor did I really know how much getting the jersey with the #11 on the back was going to impact the next decade of my life.

I realize that saying you were one of the best players on your T-ball team is incredibly silly, but it was true. Aside from being able to hit a ball that doesn’t move with ease, I was actually a phenomenal defensive threat. Yes, I am aware of how ridiculous this sounds, but how many seven-year-olds do you know of that were capable of pulling off not one, but TWO unassisted triple plays. Oooooohhhhh you don’t know of any? Exactly, now you do. Granted, in both cases the only reason I was able to pull them off is because the kids on the other team forgot that you’re supposed to go back to the base when a pop fly has been caught, but at the same time I looked pretty good for knowing what I could pull off at such a young age. And like I said, not once, but twice. Only one other time in my life have I been privy to such defensive awareness from someone so young. So yah, the next time you look at that photo of the freckled kid above, just know that behind those eyes is a Gold Glover waiting to embarrass your team.

Enough reminiscing about my “glory days,” Barry Larkin has always been one of my favorite/most hated baseball figures in my life. For those of you who don’t know, I’m a life-long Oakland Athletics fan. That bit of information alone should fill in all the gaps, but I’m not one to leave empty details. Larkin, like Pete Rose, was born and raised in Cincinnati and attended Archbishop Moeller High School where he was a second round draft pick of the Reds as an outfielder. Rather than sign on the dotted line, Larkin passed on their offer and decided to go to college instead. For college, Larkin grew the largest set of balls the state of Ohio had ever seen as he opted to enroll at the University of Michigan. 

He's wearing an extra special cup made of gold.

The funny thing about this move is that Larkin was originally set to play football under Bo Schembechler in 1982. Larkin never saw one play on the field for the Wolverines in football, and it was by chance later that year, Schembechler allowed Larkin to pursue baseball. Good thing he did as Larkin ended up becoming a two-time All-American (1984-1985), led the Wolverines to two College World Series berths, won the 1983 Big-10 Tournament MVP, was the 1984 and 1985 Big-10 Player of the Year and even played on the 1984 US Olympic baseball team. Oh, and he also graduated like a boss. Despite “missing his window” right out of high school the Reds came crawling back and took Larkin with the fourth overall pick in the 1985 Major League Baseball amateur draft.

Larkin played in a total of 175 games in the minor leagues for the AA Vermont Reds (72) and Denver Zephyrs (103) from 1985-1986 before making his MLB debut on August 13, 1986. Larkin only played in 41 games that season but still hit .283 with three home runs, 19 RBI and eight stolen bases. His performance managed to get him one percent of the vote for the National League Rookie of the Year award in what is arguably one of the best campaigns in MLB history as that year also featured the debuts of Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Robby Thompson, Todd Worrell (who won), John Kruk and Barry Bonds. Crazy! What many may not remember about Larkin is that he was a platoon shortstop for the first two years of his career as another prospect, Kurt Stillwell, had been called up exactly two months earlier. Luckily for Larkin the Reds front office saw the potential in him and ended up trading Stillwell to the Kansas City Royals at the end of the 1987 season. In 1988 Larkin played in 151 games and had 588 at-bats. Why is this significant? Well, Larkin only struck out 24 times that season, the least in the Majors that season. In fact, the most Larkin ever struck out during a season was 69 times in 1998, a year in which he won the eighth of his nine total Silver Slugger awards.

For 19 years (1986-2004) Larkin was a regular fixture of the Reds lineup. He made 12 All-Star Game appearances, 11 of which came between 1988 and 2000 and won three Gold Gloves from 1994-1996. Keep in mind, Larkin was still battling St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith for these spots and awards most of the time. Larkin maintained a .295 batting average throughout his career, had 2340 hits, 960 RBI, 198 home runs and stole 379 bases. The best statistical season of his career came in 1995 when he went .319/15/66 with 51 stolen bases and his second Gold Glove which were good enough for him to take home the National League MVP award that season. Only five other times in his career would Larkin finish in the top-25 for the NL MVP. What’s even more interesting is that in 1996 Larkin finished 12^th for the award despite hitting .298 and becoming the first shortstop to ever hit 30 or more home runs (33) and steal 30 or more bases (36) in a season.

After his retirement in 2004, Larkin was hired as a special assistant to the general manager in the Washington Nationals organization. In 2008, he signed with the MLB Network as a studio analyst. In 2011 he moved to ESPN to serve as a Baseball Tonight analyst. Larkin received great applause from Reds fans when he helped host Baseball Tonight's on-the-road coverage of Sunday Night Baseball at GABP on July 24, 2011. Crowd chants of "Barry Larkin" and "Hall of Fame" often caused the anchors to have to talk very loud to be heard. Larkin was coincidentally in Cincinnati for Baseball Tonight on the day of the 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. He was the bench coach for the United States at the 2009 World Baseball Classic and managed the United States' second-round game against Puerto Rico when U.S. manager Davey Johnson left to attend his stepson's wedding. On July 20, 2008, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum inducted Larkin, César Gerónimo, August "Garry" Herrmann, and Joey Jay. In 2012, he was invited by the Brazilian Baseball Federation to manage their national team in the qualifiers for the World Baseball classic. Surprisingly Brazil beat the home country Panama qualifying for the first time ever for the event and played in Japan. They were originally scheduled to play in Puerto Rico, but because of the huge Japanese baseball influence in Brazil they made the switch and the team played Cuba and China besides the home country. The team went winless in its WBC debut and was eliminated after the first round. One thing to be noted is that Larkin speaks Spanish and Portuguese. Yes, the man is a legend.

