March 7- Eugene Emeralds

Well, once again I’m stuck in the library, trying to work on homework but instead I’m writing up the next installment to my blog. I kind of had a feeling that tonight would come to this, especially with about 11 days left to go before I graduate from the University of Oregon with two degrees in journalism and a third in English for good. Writing has always been my life; the best way for me to express my thoughts and feelings in an articulate manner. For anyone who as actually met me in person you kind of have a better understanding of what I mean by that. For example; when I sit in front of my computer I can diligently pen something well-researched, balanced and thoughtful for everyone to read, discuss and feel pretty good about. In person, I can be a bit of train wreck. I don’t really mean that in a bad way. By this I mean I get very animated with my body. Yes, I’m totally that guy that will act out my point or reason as if I’m in a one man Broadway show. I also fire out cuss words as if they were going out to style to help keep my thought process in motion as I pull a stat or story from out of my pocket. In a weird, but true way, I’m two different people when it comes to baseball.

I realize I’ve totally gotten off topic, but this blog has always been more than just talking about hats. It’s predominantly about how baseball has influenced my life and all the decisions I’ve made, whether good or bad. Baseball is more than game with me. It’s a livelihood. Since I was a wee lad baseball was always at the forefront of my mind. My great grandmother was a huge Brooklyn and eventual Los Angeles Dodgers fan. My grandparents, mother, father, uncles and even my brothers all followed the game closely. It was only fitting that I fell suit as well. We all played the game, but none of us ever made it past playing at the high school level. I probably had the best shot of ever making it far; however, after taking a 92 mile per hour fastball in the nose during a friendly practice it pretty much turned the lights out on any hopes I had of making it pro. My drive wasn’t there anymore. I became way too mental about things afterward, and I struggled to get comfortable in the batter’s box. It wouldn’t be until two years later that I found out I had suffered a concussion, which may or may not have played a part in me hanging up my spikes. Either way, had that accident not occurred, would I even be in front of my computer typing this up? Possibly not. I have no regrets over what happened, nor do I harbor any ill feelings toward my friend who rung my bell. If anything, I’m grateful for what he did. It helped me find my true calling as an ambassador of the game.

Today was one of those days where I put that to the test as the Eugene Emeralds, the short season-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, held a one day only sale on all of their new on-field caps for $20, just outside of The Webfoot Bar, a public house about a block from campus. Back in January the Emeralds staff had hooked me up with this...

the 2013 alternate cap, for free along with a pint glass with the new logo. I was truly honored by their generosity. When the news of this event came up I did my best to take to social media to help spread the word. I figured with all of the connections that I had developed over the last year I might be able to help them sell a few more hats than they originally had estimated. The thing I wasn’t expecting was that so many of my friends who didn’t live in Eugene would be more interested.

All day long I got texts, direct messages and a few tweets from friends at different corners of the globe who wanted one or three. Unfortunately, being in dire straights as I am, I couldn’t fulfill their request. Had I been flush with cash like I was last year, being able to hook a few people up with hats would have been an easy task to accomplish; something I would feel more than honored to do.

I know I’ll pick myself back up again, I just wish that day would come soon. I hate this feeling of being sidelined; not being able to go out and about like I did last season to take folks to games and talk about the sport we share a love for. The more I think about it I’m happy with the decision that was made which sent me packing from the MLB Fan Cave. Had it not been for that moment I wouldn’t have made such positive interactions with all of you and especially the Emeralds. Being back in Eugene, and being front row for their home opener last season was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, not just my summer. The Emeralds had hooked up my friends and me with tickets to the game, which was more than generous in my opinion. But that was just them getting started. Around the second inning the team’s mascot, Sluggo, spotted me in the crowd, came over and gave me a huge hug. I thanked him for everything as he was the person who had messaged me about the tickets. Being a mascot, he didn’t have much to say other than a shake of the head, which I totally understood. As I turned around to go back to my seat the gentleman sitting next to me tapped me on the shoulder and told me to turn back around. As I did, I saw this…

