August 4- Baltimore Orioles

There’s a particular topic that I was bound to write about for one of my New Era Cap posts and it definitely appears that today is the day. The topic: performance enhancing drugs. For those of you who don’t know, I actually tackled this subject in a rather thorough manner back in July for one of the Web sites I write for, eDraft Sports. In it I detailed the history of steroids, the political links, where PEDs are today and pretty much why Major League Baseball turning a blind eye got us to where we are today. My overall opinion on the matter is that I frankly don’t care if anyone is taking anything to help their game, but I’ll go into more detail on that throughout this piece. Sadly though, most people do care, the most important of which are the baseball writers who have affiliation with the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

Since I was a kid, first honing my writing chops, I had always dreamed of being a member of this exclusive club of writers. Why? Because these are the folks that determine who is to be awarded the cache of season-based accomplishments (Cy Young, MVP, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year), but more important, this is the group who determines who gets into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. As an avid fan of the game some of the best conversations (arguments) I’ve had with other writers and fans is who should have gotten into the Hall of Fame, who is the best Hall of Famer, who should get in of the folks still eligible, etc. Of course in all of this mess the question of “should anyone for the 1990s on (steroid era) even be considered?” is always a favorite of mine when mixed with a fresh pizza and about a bakers dozen of beers… per person in the discussion. The best part of these moments always comes up about six to eight beers in when the discussion has somehow become a pissing contest and a bevy name-calling has entered the mix along with the occasional sack tap. In the end, no one really wins. All levels of emotion and opinion have been thrown onto the table and all parties involved have either strengthened their original viewpoint or, in some cases, had light shed on a perspective they may nit have though about before. While I don’t doubt that members of the BBWAA have found themselves in similar situations, in my personal dealings I have yet to walk away with the feeling of being above anyone and their stance. Based on what I have witnessed for quite a while on Twitter, I don’t feel that any member of the BBWAA (who use Twitter) can say the same thing.

I will be the first to admit that I’m not the greatest writer in the world, nor will I probably ever be. I am more than skilled in the art of being able to string words together to form sentences which inevitably form sentences displaying my views, opinions and sides of the story, but I’m certainly not the greatest at it. Do it I do it with a little more heart than others, perhaps. At the end of the day I can walk away after putting down the pen or closing my laptop and feel good about what I crafted because I am a man of convictions and I stand by my principles. Can my opinion be swayed or altered, of course, I am human. Free thought is one of many traits that separate us from other members of the animal kingdom, just as accountability and reason are as well. By now you’re all probably wondering what any of this has to do with this Baltimore Orioles cap on my head. Well, it has everything to do with it.

Back in December of 2011 my cap collection was respectable, but still significantly small. I think I was sitting on roughly 18 hats, which is a slight fraction of the roughly 330 I have in my possession today. Yah, two years goes by pretty fast. Anyway, I was visiting my best friend/high school girlfriend Laurin Mitchell in San Luis Obispo, California along with my good friend/college roommate Jared Clark in the days leading up to the 2012 Rose Bowl which featured the Wisconsin Badgers and the Oregon Ducks. We hadn’t seen Laurin since the middle of June when the three of us all took in an Oakland Athletics game at the Coliseum when they played the Kansas City Royals. During one of our days of drinking and touring around SLO we happened to walk past a sports store called The Sports Forum which inevitably peaked my interest as they quite possibly could have had a few caps that I wanted to add to my collection. What I didn’t know at the time was that every baseball item in their store was 40% off for the end of the season closeout special. The only reason I ended up finding out about the sale was because Jared and I went to Pismo Beach on our final day at the coast where one of the store’s other locations are. I of course broke the bank buying hats then, but the location in SLO had a lot more that I really wanted to get my hands on. The one hat that they did have, which happened to be 50% off was this Orioles cap as they were discontinuing it for the 2012 season. Just so you know, this particular cap was used from 2009-2011 for both home and road games, and no, I’m not mistaken when I say this. The Orioles had quite a few caps that featured an oriole that looks similar to this, but I assure you, they’re not the same. For this cap the oriole’s head is lower and the appearance of any kind of a neck is nearly non-existent. The placement of the feet is also another indicator as this logo features the curdled up toes. From 1989-2008 the Orioles went through three previous changes to the logo, all of which I will write about in the future just as soon as I can track any of them down. I have a few leads, but they are incredibly hard (expensive) to find. Getting back to the story, The Sports Forum in SLO happened to have one left in my size so of course I had no objection to paying $17.50 plus an 8.25% sales tax to purchase it. Boom! This cap, for some crazy reason, became one of my favorite caps to wear. I’ve always enjoyed the paring of black and orange, but my loyalty to the Athletics always steered me away from wearing a San Francisco Giants cap. Even though it’s one of the newer caps used by the Orioles, there’s something about the design of the logo that gives it an old-timey kind of feel that I wish was incorporated into more caps.

When I marked this cap, pretty much a few days after I purchased it, I already had firm intentions of what was to be showing, which ultimately leads me back to my rant at the beginning of this piece. 

3020/569: If these numbers are unfamiliar to you, don’t worry; it’s only the fourth time in Major League Baseball history they’ve been paired together. These are the hits (3020) and home runs (569) that Rafael Palmeiro tallied throughout his 20-years career. I’m sure by now everything is starting to make a little bit more sense. Rather than just dive in it’s probably best to start back at the beginning. Back before everything went straight to Hell.

Palmeiro was born in Havana, Cuba, but is not considered a defector due to the age in which he came over the United States, and the label is only used for those who leave willingly due to political-based reasons. His family moved to Miami, Florida where he was raised and graduated from Miami Jackson High School and was drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round of the 1982 draft, but he didn’t sign. Instead, Palmieiro enrolled at Mississippi State University, where he played college baseball for the MSU Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference. He is the only SEC player to have ever won the triple crown. On June 11, 1985, Palmeiro signed with the Chicago Cubs as the 22nd pick in the 1st round of the 1985 draft, the year after Seattle Mariners star Jamie Moyer.

Palmeiro debuted on September 8, 1986 in a game between the Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field as a left fielder. During his tenure with the Cubs, he normally played left field, though occasionally he would play other outfield positions or first base. Palmeiro was the runner up to National League batting champion Tony Gwynn in 1988 with a .307 batting average, only six points below Gwynn's. He also made his first of four All-Star Game appearances in his career. After the 1988 season, Paleiro was traded by the Cubs to the Texas Rangers along with Moyer and Drew Hall in exchange for Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, Steve Wilson, Curtis Wilkerson, Luis Benitez, and Pablo Delgado.

Upon moving to the American League, Palmieiro was primarily used as a first baseman or designated hitter. Palmeiro blossomed as a hitter while with the Rangers, leading the league in hits in 1990 and doubles in 1991, the same year in which he made his second All-Star Game appearance. Palmeiro would stay with the Rangers until the end of the 1993 season, his first of two stints with the team. During his time he finished in the top-20 three times for the AL MVP (1990, 1991 and 1993). He also had time to star in this priceless Coca-Cola advertisement. After he was granted free agency in 1993 he signed with the Orioles for his first of two stints in Baltimore. From 1994-1998 he proved to be one of the team’s most consistent power hitters. Prior to the 1995 season, he had hit more than 30 home runs only once (37 in 1993). Starting in 1995, Palmeiro began a streak of 38+ home run years that continued through the 2003 season. He hit 373 home runs during this nine-season span, while also driving in over 100 runs in each of these seasons. However, Palmeiro never led the league in home runs, and is history's most prolific home run hitter to have never won the home run crown. Palmeiro finished in the top-18 for the AL MVP every year he was with the Orioles, locking up his third All-Star Game appearance as well as two consecutive Gold Gloves at first base in 1997 and 1998. Despite the numbers he was banging out, he was once again allowed free agency and was signed by the Rangers.