In 2010, his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, Larkin was not elected, garnering 51.6 percent of the vote (75 percent is needed for election). In 2011, he received 62.1 percent of the vote, the highest of non-inducted players and third overall. In 2012, his third year of eligibility, Larkin was voted into the Hall of Fame with 86.4 percent of the vote along with Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo. He was the eighth Reds player and 24th shortstop inducted to the Hall of Fame. On August 25, 2012 his number 11 was retired in an official ceremony at Great American Ball Park.

#17- I can’t remember where I heard this story or from whom, but somebody I know once asked former Reds pitcher and “Nasty Boy” Rob Dibble who the craziest person from the early 1990s Reds team was. The person who asked had originally assumed the answer was going to be Dibble or fellow “Nasty Boy” Tom Browning. Nope! “Chris Sabo was the craziest motherf---er I’ve ever met” was the quote I was told via hearsay from Dibble. Either way, growing up he was my brother Adam’s favorite player.

Sabo brew up in Detroit and attended Detroit Central Catholic High School. In 1980 Sabo was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 30^th round of the amateur draft, but elected to go to college as opposed to signing out of high school. His college, the University of Michigan. From 1980-1983 Sabo played baseball for the Wolverines, two of those years alongside his future Reds teammate from above. When his college career came to an end the Reds came calling, selecting him with their second round pick in 1983.

Sabo’s minor league journey started in Class-A with the Cedar Rapids Reds before he spent his next two season with the AA Vermont Reds as he corrected his swing mechanics. Sabo spent 1986 in Denver with the AAA Zephyrs before moving to Nashville with the Sounds in 1987 as the Reds switched their AAA affiliate. That season Sabo was batting .292 with seven home runs, 53 RBI and 23 stolen bases and more than likely would have still been stuck in the minors had it not been for an injury to Reds’ starting third baseman Buddy Bell before the 1988 season started. As a result Sabo was named the starting third baseman for the Reds that season.

Spuds, as he was called by manager Pete Rose because of the Bud Light Spuds MacKenzie advertisements, played in 137 games his first season and hit .271 with 11 home runs, 44 RBI, 146 total hits and 46 stolen bases. His campaign was good enough to land him his first of three trips to the All-Star Game and he even edged out Chicago Cubs legend Mark Grace for the NL Rookie of the Year award that season. Not too shabby of a first year, especially for a guy who looks like the MLB version of Kurt Rambis.

1989 proved to be a pretty rough year for Sabo, but he bounced back in 1990 and 1991 where he made the All-Star team his final two times and cracked the top-20 for the NL MVP each of those years. His best season coming in 1991 where he hit career highs in average (.301), triples (3), hits (175), home runs (26), RBI (88) and OPS (.859). Unfortunately for Sabo, he only managed to produce one more solid year in 1993 before he bounced around to the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Cardinals and back to the Reds where he retired in 1996 amidst to a bit of controversy. In July of that season, Sabo shattered his bat which was filled with cork. As a result of the incident, Sabo received a seven-game suspension. Sabo maintains that he had never corked a bat in his life. He claimed that the bat in question belonged to another player (whom he would not name). He argued that his performance that season (3 home runs in 52 games) was hardly "an endorsement of the cork industry."

Sabo was inducted in the Cincinnati Reds Hall Of Fame, along with Pedro Borbón and Tony Mullane on July 17, 2010. The Cincinnati Reds gave away Chris Sabo bobblehead dolls to fans in attendance that evening.

Now, you’re probably all wondering why or how I could forget to mention the fact that both Larkin and Sabo were members of the 1990 World Series team. Well, as I mentioned earlier, 1990 was kind of a dark time for me being on the Reds for T-ball and being an A’s fan all-around. Like 1988 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, I tend to just gloss over the fact that those two World Series actually took place. I mean, c’mon!!! The A’s should have won easily like in 1989, but instead got smoked by two of the most rag-tag teams ever assembled. It was hell to watch, even at ages five and seven.

What’s truly remarkable about the 1990 World Series team is that Larkin and Sabo hardly get mentioned for their performances. Most of the talk always comes back around to MVP Jose Rijo, Dibble and Browning; however, even though Rijo did pitch and amazing series with two wins, a 0.913 WHIP and 0.59 ERA, Larkin played in all four games and had the third-best batting average of the Series (.353) along with six hits, a double, a triple, two walks and one RBI. Billy Hatcher and Eric Davis put up great offensive numbers as well, but no one mashed as well as Sabo did with his two home runs in Game 3 along with his .563 average and five RBI for the series. You don’t get pawned off as the star player for the Series only to not get named MVP for coming up huge. Right? 