Sluggo had taken the t-shirt graphic my friend Adam Tamarkin and I had made for my Fan Cave campaign and turned it into a tattoo. I was smiling widely on the outside, but underneath my skin I was in tears. Aside from the Oakland Athletics, no one had done so much for me since I was let go from New York. I thanked him again and did my best not tremble as I took the photo on account of being of the verge of losing it emotionally on the exterior. Around the fourth inning the Emeralds had one more surprise for me. I looked over to the right and saw my face on the jumbotron in right-center field as they made an announcement that I was at the game. The public address announcer then went on to explain who I was and what I had done, at which the crowd gave me a round of applause. I was even more floored by the fact that my tattoos artist, Felix the Tat, was sitting three rows behind me. Without Felix doing such and amazing job with my tattoos, I doubt very many of you would know who I am. By the time the game had ended I was emotionally deflated. I don’t mean this in a bad way. It had been such a long time since I had felt so appreciated that all I could do was crash… but not before a walk-off RBI single by Clark Murphy, as seen here… tinyurl.com/7oqqtty

The Emeralds, the fans, the players and baseball in general has always been good to me. And I in return will always be good to it. On account of this being a new hat for the new season I have yet to mark it. Perhaps when the season starts up I’ll throw something on and update it then. But for now, I’ll just wear it proudly.

March 6- Portland Beavers

I’ve been in an especially feisty mood today, which has certainly helped fuel this blog post. Take warning. It’s going to get ugly.

Portland, Oregon is a horrible baseball city. Yah, that’s right, I said it. When I moved to the Pacific Northwest (specifically Vancouver, Washington) I was regaled by stories and banter from hardcore Portland sports fans about how amazing it would be to have a Major League Baseball team within the confines of the city. For years I was told that Portlanders would give undying support if a team was ever relocated, because after all, “we’re huge sports fans.” I bought that bullshit for years. The illusion of seeing a top tier in the city I called home was brought on by this…

a more than clever bumper sticker which I first saw in the manager’s office at the Just Sports (@JustSportspdx) location at the Lloyd Center Mall. For those who don’t know, Lloyd Center is the state’s largest indoor mall and it sits roughly 10-12 blocks away from the Rose Garden, the home of the Portland Trailblazers of the National Basketball Association. It’s not very becoming of me to mention other sports within my baseball articles; however, the important thing to know about Trailblazers fans is that they are extremely loyal, more so than most other franchises. I know that seems like a “homer” thing to say, but you should probably take into consideration that I’m a huge Indiana Pacers fan. In fact, the one thing to prove my assertion true is that the Trailblazers hold the record for most consecutive sell-outs at 814 from 1977 (the year of their only championship) through 1995. Oh yah, and by record, I don’t mean NBA record. I’m talking about most consecutive sell-outs in American sports history. The next closest streak? The 2003 through present Boston Red Sox at 712 games. For those doing the math at home, the Trailblazers record will more than likely be broken in 2014. Now, with that logic, one might think that the validity of Portlanders supporting a baseball team might be true. Think again.

In 2000 Portland all ready had a professional baseball team, the Portland Rockies. What was incredibly shocking about this is that 1. They were a short season-A squad in a major city. 2. They hardly drew anyone. Trust me on this one; I caught a few games at the old Civic Stadium and saw how empty it was. But… hope was just around the corner. What I didn’t know before moving North was that Portland was once a decent baseball city who housed a storied AAA franchise known as the Portland Beavers. From 1903-1917, 1919-1972 and 1978-1993 the Beavers came and went, but always seemed to find its footing anytime they set up shop. If you read my Salt Lake City Bees post from January 28 you’d know about the last run of the Beavers, and how then owner Joe Buzas cut and run at the end of the 1993 season to not only establish the franchise in Utah, but also had the balls to name the team after himself (Buzz). Every now-and-then when I get back up to Portland for a few beers with my friends Buzas’s name comes up in conversation. To this day I have yet to hear one positive thing about the man other than, “I’m glad he’s dead.”

Following the 2000 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres swapped AAA affiliates. The Albuquerque Dukes (a charter franchise of the PCL in 1903 as the Los Angeles Angels) moved to Portland, becoming the Beavers, as the San Diego Padres affiliate. As part of the relocation agreement, Civic Stadium was renovated in 2000 and renamed PGE Park. Things were certainly looking bright. Like most new franchises, attendance was booming. The team brought up such budding talents as Sean Burroughs, Kevin Witt, Ernie Young and Ryan Radmanovich as well as brought down/rehabbed such stars as Jim Leyritz, Jeremy Powell, Jason Middlebrook and even Rickey Henderson. Popularity of the sport was certainly on the rise, and one moment I will never forget took place on March 29, 2002 as the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners played one exhibition game in front of a sold out crowd. The Mariners, coming off their 116-win season proved to be the perfect draw. The Padres won the game 3-1 thanks to a two-run shot by Phil Nevin and six strong innings of pitching from Brian Lawrence. Attendance drew pretty well for the rest of the season and on into the 2003 season when the news “we all wanted” broke.