In 1999 Palmeiro posted the best season of his career: he hit a career-high .324, career-high 47 home runs, career-high 148 RBI, career-high 1.050 on-base plus slugging percentage, won his third-straight Gold Glove, his second consecutive Silver Slugger Awards, fourth and final All-Star Game appearance and finished in fifth place for the AL MVP as his teammate Ivan Rodriguez took home the prize. Palmeiro’s averaged dipped a bit through the end of his time with the Rangers, but his home runs and RBI production hardly slowed down. On May 11, 2003, his final year with the Rangers, Palmeiro hit his 500th home run off David Elder in a game against the Cleveland Indians, becoming only the 19^th player in MLB history to do so at the time. The feat came roughly a month after Sammy Sosa knocked his 500^th home run of his career with the Cubs.

Granted free agency once again, Palmeiro signed again with the Orioles and posted decent numbers in 2004, .258/23/88. The most important thing to take from that season is that he was only 78 hits away from 3,000 for his career at the age of 40. Palmeiro had a rough 2005 season, but still got the job done. On July 15^th my best friend Samuel Spencer sent me a text around 6:30 PM saying that he was at that night’s Mariners game in which they were facing off against the Orioles. The significance of this night is that Palmeiro was sitting on 2,999 hits and Joel Pińeiro was on the mound for the Mariners. For those who remember Pińeiro’s time with the Mariners in 2005, history was pretty much guaranteed to happen. After walking in his first at-bat and grounding out in his second, Palmeiro walked up to the plate for his third at-bat in the fifth inning. With third baseman Melvin Mora on second base, Palmeiro clubbed a screamer down the left field line, scoring Mora and logging the 3,000^th hit of his career. I was watching the game from home on Fox Sports Northwest and Samuel made sure to take plenty of photos as the Safeco Field crowd gave him a standing ovation. With a quick swing of the bat Palmeiro joined Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Eddie Murray as the only players in MLB history to record 3,000 hits and 500 home runs for their career. No matter what the rest of Palmeiro’s career had in store for him, there was no doubt that he was a lock for the Hall of Fame. Well…

Back on March 17, 2005, Palmeiro appeared at a Congressional hearing about steroids in baseball and, while under oath, denied ever using steroids and stated, "Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never." Here’s the full video in case you forgot. The main reason why Palmeiro was put in front of Congress in the first place was because former Rangers teammate José Canseco identified Palmiero as a fellow steroid user in his 2005 book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, and claimed he personally injected Palmeiro with steroids. Needless to say, Palmeiro was a bit vehement about the situation and willingly denied any wrongdoing. 

After Palmeiro recorded his 3,000^th hit things went back to normal... for two weeks later. On August 1, 2005, Palmeiro was suspended for ten days after testing positive for a steroid. The Washington Post reported that the steroid detected in Palmeiro's system was a "serious" one. According to The New York Times, Palmeiro tested positive for the potent anabolic steroid stanozolol. In a public statement, Palmeiro disclosed that an appeal of the suspension had already been denied. He released a statement saying, "I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period. Ultimately, although I never intentionally put a banned substance into my body, the independent arbitrator ruled that I had to be suspended under the terms of the program." According to Palmeiro, all of his previous tests over the two years including the 2003 sealed test were negative, and a test he took just three weeks after his positive test was also negative. While a representative from MLB couldn’t confirm or deny Palmeiro’s words, it’s a bit surprising that they didn’t, especially since they were “doing their damnedest” to clean the game up. The House Government Reform Committee would not seek perjury charges against Palmeiro, although they were not clearing him.

Palmeiro returned to Camden Yards following his 10-day suspension; that’s right, 10-day suspension on August 11, 2005, although he did not play in the lineup until August 14. Coincidentally, this was the date that had been planned as "Rafael Palmeiro Appreciation Day" in celebration of his 500-home run, 3,000-hit milestone. It was canceled after Palmeiro’s suspension. The Baltimore Sun reported that Palmeiro never offered an explanation for his positive test to the MLB arbitration panel, which ran contrary to his public statements. ESPN later reported that Palmeiro implicated Miguel Tejada to baseball's arbitration panel, suggesting a supplement provided to him by Tejada was responsible for his positive test. This supplement was supposedly vitamin B₁₂, though it could have been tainted. Tejada and two unnamed teammates provided B₁₂ samples to the panel, which did not contain stanozolol. However, the committee did say they found "substantial inconsistencies between Mr. Tejada's accounts and the accounts of players A and B." Tejada, who said he received shipments of B₁₂ from the Dominican Republic, was later implicated for steroid use in the Mitchell Report.

Palmeiro continues to strongly deny ever having used steroids intentionally, telling The Baltimore Sun in June 2006, "Yes sir, that's what happened. It's not a story; it's the reality of what happened", and "I said what I said before Congress because I meant every word of it." Palmeiro passed a polygraph test in which he was not asked if he ever used steroids, but in which he did state that he unknowingly ingested them via a B₁₂ injection. A 2005 New York Times article expressed one writer's belief that Palmeiro’s story could perhaps be the truth.

In December 2007, Palmeiro was included in the Mitchell Report in which it was alleged that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. The report did not provide any new evidence and only recapped allegations made by José Canseco, Palmeiro’s appearance before Congress, and his subsequent failed drug test. The report also details a conversation Larry Bigbie alleges he had with Palmeiro where he claims "Palmeiro asked him about his source of steroids and human growth hormone (the source was Kirk Radomski) and how the substances made him feel." Bigbie also stated that "Palmeiro denied in those conversations that he had ever used performance enhancing substances himself."

Palmeiro finished out the 2005 season, filed for free agency for the final time and was never signed again. The cloud of suspicion, the failed drug test and the fact that he was about to turn 41-years-old proved to be too much for teams to roll the dice to sign him. With his career now over he went back to his family in Texas and loved out the rest of his days, waiting the five-year window until he would become eligible for the Hall of Fame. Palmeiro played in 2,831 major league games, the most by any player who never played in the World Series. When 2011 came around, the first year of his Hall of Fame eligibility, his numbers signified a slam dunk for a first ballot entrance; however, the BBWAA felt the exact opposite. Needing at least 75% of the vote to get in, Palmeiro received a shocking 11.0% of the vote. In case you forgot, Palmeiro is one of four guys to get at least 3,000 hits and crush at least 500 home runs. The other three guys were already in the Hall of Fame. And yet, Palmeiro received a massive slap in the face. In 2012 his vote went up to 12.6% and then took a drop to 8.8% this last January. If the number dips below 5%, he will no longer be eligible.

Palmeiro played 19 seasons without any bit of speculation of being on PEDs. Hell, the man even starred in a series of commercials for Viagra; however, after achieving baseball immortality, Palmeiro’s star took an immediate tumble to Earth. The last two months of Palmeiro’s career was the only time in which he had been called a cheater. The last two months. Really think about that. A kid could have been born, graduated from high school and been in the middle of their second year of college before a problem arose. I fully understand that going before Congress, wagging his finger and ardently denying being on the juice really didn’t help his cause when he failed his drug test, but how can a group of people become some cynical after such a long period of time without any issue. Palmeiro had already locked his Hall of Fame career up and had never failed a drug test, nor did he ever fail another one after the incident occurred after he served one of the shortest suspensions in MLB history, just to show you how much of a non-issue the incident was to an unprepared MLB.

I realize that “rules are rules,” but one cannot be so dismissive as to completely wipe away the career of one of the greatest players in the history of the game after a small mistake near the end of it. Yes, the anabolic steroid (stanozolol) was banned under the MLB’s drug policy, bust it was also one that easy to snuff out. Palmeiro never struck me as a careless guy, not to mention, how is it that he can go 19 ½ years of taking an easily-detected substance without getting pinched especially after having taken multiple drug test in the past, all of which came up clean? Logic has been lost in crucifixion that has become Palmeiro’s career, a truly sad one at that.

I can only hope that some time down the road the BBWAA will come to their senses and have a 12 Angry Men-style discussion over this case. There are way too many holes to simply ignore. Palmeiro is a Hall of Famer in my eyes, the numbers and the talent surely proves that he is worthy. As for the players on PEDs as a whole, I really don’t care. The evolution of what a person can take has changed so dramatically over the years that until everything is banned, there is no sure-fire way of saying who is breaking the rules and who isn’t. As for my role in this and my dream of joining the BBWAA, if it happens, it happens. If it does, I can only hope that I can bring a fresh perspective to the discussion, and not just wave the privilege around like some cool kids club membership. I'm looking at you Jon Heyman!!!

