August 7- Milwaukee Brewers

If you can’t tell by the expression on my face in the picture above, my head is getting squeezed by the 7 1/8 Milwaukee Brewers cap barely gripping the top of my skull. Someone (@NotYasielPuig) had pointed out a few months ago that I am one of the most awkward people to ever pose in front of a camera based on the intro photos that I have at the top of each post. I’ll be the first to admit that’s true; however, in most cases there is a reason for these this. Photos are a vital piece to a story, especially when the subject matter is completely non-fictional. Fictional stories don’t necessarily need photos because the entire fantasy of what you’re reading is all based on how your imagination works. When something is based on factual evidence it’s usually a smart move to throw a few pictures in to give the reader a frame of reference. After all, what good would it be for me to talk cap baseball caps when you don’t know what they look like? As far as my facial expressions go, I do my best to prepare the reader for the journey they’re about to embark upon. Sometimes the story is happy, sometimes they’re depressing and sometimes it’s me going on a rant. Other times I try to incorporate something in the background to set the mood, kind of like when I spent late night hours in bed trying to hammer a post out. No matter the case there is always a method to my madness at play, and today is one of those posts where it all comes into play.

I should probably start by saying that, unless you’re a New Era cap collector or a Brewers fan, you might not remember this cap. It’s ok, not very many people in Milwaukee even remember this cap existing, but even crazier is that it’s next to impossible to track down. Much like the Brewers cap I wrote about on April 9^th, it falls under the category of “What the f--- were they thinking?” but not because of the uniforms. To be honest, I actually really like this cap. I just hate the history surrounding it. See, back in 1994 is when it all started when the Brewers introduced these uniforms…

Bring an end to arguably one of the greatest uniform sets and caps in Major League Baseball history. But that’s not all. 1994 was the year that MLB decided to expand their playoff format by adding the Wild Card series to the mix. Some of you are probably thinking, “Now Ben, the Wild Card wasn’t added until 1995.” This is true; however, it was supposed to be used in 1994 but the players strike kind of put a halt on things until the end of April the following year. In order to make the Wild Card system work MLB broke up the original two divisions (East and West) and added a third (Central) to each side, moving the Brewers out of the East and into the Central and in turn giving the West four teams each between the American and National Leagues. Originally this should not have worked out, but luckily the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies were added in 1993 to balance the leagues out. So, everything is perfect, right? Nope! MLB had other plans which entailed even more expansion despite the fact that the strike was still in effect in March of 1995. Back then two new franchises (Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays) were awarded by MLB to begin play in 1998. It was decided to add one new team to each league. At the time, however, MLB did not want to have an odd number of teams per league because they would either have to give teams many more off-days than in the past, or interleague play would have to be extended year-round, or both (14 years later however, another realignment would cause there to be an odd number of teams in each league with year round interleague play). In order for MLB officials to continue the existing schedule, where teams play almost every day and where interleague play is limited to a few days per year, both leagues would need to carry an even number of teams. The decision was made to have one existing club switch leagues. This is the moment when MLB went full-retard. The problem that MLB had put them selves in was as a result of their poor planning when they allowed the Marlins and Rockies into the Majors in an attempt to even everything out. The real problem of their addition of the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays is that they made the mistake of adding one too many teams to the wrong division (Devil Rays to the AL East.) How did this happen? MLB made the mistake of keeping the Detroit Tigers in the AL East when the new divisions were set up in 1994. So now there were going to be 15 teams in each league with the NL having five teams per division while in the AL there was one division with four teams and another with six.

It’s funny to look at all of this now because even a group of third graders could have figured out the problem much faster than the owners and executives were able to. In my opinion (which would have been the correct move) MLB should have moved the Kansas City Royals out of their new place in the AL Central and BACK to the AL West where they have had all of their success including a World Series title in 1985. This move would have given each division five teams apiece and an even 15 teams per league. Yes, I understand that MLB was afraid of an odd number of teams in each league; however, look at what we’re dealing with today and how long it took for everyone to realize that 15 teams per league in even divisions is actually a blessing. More important, the shit that actually went down would have never put a dent in baseball’s legacy: REALIGNMENT.

That’s right; one team had to be moved from one league to another to form a balance, something that had NEVER occurred in MLB history. Teams had obviously moved from state-to-state or city-to-city, but nothing like this. The realignment was widely considered to have great financial benefit to the club moving; however, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Commissioner (then-Brewers owner) Bud Selig decided another team should have the first chance to switch leagues. The Royals were asked first, but they decided against it. The choice then fell to the Brewers, who, on November 6, 1997, elected to move to the NL Central Division. At the same time, the Tigers agreed to move from the AL East to the AL Central (to replace Milwaukee). The Devil Rays joined the AL East and the Diamondbacks joined the NL West. Had the Brewers elected not to move to the NL, the Minnesota Twins would have been offered the opportunity next. Even reading my own words absolutely blows my mind that this happened. But what does any of this have to do with the cap? Well…

’97: The Brewers got a lot of flack for the uniforms they introduced in 1994 and wore through the end of the 1996 season. So they decided to correct their mistake and come up with something more appealing to the fans. In the offseason the Brewers introduced these uniforms to be worn for the 1997 season.

From then until the end of the 1999 season the Brewers wore this cap for all of their home game and a similar model with a gold “M” (which I can’t find for sale anywhere) for all of their road games. It is still the only time in MLB history that a cap/uniform has been used in multiple leagues. The cap on my head was purchased while the team was still a member of the AL and in my mind the team will always be an AL team. When time came for realignment once again at the end of the 2012 season MLB could have done the smart thing and looked at my original proposal by moving the Royals to the AL West and moving the Brewers back to the AL Central to even things out, but they once again decided that going full-retard was the most fiscally sound option by moving the Houston Astros to the AL West. Because trying to fix the past is just silly and make too many people happy.

These are obviously not new stories. I’ve touched base on a few of these issues before, but they still drive me crazy. How it’s possible for an old man like Selig to take “something he loves” (baseball) and completely blow it off kilter and be satisfied with himself is beyond me. It’s shit like this why I made the conscious decision to have Bernie Brewer added to the AL side of my body. I figured one baseball-loving person had to have some sense.

As to who the girl is, that’s a gem for another post.

#5: If there was ever a player over the last 25 years or so who made a quiet, yet definite impact for the throughout his entire career, it has to be Geoff Jenkins. Jenkins was a three-sport varsity athlete at Cordova High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, but elected to pursue baseball full-time after receiving a scholarship from USC. From 1993-1995 he played ball for the Trojans. In his final season, he batted .399 with 78 RBI and a .748 slugging percentage in 70 games, also scoring 75 runs to tie the school record held by Rich Dauer and Mark McGwire; his 23 home runs and 193 total bases ranked second in school history behind McGwire's 1984 totals of 32 and 216. He led the Trojans to the College World Series, where they reached the championship game; Jenkins was named to the all-CWS team, and also earned team co-MVP honors and was named a consensus All-American. In 1996, the year of the CWS' 50th tournament, Jenkins was named to the all-decade team for the 1990s. He finished his USC career with a .369 batting average, 45 home runs (second only to McGwire's 54), a .652 slugging percentage, 180 runs, and school records for runs batted in (175) and total bases (444). Yah, he was kind of a big deal, but he fell to the Brewers in the ninth round of the 1995 amateur draft and didn’t make his MLB debut until 1998.