Back in June 2001 a story was released, but very few people knew about it. Bud Selig had sent one of his representatives, Corey Busch, to Portland to attend a Beavers game as the Montreal Expos were considering playing a few home games at PGE Park as, a Montreal Gazette article mentioned, the Expos were looking for a temporary home until a new stadium in Montreal was built. At the end of the 2002 season the possibility of a new stadium in Montreal was looking rather bleak, but the possibility of the Expos moving to Portland was looking promising. As a long-time Expos fan, I was champing at the bit with just the thought. Another thing that most people didn’t know is that Lynn Lashbrook, the founder and President of Sports Management Worldwide, had been rallying for a Major League team in Oregon for the previous six years, and made sure to head the committee to try to bring the Expos westward. For almost the entire winter on into spring of 2003 I helped work in the campaign. Well, as much as they would let me do: hand out fliers, make calls, send emails; you know, bitch work. At the end of January 2003 things were moving at an incredible pace. Only Washington, D.C. and Portland remained in the running for the team. Then Portland Mayor Vera Katz was in great support of it as she met with representatives from MLB in New York despite criticism from Republican politicians who didn’t see the benefits of allocating $350-400 million for a new stadium, especially with unemployment rates being one of the highest in the country at the time at 7% (the rate went as high as 11.6% in 2009, but is now around 8.3%). At the same time; however, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos was protesting the move to D.C. as the Orioles had territorial rights. Oddly enough, the Mariners tried to pull the same move with Oregon with little merit. Even more interesting is that the Oakland Athletics and Florida Marlins names were being tossed around as other possibilities of relocation if Portland lost the Expos bid by the end of 2003.

On into 2004 very little seemed to be moving forward. The Expos and their fans in Montreal were well aware of the fact that the team would be playing its last season in Canada, but no one knew where that would be. All appeared to be going well for Portland as one of the Native American tribes even offered to front $250 million to build a new stadium as long as they were allowed to build a casino within the city limits. Mayor Katz balked at the idea and somehow around September 29 the announcement was made that the Expos would be moving to D.C. And I mean, it was really out of the blue. We were all dumbfounded, and we especially wanted to throw Katz out of office for not accepting the offer. But in the end, there wasn’t much that even Katz could do. Angelos had back off from his previous comments (more than likely paid off) and D.C. was getting their THIRD team throughout MLB’s history (because the first two panned out so well).   

As the years progressed attendance figures for the Beavers dwindled. Every game I attended from 2005-2007 seemed to be a jab to the ribs. I would have thought that in lieu of everything going to Hell that people would support the team in protest to MLB which would hopefully pave the way to luring another team to the city. Nope!

Years continued to roll on with little hope. The Beavers weren’t all that successful on the field which deterred a lot of people from going to the games. I had moved to Eugene in April of 2007 which made going to games on a regular basis a bit of a challenge, but I always made sure to catch the Sacramento River Cats (the A’s affiliate) when they visited.

In 2009 the AAA All-Star game was held at PGE Park. I was one of a little over 16,000 of the possible 18,000 it could fit to attend. Not too long after that the Portland Timbers were promoted from the United Soccer League to Major League Soccer under the stipulation that PGE Park be converted into a soccer/football specific stadium. The Beavers were forced out, but were given a slew of possible locations in which to build another stadium… at which ever possible site was protested. Without a home to play in, Merritt Paulson, the then owner of the Beavers sold the team to a group headed by Padres owner Jeff Moorad before the end of the 2010 season. Ever since that day I've had a lingering hatred of Portland and its residents. 10 years of boasting itself as a great baseball town went right out the window.

On September 6, 2010 the Beavers played their final game at PGE Park. The game ended with a 6-5 win over the Las Vegas 51s. I didn’t know it until today, but that was only the third sell-out the Beavers had since returning in 2001. The other two games were their first game back on August 30, 2001 and a July 4 fireworks night in 2009. I happened to attend all three.