To make matters worse the Reds sweep ended in Oakland which marked the second time I’ve ever cried at the end of a baseball game. The first time I’ll get to later. You know, after reliving these dark times I’m glad I screwed up on marking up this cap. :P

May 24- Cincinnati Reds

As much as people, and history, want to claim that upstate New York is the birthplace of the game of baseball, it’s hard to contest what the Cincinnati Reds have done with the game dating back to Harry Wright and the original professional team of the 1880s. Because of this stage in the evolution of the professional game the Reds have become the beacon, or the epitome, and therefore are celebrated every Opening Day of the season. By this I mean that Opening Day in Cincinnati has become the “official” Opening Day for all of Major League Baseball. Talk about streaks, only three times since 1882 have the Reds not opened the season in Cincinnati. The dates are even more surprising; 1885, 1888, 1966 and 1990. The reason I bring this up is because the Reds are one of the few organizations that rarely sways away from tradition. As the oldest professional team in baseball history that’s really saying a lot.

Baseball, like apple pie or Norman Rockwell, is a deep-rooted staple of American culture. Unfortunately, so has become war. Our forefathers had to fight to establish this country we love so much, and even later they fought against one another. As the years passed by we unified and fought to preserve freedom for ourselves, as well as other countries who didn’t have the power to fight back. It is because of these brave men and women who gave their lives for their country that we celebrate Memorial Day; however, honoring those who served their country shouldn’t be a one day event. The Reds know, and understand this well.

Back in the 1960s current team president and Chief Marketing Officer Bob Castellini graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in economics and enlisted in the Army for two years as an officer. Castellini, as well as a group of investors, bought into the team in 2006. Since then he has done everything he can in his best efforts to honor the men and women who serve. On of the more recent collaborations started in 2011 with the Hometown Hero program which began as a pregame activity on special occasions, but with the overflow requests and suggestions the Reds were getting from military families and friends for first pitch honorees it evolved into the every-day occurrence it now is. The program is filled up for the remainder of the 2013 season and already on a waiting list for 2014.

Even the players have become involved over the years. Reds’ right fielder Jay Bruce hosts “Bruce’s Battalion” which is a free ticket program for service members to Sunday home games. Bruce took over the program that former pitcher Aaron Harang started up. Every Opening Day the Reds and Cincinnati Bell host a group from Impact A Hero, a national foundation that helps wounded military men and women with both emotional and financial support. Founded by Fairfield’s Dick Lynch in 2004, Impact a Hero assists between 400 and 500 service members every year.

Since 1971 the Reds have been one of the more successful teams to play on Memorial Day, going 25-14 with only five of those days off due to travel/off days. Their best run of consecutive Memorial Day wins came from 1972-1979 when the Reds went 9-0, which included a doubleheader against the Montreal Expos in 1976. In 1980 the Reds played a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but lost the first game, killing the streak in spite of winning the nightcap as well as the next season’s game against the San Francisco Giants. Another interesting pattern I found occurred from 1985-1988, the four seasons in which Pete Rose was the full-time manager. In all four years the Reds played the Chicago Cubs, tallying a 1-3 records against the North Siders with their only win coming in 1987.

With a long, history-filled past like the Reds have, it made it a bit difficult to whittle down just a few players to pay tribute to. Most of these guys you’ve never heard of, but that’s kind of half the fun of this.

DA- Douglas Allison played as a catcher for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional baseball team. Allison was one of the first catchers to stand directly behind the batter, as a means to prevent baserunners from stealing bases. He was considered a specialist, at a time when some of the better batsmen who manned the position normally rested, or substituted at other fielding positions. Most catchers of his era stood twenty to twenty-five feet behind the batter. His technique of moving closer to the batter proved effective in curtailing baserunners from stealing bases. In the 1860s, it was common for teams to score fifty or sixty runs a game. As the technique of moving closer to the batter became more widespread among other catchers, run production began to plummet helping usher in what became known as the Dead-ball era. Allison was the earliest known player to have used a glove, when he donned buckskin mittens to protect his hands in 1870. His brother Art Allison also played in the Major Leagues.

Like so many Philadelphia ballplayers, Doug Allison served a 100-day enlistment in Company L of the 192nd Pennsylvania Infantry in 1864. He enlisted as a private on July 12 and was mustered out on November 11 at Philadelphia. Allison later became partially deaf, and researcher David Arcidiacono discovered an article in the Boston Globe on March 24, 1876, in which his deafness was attributed to his Civil War service: “Allison was a gunner in Fort Sumpter [sic] during the late war, and is the only survivor of three batches of gunners of six men in each batch. His service during the war accounts for his impaired hearing.” Since Allison’s regiment saw no combat duty, this account must be taken with a grain of salt, although it’s always possible that he suffered some injuries. David Lambert examined Allison’s military records at the National Archives and found a 1912 disability pension application signed by Allison. – SABR

#18- Eppa Rixey Jr. was a left-handed pitcher who played 21 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies (eight years) and Cincinnati Reds (13 years) from 1912 to 1933. Rixey was best known as the National League's leader in career victories for a lefty with 266 wins until Warren Spahn surpassed his total in 1959. Rixey’s MLB career started off slow; his best year with the Phillies coming in 1916 when he went 22-10 with a 1.85 ERA and 134 strikeouts, numbers that any current left-handed pitcher would kill for. His next season; however, did not fair well at all… sort of. He went 16-21 (most loses in the Majors for a pitcher), but his ERA still hung around 2.27.