July 17- Texas Rangers

Well, it’s been a while, but I’ve finally come back around to writing about the Texas Rangers. I’m hoping this post reaches an audience as it will surely be a difficult read for all of my friends who are ardent Oakland Athletics fans. Unlike most of y’all (you know who you are); I don’t harbor ill-will against other teams to the point where I won’t buy their gear, leaving a hole in my collection. Yes, I totally understand rivalries, and yes, I joke a lot about fans of those teams; however, everything I say in do all takes place in the field of play. I don’t make a habit out of letting my sports-related differences spill over into real life. Well, unless it’s my job. Last I looked I wasn’t getting a paycheck for being “Sports Hater of the Year;” although, that would be pretty tight.

Like a lot of these hats that I’ve written about all ready, this is the first time I’ve worn this cap, my apologies. I know it’s an awesome cap, but when you have over 300 you tend to lose a little bit of focus on which ones you have and haven’t worn. More important, sometimes you just have your favorites that you’d prefer to wear more. In either case, I’m glad I’m finally getting around to this one as it bears some importance to my life a year ago today (July 17, 2012).

For those who have been following since my time during the MLB Fan Cave this day may come as a bit of a “moment of note.” For my friends in the right field bleachers, this is the first day we all met in person. Most of the hugs and hand-pounds part of the story I will leave until tomorrow’s post as it pertains to the hat I have chose for then. What I will schmooze about here was how it was great to finally sit down with the great folks of whom I had befriended during my time in New York. More important, I finally got the chance to get back home to where my Athletics fanhood began, spending the whole game passing jokes back-and-forth to one another, cheering on our team and talking mad trash to Nelson Cruz who had the unfortunate duty of playing right field for the Rangers that day.

I’ve never really been one to shout at a player during a game, let alone smack talk with them, but something compels you to break your manners and good habits the second you sit down in the right field bleachers. Every game I had been to prior to this day was spent in the plaza level above or the first or third base side of the field. No matter where I sat year-after-year I could see the gang yelling, holding up signs and having the best time anyone has ever consistently had at the Coliseum. During my time in the Fan Cave the feeling of wanting to get back to the Bay grew with every game I watched in the “baseball fan’s dream world” which really ended up being a glorified hamster cage. What’s funny about this comment is that there is actually a hamster wheel in there this year. At least they’re aware. Anyway, when the time came to finally get back home I made sure not to tell anyone as to not spoil the surprise. The reaction was about what I expected, but I’ll get into that tomorrow. What I was treated to was a spectacle of rhythmic flag waving, drum beats and specifically-timed chants. It’s quite extraordinary. One chant in particular follows an eight-beat drum lick with “[two syllable name of opposing right fielder] SUCKS!!!” In this case it was, “NEL-SON SUCKS!!!” None of us really mean it of course, it’s just good banter. What I WILL NOT join in on is when anything of a steroid, PED or drug variety is brought up. Personally, I think that’s in very poor taste. Anything else is fair game. The only thing we really needed to bust Cruz’s nuts about was the play in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, something he has since taken in stride.

The thing that I have to admit about Cruz that very few people seem to do is that he is an incredibly generous and wonderful human being. Cruz is one of the few guys who cut it up with us, throwing some smack talk back, but also taking time out to take photos with kids and dish out some autographs. Hell, he even follows quite a few of us on Twitter. How could you not like that? Most important though, the man does a lot of great work in the Dallas/Arlington, Texas community as well as in his native Dominican Republic. No matter what gets tossed around these days that is something that must not go overlooked. Guys like Cruz are a rare commodity. We all make mistakes; some big, some small, but it’s what we do to set things right that show true character. Despite the fact that he plays on a rival team, Nelly Cruz will always be welcome in Oakland. Just be ready to dish some more smack talk out.

As I said before, I can’t believe I haven’t worn this cap before. In the history of Rangers hats it’s definitely one of my favorites. Most of the design I touched on with my Toledo Mud Hens post back on March 11^th, but I’ll give you a quick refresher as it pertains to the Rangers. This cap was first introduced during spring training right before the 1972 season, the inaugural year after the second incarnation of the Washington Senators packed up shop and moved to the Lone Star State at the end of the 1971 season. Even after having enough time to come up with a really creative logo for the team’s caps, the Rangers elected to roll with this. 

Don’t get me wrong, there is something very stylistic about it, but it still doesn’t excuse the fact that it was taken from the Mud Hens. For those who think I’m crazy when I make this claim I merely need to direct you to this photo of Jamie Farr who played Corporal Max Klinger in MASH. 

Farr’s character was from Toledo and wore this outfit quite often on the show. For those who forgot, MASH was on air from 1972-1983, but the show took place during the Korean War which was fought from 1950-1953. The Mud Hens first used this logo throughout the 1950s before their first incarnate left after the 1955 season for Wichita, Kansas. It’s all a bunch of craziness really. The Rangers used this particular cap until the end of the 1985 season; however, the cap logo lived on until the end of 1993 season.

What I don’t understand is why the Rangers never used this as their cap logo.

Not so much the “Texas Rangers” part, but just this logo. I think it’s pretty clever, but it was only a primary logo not actually featured on the uniform.

I suppose I could blame Ted Williams and his one and only year as the Rangers manager for all of these mistakes, especially since he did an equally poor job before the team relocated. His 54-100 in 1972 is still the worst finish in the team’s history.

#20- Back in the old days when it was common for high school kids to sign with a team right after graduation the then-Senators used their first pick (first overall) of the 1969 draft on a kid from Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California named Jeff Burroughs. If you’ve been following my blog over the year, let alone the last week, you might recognize that name. Jeff is in fact the father of Sean, the San Diego Padres prospect who I wrote about on July 14^th. Jeff spent the first year-and-a-half down in the minors between the Wytheville Senators of the Rookie League and the AAA Denver Bears. He made his Major League debut on July 20, 1970 as a part-time replacement player before getting sent back to Denver after a two week furlough in The Show. Burroughs would spend the next two seasons bouncing between the Senators and the Bears and then the Bears and the Rangers until finally making his case to stay at the top in 1973. That season, which also happened to be the first without Ted Williams as the skipper, Burroughs hit .279 with 30 home runs and 85 RBI; however, it would be his next where Burroughs made his presence known.

In 1974 the American League was owned by the AL West, and no two team’s players showed this more than the Athletics and the Rangers. In fact, the top-six finish for the AL MVP was comprised only of A’s and Rangers players with Burroughs taking home the prize behind his .301 average, 25 home runs and league-leading 118 RBI. Granted, the Athletics won the World Series that year and the Rangers finished five games behind them for the divisional crown; however, no one expected the Rangers to do anything that season except continue to stay near the bottom. Burroughs and company had other plans. Burroughs also made an appearance in his first of two All-Star Games he’d play in, but the only one in which he’d be a member of the AL squad.

Burroughs’s next two years in Texas didn’t pan out so well as his average dipped below .230 and his strikeout numbers skyrocketed. At the end of the 1976 season Burroughs was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Adrian Devine, Ken Henderson, Dave May, Carl Morton, Roger Moret (remember this name) AND $250,000. Yah! All of that for one guy! Burroughs would go on to have two fantastic years with the Braves in 1977 and 1978, finishing in the top-20 for the National League MVP both years and making his second All-Star Game appearance in 1978, but after that his power production dipped tremendously and by 1981 he was traded to the Seattle Mariners. At the end of the ’81 season he was signed by the Athletics where he played from 1982-1984 before having the rest of his contract purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the 1985 season. His one year in Toronto would be his last.

After he retired, Burroughs later coached his Sean's Little League team, the Long Beach All-Stars. With Sean as their star player, these teams won the Little League World Series in both 1992 (they actually lost the championship game, but were later awarded the title by forfeit after their opponents were found to have used no fewer than 14 ineligible players) and 1993.