For years I had kept this hat blank, even after I established my marking system. Today I finally set on one…

9/6/10- The Beavers wore this hat on their final game, a thought that still brings me to tears even as I write this two and a half years after the fact. It served as their home hat from 2008-2010. A lot of my other hats have specific dates, but I will wait to feature those on their specific anniversary. In the case of this hat I made an exception for the sake of my depression on this matter. When I went to Montreal this summer and visited my friend Dave Kaufman, all the heartbreak and sense of loss came rushing back anytime we talked about our teams. With Dave it was something deeper rooted as his beloved Expos were ripped out of the hands of the fans in Montreal despite their best efforts to hold on. I felt awful for all of the hours I put in to try to bring the team here, not really seeing both sides of the coin at the times.

In the case of the Beavers it became an oversight; something that only true baseball fans were affected by including then owner Paulson who regretted not doing more to keep the team in Portland. In an open letter following the last game Paulson predicted that the Beavers would make a return to Portland in the future. I guess we’ll wait and see.

March 5- Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves

CHOP!!!

 

Back when I worked for Just Sports (@JustSportspdx) (the second time around) I was hired back as a store manager in Woodburn, Oregon at the outlet mall. It was a pretty sweet gig. We didn’t do as much business as the larger stores in the Portland metro area, but we made some significant strides with the product that we had; mostly stuff from the other stores that couldn’t be sold. No worries. When I took over the store in January of 2005 our yearly goal hovered around $300,000. It should also be pointed out that my salary coincided with that total. In summation, the more money I made the store, the more money I would get. The first few months went by rather slow as our business at the time was dependent on tourism season. Oregon does generate a lot during the winter via tourism; however, people tend to flock toward the mountains and outdoorsy areas as opposed to doing outlet shopping. As the seasons changed, so did the clientele. Most of what I sold were hooded sweatshirts, Oregon and Oregon State gear and New Era Caps. Being the huge baseball fan that I am, I was always excited when customers would come in looking for MLB gear. It gave me a chance to talk some smack, but also get a feel for what people were coming in for so I could make requests for newer product. After the first year I increased the store’s volume by $100,000. The following year I increased it another $100,000 with the help of my good friend and assistant manager Matt Bressler (@mbressler13). Matt’s affinity for the game was equal to mine. He had played high school ball for Wilsonville High School and even pitched against Jacoby Ellsbury when Jacoby went to high school in Madras, Oregon. Nonetheless, it was always great to have someone to hang out with, do some work and talk sports with. It was also during this time that the Portland-based Just Sports locations were going to town on making custom New Era Caps. Since we were a smaller store we only got a few styles; mostly the all black and all white New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and other popular teams that would sell. We did; however, finally start getting every style of MLB game style caps and jerseys in the store as I started taking team orders to help boost profits. Not getting any of the cooler custom styles ever really bothered me until the one day I went out to the Clackamas Town Center location to drop off a product transfer.

My friend, store manager of the Clackamas location, Jason Cobb (@JasonMCobb) had been doing some work coming up with pretty original styles of custom New Era caps and selling them at an alarming rate. One hat in particular caught my fancy, but I never bought it. The hat was a lighter shade of royal blue, but it featured the Atlanta Braves Chief Noc-a-homa logo in white and red on the front. Now, I had mentioned in my post from January 3 that I wasn’t a huge custom New Era guy; however, this one, for some reason tickled my fancy. I mean, it was the Billiest of badasses. But… as I mentioned a second ago, I didn’t buy it. When they stopped making it and selling it the pain really started to settle in.

Years passed by and I didn’t give much thought to it. For some strange reason in January of 2011 the hat popped into my head, so I texted Jason to ask if he was ever going to make them again, or at least be willing to sell me his. Even through his text I could hear his laughter. I was hanging out with my best friend Samuel Spencer at the time and mentioned it to him as he was the assistant manager of the Lloyd Center location at the time when they came out. Now, he’s one of the top graphic designers for Nike (jealous). He said he remembered it and suggested that I check out a Web site called CraniumFitteds.com to see if they have it. I hadn’t even heard of the sight before, but I logged on immediately. Much to my chagrin, I didn’t find it in the color scheme that I wanted; however, I did find this one.