 Not pictured- Brett Favre

Jenkins played 10 years with the Brewers at the MLB level and was consistently the team’s best player. Twice he led the team in batting average, the first of which came in 1999 when he hit .313 with 21 home runs and 82 RBI. In 2000, he was the Brewers' team MVP. He led the Brewers in batting average (.303) and home runs (34). His 2002 season was cut short when on June 17 in a game against the Astros he suffered a horrific-looking dislocated ankle when sliding into third base feet first during a game. He was safe on the play. He was selected to the NL All-Star team in 2003 via the MLB's All-Star Final Vote contest where a player is selected from both leagues by fans to join their respective team after the initial roster is announced.

Jenkins hit a bit streak of offensive woes starting in the 2006 season and was eventually replaced in his spot in the outfield for Corey Hart. At the end of the 2007 season Jenkins was not re-signed, thus ending his Brewer career with a .275 average, 221 home runs and 733 RBI. But, his baseball career wasn’t over. On December 20, 2007, he signed a two-year, $13 million deal with a vesting option for 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Jenkins returned to Miller Park in a Phillies uniform on April 23, 2008, to a crowd of just over 30,000. He was welcomed back with a tribute video, highlighting his ten-year career with the Brewers, and the standing ovation that followed. He received a second ovation while leading off the second inning. Philadelphia would go on to lose the game, 5-4. He went 0 for 3, with a walk and a stolen base. In the postseason, his only hit came on a leadoff double in the bottom of the 6th in Game 5 of the World Series. His hit set the tone for the finale of the World Series as the Phillies won the World Series and earned Jenkins his first World Series ring of his 10 year career. The Phillies ultimately released him at the end of Spring Training in 2009 and in July he was signed by the Brewers on a one-day contract so he could officially retire with the team.

#20: Jeromy Burnitz played his collegiate ball at Oklahoma State University and played minor league ball with the Welsh Waves and the Buffalo Bisons. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He first came up with the New York Mets and exhibited both power and speed, but was traded by them to the Cleveland Indians. Burnitz never really cracked the Cleveland lineup and it was only after his trade to Milwaukee in 1996 that he emerged as an everyday player.

From 1996-2001 Burnitz was an absolute stud for the Brewers. In his first full season, 1997, Burnitz hit .281 with 27 home runs, 85 RBI and even stole 20 bases. His efforts gave him a top-30 finish for the AL MVP. The next season he hit a modest .263 but pounded a career-high 38 home runs and a career-high 125 RBI which ultimately improved his stock with a top-20 finish for the NL MVP. Clearly hitting in the NL improved his power game in just one season. In 1999 he made his first All-Star Game and even started in place of the injured Tony Gwynn, thus becoming the first Brewer to start an All-Star Game since Paul Molitor. In the six years he played in Milwaukee he hit .258 with 165 home runs and 525 RBI.

Burnitz played until the end of the 2006 season with the Mets for a second time (2002-2003), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2003), the Rockies (2004), the Chicago Cubs (2005) and then finally with Pittsburgh Pirates (2006).

June 21- Milwaukee Brewers

Well, I guess it was going to happen sooner or later. On a grand-scale plane I’ve been quite happy with every single New Era Cap I’ve collected over the last 15 years or so… except two of them. I picked this Milwaukee Brewers cap on May 19, 2012 along with a Seattle Mariners hat that I will be writing about in the next few days. Right now you’re probably think, “How the hell does he remember the exact date of when he bought those two hats?” Excellent question; there are two reasons why I know this:

1. This was the last order I did with Lids before I get the axe from the MLB Fan Cave. I tend to not forget a little thing like that.

2. It was an on-line order so I had the luxury of going through my order history and pinpointing the exact date. Ha!

While neither of those points explains why I don’t like this hat, I know refer you to clicking on the link for the Milwaukee Braves cap I wrote about on April 13^th. Notice anything peculiar? If it’s not registering, it’s ok. What you’re not seeing, if you can’t tell, is that it’s pretty much the same cap, but with a different color scheme. Now, I love the Braves cap. I think because of its color scheme and plainness it gives it a classic, sophisticated look. Not to mention the fact that Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and Hank Aaron were pretty much badasses when they popped this lid on. As for anyone on the Brewers… does it really matter?

To be fair, I really don’t have any personal beef with the Brewers players; however, my entire issues stem from 1970 (well before I was born), the inaugural year of the Brewers franchise. For those of you who don’t know the story… In an effort to prevent the relocation of the Braves to a larger television market, Braves minority owner Bud Selig, a Milwaukee-area car dealer, formed an organization named "Teams Inc." devoted to local control of the club. He successfully prevented the majority owners of the Braves from moving the club in 1964 but was unable to do more than delay the inevitable. The Braves relocated to Atlanta after the 1965 season, and Teams Inc. turned its focus to returning Major League Baseball to Milwaukee.

Selig doggedly pursued this goal, attending owners meetings in the hopes of securing an expansion franchise. Selig changed the name of his group to "Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club Inc.". The "Brewers" name, honoring Milwaukee's beer-brewing tradition, also was traditional for Milwaukee baseball teams going back into the 19th century. The city had hosted a major league team by that name in 1901, which relocated at the end of that season to become the St. Louis Browns (now the Baltimore Orioles). From 1902 through 1952, a minor league Milwaukee Brewers club in the American Association had been so successful that it lured the Braves from Boston. Selig himself had grown up watching that minor league team at Borchert Field and intended his new franchise to follow in that tradition.

To demonstrate there still was support for big-league ball in Milwaukee, Selig's group contracted with Chicago White Sox owner Arthur Allyn to host nine White Sox home games at Milwaukee County Stadium in 1968. A 1967 exhibition game between the White Sox and Minnesota Twins had attracted more than 51,000 spectators, and Selig was convinced the strong Milwaukee fan base would demonstrate the city would provide a good home for a new club.

The experiment was staggeringly successful - those nine games drew 264,297 fans. In Chicago that season, the Sox drew 539,478 fans to their remaining 58 home games. In just a handful of games, the Milwaukee crowds accounted for nearly one-third of the total attendance at White Sox games. In light of this success, Selig and Allyn agreed County Stadium would host Sox home games again the next season.

In 1969, the Sox schedule in Milwaukee was expanded to include 11 home games (one against every other franchise in the American League at the time). Although those games were attended by slightly fewer fans (198,211 fans, for an average of 18,019) they represented a greater percentage of the total White Sox attendance than the previous year - over one-third of the fans who went to Sox home games in 1969 did so at County Stadium (in the remaining 59 home dates in Chicago, the Sox drew 391,335 for an average of 6,632 per game). Selig felt this fan support lent legitimacy to his quest for a Milwaukee franchise, and he went into the 1968 owners meetings with high hopes. Those hopes were dashed when National League franchises were awarded to San Diego (the Padres) and Montreal (the Expos), and American League franchises were awarded to Kansas City (the Royals) and Seattle (the Pilots). That last franchise, however, would figure very prominently in Selig's future.