#31- One of the more interesting figures in MLB history, Ferguson Jenkins is still considered by many as the greatest Canadian in MLB history. With a 284-226 record, 3.192 strikeouts, the 1971 NL Cy Young, three All-Star Game appearances and a National Baseball Hall of Fame induction in 1991 it’s really hard to argue. Jenkins played for 19 years with the Philadelphia Phillies (1965-1966), the Chicago Cubs (1966-1973), the Rangers (1974-1975), the Boston Red Sox (1976-1977), the Rangers again (1978-1981) and the Cubs again (1982-1983). While I only plan to really focus on Jenkins’s time with the Rangers, I can’t help but share this video clip with you. I doubt most of you remember seeing this unless you’re into bonus features on DVDs as much as I am, but it’s a cut out clip from This is Spinal Tap from 1984. Now, the movie was released in 1984; however, this scene was shot in 1983 as you can tell by Spinal Tap drummer Mick Shrimpton’s (played by RJ Parnell) answer to the question about Jenkins during their in-studio interview. Jenkins ended up finishing his career with 49 shutouts, the last of which he obtained on June 10, 1983 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

After the 1973 season Jenkins was traded to the Rangers. In 1974 he achieved a personal best 25 wins during the season, setting a Rangers franchise record which still stands. Jenkins also finished the year with 12 loses, a 2.82 ERA, a league-leading 29 complete games, six shutouts, a 1.008 WHIP and 225 strikeouts. Jenkins finished second for the AL Cy Young behind Athletics’ star pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter whose numbers were 25 wins, 12 loses, a 2.82 ERA, 23 complete games, six shutouts, a 0.986 WHIP and 143 strikeouts. Hunter received two more first place votes than Jenkins which tipped it in favor of Hunter despite the fact that collectively Jenkins had the more dominant season. Hunter’s team ended up making the playoffs and won their third-straight World Series title which may have been the difference. Either way, Jenkins got hosed.

During Jenkins’s second run with the Rangers he found success within the first year, 1978, when he finished sixth for the AL Cy Young award. Unfortunately for Jenkins it was also during this time that he found himself in a really bad spot. Jenkins achieved his 250th win against the Athletics on May 23, 1980. Later that year, during a customs search in Toronto, Jenkins was found possessing 3.0 grams cocaine, 2.2 grams hashish, and 1.75 grams marijuana. In response, on September 8, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended him indefinitely. However, Jenkins' suspension lasted only two weeks before, in an unprecedented action, an independent arbiter reinstated him and he returned to the league. Jenkins was not further punished by MLB for the incident, as he remained active until his retirement following the 1983 season. It has been suggested that this incident delayed his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jenkins was in fact the first player on record to be banned/suspended for a drug-related offense.

#29- Remember when I told you to remember Roger Moret’s name? Well… Moret was born and raised in Guyama, Puerto Rico in 1949 and was later signed by the Red Sox as a free agent in 1968 where he would make his MLB debut on September 13, 1970 just three days before his 21^st birthday. He played for the Red Sox (1970-1975), the Braves (1976) and the Rangers (1977-1978). In 168 games (82 as a starter and 86 as a reliever), he posted a career won-lost record of 47–27 and an ERA of 3.66. Moret led the AL in winning percentage in both 1973 (.867) and 1975 (.824).

His career ended in 1978 in a bizarre fashion. Scheduled to be the starting pitcher against the Detroit Tigers on April 12th, Moret was spotted in the Ranger locker room in a catatonic state, with his arm extended holding a slipper. His teammates first kidded with him but as time went on the gravity of his condition brought the team's medical staff. Attempts to awaken him failed. The Rangers staff sedated him and dispatched him to the Arlington Neuropsychiatric Center. By the 25th of April, Roger's condition had improved and he was scheduled for release within a week. He appeared in only six more games after the bizarre incident. In the film Fever Pitch, the incident was cited as an instance where the Curse of the Bambino struck the Red Sox, but this is an error, as Moret was no longer with that team.

June 30- Texas Rangers

If there’s anything I’ve learned over the last year when it comes to uniforms, I think one of the top three moments of clarity is when I learned not once, but twice that ESPN uniform “analyst” Paul Lukas (Uni Watch) really has no sense of style and appreciation for change. I realize how much of an odd comment it is for me to say this when considering how much of a purist I’ve become when it comes to just buying hats; however, I do appreciate it when a designer comes up with something new, even if it is a bit unorthodox.

Baseball is a game that some take for granted and heavily undervalue. While some want to complain about how slow it moves or whatever bit of dribble that translates into my head as “clearly you’re not smart enough to appreciate it,” the one thing that very few grasp is that it’s one of the few games that hasn’t undergone any dramatic changes in over 120 years. I’d say adding the designated hitter rule in the American League in 1973 is most notable. Regardless of that, my point about Lukas arose the first time this last autumn after the unveiling of the new Diamond Era batting practice/Spring Training caps and he felt the Atlanta Braves Chief Noc-A-Homa logoed cap was worthy of a F grade, the only one to receive it. Lukas, for one, opposes any use of the old Native American symbols and names as stated in an article he wrote for ESPN back in September of 2012. While I have always respected other peoples’ opinions on this particular matter, I can’t help but find the humor in white people making this argument, while on the other side of the coin there are a fair number of Native American tribes who respect it and are honored by the use, but this is a matter I’ll get into way down the road in another post.  The second strike against Lukas came on March 27^th when he unveiled the 2013 Memorial Day Stars & Stripes caps in a picture tweet which said, “All 30 teams to wear these really ugly camo caps on Memorial Day.” I just can’t side with that.

I for one am a fan of them. Hell, I am a huge fan of the ones from last season. You know; the ones I wrote about back in May which featured the game style-colored caps with the digital camouflage interior logos. The ones I’m still trying to find the last few teams that I need. Like baseball uniforms, the United States military has undergone a similar change by updating their camouflage patterns and colors. In years passed, New Era had stared with variations of red, white and blue pattern hats with actual stars and stripes integrated into the logos which ended up pleasing some and disappointing others as well. Even though I personally didn’t purchase any of those caps, as a fan of the game and a fan of caps, I can still stay that it was a clever series of designs. When it came to last season’s models I felt that it was a way more fitting tribute to the troops on top of the proceeds that were, and are still being donated to Welcome Back Veterans. I will admit I was a little disappointed to see that last year’s models weren’t brought back for a second tour, but I got over it once I saw these. Even more important, I as incredibly impressed with the fact that Majestic Apparel collaborated with New Era and came out with matching camouflage-logo jerseys and shirts for the players to wear and fans to purchase which were met with positive responses from both. My point in all of this is that as a uniform critic, using “ugly” as an adjective is rather juvenile. Even more so, to be so quickly dismissive shows no sign constructive intelligence, kind of like when CBS baseball writer Jon Heyman bashed the Oakland Coliseum so harshly in one tweet. As journalists, they know and could do a lot better.

Now that I’m off of my soapbox, I’ll move onto the hat. I snagged this and two others on June 24^th during my trip to Buffalo, New York for the New Era Fan Appreciation event. In my Buffalo Bisons post from that date I explained how at the end of the New Era factory tour we were allowed to take a few “defective” Texas Rangers Stars & Stripes caps home with us. Not wanting to be greedy, I only took as many as my means told me; one for my friend Taylor (@TaylorAKSmith), one for my friend Mark (@TheTXGonzo) and one for myself. I probably could have snagged more, but I didn’t want to overstep the hospitality. If you couldn’t tell from the photo above, the defect in these caps was that the “T” logo was supposed to be made in red with a blue trim, not white with a blue trim.

To be perfectly honest, I dig the white “T” a lot more than the red, but that’s just me.

Now, unlike last year’s Stars & Stripes caps, I don’t have any intention to purchase one of for every team; however, at some point down the road I will snag the Oakland Athletics for my collection because, you know… Athletics.

When marking up this cap I couldn’t help but post the same date as the Arizona Diamondbacks cap I wrote about on May 14^th due to its significance, but also because it makes a lot of sense (in my mind) on account of the logo. I’ll explain…

5/27/13: If you didn’t click on the link for the Diamondbacks post, I’ll give you the Cliff’s Notes version. Back when the schedule was written up and first posted, the Diamondbacks were so thrilled with the success of a doubleheader which had taken place the previous season that they opted to schedule one for the upcoming season. Being the smart guys that they are, they came up with the best date to hold the games and host the Rangers at the same time, Memorial Day. Since it’s a National holiday, and typically a day when people tend to go out and partake in family events, it proved to be a perfect match for everyone involved… except the Rangers.