I completely understand all of the racial implications this logo exudes, but at the same time I also understand, from an artistic perspective, that it’s a friggin’ sweet graphic. The logo was first introduced in 1954 when the Braves resided in the fine city of Milwaukee. What’s most interesting is that of all the things the Braves held onto during the move, besides Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, is the Chief Noc-a-homa logo. From 1954 through the end of the 1989 season Chief Noc-a-homa appeared on jersey sleeves, patches and even in the main logo; however, it never once appeared on a hat… until now.

When New Era redesigned all the batting practice caps for this season the one that received the most amount of attention was the Braves, mainly for the sake of being too racist. To be honest, it’s my favorite of all 30 teams, including my beloved Oakland Athletics.

It’s really hard to put into words why I enjoy this logo so much, but then again there are some things which are better left unsaid. As a kid I always liked the Mohawk, but it’s all the other details: the earring, the intricacy of the feather and the war cry that make it so pleasing to the eyes. Most important, it’s a part of the team’s history. I know that sounds like a total cop-out of a response, but having not really found anything personally offensive with it, I don’t know how else to respond. At the same time I haven’t been given a solid response other than, “it’s racist” to make me feel any different.

It’s also with this same admiration that I designed my Braves tattoo around it. To be honest, I did a lot more research with other teams than I did with the Braves and Cleveland Indians when it came to my tattoos. In my mind I felt that some things need to be preserved and talked about, rather than just cast aside; a common theme in my life. People generally don’t take the time to really sit down and discuss what issues they take. So now, like my hat, it’ll always be with me.

The numbers I chose are pretty obvious, and I will go into much deeper detail in the future.

#3- Dale Murphy

#44- Hank Aaron

They have been, and will always be my two favorite Braves. I figure if I’m going to be totally politically incorrect by wearing the hat, I might as well mark it with two guys who were the biggest sparks of controversy in the franchise’s history. Aaron for being black during a time of hate and Murphy for being Mormon, but more importantly getting hosed every year on the Hall of Fame vote. Oh Braves! You so crazy!!!

March 4- Seattle Mariners

In lieu of yesterday’s post on Alex Rodriguez I was tempted to go back to the beginning of THE franchise in Seattle, the Mariners. While I realize that baseball had existed prior to 1977, this post will merely serve as a setup for something way more thorough in the future.

It’s kind of funny how many of my posts, thus far, have started with, “it’s kind of funny that this is the first time I’ve worn this cap.” It’s not really my intention; I just occasionally lose sight of which ones I’ve worn and haven’t since I purchased them. Not to mention, with as crazy as my last year was in regard to traveling, it was easy to not have a few (most) of them with me when I hit the road. A lot of that came as a result of my intense superstitions, especially with all of the Oakland Athletics hats that I own. As for this one, there really wasn’t much of an excuse to give.

I’ve always (and I mean always) been a huge fan of the trident in any variation on the Mariners caps and uniforms. Something about its simplicity and use within the name itself has always been a clever and praiseworthy move by any company/sports franchise. The one thing I didn’t understand about it was the color choice. That’s not to say that gold is an odd choice for a trident, especially when you [I] think back to those useless Greek Mythology classes you [I] took in Junior College, but in combination with royal blue it seemed a bit weird. All of these feelings stem from the one and done 1969 Seattle Pilots who became the Milwaukee Brewers and pioneered the color combination within Major League Baseball. I fully understand that a large part of it had to do with Seattle’s protest of the franchise breaching their contract with the city/MLB in the first place, but sometimes it’s just better to carve your own path; which the Mariners did in the early 90s when they changed to navy/teal/silver. From 1977-1980 the Mariners rocked this bad boy, and lost a lot of games under then manager Darrell Johnson. Over their first four seasons the Mariners went 246-402, but don’t worry, Johnson was fired with 58 games left in 1980 and the remaining 20-38 record the M’s posted was credited to interim manager Maury Wills. Still pretty bad though. It wouldn’t be until 1995 that the Mariners would sniff the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

If there’s one thing I can feel confident in saying as a result of these posts it’s that I can always find something incredibly interesting, as minute as it may seem, to write about and relate it to my daily routine. Seriously, not matter what the era or team may be, there I can always find a moment in my life in which it played some kind of role. My markings on this hat, for example, played a major role. Going through all the names on all four rosters left me at a bit of a head scratch. I didn’t want to make it too obvious with the names and numbers I pulled. I preferred to find something a bit meatier to embellish upon, but I suppose these will do.