In 1918 Rixey joined the war effort by enlisting in the Army serving with the Chemical Warfare Division in Europe along with Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Rube Marquard and Branch Rickey. His return from the military, marked by rustiness and dissatisfaction with Phillie managers Jack Coombs and Gavy Cravath, led to two abysmal seasons (6-12 and 11-22) with last-place teams. On February 22, 1921, he was happy to be traded to Cincinnati in exchange for Jimmy Ring and Greasy Neale. He was back playing for Pat Moran.

Rixey’s career rebounded exponentially upon his move to Cincinnati. He would go to win 179 games and have three seasons of 20 or more victories, his best year coming in 1922 when he went 25-13 with a 3.53 ERA. His 25 wins were the most in the NL that season. In 1924 he made hi only appearance on a NL MVP ballot when he finished in 22^nd place after posting a seemingly mediocre 15-14 record with a 2.76 ERA. His strikeout total that season was 57. The reality behind this is that Rixey really had no chance of winning the award, but the Baseball Writers Association of America opted to throw a few guys a bone on the ballot. For his career he went 266-251 with a 3.15 ERA.

He was married to Dorothy Meyers of Cincinnati and had two children, Eppa Rixey III and Ann Rixey Sikes and five grandchildren, James Rixey, Eppa Rixey IV, Steve Sikes, Paige Sikes, and David Sikes. After his retirement from baseball, he worked for his father-in-law's successful insurance company in Cincinnati, eventually becoming president of the company. He died of a heart attack on February 28, 1963, one month after his election to the Hall of Fame, becoming the first player to die between election and induction to the Hall of Fame. He is also the only pitcher in the Hall of Fame to be wearing a Reds hat.

When Rixey started playing, he was considered an "anomaly". He came from a well-off family and was college-educated, something that was rare during his era. He wrote poetry, and took graduate school classes in chemistry, mathematics and Latin. During the off-season, he was a Latin teacher at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia and was also considered among the best golfers among athletes during the time period.

April 16- Cincinnati Reds

Getting older is kind of a drag. The body slows down, summer vacations are pretty much non-existent, you have to pay taxes and everything you thought was cool as a kid for some strange reason comes back into style 20 years down the road. One of the biggest reality checks for me took place over the last year as a member of the MLB Fan Cave. I touched on this issue before in my piece about the Australian World Baseball Classic hat on March 20 so I won’t get too lengthy with it. I am one of the few people who represents two of the four sides of Major League Baseball. By this I mean you have

1. The business end.

2. The players.

3. The fans.

4. The media.

You could possibly expand upon that, but I’m merely speaking in generalities. During my time in New York I represented the fan side (obviously) and the media side as a correspondent for my team, the game and for the fans. The fact that I graduated with two degrees in journalism from the University of Oregon also came in handy. Something always felt off about me being there and it wasn’t until this last December that the reality sunk in—most of the players in the game today are younger than I am.

With all the players and I met, interacted with and have gotten on friendly terms with, I’m older than every single one of them, with the exception of Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer George Brett. Now, let’s be honest, anyone who really knows me is well aware of the fact that my brain and attitude seemed to be permanently locked in the age range of 18-22, but my grizzly beard and graying of the hair would tell otherwise.  As a kid, professional baseball players, whether it be in the Majors or Minors, always looked and seemed much older than their swagger would lead you to believe. But even at that, they all seemed to personify what it meant to be a man in American lore; kind of like cowboys, cops or fighter pilots. All of those illusions went away when I was 16-years-old, the first year I took over as bat boy for the Bakersfield Blaze.

For the first few days all of the guys still had that sense of being elders, but it all got dashed away once they warmed up to me. And if you didn’t know, baseball players are probably some of the most immature people on the planet, but in a good way. I mean, they play a game for money for crying out loud. The average age on the team hovered around 21-years-old, so there really wasn’t much of an age gap between us. We all liked the same music, we all played the same video games before every home game and we all wanted to bang every chick with a great set of curves who walked by (just being honest). Those were the days.

The last decade or so has been especially strange from a baseball perspective. A lot of the legends from the old days passed away and I found myself seeing more and more faces from the Major League clubs getting sent down to the minors; guys like Bobby Kielty, Tony Torcato, Sean Burroughs, Jack Cust and Khalil Greene. These were all guys who had drafted right around the time when I graduated high school in 2001. All of them were killing it in AAA, but none of that really seemed to matter for various reasons of rosters being too tight, getting more at-bats in the Minors, etc. etc. One guy in particular blew me away every time he stepped on the diamond; a guy I never had the privilege of seeing play live: Ryan Freel.

I had originally picked this hat out back in February, but found myself struggling to find a player or event that I felt was important to talk about. This hat served as the team’s alternate hat in 1999, but then took over as the road cap from 2000 until the end of the 2006 season. Keeping that in mind I scrolled through photos, stats and videos in an attempt to write a story about a moment in which the hat was actually used. Oddly enough, it was a highlight video cut in Japan that helped trigger this, which you’ll see later in this post.