Having failed to gain a major league franchise for Milwaukee through expansion, Selig turned his efforts to purchasing and relocating an existing club. His search began close to home, with the White Sox themselves. According to Selig, he had a handshake agreement with Allyn to purchase the Pale Hose and move them north. The American League, unwilling to surrender Chicago to the National League, vetoed the sale, and Allyn sold the franchise to his brother John. Frustrated in these efforts, Selig shifted his focus to another American League team, the expansion Seattle Pilots.

To make a long story short, and because I’ll go into more detail on this story in August, Selig purchased the Pilots after they filed for Bankruptcy after their one, and only season in 1969. The original Brewers uniforms were "hand-me-downs" from the Seattle Pilots. Since the move to Milwaukee received final approval less than a week before the start of the season, there was no time to order new uniforms. Selig had originally planned to change the Brewers' colors to navy and red in honor of the minor league Brewers, but was forced to simply remove the Seattle markings from the Pilots' blue-and-gold uniforms and sew "BREWERS" on the front. However, the outline of the Pilots' logo was clearly visible. The uniforms had unique striping on the sleeves left over from the Pilots days. The cap was an updated version of the Milwaukee Braves cap in blue and yellow. Ultimately, it was decided to keep blue and gold as the team colors, and they have remained so ever since.

The Brewers finally got their own flannel design in 1971. These were essentially the same as the 1970 uniforms but with blue and yellow piping on the sleeves and collar. In 1972, the Brewers entered the doubleknit era with uniforms based upon their flannels—all white with "BREWERS" on the front, blue and yellow trim on the sleeves, neck, waistband and down the side of the pants. This is the uniform that Hank Aaron would wear with the club in his final seasons, and that Robin Yount would wear in his first.

The main thing I wanted to point out in all of this, besides the team history, is that even when the Brewers had a chance to change things up they still decided to bite off of the old Milwaukee Braves. With this cap in particular they did it from 1970-1973 as their game cap and from 1974-1977 as only their home cap. It wouldn’t be until 1978 that a fan would design this awesome logo in a contest for the team to use. I love the colors, I love the team, but I hate it when teams rip off of others, a theme that will surely be brought up down the road. As for the marks on this bad boy…

#41- Having written about the two most popular and only Hall of Fame players in franchise history in Yount and Paul Molitor, it became surprisingly difficult to find a few names and numbers to grace my cap. It also didn’t help that I stuck with the era in which this cap was used. Sooooooo… Jim Slaton was a 15^th round draft pick by the Pilots in the 1969 amateur draft out of Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California. During the 1969 season Slaton spent the entire year in the minors, which also carried on into 1970 when he was still with the Class-A Clinton Pilots of the Midwest League. Despite the Major League franchise relocating, all the minor league affiliates stayed put and kept their original names. Weird! In 1971 Slaton pitched four games with the AAA Evansville Triplets throughout the season, going 1-0 with a 1.41 ERA; however, Slaton got his call to The Show and made his debut on April 14, 1971.

Slaton pitched in a lot of games during his tenure from 1971-1977 and then again from 1979-1983 while taking 1978 to play for the Detroit Tigers.  He is the Brewers all-time leader in Wins (117), Innings Pitched (2025.3), Games Started (268), and Shutouts (19), and he is third in Strikeouts, trailing Teddy Higuera and Ben Sheets, and Complete Games, trailing Mike Caldwell. He represented the Brewers and the American League in the 1977 All-Star game and was the winning pitcher for the Brewers in the 4th game of the 1982 World Series against St. Louis. His All-Star Game appearance in 1977 was the only one of his career.

After his playing career ended, he started coaching in the minor leagues. He coached in the Oakland Athletics organization from 1992–1994 and then became the pitching coach for the Class A Daytona Cubs (1995–1996), his hometown Lancaster Jethawks (1997–98) and the Tacoma Rainiers (1999–2003). In 2004 he was a special assignment coach for the Seattle Mariners and from 2005-2007 he was the Mariners bullpen coach. Before coaching in the minor or major leagues, Jim coached an all-star team for the Monte Vista Little League, while pitching for the Angels. He was the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in 2008, also serving briefly as the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers when Ken Howell temporarily left the team for medical reasons. After the season, the Dodgers announced that Slaton would be the pitching coach in 2009 for their new Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, a position he held through 2010. In 2011, he was named the pitching coach at Camelback Ranch.

#48- Here’s another guy you’ve probably never heard of. After graduating from Whittier College with a degree in sociology, Jim Colborn studied for his masters’ degree at Edinburgh University in Scotland, where he also starred in basketball as well as baseball, being named all-Scotland. He was planning on becoming a sociology professor until baseball lured him away. In 1966, while in college, Colborn struck out 21 batters in a College All-Star Game in the Netherlands. In 1967, the Chicago Cubs signed Colborn as an amateur free agent. He found himself in Leo Durocher’s doghouse after struggling as a young relief pitcher for three years. At the end of the 1971 season, Colborn was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for José Cardenal.

In his first season with the Brewers Colborn went 7-7 with a 3.11 ERA and 97 strikeouts as he started in 12 of the 39 games he pitched in on the season. In 973 however, things took a turn for the best. That season he became the first 20-game winner in Brewers franchise history. He finished the year with a 3.18 ERA, 314 1/3 innings logged, 135 strikeouts, his first, and only All-Star Game appearance and a sixth place finish for the AL Cy Young award.

Over the next three seasons, however, Colborn posted losing records (10-13 in 1974, 11-13 in 1975 and 9-15 in 1976) before being traded, along with Darrell Porter, to the Kansas City Royals. In 1977, Colborn won 18 games for a Royal team that won the second of three consecutive AL West titles (all three times, however, the Royals lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series; Colborn did not pitch in the 1977 ALCS). On May 14 of that year, Colborn no-hit the Texas Rangers 6-0, the first no-hitter by a Royal at Royals Stadium and second overall in that park, after the first of Nolan Ryan's seven career no-hitters (1973).
For eight seasons, Colborn was on Jim Tracy's staff as a pitching coach: from 2000 to 2005, when Tracy managed the Los Angeles Dodgers, and in 2006 and 2007, when Tracy managed the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2008, Colborn became the Texas Rangers bullpen coach.
In his career, Colborn won 83 games against 88 losses, with a 3.80 ERA and 688 strikeouts in 1597⅓ innings pitched.