#40- Sometimes, in order to win a World Series ring, you have to suffer a lot of really bad and questionable years. Very few know this path more than Rick Honeycutt. Originally selected in the 17^th round of the 1976 draft, Honeycutt made his MLB debut toward the end of the Mariners’ inaugural year. He began his career as a starter, going 26-41 with a 4.22 and one All-Star game appearance in 1980, during his time in the Pacific Northwest. He only made one more All-Star appearance in 1983 with the Texas Rangers for the rest of his career. His one World Series ring came in 1989 with YOUR Oakland Athletics. It should have been three, but we got hosed.

#45- Other than his name, Dick Pole wasn’t really much a spectacle within the League. He played a total of six years after making his debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1973, but after he was signed as a free agent in 1969. Pole played his final two seasons with the Mariners, which happened to be the Mariners first two. He went 11-23 with a 5.74 ERA in Seattle, and like I said, he wasn’t much to sniff at. The biggest reason I marked him on my cap actually has something to do with a story from the MLB Fan Cave… which coincidentally happened to take place during Game two of the A’s/Mariners Opening Day series in Japan.

Twitter was still a “new” concept to me. I had had an account since 2009, but up until the Fan Cave process I never really used it. When I got to New York I did my best to start chatter and respond to every fan who wanted to talk to me; something I take a lot of pride in. Since it was about 6:30 AM Eastern a few of the other Cave Dwellers and I were a bit delirious after staying up super late the previous night. In order to stay awake/pass the time/interact with others we started tweeting out the greatest baseball player names of all-time. After about 20 minutes of this someone outside of the Fan Cave named Brian Kong-Sivert (@BrianKongSivert) had mentioned Dick Pole. All of us were laughing hysterically when his name came up. It’s at that moment I leaned back and asked Tyler Hissey, the social media stooge, if I could drop a name. Despite chuckling it up with us in the process of our name game, he immediately said no to the player I had in mind. That player: former Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox great Johnny Dickshot. Yes, that is in fact his real name. Look it up! This was the first moment when I felt the sting of censorship. Little did I know, it was going to be a constant head-butting issue of mine over the next few months. I mean, it was ridiculous that I couldn’t drop a guy’s name down on account that the English language has included the first half into the curse word category. At the same time, it’s because of that distinction that Dickshot’s and Pole’s names are funny in the first place. But still; the Fan Cave was supposed to be a safe haven for fans to talk and joke about the game, not to have mom and dad leering over our shoulders, inspecting everything we wanted to say.

So, with that, I tip my cap to Brian, and I especially tip my cap to Pole’s parents for electing to name him Richard.

March 3- Texas Rangers

Things are finally starting to get back to a level of normalcy. My stepfather came down for the day and helped me fix my ailing computer. On top of being able to work on my blog posts at my house again, I can actually do homework. But I think we all know which one is way more important. Totally blog post…

Today is the first day I’ve ever worn this hat. I picked it up in January of 2012 at Buffalo Exchange is Eugene, Oregon. For those who are unaware of what Buffalo Exchange is, it’s a clothing store that sells used, vintage clothing for ridiculously high prices. At the time I had stopped in looking for old school Champion NBA jerseys and scored well with a Rodney Rodgers Denver Nuggets for $18. On my way to the checkout counter I noticed that they had hats on a slew of pegs next to the front door. I wasn’t really expecting to find much. I mean, what are the odds of finding a New Era cap in your size that’s also in really good condition? Apparently the odds were stacked in my favor when I found this. I normally wear a 7 3/8, but since my hair was growing at a rather explosive rate it fit rather well for a 7 ½. What was most impressive about this find is that it’s one of the lesser known hats from the Texas Rangers franchise. It was only used from 2001-2003 and served as the alternate cap. Trust me, I’ve looked around and have yet to see one anywhere else.

The inside had a little bit of wear, and there was a little bit of dust on the top of the cap, but I was incredibly impressed with the fact that the authentic hologram sticker was still on the bill. It’s as if someone wore it a few times, threw it in their closet and sold it after cleaning it out. I obviously have no qualms against this. Even if I don’t throw it on that often, it’s still a gem for my collection.