If you haven’t noticed with my other posts, I like to find patterns and discover weird stories which all took place underneath these caps. In the case of this one, I thought it would be an amusing fit to mark a date I’ve all ready used on a hat that was made incorrectly for a team that ended up losing both games of the doubleheader they agreed to play in on the road. That’s right; the Rangers dropped both ends of the double dip by the final scores of 5-3 and 5-4. Unfortunately for the Rangers they couldn’t get anything really going offensively with the exception of Adrian Beltre who went 3-9 with three RBI for both games.

May 14- Arizona Diamondbacks

Today was kind of interesting. The newly acquired short season-A club the Hillsboro Hops were holding an open casting call for jobs over the summer and I figured why not give it a shot. It’s been a solid 13 years since I last worked for a professional baseball team at which all of that time came on the field as the bat boy for the Bakersfield Blaze. As cool as it would be to work in a clubhouse again, the title of bat boy doesn’t seem fitting for a man of my age; let alone for the fact that I can grow a manlier beard than any of the guys on the team. I printed my resume off, hiked down the road, caught a bus and I was there. I dropped off my resume, answered a few questions and as quickly as I got there I was on my way out again. It almost feels like it didn’t even happen at all. I had worn a hat inside and made sure to take it off before I walked through the door. Without even realizing it the hat I had chosen to wear and write about today is in fact the Major League affiliate of the team I interviewed with. Since 2001 the Yakima Bears, now Hops, have been an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks as members of the Northwest League. As I just mentioned, my hat choice today came more out of a spot in the rotation and had little to do with whom I was being interviewed by.

I picked this bad boy up while I was in Florida visiting my girlfriend Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie). The online shop for Major League Baseball was running a huge sale on the last of the Stars and Stripes hats from 2012 left in their inventory so I made sure to get as many teams as I possibly could. I preferred the black one, but unfortunately they didn’t have my size so I rolled with the brick red to fulfill my goal of obtaining at least one from every team. In the past few years the Diamondbacks have been one the few teams to show a constant deal of support for the troops, which is something I take a lot of pride in considering the fact that my stepfather spent a good chunk of his life in Arizona before and after his time with the Army Special Forces.

At the forefront of all of this attention in paying tribute to the troops is the Diamondbacks’ mascot, Baxter. For those who don’t know, D. Baxter the Bobcat was unveiled to the world on June 23, 2000, at Chase Field. The idea for the mascot came from Brantley Bell, son of former second baseman Jay Bell, who explained to his dad that the team should have a "BOB" cat as a mascot since the team played in the BOB (Bank One Ballpark). Bell informed management about his son's idea and Baxter was born. Pretty cool if you ask me.

As far as Memorial Day games are concerned I was only able to find one consistent pattern in the 15 possible games the Diamondbacks could have played on this date. Their record is a blow average 6-8 with one game off in 2005; however, the only thing that I was able to uncover is that the Diamondbacks are 1-0 I the World Series anytime they beat the San Francisco Giants on Memorial Day. Yah, this stat is a bit farfetched, but not really. The Diamondbacks have played the Giants on Memorial Day four times (2001, 2002, 2004 and 2012). In that span the Diamondbacks are 1-3, but in that one year, with that one win they did end up going on to win the World Series. The one thing I can tell you is that the Diamondbacks are playing the Texas Rangers this year, so don’t go rushing to Las Vegas to lay a bet down just yet. But be sure to keep an eye out for when the Giants and Diamondbacks meet up again on Memorial Day and be sure to have your money ready if the Diamondbacks win.

When trying to come up with numbers for this hat I figured it was probably best to just use the last two paragraphs as a lead-in. So, here they are…

#1: It took me a bit to track this down, but I did find out that Baxter’s jersey number is in fact #1. Kind of an odd thing to try and find a picture of, to be honest. How often does a person take a photo of the back of a mascot? Anyway, back in October of 2012 I had been contemplating a few more mascot-related tattoo ideas when I remembered a conversation I had with the person who runs Baxter’s Twitter account (@DBacksBaxter) from December I believe. The one thing I should point out with this conversation is that it all happened when Baxter went down to an ankle injury during an event. I had sent him some well-wishes and he suggested that I get a tattoo of himself on me since I had the original batting practice logo of the snake tattooed on me. Based on my desire to get all of the mascots inked on me I just couldn’t argue his logic. Kind of weird to get such an insight from a mascot. Hmmmmm… anyway, I scoured through photos trying to find something that was really fitting as every tattoo that I have has some sort of deeper back story to it. Of all the photos that I kept running across the ones that made the most sense was Baxter in military camouflage from his visits to military bases over the years. My stepfather’s time in the Army also played a big part in my decision, but there really wasn’t anything telling me not to do it. So, on a cold Tuesday in January my tattoo artist, Felix the Tat, and I made it happen.

I hadn’t really done anything patriotic with any of my tattoos. Even in the one case where I really could have with Screech, the Washington Nationals mascot, I still put it in a Montreal Expos uniform. I have a great deal of respect for any individual, let alone team, who dedicates so much of their time for the amusement and celebration of others. So to you Baxter, I tip my cap… and have you forever etched on my body in full support the troops mode.

5/27/13: Yes, I have gone into the future and all ready paid tribute to a moment that all of you will finally witness in less than two weeks. Actually, I looked ahead in the schedule and caught something that very few of you probably did. In my previous Stars and Stripes posts I mentioned how a few teams ended up playing doubleheaders on Memorial Days as part of make-ups for missed games earlier in the season. Well, the Diamondbacks have gone and blown the minds of the baseball realm; the purposely scheduled a doubleheader on Memorial Day. This sort of practice, pre-scheduling doubleheaders, is not new. In fact, the Diamondbacks did it last season and had such success with it they decided to do it again; this time with the two-game series they have with the Rangers on May 27^th.

Of all the things in baseball I’ve ever wanted to be a part of, a doubleheader is definitely on my list. I missed the Oakland Athletics double-dip against the Los Angeles Angels back in 2011 and I’ve been patiently awaiting another chance. In the case of the Diamondbacks something like this should never happen. By that I mean they play in a stadium with a retractable roof; therefore, there is nothing to really keep them from playing a regularly scheduled game. But, leave it to the people in charge to find a way to heighten the fan experience on a day in which we celebrate those who have fought and lost their lives for our country. I’m not being sarcastic. I seriously think this is a great activity for the holiday. Because what’s more American, and a better way to celebrate those who we remember for their brave sacrifice, than baseball? Nothing.

April 25- Texas Rangers

If there’s one person I haven’t given enough praise to for the 2012 Major League Baseball season, and especially for my time in the MLB Fan Cave, it’s my friend Taylor Smith (@Tayloraksmith). Taylor was born in Louisiana, but spent the vast majority of his life in Portland, Oregon. For as long as I’ve known him he’s been one of the few Texas Rangers fans who can dish a great deal of banter. We first met at Max’s Tavern, the bar that another mutual friend of ours, Matthew Alpert, and I both worked at. I had just gotten off of my shift, 4 PM- 9 PM, and was standing on the patio watching the day’s baseball highlights while smoking a cigarette and enjoying a tall, cold glass of Pabst Blue Ribbon to unwind. Matt and Taylor both walked in through the back entrance and Matt introduced the two of us. What I didn’t now at the time is that all three of us were enrolled in the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, so we always had plenty to talk about outside of jokes, music and baseball. Off-and-on we’d spot each other in the hallways; however, all three of us had a different of focus of journalism: Matt was in video production, Taylor in advertising and I was enrolled in news/editorial and magazine writing. With our powers combined we would have made for a pretty badass team.

For only one day in the three years that we’ve known each other can I recall Taylor not wearing a Rangers cap. That day, our graduation day in 2011…

Taylor is in the sunglasses and Matt is the shorter cat with some decent beard growth. At the time I had finished up two of my degrees, one in English and the other in journalism, but my life got a little sidetracked in 2012 when I moved to New York City to be in the Fan Cave and had to put degree number three on hold for a bit.