June 4- Milwaukee Brewers

I’ll never forget the first time I saw this hat. I was sitting at the lower social media table at Fan Fest for the Oakland Athletics back on January 27^th. I had just wrapped up a Q&A session with a few members of the marketing team and I was still in the process of trying to clarify my answer to the final question as someone had asked me who I thought the starting rotation was going to be. At first I wanted to reply with, “I don’t know, I’m not Bob Melvin, that’s kind of a stupid question for me to answer,” but I didn’t think that anyone would understand that I was joking, so I didn’t say that. Instead, I answered it as best I could, with the knowledge that a few players were still injured and/or suspended. I made sure to type in each person’s Twitter handle when I answered, which was a seemingly easy task considering the fact that I was using the A’s Twitter account and they only follow 149 people. I typed in Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker, AJ Griffin, Dan Straily and… I mean to type in Brett Anderson, but I hit Travis Blackley’s account by mistake and send at the same time. Almost immediately I had people saying, “Well what about Anderson?” After realizing my mistake I quickly corrected myself and said that I meant to hit Anderson. But even after doing that the questions kept coming, asking why I left him off the list. Others asked about Bartolo Colon, which I didn’t bother going into on account of his suspension. Rather than continue, we just cut it a few minutes short as the main festivities were about to begin.

What was I supposed to be talking about again? Oh yah! This hat. So after the final question fiasco I just sat at the desk, not really knowing what I was supposed to do or where to go from there. Just as I thought they were going to tell me, “thanks, we’re done with you,” they asked if I wanted to run their Instagram account for the day. On the outside I said, “Sure that would be awesome.” On the inside I of course was going crazy with joy. Anyway, I signed out of Instagram on my phone, handed it over, they put in the username and password, handed it back and I was good to go. Now, the Athletics at the time only followed five people with their account: MLB, MLB Fan Cave, Brett Anderson, Travis Blackley and me. That’s still a badge of honor I’m really proud of, but out of the other four I only follow two of them. When they logged me on the first thing that appeared on my screen was the Milwaukee Brewers fan designed uniform and hat combo (this hat) for their YOUnifom contest they had held. Needless to say, as soon as I saw it I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

My friend Will MacNeil (@RFWill149) talked about this hat at great length in the month to follow. Actually, the thing that really brought that discussion up in the first place was that I wanted to pay Will back for the Stockton Ports hats he had given me during Fan Fest. Will had told me that he and bunch of other people were going to down for Spring Training and I said I was too (or so I had thought). My last day of finals at the University of Oregon was slated for March 18^th, and I was more than ready to get out of Oregon for a few days to enjoy some baseball in Arizona. As payback for the hats all Will asked in return is that I pick him up one of these hats while I was down in Arizona. As it turned out, the Brewers were only selling them during the games in which they were going to be using them (March 22^nd and March 30^th), or so we both thought. Well, to make a long story short, I was broke and couldn’t get down to Arizona; however, we both noticed that Lids and other hat Web sites were carrying them, so there was no need to rush… or so I thought again.

A few days before I went to Florida to visit my girlfriend Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie) I ordered a few hats for what I got back. One of the hats that I ordered was this one. Now, Will and I both wear the same size cap (7 3/8), but the problem I ran into was that the Lids Web site only had one left. Needing to pay Will back for his generosity, I bought his for sure; however, trying to track down a second one for myself turned into a greater challenge. I would have to wait almost a month and find one by happenstance at the New Era Flagship store in Miami; which if you end up in Miami, go check it out. It’s awesome, and they employees are amazing. When I went back to Oakland this last time for their series against the Kansas City Royals and Bacon Friday, I made sure to pack it along with me and get it to my right field brother.

From early November through December 13^th, the Brewers held the “Design a YOUniform” contest to allow their fans to come up with something clever and develop a stronger interaction with their clientele. The winner, Ben Peters of Richfield, Minnesota, was flown down to Phoenix to attend the March 22^nd game against the Chicago Cubs in which the Brewers would be wearing the uniforms of his creation at Maryvale Baseball Park. In addition, Peters was given as assortment of hats and shirts with his logos. Personally, I think that’s pretty awesome, but a little bit of money would have been nice to come with that too.

Due to the fact that this cap was only worn for two games I had to pay tribute to the players who did well for the Brewers in both of those exhibition games. Much to my surprise it was a ridiculously easy task to figure out.

#18- Khris Davis was drafted in the seventh round by the Brewers in the 2009 amateur draft out of Cal State Fullerton, one of the top baseball colleges of the last 20 years. From 2009-2012 he worked his way through the Minor Leagues, batting.291 throughout his time. On March 22^nd Davis got the call to start in left field in the Brewers’ 4-1 loss to the Cubs. The game wasn’t a total loss to Davis though. In his third at-bat he teed off on Cory Wade scoring the one and only run for the Brew Crew. Davis’ spring training was so impressive that the Brewers invited him to Milwaukee to stay up with the team and made his Major League debut on April 1st. Unfortunately he only lasted 14 games on account of him batting .188. After their game on May 1^st the Brewers demoted Davis down to AAA Nashville for more work with the Sounds.

#23- Rickie Weeks attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a sophomore in 2002, he batted .495 with 20 home runs, winning the NCAA Division I batting title. The next year, he batted .479 with 16 home runs, winning a second straight batting title and finishing his career with a .473 batting average, highest in NCAA history. In 2003 he also was named Baseball America College Player of the Year and the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur player. The Milwaukee Brewers selected him second overall in the 2003 MLB Draft.

He made his major league debut on September 15, 2003, but did not become a full-time player for the Brewers until June 2005, when he was recalled from Triple-A Nashville, despite playing much of the 2005 season with a thumb injury. In his first full MLB season in 2005, Weeks had a batting average of .239 to go with 13 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 96 games and he finished in sixth place for the National League Rookie of the Year award. These HR/SB number are consistent with his minor league totals (playing in 209 games) of 21 home runs and 24 stolen bases. In 2006, Weeks hit .279 with 8 home runs, 34 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases in 95 games.
Weeks has always had a tremendous amount of power, but his consistency at the plate is lacking, as are his defensive capabilities. He has routinely been one of the “worst” firlders for his position on a yearly basis, averaging 13 errors per season. He’s only made one All-Star Game appearance in 2011.
On March 30^th the Brewers went back to Milwaukee to host their final two exhibition games at Miller Park. On this day they were facing the Chicago White Sox. In his first at-bat Weeks ripped the cover off of a Gavin Floyd fastball for a two-run home run, his only hit of the game. The Brewers ended up wining 5-4, but it was Weeks’ momentum in the early going that helped fuel the Brewers for victory.

May 11- Milwaukee Brewers

The Vietnam War had been raging on for a solid 14-and-a-half years when the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and re-established themselves as the Brewers. During this particular era there hadn’t been a Major League player who had seen any speckle of combat since the Korean War which ended on July 27, 1953, just two years before Vietnam. Teams in Major League Baseball who had been around before 1953 had at least one member of their team who had been involved in a previous war; however, the times were changing and baseball players didn’t rush to the enlistment lines or get drafted like in years passed. The reason I bring up this point is because you, as readers, need to know how difficult it is to pull together some of these posts. As much as I’d like to focus my attention on the veterans who served and also played/worked in baseball, it’s a little bit more of challenge than I had expected. Even though members of the Brewers in their 43-year history didn’t fight for their country, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t done anything to support the troops. I hope with this post I do some justice.