After giving it a lot of thought I had to leave Rafael Palmeiro out of the equation when it came to marking it up. Believe me; this did not sit well with me especially since he hit his 500^th in 2003. The reality? Palmeiro will be getting his own post down the road. For this hat, there really wasn’t much else to mark other than this…

.305/156/395- I’ll never forget living in Vancouver, Washington and seeing the reactions of all the Seattle Mariners fans when Alex Rodriguez signed his 10-year $250 million deal. It was as if a member of the family had just spiked his napkin onto the dinner table, gave everyone the bird and said they were moving to Bel-Air to go live with their rich aunt and uncle. There really was no reason for Rodriguez to move south other than for financial compensation.

When Ken Griffey, Jr. hit the bricks to Cincinnati at the end of the 1999 season, Mariners fans looked to A-Rod to fill the void left by Seattle’s favorite son. It didn’t take much convincing as Rodriguez continued to hit the cover off of the ball. Had it not been for Cleveland Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel, he probably would have hauled in a cache of Gold Gloves for his terrific defense. He all ready had a batting title from when he hit .358 during the 1996 season, and he was steadily carving out a Hall of Fame career. The Mariners finished with a record of 79-83 in Griffey’s last season, good enough for third place in the American League West; however, in 2000 the M’s finished the year 91-71 and swept the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series before losing to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Throughout the offseason the Mariners did what they could to offer Rodriguez a respectable long-term contract, but fell short as the Rangers offered to make him the highest paid player in sports history. I realize that almost all of you know this story, and that it’s not really my style to repeat something so well-known, but… most of you don’t really understand the emotional impact it caused throughout the Pacific Northwest. The mere fact that the M’s lost the greatest player currently in the game and reloaded with an unproven star (Ichiro Suzuki) to win a MLB season record 116 games was not even close to being expected.

The numbers on the cap are the stats that A-Rod posted during his three-year run with the Rangers. It kind of blew my mind that the exact three years he played there happed to be the same three years in which this hat was worn and made for a perfect match. One thing I will point out is that it’s one of the longest number sequences I’ve thrown on any of my hats. A little too long if you ask me.

Anyway, A-Rod was supposed to be the savior in Texas; the guy who would fill in the void left by former MVP slugger Juan Gonzalez when he got dealt to the Detroit Tigers in 2000, and then to the Indians in 2001. The Rangers were still rather stacked with Ivan Rodriguez behind the dish, Palmeiro at first base, Ruben Sierra at DH and Michael Young at second base. Offensively, the Rangers were expected to destroy AL pitching. The only problem; their pitching staff was primed for total annihilation. The Rangers combined for a record of 216-270, finishing dead last in the AL West every year. The only bright spot, besides Palmeiro, was A-Rod. Anytime the Rangers made their way to SafeCo Field scores of Mariners fans chanted "A-Fraud" and rained stacks of Monopoly money throughout the stands, which occasionally made its way onto the top of the dugout and field. I never really understood why they did this, especially considering that the Mariners were clearly better without him on the team. Say what you want about the guy, the one thing that you cannot deny is that he’s one hell of a competitor. He missed one game over that three year stretch, and took home the first of his two career AL MVP awards in 2003. 

What’s most interesting about this time frame is that 2001-2003 are the only three years in which A-Rod has ever admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. This always struck me as unusual when considering that The Ballpark at Arlington is a particularly easy place to knock a home run, especially when the jet stream is rolling out. One would think his numbers should have been a little bit higher; not to say that 156 home runs in three years isn’t a ridiculously impressive accomplishment. But who does he think he is kidding? From 1999-2000 A-Rod called Safeco Field, a pitcher’s park, home and hit 33 of his 83 home runs there. Now, compare that to the rest of the team; 1999-2000 equals 214 total homeruns at home for the Mariners from 27 total guys. 214 home runs / 27 guys equals 7.9 home runs at home per player over those two years. A-Rod hit 33, which is four times the average at home in two years which accounts for 15.4% of the total.  I honestly tried to break down the numbers even more by at-bats and games played to prove my point even more, but after an hour and sore eyes I said to hell with it.

I suppose with even a slight analytical breakdown one can sift through the B.S., but what does it really matter? He never got popped while he was playing, and yet we all paint him as this evil doer and cheat, while a lot of other guys were doing the same thing. I’ve never cared much for the PED talk as it always leaves people arguing more often than coming to a resolution. I don’t believe in asterisks, I just believe in the truth. I thing that depresses me the most is that this three-year time frame will potentially keep A-Rod out of the Hall of Fame. The next two years of his career will make this atrocity even more prevalent as he sits 99 hits away from 3000 and 116 home runs away from overtaking Barry Bonds as the most prolific home run hitter of all-time. He all ready has over 300 stolen bases for his career (318) which will make him one of two players in MLB history to have over 3000 hits, 500 home runs and 300 stolen bases. Willie Mays currently sits alone in this category.
Whether clean or dirty, A-Rod put up those numbers. No one will ever be able to change that or take it away. How do I know? It’s written on my cap for all to see.