Most of his Rangers loyalty came to fruition during the 2010 World Series against the San Francisco Giants. He was able to score tickets to Game 2 at AT&T Park, but regretted every second of it when I saw him in Eugene the next day after the Rangers suffered a 9-0 loss at the hands of the Giants. Based on my Oakland Athletics loyalty, it was a hard one to swallow for the both of us.

After graduation Taylor had gotten on with an advertising firm on the East Coast. Despite seeing photos on a regular basis on Facebook, I had totally forgotten that Taylor was living in New York, literally at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side. When I got the call to move to New York for the Fan Cave this important little detail didn’t creep back into my head until a few weeks into our experience. In fact, it was Taylor that reached out to me. During one of the few days in which we had after noon games one of the security guards, Robert, yelled at me from across the room to let me know I had a visitor. I remember just looking back at him, lifting my arms up and saying, “Me?” I didn’t know anyone in New York, let alone get a tip from anyone that they would be coming to town. As I got up out of the couch I lurched about three steps and say the bright red Rangers hat I had been so accustomed to seeing at Max’s Tavern staring right back at me. With a wide grin on my face I opened the door, gave him a hug and invited him inside to give him the grand tour and introduce him to everybody.

As it turned out, Taylor and I only lived about a mile away from one another, so we did our best to meet up two to three times a week for a beer or even for him to just stop by the Fan Cave in the evening to catch a few games with us. It was great to have a familiar face from home around when he could, but since he was busy himself his visits became less frequent as the weeks rolled by. What I later found out toward the end of May was that Taylor’s contract with the advertising firm had expired and he was in a bit of a haste to look for a new gig otherwise he’d have to move back home to Oregon. This bit of news he told me over drinks one night at a regular bar we visited, but he did his best to keep a smile on his face.

Finally, on May 29, 2012 everything came to an end. I was given the axe by the Fan Cave and he had booked his plane ticket home. Neither of us, at the time, knew about each other’s news. It would be five days before we were able to see each other again, and the circumstances behind it were accidental. A few days after I had my last day in the Fan Cave I took in a game at Yankee Stadium as the New York Yankees were hosting the Tampa Bay Rays. This was during the period of time when I had also been kicked out of the apartment and moved to a hotel about a half-mile away, so he and everyone else still associated with the Fan Cave had no idea where I was staying. The game that night was a gift from David Price who had hooked me up with tickets on account of the bad news I had received, a pretty sweet gesture if you ask me. Price wasn’t pitching that night and the Yankees won 7-0 to tie the Rays for the lead in the American League Eastern Division. After the game I took the subway back to around the Fan Cave so I could walk by to see if anyone was still there. They weren’t. Instead, I was greeted by another one of the security guards and we chatted for a good hour about everything that had gone down. After we said our goodbyes I headed back toward the Blue Haven, the bar we frequented, for a night cap before heading back to the hotel. As I walked in I was greeted by Ricardo Marquez, Ashley Chavez and Taylor. Most people would normally be happy to see their friends; however, in this case I was confused to see my friend with the people that I worked with. As I came to found out Taylor had stopped by the Fan Cave to see me, they let him in and for a solid 15 minutes no one told him where I was. I don’t remember who he said finally cracked, but dear lord! 15 minutes? I wasn’t upset with Taylor in the slightest. After all, how could he know? As for everyone else, that was the first day I realized that I didn’t have any friends in the Fan Cave, merely acquaintances.

Taylor and I only got to see each other one more time after that which came on my second to last night in New York. The timeframe on my hotel had expired and I was left with not having anywhere to go. I ran through a few numbers at first, but no one had the room or the availability to let me crash. All of my stuff was at one of the apartments until my final day, so I was good on that. Without anyone else to turn to, I hit up Taylor and he happily took me in. It was late and all of his roommates had gone to bed. Always being the good host he let me sleep in his bed while he took the couch despite all of pleading I did to just let me take the couch. Before we went to bed we went up on his roof with a couple of beers and swapped stories on what exactly happened to us as he and I were slated to head back to Oregon on the same day. I t was one of the few perfect night I had in New York. Both of us knew what was going to happen next, but neither of us cared in that moment. We drank our beers, smoked a few cigarettes, talk and just stared into the night sky as the lights of the Brooklyn Bridge shone down upon us.

Taylor and I continued to text back and forth to one another, but we weren’t able to see each other again until July. I had busied myself with my baseball road trip and he found a temporary gig with a firm in San Francisco. On Wednesday, July 18th he had a short day at the office, which worked out swimmingly considering that was the day I was throwing out first pitch for the A’s. I had hit him up a few days prior to let him know and he told me he would do his best to get there. I made sure to leave a ticket for him at Will Call and all I could do was hope that he would show up. The events went off without a hitch, with the exception of my pitch going a little bit outside. As Josh Reddick, the other participant and I walked back toward the dugout I heard someone yelling my name from a distance. As I looked up, I saw a familiar face. This guy.

Both of my parents, as well as my best friend Laurin Mitchel had come to town, as well as my friends Tim and Stephanie from San Francisco, so I made sure to introduce him to everyone. For the majority of the game he hung out with my mom, Laurin and me and we swapped stories from our time hanging out in New York. The game itself was close throughout. Taylor’s Rangers had built themselves a lead against the A’s, but the A’s chipped away it and tied it up going into the ninth inning. With no runners on manager Bib Melvin elected to pinch hit Brandon Hicks in the leadoff spot. What no one expected, including Hicks, is that one pinch hit would lead to his first career home run as well as yet another walk-off win for the A’s. I was pumped. Taylor, not so much.

After the game we all met up in the parking lot for photos and to say our goodbyes. We’ve talked a few times since that day, but we haven’t seen each other since. Taylor got himself a new job in New York not too long afterward, so it’s been a bit tough. He’s doing pretty well. I can only hope to visit him again in the near future.

My timing was a bit off in regard to the Rangers hats I’ve chosen to rite about thus far. My piece I did on Alex Rodriguez is fine, it’s this one and the one I did on January 6 that are causing problems right now. This cap, the all blue with a white “T” and red outline was first introduced as the Rangers’ road cap during the 2000 season. From 2001-2010 it served as the home cap. Since 2011 it has taken over as the team’s game style, while the red cap from January 6 has served as the alternate cap. The reason this causes issue is because I kind of blew it when I decided to mark up the red cap. If you go back and look, I wrote all about Michael Young’s career stats; however, Young hardly ever played under that cap. One guy in particular that I was left to mark up this cap with did, for many years as that. All three of the numbers I threw on this cap serve a particular meaning to the 2012 season. One of the other funny things about this post is that I really should have used it to write about the team’s all-red game cap as that was the one Taylor primarily wore throughout the time we’ve known one another. So, without further ado, watch me try to bail myself out of this little mess I put myself in.

#5- Ian Kinsler was drafted in the 17^th round of the 2003 amateur draft by the Texas Rangers out of Arizona State University (Go Ducks!!!). On April 3, 2006 he made his Major League debut as the Opening Day starting second baseman where he continues to hold reign to this day. That season he only played in 120 games and finished a respectable seventh place in the Rookie of the Year vote after going .286/14/55 on the year. If you don’t remember, Justin Verlander won it that year with little-to-no problem. In 2008, 2010 and 2012 Kinsler has been named to the AL All-Star team and in 2008, 2009 and 2011 he finished in the Top-26 in the AL MVP vote each of those three years. A perennial power-hitting second baseman, Kinsler has a .272 career average, 148 home runs, 480 RBI and surpassed 1000 hits for his career a few games into the 2013 season. My connection with him takes place in Boston on Tuesday, August 7^th.