The Brewers first season in MLB came in 1970, and for the past 43 years the Brewers have tallied a record of 13 wins, 25 losses and six years in which they didn’t play. As much as I want to focus my attention on a specific game or date range for this cap I was able to find something more fitting to pay tribute to, which I‘ll get to later in this post.

One of the days I had originally chosen was May 30, 1977; the Brewers had split a double header with the Chicago White Sox, winning the first game 4-3 and losing the nightcap 8-3. It would be the only time in their Memorial Day history in which the Brewers played a doubleheader on the holiday. With that another day of interest popped up. On Sunday, May 24, 1981 the Brewers hosted another doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox in which they won both games; 2-1 in 14 innings in the afternoon and 10-7 at night. The only reason I bring this up is because they played and lost the next day, Memorial Day, against the Detroit Tigers by the score of 12-3. The Brewers would end up winning their next four.

Another time frame I need to bring up took place between 1989 and 2007. During that stretch the Brewers didn’t play on four of those Memorial Days, but they did amass a record of 2-15 in the other 17. If you couldn’t tell by the record I posted above the Brewers tend to struggle on this holiday. The two wins the Brewers were able to claim came in back-to-back seasons, both of which were against the San Diego Padres. In 1999 the Brewers won 8-2 behind former 1995 National League Rookie of the Year Hideo Nomo, while in 2000 the Brewers won 8-3 behind Jimmy Haynes.

The last interesting little tidbit I dug up was that the team the Brewers played the most on Memorial Day was the Seattle Mariners, which they did four times (1980, 1982-83 and 1990). This may not seem like a lot in a 43-year history; however, you might be forgetting that the Brewers jumped ship into the National League at the start of the 1998 season. Therefore that stretch shrunk down to only 29 years. But the most important thing to note from this is that the Mariners wouldn’t exist had it not been for the Brewers relocating after their one-and-done season in Seattle back in ’69. I like to find weird little connections like that. While I’m at it they really should have played for five of those years; the fifth being in 1993. The Brewers didn’t play on Memorial Day that year, but they did play a two-game series in Seattle on June 1 and 2. Seemed like they really should have made it a full three-game series, but that’s just me.

As much as I like this hat I only have one complaint against it. Actually, looking back on the other 128 posts I’ve done thus far, this is the only time I’ve had an issue with any of my caps. For some reason the logo is significantly smaller than their regular game style which I wrote about on February 5^th. Check it out and compare: http://hatsandtats.blogspot.com/2013/02/february-5-milwaukee-brewers.html I’m not sure if this was an accident or done on purpose, but the fact that they made this cap’s logo more three dimensional might have something to do with it. Just a little something I noticed is all.

8/11/12: While I realize that this date is still a few months away this date is probably the most significant in the history between the Brewers and the troops. On August 11, 2012 the Brewers hosted a movie premier at Miller Park. The film, “Honor Flight,” is a documentary that chronicles a community coming together to honor living World War II veterans, one last time. The film follows a devoted team of Midwest volunteers as they race against the clock to send every local WWII veteran to the Washington, D.C. memorials built in their honor. The more they do, the more the cause takes on a life of its own. The film captures Honor Flight from the point of view of the volunteers and veterans who share their war and life stories along the way. One of the veterans primarily focused on in the film is Julian Plaster, a Milwaukee native who was a cook in the Navy from 1942-1945.

The response from the fine folks of Milwaukee was overwhelming as 28, 442 people attended the premiere which went down as the highest attended film premier in history. Seriously, look it up; it’s in the Guinness Book of World Records. Even though the Brewers have taken part in other outreach and tributes for the troops, it was hard to pass up such a momentous occasion; especially one that went down as a world record. Tip of the cap to you Milwaukee.

April 13- Milwaukee Braves

On March 24, 2012 MLB Fan Cave executive Matt Slamon asked me which Major League Baseball player I had always wanted to meet. We were about an hour away from doing our Fan Cave fantasy baseball draft, so my head was really more focused on that as opposed to his question. I was in the process of trying to find an outlet to plug my computer in when I told him that Gary Carter was the one guy I had always wished to have a conversation with. Carter had passed away the month before and the way I heard Slamon’s question I had thought he meant living or dead. He then took a moment, apologized and asked the question one more time.

“Which living player have you always wanted to meet?”

“Oh! My bad,” I said. I thought about it for a few seconds, looked around the room and then said, “Hank Aaron.” Just a name, no explanation. He said ok and walked off to ask somebody else the same question.

To be honest, I was at first offended by his lack of clarification the first time he asked. Everyone in that building knew how much Carter meant to me, and it felt a bit weird for the next hour or so, at least in my mind. When he asked the question the second time I was staring at Atlanta Braves fans and fellow Cave Dwellers Shaun Kippins and Ricky Mast when Hank Aaron’s name came out of my mouth. To be honest, Aaron is someone I’ve always wanted to have a discussion with, but not necessarily about baseball. Every connection I made for the 3 months I was in New York City with anyone who played the game of baseball had nothing to do with the sport. Yes, I love baseball; however, baseball is/was their job. Talking about someone’s career is pretty boring, unless of course my job was to talk about their job; which in my head it wasn’t. With Aaron, the man has been alive for 79 years, and only played baseball professionally for 25 of them. With what that man has been through in his life there are definitely way more important things to talk about than how he made a living. When I looked at Ricky and Shaun’s faces upon answering that question, I mostly did it for them. I had a feeling that the two of them both said Aaron’s name and I wanted to help make that possible for them. 

Aaron, to me at least, would have been the equivalent of meeting The Beatles. With all of my years of training as a journalist, that moment of “Oh my God I’m talking to Hank Aaron!” definitely would have set in within a matter of seconds. So at the time it probably would have been a really good idea to not be around him to save the risk of making him feel uncomfortable. Because let’s be honest, even with all the knowledge of the game and history I possess, I’m still kind of an odd-looking bird.

I’ve been a great admirer of Aaron’s life and times in baseball since I was a little kid. I spent hours at the library on the weekends reading almanacs and history books about guys like Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Willie Mays and of course, Aaron. Having been born and raised on the east side of the Bay Area I didn’t really have a lot of white friends until the age of six when my dad relocated us to Bakersfield, California for work. From the ages of two to five I attended pre-school with a lot of Asian, black and a few white kids in Stockton. Being around such a mix of cultures at such a young age you tend not to notice differences in other people. It wasn’t until I was around nine or 10-years-old that I finally experienced racism first hand.

Having read all the books on the greats of the Negro Leagues, I only saw on paper how terrible life could be at times for the players trekking across the country, not being allowed to eat, wash or sleep in the same establishments of the people who came to watch them play. As I got older, and learned more about the subject of racism I then started to notice things in my daily environment. For those of you who don’t know, Bakersfield has had its fair share of history with prejudice on multiple occasions. This was actually a topic that came up in a conversation with current Boston Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes and me in September of 2012. In 2002 Gomes played with the Bakersfield Blaze and he recalled overhearing a conversation between one of the executives of the Blaze and all of the non-white members of the team.

“You see that bridge that’s down the road just passed the Jack in the Box?” said Gomes. “Don’t ever go passed it, especially at night.”