Ryan Freel was born in Jacksonville, Florida on March 8, 1976, just a year ahead of my oldest brother Matthew. He attended Tallahassee Community College where he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14^th round of the 1994 amateur draft, but opted to keep playing college ball. He transferred to Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee where he was then selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10^th round of the 1995 amateur draft. From 1995-1997 Freel jumped up from the intermediate-A St. Catherines Blue Jays to the advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays where he played along side Roy Halladay until the duo were moved up to the AA Knoxville Smokers. In 1998 Freel and Halladay both started in Knoxville, but both moved up to the AAA Syracuse Sky Chiefs by mid-season. On September 20^th of that year Halladay got the call to the Majors; Freel would wait another three years before getting his shot. Freel had some shaky years in the Minors, barely hitting around .280 with only a few home runs here and there. Freel, as his former coaches would say, was all heart. He played every game as if it were his last; the kind of player that any team would love to have in the clubhouse. Unfortunately for Freel, that clubhouse was not the one in Toronto.

On April 4, 2001 Freel got the nod and made his Major League debut. Freel only served as a defensive replacement at second base in that game, and he only made an appearance in eight other games that season. At the end of the year he was granted free agency; the Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed him to a one-year deal at which he spent the entire season in AAA with the Durham Bulls. He hit .261 with eight home runs, 48 RBI and 37 stolen bases. On November 18, 2002 Freel signed with the Cincinnati Reds.

Freel tenure with the Reds started off with AAA Louisville Bats for the first 54 games of the season; however, his time back in Show was just around the corner. Freel would play in 43 games with the Reds that season under interim manager Dave Miley, whom he had built as solid report with in Louisville. He ended up hitting .285 with four home runs and 12 RBI. In 2004, Freel became a regular fixture in the Reds lineup.

4/16/2004- As I said above, I never saw Freel play live, but I did see him in a hell of a lot of games on TV. One game in particular took place nine years ago today at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. In the bottom of the first inning the Reds were all ready up 2-0. With Todd Walker on first base after a lead-off single, Corey Patterson opted to bunt to push Walker to second base as Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou were both waiting on deck and in the hole. Reds pitcher Aaron Harang threw a hard fastball at which Patterson fouled off toward the Cubs dugout. What he, and no one else watching the game expected was an up-and-coming 28-year-old third baseman to leap out and make the catch. Watch it here, but fast forward to the 8:33 mark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsSO5cTN7Do

 Freel didn’t care about is body. In his mind, and according to the Reds clubhouse manager, it was almost an insult if his jersey wasn't covered in dirt and grass stains before the game ended. Freel became and instant fan-favorite as he channeled the raw hustle and grit like that of a young Pete Rose.

Freel on the Reds reminded me a lot of Brian Urlacher in the early years of his career with the Chicago Bears. No matter what play the offense is trying to run, Urlacher would always be in the picture. Between 2004 and 2006 Freel hit .265 with a total of 15 home runs and 64 RBI. He was not a great hitter by any means, but he was decent and he could steal bases to the tune of an average of 36 per season during that stretch. What he lacked in offensive production he certainly made up for with his defensive prowess. Freel made numerous highlight reels in the five years that he played in Cincinnati; however, with all of those amazing plays came a lot of missed games. Not necessarily on the DL either. Before the start of the 2007 season, the Reds signed Freel to a two-year $7 million extension.

Freel suffered a tremendous amount of head trauma throughout his career, and even before he joined the league. In an interview he gave with MLB.com, Freel casually mentioned that he had sustained somewhere around “nine or 10” concussions. The most sever of which came on May 28, 2007 when he collided with teammate Norris Hopper at the warning track as the two were trying to run down a fly ball in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Freel was knocked unconscious before he hit the ground.

"I think it knocked him out, because he hit the ground pretty hard, but he was limp," [said Hopper]. "I went over and got real close to his ear and screamed, ‘Freel, Freel,' about four times. He opened his eyes slowly, and I said, ‘Just lay there. They're coming."'

He was transported by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was reported to be coherent with feeling in his extremities. He began working out on June 15, about 2 weeks after the collision and was briefly sent to Louisville for rehabilitation. Freel began getting random headaches and pains in his head, which delayed his return for another 2 weeks. On July 3, 2007, 1 month and 5 days after the accident, Freel returned to play for the Cincinnati Reds and was healthy until being placed on the 15-day DL with torn cartilage in his right knee on August 7.

On December 9, 2008, Freel was traded along with two minor leaguers including Justin Turner to the Baltimore Orioles for catcher Ramón Hernández. In 2009 with the Orioles, he was hit by a pickoff throw in the head while on 2nd base. He was put on the Disabled List after the injury. On May 8, 2009, Freel was traded once again, this time to the Cubs for outfielder Joey Gathright and cash considerations. On July 2, 2009, Freel was designated for assignment to create roster space for the newly acquired Jeff Baker. On July 6, 2009, Freel was dealt accompanied by cash considerations to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later. On August 5, 2009, Freel was designated for assignment by the Royals. He was released on August 13, 2009. On August 28, 2009 Freel signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He was released 2 days later. He retired on May 17, 2010. Post-retirement, Freel was a youth baseball coach with Big League Development.

Freel, according to the media and teammates, was a bit of a mixed bag. There was a good Freel and a bad Freel. Even before his collision with Hopper people noticed it. He had an imaginary friend named Farney who he openly talked about with anyone. He said this during a post-game interview in 2006:

"He's a little guy who lives in my head who talks to me and I talk to him," said Freel, acting as if he finally crashed into too many walls, ran into too many catchers and dived into too many dugouts. "That little midget in my head said, 'That was a great catch, Ryan,' I said, 'Hey, Farney, I don't know if that was you who really caught that ball, but that was pretty good if it was.' Everybody thinks I talk to myself, so I tell 'em I'm talking to Farney.' "

He also had issues with drinking back in 2005, having been arrested twice for driving under the influence. He ended up paying a fine for the first incident, and the second was later dropped. The drinking then arose again in January of 2012 when Freel was arrested at a pool hall in Tampa, Florida for disorderly intoxication.