I had been staying with my friend Dave Kaufman (@TheKaufmanShow) up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for a few weeks. Along with two members of the Canadian rock group, The Arkells, we packed up Dave’s car and made the long journey down to Boston for that night’s Boston Red Sox game against the Texas Rangers. Another friend of mine, Neil Beschle, met up with us outside of Fenway Park, as he would be who I was staying with for the next week of my trip. I’ll get to a much more detailed version of the game in October, but all that matters now is that the Rangers won 6-3. Dave and company were crashing the night in Boston, but Neil and I were going to head back to his place in Worchester (pronounced Woostah) that night. Not wanting to leave it on a weird note we all elected to go out for one more beer before moving on. One beer of course meant two pitchers between the five of us, as none of us really wanted to hit the road quite yet. Dave had been to a great bar near Fenway a few years prior and elected that we go there. None of us took issue with that. Apparently the place Dave had been thinking of originally only fit about 150 inside; however, the place expanded into three stories, but we still got our drinks there. The A’s were playing the Los Angeles Angels that night and as long as I had a television on I was in good shape. About 20 minutes into our time there a group of Rangers fans walked into the bar, and quite amused at that. I wasn’t in a bickering mood so I kept to the game I was watching, only moving my head whenever I noticed a large rat scuttle across the floor. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Dave motioning to me so I got off of my chair and walked over to listen to what he had to say. “Isn’t that Ian Kinsler?” he said. I slowly turned my head and made sure to look past the area he motioned to. “Yup,” he retorted. From this point forward I decided to stand, mostly because I was curious to see how this was going to pan out. Kinsler was drinking out of a water bottle and conversing with the group of Rangers fans. I had gone back to watching the A’s game when I overheard a few of them talking about my beard. Nothing bad about it, just talking about it. With that, I knew I had my in. I could tell by his body language that he was ready to bounce, so as soon as one of the members of the group moved out of the picture, I swooped in.

“Hey,” I said. “Do you mind if I snap a photo with you?” This whole exchange was made better by the outfit I was wearing, all Red Sox gear. “Only because you have an awesome beard I’ll say yes,” said Kinsler. With everything in motion I handed my phone off to Neil, lifted up my shirt a little bit and took the photo. Now, the reason I lifted my shirt was to show off the Rangers tattoo I have. Nothing else weird. Upon doing so; however, Kinsler looked down after the photo was taken and said, “Wait a minute, I remember you from Oakland!” He had spotted me showing off my tattoos prior to throwing out first pitch and we ended up chatting for a bit longer while all of his friends got photos of me. Really sweet guy.

#7- This is the guy where I totally blew it and should have reserved the all-red cap for him. Ivan Rodriguez was signed as a free agent out of Lind Padron Rivera High School in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico in 1988. On June 20, 1991 Rodriguez got called up to the Majors where he made him MLB debut and played almost everyday from then until the end of the 2002 season. As for the hat; Rodriguez did wear this cap for three seasons; however, the Rangers wore the all-red cap from 1994-2000 which just so happened to be his best years with the club. That’s my dilemma. Moving on… In 1991 Rodriguez finished in fourth place for the ALL Rookie of the Year award, losing to Chuck Knoblauch. Until 2002, that would be the only year in which he wouldn’t win a single piece of hardware.

Rodriguez made the All-Star team every season from 1992-2001, not to mention every Gold Glove during that time frame too. In 1997 he finished in 16^th place for the AL MVP, in 1996 and 1998 he finished in 10^th place; however, 1999 would be the one year in which he would take home the prestigious award after batting .332 with 35 home runs and 113 RBI. The other thing to take into account is that he led the league in caught stealing percentage (as in him throwing out batters) every year from 1996-2001. After 21 seasons he finally called it quits officially in 2012; however, his final game was on September 28, 2011.

My connection to him came on the day in which he made his announcement to retire, April 21. I was asked to write a Top-five list on the greatest catchers of all-time, something I found to be quite arbitrary considering that and opinionated piece like that was only going to lead to trouble and argument. I’ve always preferred to analyze my articles more deeply, to educate thus negating any mean for argument. For something like this, people were going to argue no matter what. I, as anyone writing the same list should have, put Rodriguez on the list at number 3. Besides being a great backstop, Rodriguez has the most hits all-time for a catcher (2844), not to mention 311 home runs, 1332 RBI and a .296 average. In a nutshell, with one MVP and one World Series ring to boot, he’ll be a first ballot Hall of Famer. You could also contest that he is the greatest catcher of all-time, but I think Yogi Berra will have something to say about that.

#17- Nelson Cruz was originally signed to the New York Mets as a free agent in 1998, but didn’t make his MLB debut until September 17, 2005 with the Milwaukee Brewers. Now, it sounds weird, but it’s not. The Mets kept Cruz playing in the Dominican Republic for three years until trading him to the A’s in 2000. Cruz played in the Minor League system for the A’s until 2004 when they traded him to the Brewers for Justin Lehr and Keith Ginter. In 2006 the Rangers traded Laynce Nix, Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero and Julian Cordero for Cruz and Carlos Lee.

Throughout his career Cruz has only made one All-Star game appearance (2009), but he has been to two World Series. The most iconic of which was the 2011 Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in which Cruz misplayed a shot from David Freeze, which could have ended the game, but turned into a two-run triple. The Cards were then able to win the game with a Freese home run in extra innings, forcing a decisive Game seven which they won. Blah! Not being one to just let things go away, I did one of the “jerkiest” things I’ve ever done; made a hashtag out of it.

My connection to Cruz came on the first game of the 2012 season for the Rangers when Cruz once again misplayed a ball which allowed for extra bases by the batter. As a result of the Game six of the World Series, and now this moment, I came up with #NellyCruzed while I was in the Fan Cave. It has started as a subtle jab, but I then let it loose up other suspecting players who were guilty of the same defensive misread on the ball. The importance of this hashtag is that it gave a name to something that should have been marked as an error but is actually called a base hit despite it being a defensive mistake. It caught on so much that other Twitter users started using it, and then commentators started using it, and then MLB Network analysts started using it until the point where an actual stat was created (defensive misread), but not actually used… yet. Who could have ever imagined that something so stupid could spiral into something so big? Actually… I could, as it was merely one of many things I created which are still being used well into the 2013 season. All things which I don’t collect a single cent for at that.

I feel a little bad for Cruz, mostly because he's such a pleasant person. He’s a solid hitter, I’ll give him that, but he’s a pretty fragile dude for as big as he is. He’s off to a stellar 2013 thus far, hitting .300 with five home runs and 17 RBI. He’s the kind of guy who can easily hit 30 home runs and knock in 100 or more runs, even though he’s only done the first half once in his career (33 home runs in 2009). Without Mike Napoli and Josh Hamilton around to steal his thunder, I don’t see why he can’t do it. Personally, I hope the best for him. He's great for baseball, great for the Rangers and a whole lotta fun to bust his chops when he comes to Oakland and mixes it up with the right field bleacher crew.

March 11- Toledo Mud Hens

In all the years that I’ve been collecting New Era Caps I’ll never really begin to understand why it took me so long to scoop this cap up. Every time I jumped on the Lids Web site I’d run across it whenever I was in the mood for buying from the Minor Leagues. I think there was a part of me that always assumed that its popularity would always keep it in stock, much like a New York Yankees cap; it was always be there. It wasn’t until the Christmas Day that I finally pulled the trigger and bought this, as well as a few other random caps that caught my eye. Until today I hadn’t removed the tags, nor had I even tried it on. Both of those are very unbecoming of me as trying the hat on is primarily the first thing I do when I get a shipment. I don’t know; something always felt kind of distant whenever I looked at this hat in person, like something subconscious was at play. It took me a while to really put my finger on it, but even now it’s become a bit of struggle to try and put the words together to not screw this up.

This Toledo Mud Hens hat was first used in 1987; however, the current incarnation of the logo was actually created in 1984. From ’84-’86 the Mud Hens wore a similar hat which featured a red bill. In 1987 the all-navy blue hat was introduced. Prior to the “T” logo with the Mud Hen over the top the team just used hats featuring only the “T,” which dates back to the 1950s before the original AAA version of the Mud Hens packed up shop and relocated to Wichita, Kansas at the end of the 1955 season. For those of you who happen to be old enough to really remember the show MASH, the Mud Hens were the favorite team of Corporal Max Klinger played by Jamie Farr, a Toledo native. The most important things to note from this are that…

1. The hat he wore occasional featured the “T” logo.

2. MASH took place during the Korean War, which was fought from 1950-1953.

Upon doing photo-based research I was able to conclude that the cap Farr wore on the show was historically accurate. The current incarnation of the Mud Hens resurfaced in 1965 when the Yankees moved the former Richmond Virginians there prior to that season. From 1966-1987 the Mud Hens changed affiliations three times; going to the Detroit Tigers to the Philadelphia Phillies, to the Cleveland Indians to the Minnesota Twins and then back to the Tigers which still stands today. Another important historical note about the Mud Hens is that in 1884; when the team was know as the Blue Stockings, they were the only team operating at the Major League level with black players on the team. More specific, Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Welday, the first and last black athletes allowed to play professional baseball until Jackie Robinson’s Brooklyn Dodgers debut in 1947. But none of these facts listed played a real part in my hesitance.