The bridge in question he was referring to was one I knew all too well. Sam Lynn Ball Park, the home of the Blaze, resided just off of Chester Avenue, which is one of the two most crime-ridden streets in the city. Most important, on the opposite side of that bridge is the town of Oildale, one of the more impoverished towns attached to Bakersfield. Literally at the edge of Oildale, on the cusp of the bridge lies a bar which is also a front for one of the large white supremacy group chapters in California. Much in the same way Gomes and company learned about it, I found out about it right before my teenage years. This was also the around the first time I saw one of my friends, Reggie Mackey, get called a nigger and get spit on by some older kids who lived in out neighborhood. This was also the first time I had ever gotten my ass kicked for standing up for my friend Reggie. Black eyes will stop swelling, cuts will close and blood will continue to course through your veins over time, but the heartbreak and anger caused by ignorance will never go away.

These posts I write every single day are more than just about the hat I wear. Every one of them has great stories behind them. This Milwaukee Braves hat was used for every game after their move from Boston in 1953 until their relocation to Atlanta at the end of the 1965 season. It carries an entire legacy behind it, which is the starting point, and the meaning behind my marking for it.

4/13/54- Almost 60 years ago today Hammering Hank Aaron took his first steps out of the dugout and onto a Major League ball field in his debut with the Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium. His journey to the Show actually started On February 5, 1934 (he and I share the same birthday) in Mobile, Alabama to Herbert and Estella (Pritchett) Aaron.  Aaron had seven siblings. Tommie Aaron, one of his brothers, also went on to play Major League Baseball. While he was born in a section of Mobile referred to as "Down the Bay," he spent most of his youth in Toulminville. His family couldn't afford baseball equipment, so he practiced by hitting bottle caps with sticks. He would create his own bats and balls out of materials he found on the streets. Aaron attended Central High School as a freshman and a sophomore, where he played outfield and third base on the baseball team and helped lead his team to the Mobile Negro High School Championship both years. During this time, he also excelled in football. His success on the football field led to several football scholarship offers, which he turned down to pursue a career in professional baseball. Although he batted cross-handed (i.e., as a right-handed hitter, with his left hand above his right), Aaron had already established himself as a power hitter. As a result, in 1949, at the age of fifteen, Aaron had his first tryout with a MLB franchise, with the Brooklyn Dodgers; however, he did not make the team. After this, Aaron returned to school to finish his secondary education, attending the Josephine Allen Institute, a private high school in Alabama. During his junior year, Aaron joined the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro league team. While on the Bears, Aaron earned $10 per game ($88 today). Aaron's minor league career began on November 20, 1951, when baseball scout Ed Scott signed Aaron to a contract on behalf of the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League.

During my time on the road last season I happened to visit Kansas City for three days. I was still quite bitter after missing out on the All-Star game that had taken place two months prior, so I had a lot of sights to check out besides catching a Kansas City Royals game. The most important thing, go to the Negro League Baseball Museum. There were a lot of players I knew about from books, films and Ken Burns Baseball, but I hardly knew a lot about their pasts and journeys into professional baseball. The museum helped shed light on a lot of this, especially Aaron’s time with the Clowns. There was a transcript I came across which made me shudder, as with a lot of other real pieces from that time in American history which I’ll never full understand. Aaron was 18-years-old at the time when spoke of an experience during his days with the Clowns.

The day after Baltimore, we were rained out of a big Sunday doubleheader at Griffith Stadium in Washington. We had breakfast while we were waiting for the rain to stop, and I can still envision sitting with the Clowns in a restaurant behind Griffith Stadium and hearing them break all the plates in the kitchen after we were finished eating. What a horrible sound. Even as a kid, the irony of it hit me: Here we were in the capital in the land of freedom and equality, and they had to destroy the plates that had touched the forks that had been in the mouths of black men. If dogs had eaten off those plates, they'd have washed them. - Chris Mays The 8 Things

Such cases of bigotry continued on throughout his life and career.

Aaron helped the team win the 1952 Negro League World Series, and he quickly received two contract offers from the New York Giants and Braves based on his outstanding abilities: a .366 batting average in 26 official Negro league games, with 5 home runs, 33 (RBI), 41 hits, and 9 stolen bases were the only stats recorded.

"I had the Giants' contract in my hand. But the Braves offered fifty dollars a month more. That's the only thing that kept Willie Mays and me from being teammates – fifty dollars," said Aaron.

Aaron elected to play for the Braves, who purchased him from the Clowns for $10,000. On June 14, 1952, Aaron signed with Braves' scout Dewey Griggs. During this time, he picked up the nickname pork chops because it "was the only thing I knew to order off the menu." A teammate later said, "the man ate pork chops three meals a day, two for breakfast." Aaron’s first stop through the minor leagues came in the same town in which my girlfriend Angie Kinderman was born and raised in, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The team was the Eau Claire Bears, a former C-level team of the Northern League that operated from 1933-1942 and again from 1946-1962. In 87 games Aaron batted .336 with four triples, nine home runs and 116 hits. According to Baseball-Reference.com there is no indication of his runs batted in. Aaron only lasted one season in Eau Claire, moving on to the Jacksonville Braves of the South Atlantic League. Angie bought this shirt for me when she went back home to visit her family over this last Christmas.

Aaron's performance with the Braves won the league championship that year. Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBI (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362) and won the league's MVP award in such a dominant fashion that one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations." Aaron's time with the Braves did not come without problems. He was one of the first five non-white players to play in the league. The 1950s were a period of racial segregation in parts of the United States, especially the southeastern portion of the country. When Aaron traveled around Jacksonville, Florida and the surrounding areas, he was often separated from his team because of Jim Crow laws. In most circumstances, the team was responsible for arranging housing and meals for its players, but Aaron often had to make his own arrangements. The Braves' manager, Ben Geraghty, tried his best to help Aaron on and off the field. Former Braves minor league player and sportswriter Pat Jordan said, "Aaron gave [Geraghty] much of the credit for his own swift rise to stardom." On the plus side, his time with the Braves also allowed him to meet his future wide Barbara Lucas. The night they met, Lucas decided to attend the Braves' game. Aaron singled, doubled, and hit a home run in the game. On October 6, Aaron and Lucas married.

Before being promoted to the majors, Aaron spent the winter of 1953 playing in Puerto Rico. Mickey Owen, the team's manager, helped Aaron with his batting stance. After working with Owen, Aaron was better able to hit the ball effectively all over the field, whereas previously, Aaron was only able to hit for power when he hit the ball to left or center field. During his stay in Puerto Rico the Braves requested that Aaron start playing in the outfield. This was the first time Aaron had played any position other than shortstop or second base with the Braves. - Early Years 2007

Aaron reported to Spring Training in 1954. On March 14 he made his first start in the field for the Braves after starting left fielder Bobby Thomson, of “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” fame, and fractured his ankle sliding into second base during a game which took place the previous day. Aaron played well and hit a home run in that game, which led to Aaron receiving a Major League contract and a jersey with the #5 waiting in his locker. On April 13, 1954 Aaron batted in the five-hole for the Braves as he made his MLB debut on the road at Crosley Fields against the Cincinnati Reds. Joe Nuxhall took the mound for the Reds, getting Aaron to ground out or fly out in all of his at-bats. Aaron went 0-5 that day without tallying a single strikeout. Teammate, and future Hall of Famer, Eddie Matthews crushed two home runs that day.