Freel had gone off the radar, so to speak. By that I mean he vanished from the public eye, focusing more on himself in a world without playing baseball professionally. He “backed away” from the youth developmental baseball gig he was a part of and sunk into a deep depression. I had stepped out for a quick cigarette break at work when I scrolled through the news and saw Freel's name pop up.

On December 22, 2012 Freel’s body was found at approximately 4 PM. He had stuck a loaded shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. He was 36. While the amount of trauma Freel’s body has taken may seem like an indicator, there is still no conclusive evidence to prove what he did was caused by his concussions, but it’s hard not to speculate. Two days after, both major athlete brain banks—the Garrett Webster-fronted Brain Injury Research Institute and Chris Nowinski's Sports Legacy Institute reached out to Freel's family to hopefully find an answer to this question.

It’s hard to imagine that someone so young, so talented and so beloved by friends and family alike would walk down that path. Over the last few years it’s felt almost like a common place to hear about an athlete who decided to take their own life. In most cases it’s been a former NFL star whose brains took a similar, if not more intense beating than Freel’s did. But then again, another MLB star from my youth, New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu, hung himself in 2011.

The innocence of the game is slightly lost upon me these days. While I still do my best to hold on to child-like wonder when I go to the ball park, at some point the reality sets in that the “game” aspect of baseball quickly goes away once a player hits the professional level. It’s no wonder these guys seem so much older than they are. With the amount of stress and punishment the body gets taxed on in an effort to make a huge payday, these kids age more rapidly than the rest of us. I don’t think the average fan really appreciates nor understands that aspect of the player too often.

I will always love the game, but more important, I will always respect the athletes who display their talents for 162 games a season. It’s a damn shame that Freel too the route he did. There are too many “what ifs” that present themselves, and perhaps all it could have taken was for one extra person to really listen and observe what was going on. All anyone can do is learn and move on, and hope that another tragedy like this can be prevented.

April 3- Cincinnati Reds

Despite all the things I do know about hats worn throughout the history of Major League Baseball and their ties with New Era, there are still a few things that I really have no clue about. This doesn’t happen often as I’m a pretty well-researched guy, but my brain does tend to slip on occasion. Take this cap for example…

I bought this particular Cincinnati Reds cap in downtown Manhattan at a Lids near Union Square. As it turned out, that specific location is one of the biggest in the company, let alone the largest of the dozen or so scattered throughout the island. I had been scouting around for hats at all of the Lids locations I could make myself available to during my time in New York City for the MLB Fan Cave. Due to the fact that we worked roughly 12-16 hours (9:30 AM- 2 AM) every single day, it made it difficult to have free time to check a lot of the old school Cooperstown Collection and Minor League caps in person. As much as I love to shop online, I still prefer to try hats on so there aren’t any issues upon arrival. This Reds hat was one that I had noticed on the Lids Web site and didn’t really give it a second thought when found on that fit. If I can remember correctly, I bought this hat and seven others that day, two of which, including this one, I should have done more research on.

For some strange reason this logo always looked very familiar to me and I assumed that it was a style/logo the Reds had worn in their past. The only problem is that I didn’t know which era it came from… but I obviously bought it anyway. The one thing I wasn’t expecting is that the Reds used this logo in 1869. This of course was about to cause several problems.

So far I’ve all ready written about four hats that are customs and I have a feeling that there will be a few more by the time the year is over. Now, the only thing about this hat that is accurate to the team back in 1869 is the logo. The old English style “C” was only used for this season which is actually the very first season in which anyone was actually paid to play professional baseball. 10 men were paid by Cincinnati businessman, and owner of the team Harry Wright. The team’s original name was the Red Stockings during this time, which led to the naming of the Boston Red Sox through the turn of the 20^th century. The only accurate color from this cap is the wed and white as black was never part of the original team’s uniforms. Even at that the uniforms were all white with a little bit of red trim, red socks and a large red “C” logo on the chest of the jersey, not on the hat. The actual hat looked something more like a newsboy’s cap.

The marking on my cap goes in line with one of the more illustrious records in baseball history.

65-0: 1869 is the only known recorded season of a perfect record for a professional baseball team. At the time I imagine it was a huge deal; however, in retrospect it was essentially the equivalent of Mr. Burns on “The Simpsons” assembling as much Major League talent to fill his softball team to beat the Shelbyville Power Plant’s team repeatedly. The team went 65-0 as they traveled around the country (East Coast), playing other teams which had were comprised of their best players.

One thing that needs to be pointed out in all of this is that baseball had only been around for about 25 years, and it was still a game that was going through small changes. Without the aid of modern technology (and a time machine) there isn’t much of a way to know how these scrimmages went down. Not to mention, there aren’t exactly scorecards on file to even give a rough of idea of how bad the beatings were on these scrappy local ball teams the Red Stockings played.