To really clarify things I have to go back to 1999, the first year I was bat boy for the Bakersfield Blaze. For the first half of the season my primary duties had nothing to do with being a bat boy. I was primarily a ball shagger. By that I mean I had to run around behind the fence to scoop up all the home run balls hit during batting practice so that they could be used again. See, things aren’t like the Major League level. The budgets aren’t as hefty, and when you’re playing Class-A ball expenses are kept at a minimal. About half way into the season the regular bat boy was growing tired of his job, so I was tapped to be his replacement. At first I thought it was going to be awesome, but that was all before I went through the hazing process from the players. I was 16-years-old at the time, and for the most part the average age of the guys on the team hovered around 22-years-old. At the same time I was dealing with professional ball players, a bunch of guys who had larger than life attitudes and weren’t too keen on some new kid coming into the clubhouse to screw everything up. The first few games were Hell. None of the players bothered to talk to me, but I kept my head up and concentrated on not screwing anything up. As the season wore on a few of the players opened up to me to let me know that I was doing a great job. One of those players in particular was a Venezuelan-born kid named Guillermo Rodriguez.

#7- (Of all the photos I could find, of course I find the one where he's getting plunked) Guillermo  was born in 1978, the same year as my older brother Adam, and was signed as an amateur by the San Francisco Giants in 1995. Throughout ’99 he moved up and down between Bakersfield and Salem-Keizer with the Volcanoes, the short season-A club in Oregon. At the tale end of my sophomore year in high school Guillermo gave me a hand with my Spanish homework on occasion, other times he would purposely give me wrong answers to help me learn it on my own. Every time I came into the clubhouse he would greet me with a hug, sometimes without pants on, and then whip me with the towel he had around his waist before he took a pre-practice shower. This sort of tomfoolery continued into the 2000 season as well. Yah, it was pretty weird, but it was all part of being accepted amongst the gang. When I made the decision to move to Vancouver, Washington to live with my mom for my senior year of high school I decided to leave after the California League All-Star break to make it easier on my schedule. I told the team that I was leaving with two home stands to go. All of them were surprisingly saddened by the news, but none as much as Guillermo. We kept in contact through emails every now-and-then, but both of our schedules got way too crazy to keep it going. I was; however, able to see him and a few of the other guys in 2002 and 2003 when they came up to Portland as members of the Fresno Grizzlies, the AAA-affiliate of the Giants. I was still too young to hit the town with them, but we talked smack before and after the games as if things had never changed. Finally, in 2004, Guillermo was dealt to the Tigers as they were in desperate need of a new catcher. Things were looking rather promising that he was going to finally get his break to play in the Show on a daily basis, but… two days after the deal the Tigers picked up Ivan Rodriguez. Guillermo spent the entire season in Toledo and had one of the worst years of his career. Guillermo did play a few games in the Majors: 39 for the Giants in 2007 and 7 for the Baltimore Orioles in 2009, but that was it. He went back down to the Minors by the end of the 2009 and disappeared from the game. Or so I thought. In 2012 he popped back up on the radar down in Mexico, playing for the Pericos de Puebla, a team managed by former Major League journeyman, and old guy Julio Franco. I haven’t talked to Guillermo since the summer of 2003, and to be honest, I kind of miss the guy. I’d take another awkward hug and towel whip from him any day.

#31- Collin Balester and I met in the MLB Fan Cave on April 27 of this last year. The only reason I remember the date is because I had to look it up. The cool thing about Collin is that he had a pretty sweet beard that rivaled mine quite well. One of the first things that I had remarked to him is that he reminded me of Arik Thaughbaer (yes, I had to check spelling) from the movie Willow. This guy to be exact…

In between takes for the Miggy Poco sketch Collin, Gar “Batting Stance Guy” Ryness and I goofed around and chatted while everyone else shot their scenes. At the end of filming he and I gave each other a manly handshake; you know, the only kind that can be brought together by the mightiest of beards. Well, I guess if you don’t have a beard, then you wouldn’t know, but I assure you, the Gods were smiling down that day. (I’ll stop being retarded for the rest of this) Over the next few weeks we continued our Shenanigans over Twitter, with Collin getting the Rambo (First Blood) Award for this gem, poking fun at the massive Samsung Galaxy Note that I had gotten in the Fan Cave…

After that my jokes paled in comparison, but we still tossed a few out when we had free time.

On May 23^rd, everything changed. The Tigers designated Collin for assignment to Toledo almost immediately after the Tigers suffered a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Indians. I was crushed. I had known guys to get moved around the Minors, but I had never really known anyone to be playing in the Show to then get demoted.

If you read my post from February 23, a lot of this will sound familiar. After Collin got the news I stayed silent. I really didn’t know what to say. We didn’t know each other all that well, and I didn’t know if my words would have given any bit of encouragement or made things worse, so I kept quiet. Little did I know, my world was about to take a swift detour as well.

On May 30^th I was given my walking papers from the Fan Cave. Not a demotion, just an all-out “thanks for coming, have a safe flight home.” To make things worse I was promised by two executives (Jacqueline Parkes and Jeff Heckelman) that I would get assistance for a job in the near future, but I had to keep quiet about things until they made a formal announcement on the 31^st. So I did. I was out and about when the news broke and came home to a flurry of tweets and messages asking what happened. I did my best to reply in as politically correct fashion as I could, that is, until I saw Collin’s direct message. I had kept pretty calm up until that moment, but I couldn’t hold it back as I responded to him. I think it was a slight feeling that I hadn’t been there to support him when he may have needed it that brought the emotional wave on, but I think most of it was because a Big League ball player took the time to help me out when I needed it most. My parents and friends couldn’t really say anything to comfort me, but Collin’s words did. In the weeks and months to follow we’d chat through Instagram or Twitter, depending on which one of us has the best joke going.

(Read my post from February 23 to get caught up to this point) On September 18^th Collin, his father-in-law and I met up at Tropicana Field for a Tampa Bay Rays game against the Boston Red Sox. Collin had gotten a hook-up on tickets, so all I had to do was get to the stadium. I rented a 2011 Ford Mustang and hauled ass to the Trop as I was running just a wee bit late. With about 20 minutes before first pitch I got inside and met up with the guys.

For the first time since we had really known each other, it was the first time I didn’t look at him as a ball player. I’ve always done my best to not look at a person based on their job or their status, but in New York, and especially in the Fan Cave, it made things difficult. Now that we were both kind of out of our element we could watch the game as friends. At times, I’ll admit, it felt a little weird, but only because I knew that he should have been in Detroit, gearing up for the playoffs. Even though we were at a game, I managed to not bring that up. Instead, we crushed some beers, popped some sharks

and hung out with sting rays. One of which I accidentally pissed off.

After nearly having my hand bitten off by a sting ray, Collin’s father-in-law convinced the both of us to make a music video for Collin’s daughter, but I made a promise to not ever mention it, so I’ll just leave it at that. We bummed around the stadium, catching the game from every angle we could, and then we parted ways. The next day I met my girlfriend Angie Kinderman; something that would have never happened without Collin inviting me out to the game.

To this day we still chat every now-and-then, but a bit more limited on account of Spring Training. On November 28^th the Texas Rangers signed Collin to a Minor League deal with a spring invite. When I pulled this hat out this morning the first thing I noticed was the “T” logo, which happens to be the same logo the Rangers used from their first year in 1972-1993. The “T” logo is one of the rare cases in which a Major League team borrows from a Minor League for something as iconic as their logo. I take this as a good sign. At 26-years-old I know he has a lot of solid years left in him, especially considering the fact that he’s the last draft pick in the history of the Montreal Expos to have an impact at the Major League level.

I felt compelled to mark my hat up with the two guys who I knew to play for the Mud Hens to have a profound impact on my life. To Collin and Guillermo- I thank both of you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you have done.