It wouldn’t be until the following season that Aaron would change his jersey to #44, but that part of his history is what people know most. I’ve done, and will continue to do what I can to shed the light on the small, yet important pieces of history that most people let slip away. Aaron truly had a tough road to travel in the 20 years it took him to get to the Majors. Even after achieving his dream the difficulties of life as a black man in the South never ceased.

I bought this hat the day before we did our fantasy baseball draft, a day before I was asked about who I wanted to meet. This particular hat had been on my radar since I first saw it on the Lids Web site near the tail end of the 2011 MLB season; a few months before the Fan Cave was even in a possibility. Its colors, and even the just the look and shape of the “M” on the front are iconic pieces of MLB/American history. Just taking one glance at it and Aaron’s name and face will come to mind for the average baseball fan. This hat was vital to my collection. I bought it, as well as 20 other hats within the same order, well before I had any intention of ever cataloging and telling stories about each one.

If given the chance to sit with him, even for a few moments as what may have been intended from at the start of this article, I would ask him about how he overcame such obstacles of prejudice; how he gained the strength to go out onto the field and play a game that, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t as vital to human existence as it is to have the freedom to walk down the street and not be attacked because of the color of your skin. Last, I would ask him what this hat means to him. I’ve always been curious what goes through the mind of a player when they suit up for each game, and what values they hold dear anytime they wear the symbols of the franchise they’re affiliated with. Perhaps this could be my mission in 2014.

April 9- Milwaukee Brewers

Ooooooohhhhh… Milwaukee… It’s amazing how much things changed after the 1993 season for the Milwaukee Brewers. Paul Molitor had won an elusive World Series ring with the Toronto Blue Jays and Robin Yount decided to hang up his cleats. Both players ended up making the Hall of Fame years down the road, but their loss became an immediate and questionable impact on the franchise as the 1994 season was set to kick off. As a kid I loved watching Molitor and Yount on the field, and I especially loved collecting their baseball cards as they donned the infamous “MB” glove logo on their jerseys and caps. Little did anyone know, the Brewers had been preparing for a change in the guard for some time, and what better time to unveil it than during the most controversial season in Major League Baseball history?

I’m of course taking about this…

From 1994-1996 the Brewers sported this cap for all of their home games, as well as some rather ridiculous jerseys, in an effort to celebrate 25 years of Brewers baseball in Milwaukee. I was very careful not to say “in the franchise’s history” on account of the one year they played in Seattle as the Pilots. Now, there are a few things that probably need to be pointed out to better explain my beef with this era of caps and uniforms. First off, I actually do love the colors schemes. Navy blue and gold compliment each other very well, and like the Seattle Mariners, the bluish-green trim that was introduced really made everything pop. The logo itself; however, is a different story all together. The longstanding history of MLB cap logos there have been very few that come out in an unorthodox size. By that I mean most logos tend to be somewhat equilateral in both height and width. This one, to a degree still falls within those parameters; however, the height and length go beyond what have been fairly conventional for the last hundred years or so. Just looking at how wide the “M” and how long the “B” are have never really enticed me to wear it. The same can be said about the road cap during this era which I will touch on some time down the road. should also point out that this is the Brewers cap that Bryan Mapes (@IAmMapes) bought f or me in New York City, a story I touched on in my Montreal Expos post from April 6.

Due to the fact that I wasn’t in Milwaukee when the change was made, I’ve always been rather curious to know what the perspective of the fans was when the team made the announcement and first unveiled the logo. I can assure you that 11-year-old Benjamin had a look similar to Dennis Reynolds (played by Glenn Howerton) from the episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” called “Paddy’s Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens.”

All jokes aside, the ’94-’96 years were rather rough times for the Brewers under then manager Phil Garner. During their three-year stretch the Brewers failed to post a season record above .500, going 198-223 during their stretch. The poor records translated to the team finishing in the cellar in attendance, still averaging over one million fans per season, but at the cost of 12^th and 13^th place out of 14 in the American League. All around the team played fair; only three of their pitchers finished with records above .500: Ricky (awesome name) Bones in ’94 going 10-9, Ben McDonald in ’96 going 12-10 and lefty Scott Karl going 13-9 in ’96 as well. Offensively the team had speckles of greatness, but only a handful of times did any of the batters finish with an average of .300 or better and 20 or more home runs. Like the uniforms, the Brewers faced some dark times.

Like in any season that finishes less-than-desired expectations, there are always diamonds in the rough which pave the way for greater things to come. When marking up this cap I came across two names which I’ll never forget for both personal and grand scale reasons. Whether you’re a Brewers fan or not, I think you’ll agree.

Sorry for the subtle Coca-Cola Zero product push.

#11/14- Very few people remember this guy outside of Milwaukee, but from 1992-1999 Dave Nilsson was a stud. He was signed as an amateur free agent in 1987 out of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and was the third Australian-born player to play in Major League Baseball; the first being Joe Quinn back in 1884 for the St. Louis Maroons. From 1992-1995 Nilsson wore #20 and switched it up from 1996-1997 to #14, but then changed it to #7 in 1998 and then back to #14 in 1999.

From 1994-1995 Nilsson had some mediocre years, much like the rest of the team, going .276/24/122 in that frame; which really isn’t that bad for a catcher. His most successful year at the plate came in 1996 however. Nilsson had a career-high .331 batting average in only 123 games with 17 home runs and 84 RBI, another career high. Nilsson never really racked up any wards throughout his career with the exception of his one and only All-Star Game appearance in 1999, the final year of his tenure in MLB.

Nilsson could have easily played for at least five more seasons, especially considering the fact that he was only 29-years-old at the end of the ’99 season; however, he declined an signing any contracts for the chance to play; opting to play for Australia in the 2000 Olympics. Such a move was unprecedented at the time, especially considering that only amateurs generally made up the rosters for all countries with the exception of Cuba, South Korea and Japan. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics had his best-ever international tournament averaging .565 and slugging .957 as a DH/1B. He led the Olympics in average that year, 151 points ahead of runner-up Doug Mientkiewicz as well as also leading in both slugging and OBP. Despite his excellent performance, Australia finished just 2–5, ahead of only South Africa.

After a two-year break from baseball, Nilsson signed a contract with the Red Sox on 21 January 2003 and was expected to play in the 2003 MLB season with a $400,000 contract. However, on 14 February it was announced that Nilsson had decided against playing after losing the will to play. Nilsson managed the Queensland Rams in the 2003 Claxton Shield, assisting them to a surprise title. He returned to playing baseball that year for Telemarket Rimini in Serie A1 in Italy, where, although only hitting .280, he ended up slugging at a league-high of .920 and had an OBP of .561.