Today is the first time I’ve ever worn this hat. I don’t know. I’m not really feeling it that much, which might have more to do with the Oakland Athletics sweater I’m wearing as well. It’s a pretty slick hat, and a decent piece to my collection, but I only have myself to blame for not doing my research beforehand.

March 8- Cincinnati Reds

It’s kind of ridiculous of exhausted I am. Somehow I am continuing to forge ahead, writing this post despite having been awake for the last 40 hours. I assure you I feel like a bucket of yuck at the moment, but it will certainly be interesting to see how well I can string words together when writing tonight’s post.

It still comes at a bit of mystery as to why I purchased this hat on a random day in November of 2011. I was splitting time on my hat orders between Mickey’s Place and Lids when I came to a bit of a crossroad on one specific hat, the 1956 Cincinnati Reds. Now, the really interesting things about both Web sites offering this hat are…

• Each site featured a hat with a different logo
• Neither of them was the correct style.
• Both were interesting, but neither really impressed me.

Yet, for some strange reason I ended up rolling with the one on the Lids site because I thought it was “interesting.” When it arrived in the mail I had roughly the same feeling I do know; the feeling of, “what the hell was I thinking?” Don’t get me wrong, I could have done a lot worse, but it’s still a highly questionable combination of the all red with this particular, crazy-eyed logo.

The logo, while accurate to the era was featured on the sleeves of the jerseys from 1954-1959 and went through slight alterations in 1960 (twice) on through 1967. In 2007 the team brought it, as well as the original Johnny Redlegs, who this logo represents, for their batting practice and spring training collection. In fact, Yahoo!’s Big League Stew writer Dave Brown and I have been jibber-jabbing over which hat is in fact worse looking. This one I’m wearing or the newly released 2013 spring training hat with the black panels.

I think the one part of the story that takes an even more interesting turn is the number selection I opted to roll with: 4256, the number of hits Pete Rose amassed over his 24-year career.

I think at the time I was able to justify it on account of the fact that the Reds had been using this logo during the time when he made his Major League debut on April 8, 1963. Much like the Nolan Ryan career strikeout total on the least significant hat, I decided to roll the dice on one of the most prestigious statistics in MLB history on a hat which most people never knew existed. But, I did. Today is only the third time I’ve ever put it on because, let’s face it; it looks rather goofy on my head. I know I keep blasting this hat, but there are visual traits about it which prove my argument. Most specifically, look at the logo and where it sits on the hat; it’s upright and somewhat misshaped, which makes it appear as if it’s sitting too high in between the front panels. Therefore, for anyone who wears it, the hat is given the appearance that it’s sitting much taller on the person’s head. Second, it’s all red; which in my opinion is a color that has never looked good on me.

One of the most interesting stories about this cap took place about a week before I went to New York for the MLB Fan Cave. The other eight Cave Dwellers and I had all ready been selected, so I was in the process of packing up everything I owned to either move it into storage, or take it to New York with me. Every clothing item I owned which had to do with baseball found their way into my suitcase except for three items. I had developed a hunch one day and decided to email Jeff Heckelman, one of the heads of public relations for MLB, and more specifically one of the guys who was in constant contact with us throughout the application process. I wasn’t really sure how MLB would feel if I ever rolled into the Fan Cave all decked out in Peter Rose Reds gear, so I asked his thoughts on the matter before I made a huge mistake. It only took him about 10 minutes to respond with an ardent “NO!” So, not wanting to be the first on the chopping block (irony) I left my Pete Rose shirt, jersey and of course, this hat behind. It was the only New Era hat not to make the 3000 mile journey with me... and this awesome shirt.

January 30- Cincinnati Reds

Today is actually the first day I’ve worn this hat. Come to think of it, that’s really weird. I love this hat. For those who aren’t too savvy on Cincinnati Reds hats, you should know that this hat has only been around since the start of the 2000 season. Now, I know what you’re thinking; and no, I’m not high right now. The hat you’re thinking of is the classic all red hat featuring the white “C” logo on the front. This is not that hat. This is the all read hat with a white “C” logo… and a black shadow around the “C.” The move was made to make the logo look more three dimensional; however, if you’ve seen a hat up close you’d know that the threading is all ready three dimensional. But, for hat snobs like myself, I applaud the change. The slightest change will make us buy it in order to keep our collections up to date.

This particular hat is one of the many I picked up at the New Era Flagship store across the street from the Fan Cave. In fact, this is one of thirteen I purchased in the first two days I visited the location. The folks across the way were nice enough to give us all a 30% off discount on whatever we wanted, yet I was the only one who ever bought anything from them. I take that back. Kyle Thompson and Ricky Mast each bought one hat, and I think Shaun Kippins got a replacement Braves hat. But that was about it. As for me, I bought somewhere like 35-50 hats from them. I’ll have to go back through and double check. Anyway, like I said, for the past 13 years the Reds have alternated this cap as their alternate and their game style cap. With that it made it a bit difficult to throw a few numbers down that stayed within the realm of the era and style, but luckily I found two that I really wanted to add.

#4- On May 18, 2012 I was lucky enough to still be in the Fan Cave when Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips paid a visit. Phillips was running a little bit late, but rolled in with style, sporting a diamond encrusted watch, black shades and a v-neck sweater and tie combo. Dude pal looked pretty dapper. He was also incredibly friendly, and took the time to talk to everyone before he had to head out to shoot a sketch with Andrew Zimmern from “Bizarre Foods.”

After my exile I was able to catch up with Phillips when the Reds played a road game in San Diego. I had tweeted at him earlier in the day and sent the photo we took in the Fan Cave, but didn’t expect much of a return. Instead, he not only retweeted it, but also said that he was looking forward to seeing me. I was in Anaheim at the time and had to race down to San Diego where I met up with Fan Cave Top 30 finalist Andy Bishop for the game. During batting practice Phillips signed a few autographs for kids and even gave a bunch of wristbands to one lucky little Reds fan and his baby brother.

It was then that Phillips spotted me and asked why I wasn’t in New York anymore. I told him what happened and he just shook his head and said that it was wrong of them to let me go. He didn’t have to say that, but I really appreciated hearing it. Aside from that, Phillips is one hell of a second baseman. He’s been playing the four spot for the Reds since 2006 and has been a recipient of the Gold Glove three times (2008, 2010-11) and made two All-Star teams while hitting .280/142/563. For a second baseman it’s pretty stellar; especially one who has been averaging over 145 games a season. Kudos to you Brandon. You do the baseball world proud. (Also, have to tilt the cap to the side like BP.)

#21- This is another guy I was fortunate enough to meet during my time in the Cave, but on the inside I was slightly angry at him for one year of his career. Sean “The Mayor” Casey is a hell of a guy and a fantastic analyst for MLB Network. Casey played for the Reds from 1998 through the end of the 2005 season, before moving on to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a bit and then onto the Detroit Tigers for the 2006 season. It was his time with the Tigers I hate on account for the four game sweep my Oakland Athletics suffered with Casey’s big grin flashing from the Tiger dugout. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Back to Cincy… Casey had a great career with the Reds, batting .305 and making three All-Star game appearances. But, like Phillips, he’s just a stand up guy. Amazing stories to tell and always willing to meet and greet everyone who wanted a few moments. I couldn’t think of a better tandem to honor.

 

January 16- Bakersfield Blaze

When I woke up this morning I blindly shuffled through the large sack of hats I had laying at the foot of my bed, half expecting to pull a team’s hat that I’ve already written about. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised to grab a hold of this Bakersfield Blaze hat. For starters, I had never worn this hat. All of the stickers were still stuck to the bill. Nothing personal, I just have a lot of hats that I roll through more often than my Minor League caps. It’s also a very fitting at to choose considering that the Blaze had switched to this logo after the 2000 season; the last year I was bat boy for the team. In fact, the Blaze had used this hat and color scheme from 2001-2011, and had housed three different franchises during that stretch: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Texas Rangers and the Cincinnati Reds, whom still serves as their affiliate. When doing research for this decade, I came across a bevy of names and numbers that I could have used.

Josh Hamilton was the first. He played in Bakersfield during the 2002 season while they were still linked to the Rays. What’s most interesting about Hamilton and the Blaze is that at he had played for all three franchises at the Major League level. But, I’m not the biggest Hamilton supporter so I nixed that idea. Rocco Baldelli was a possibility, as were CJ Wilson and Edinson Volquez. None of them really made my fancy either. Actually, the one player I really wanted to add was Jonny Gomes, who had played with Hamilton on the 2002 squad. That year he went .278/30/124; amazing stats for high-A ball. However, during my research I couldn’t find his jersey number anywhere. Even on old Blaze baseball cards I happened across didn’t show his number. So, I had to scratch him. Fortunately for me, his older brother Joey played on the team at the same time.

#21- Joey Gomes played for the Blaze from 2002-04 until he was called up to AA Montgomery to play for the Biscuits. Joey never moved higher than AA. Joey’s best year for the Blaze came in the 72 games he played where he went .300/7/45. It really wasn’t much of a surprise when he got called up after finding his swing. Now, not being able to find Jonny’s number isn’t the only reason why I rolled the dice with Joey. Back in 2001 Jonny was drafted by the Rays in the 18^th round of the amateur draft; his brother Joey on the other hand was taken in the 8^th round of the 2002 draft. What I don’t know is how much of an impact Jonny had on Joey getting drafted so much higher the following year. Or perhaps it was because the scouts felt Joey had more potential than Jonny. Either way, I’d love to find out.

#33 is another former Rays star. And by former, I mean as of a little over a month ago. James Shields had one of the longest tenures with the Blaze of any of the players currently playing in the Majors. From 2003-04 Shields served as the ace for then managers Oscar Munoz (2003) and Mako Oliveras (2004). Shields had a decent first year going 10-10 and posting a 4.45 ERA and a team-leading 119 strikeouts. The following year he went 8-5 with a 4.23 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 20 starts. And thank God for me, he’s always kept the same jersey number… so it was a pretty easy find.

It’s kind of a bummer that I left after the 2000 season to move to Vancouver, Washington. It would have been great to see these up-and-comers, but it made our meetings in 2012 all that more interesting. Shields I met on May 8^th in the MLB Fan Cave and the only bit of conversation we had was how we both hated the sun shield in centerfield. Actually, Jonny and I touched on that a bit too, but we went more in depth on a few stories about the history and culture of Bakersfield. For a guy who was only there a year, he really took the time to get to know the town and its inhabitants. Jonny cared, and for that I look forward to seeing him succeed in Boston.