Nilsson was back with the Australian national baseball team for the 2004 Athens Olympics. He again had a decent tournament performance batting .296/.441/.444 in 8 games. He had a perfect fielding percentage at catcher and threw out 5-of-8 attempted base-stealers. He an his teammates took home a historic silver medal in the final competition, but sadly failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, the final games in which baseball would be played.

Nilsson played in the Australian season for the first time in five years when he appeared in the 2004 Claxton Shield. He went 5 for 11 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI and even pitched well in one stint on the mound. He led the 2004 Shield in home runs and RBI and was named to the All-Star team at DH. Nilsson then again attempted a comeback in the major leagues. He signed with the Atlanta Braves and hit .236 in 16 games for the Richmond Braves, five years after he had last played in the Major Leagues.

Nilsson's career ended when he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In 2008 Nilsson was named to the Sports Australia Hall of Fame. He entered the Hall of Fame with swimmer Ian Thorpe, Winter Olympics gold medalist Alisa Camplin, rugby league champion Allan Langer, tennis player Mark Woodforde, Australian football and media identity Lou Richards, and swimming coach John Carew.

#26- I actually ran into this particular player on the streets of his native Portland back in 2003. He was a little bit bigger than during his playing days, and had a bit more grey in his hair and goatee, but I could still recognize a former member of the Oakland Athletics anywhere. John Jaha attended Douglas High School in the Rose City and is the most notable of seven players to make it to the Majors. The Brewers selected him in the 14^th round of the 1984 amateur draft and he made his debut on July 9, 1992 at the age of 26; he went 0-3 with a strikeout.

Jaha played for the Brewers until the end of the 1998 season, the years in which they became the first team in MLB history to switch leagues. Jaha had some up-and-down years with the Brew Crew, mostly due to injuries. Jaha only played in more than 88 regular season games three times in his career: 1993 and 1996 with the Brewers and 1999 with the Athletics. ’96 was bar far the greatest year Jaha ever had with the Brewers. That season he hit an even .300 average with a then-career high 34 home runs and a career high 118 RBI. Despite these numbers Jaha did not crack the Top-30 in MVP voting. Jaha’s lifetime numbers with the Brewers are .268/105/366. After seven years of service and a career plagued with injury, the Brewers declined to re-sign him… thus allowing the Athletics to swoop in to sign him to a minor league contract before the 1999 season.

Billy Beane, starting his second full season as general manager of the Athletics still saw a bit of life in Jaha and rolled the dice. In return, Jaha hit .276 with 35 home runs and 111 RBI, earning him the American League Comeback Player of the Year award, his only trip to the All-Star Game and a spot on the AL MVP vote at #18. Injuries once again crept into the picture in 2000 and 2001 in which Jaha subsequently retired. Jaha’s 35 home runs as a designated hitter tied for the most at that position which Dave Kingman, another Oregon born and raised player, set back in 1984, which also won him the AL Comeback Player of the Year award. Crazy!

February 26- Milwaukee Brewers

It’s blast from the past time!!! I guess I should be clearer on that. This hat actually is a blast from the past. What? Break it down even more? Ok. So what I mean by all of this is that this particular Milwaukee Brewers hat has been in my possession for a little over 14 years. Funny story actually: During spring break of my sophomore year of high school I ventured up to Vancouver, Washington to visit my mother who I hadn’t seen since Christmas. Blah, blah, blah family stuff… so at the tail end of my trip we went over to the Vancouver Mall to poke around. There was a particular store I developed a fondness for called Just Sports which had quite the array of Cooperstown Collection hats. I dug around a bit and picked three (this one, 1969-1991 Montreal Expos and the 1970-1991 Philadelphia Phillies) of them up, as they were only $22.99 a piece back in those days. A day later, I flew back to Bakersfield, California as class was starting back up. Wait… I forgot the funny part. Two years later I was working in that store when I moved up to Vancouver right before my senior year of high school. So yah, 14 years of owning this cap, and look how immaculate it still looks on this inside. LOOK AT IT!!!

I take care of my hats.

The Brewers rocked this cap from 1978-1985 for all of their road games to pair with their sweet powder blue uniforms. 1978 was also the same time when the Brewers introduced the “MB” mitt logo, which is arguably one of the greatest logos in sports, let alone advertising history. But, like all great things, it faded into the night as the Brewers opted to keep the all royal blue style as their game cap. I don’t like to point fingers (Bud Selig), but I’m pretty sure that someone (Bud Selig) within the Brewers organization (Bud Selig) is responsible for this unfortunate act. It’s probably not one person (Bud Selig), rather a conscientious decision made by everyone in the front office (Bud Selig acted alone).

Throughout that seven year time frame the Brewers only tasted the Promise Land once in 1982 when they faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The year had actually started off rather poorly as then manager Buck Rogers was fired after going 23-24 in the first 47 games. The Brewers replaced him with Harvey Kuenn who finished off the season going 72-43, helping the franchise win their only League Pennant and helping him with the AL Manager of the Year award. Kuenn only managed the team for one additional year as he was fired at the end of the ’83 season despite finishing 87-75; yet another poor decision by someone in the front office (Bud Selig). He managed three total years in Major League Baseball (one game in 1975, 1982-1983), all of which came with the Brewers. Kuenn suffered a grocery list of health-related issues throughout his life, including having his right leg amputated just below the knee in 1980 after a blood clot developed. He passed away in 1988 at the age of 57, and despite his short run, he is still one of the greatest, if not THE greatest manager in the franchise’s history.

For my marks, there really aren’t two guys more worthy than the key members of Harvey’s Wallbangers, let alone the only two guys to go into the Hall of Fame as Brewers.

#19- 14 years ago I didn’t care too much about numerical order. Actually, 14 years ago I only had this number on the hat. Robin Yount was not only a lifer with the Brewers (1974-1993), he’s by far one of the greatest hitting shortstops in the history of the game. He cleaned house with a .285 average and 3142 career hits. He, his blonde curls and his porn stache won two AL MVPs in 1982 and 1989, but they only flaunted the stage at in the Midsummer Classic three times (1980, 1982-83), which totally blows my mind. Not even the second year he won the MVP did he make the All-Star team. What!? I’m not really sure why, but I remember Yount being a stellar shortstop, but apparently only winning one Gold Glove in 1982 disproves that theory.

#4- I didn’t add this sucker on until this last year when I was in New York for the Fan Cave. Paul Molitor is probably the greatest quiet hitter in the history of the game. By that I mean he had 3319 career hits, a .306 lifetime average, but he never won any major hardware in the process with the exception on a few Silver Slugger awards in 1987-88, 1993 and 1996. He won one World Series ring with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays and finished in second place for the Rookie of the Year award in 1978 to Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers. His best finish in the MVP voting came in 1993 when he finished in second behind Frank Thomas.

I realize I didn’t give as detailed of a story behind both of these guys compared to any of the other hats/players I’ve written about, but there really isn’t a whole lot to say. The Brewers were never really talked about on the West Coast, and realistically I only grew up with these guys via Topps and Donruss baseball cards. Kind of sad actually, as they may be the only two Hall of Famers the franchise will ever have for decades to come.