March 2- Toronto Blue Jays

My computer is still out of commission, so I’ve found myself back in the doldrums of the University of Oregon library to write this post before I have to go to work at 4:00 PM. It’s currently 2:37.

The 2003 Toronto Blue Jays cap came as a bit of a surprise to me; mostly because they only used this cap for one year. It was an interesting concept with the Hulked out bird with a Maple Leaf logo tattooed on it's arm, but it was also a bit too busy. I could have sworn I remember them using it for more than that, specifically I recall Roger Clemens wearing it. Upon further review; however, it turns out I was wrong. I’ve never been a big fan of the one and done concept with hats on the field, but at the same time I also don’t mind bolstering my collection with them. It gives me something new to write about, but at the same time I am left with a lack of historical value to it other than a specific moment, a specific player, or a specific accomplishment for the team/player. With a lot of the other hats that I’ve written about I can embellish a bit. With this one, not so much. Sad Ben is sad.

2003 turned out to be phenomenal years for two particular players. I think you’ll agree that my choices on numbers really can’t be argued. Well, sort of.

#24- When I marked up this cap in December of 2011 I had my sights set on this particular player, Shannon Stewart. From what I can recall, I always saw him in the highlight reels making sweet plays and clutch hits. Plus, he had a brief stint with the Oakland Athletics in 2007; so he got bonus points for that. The one thing I had forgotten about, and somehow didn’t notice when I was doing my stat research was that he was traded to the Minnesota Twins midway through the season. Trust me, I feel like the biggest Gomer right now after making that connection. From 1995-2003 and then again in 2008 Stewart donned a Blue Jays uniform and made a name for himself quickly as a fan favorite. He was exactly the best player on the team, but he always did his best to prove that he was. In 2003 he started off hot; hitting .294 with seven home runs and 3d RBI, but as I mentioned a little bit ago, he finished his season with the Twins to the tune of .322/6/38. His grand total was .302/13/73, which was good enough for a fourth place finish in the American League MVP voting. Who finished ahead of him? Carlos Delgado at number two; which turned out to be his best finish in the MVP race. Oops!

#32- From 1998-2008 Roy Halladay was a pretty decent pitcher for the Blue Jays. And of course when I say pretty decent, I mean he was a dynamo. 2002 was the first year he made the All-Star team, an accomplishment he repeated in 2003 as well. Halladay started a League high 36 games and completed a League high nine of them. He pitched in a League high 266 innings and went 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA that season. His 22 wins were also a League high. But what’s most surprising is that 2003 was the first of two years that he’s won the Cy Young award; the second coming his first year with the Philadelphia Phillies. Like Stewart, I recall seeing way more highlights of Halladay, as the two plus Delgado were really the only notable and consistent players year after year. But still, I could have sworn that Halladay had more hardware in his trophy case.

March 1- Cleveland Indians

The Ides of March are upon us… and so far mine has started off in the worst way possible.  I’ve always been a huge fan of irony; however, today just seems to be karmic retribution for something I am totally unaware of. When I lost updated y’all my car had broken down the night before I needed to get my girlfriend Angie Kinderman to the airport. Today I learned that my engine is totally dead. This is what I get for not regularly filling it with oil. On top of that I’m dead broke. I literally have $0 to my name. And the kicker? My computer will not start up. Therefore, I am stuck in the library at the University of Oregon in order to work on this post. I suppose the irony is lost on most; that is, until you take a look at what hat I’m wearing.

Of all the days to roll with the Cleveland Indians, I had to choose today. And not just any Indians hat, the 1986-2002 home/game style one. More importantly, the “Major League” hat. This is pretty much where the irony comes into play. A bunch of rag-tag misfits are assembled on the basis that they will be so terrible that their owner, Rachel Phelps (played by Margaret Whitton), can break the lease on the stadium and move the team to Miami. I won’t bore you with the rest of the details of the film as I’m pretty sure you’ve all seen it if you’re reading this. In a nut shell though, that’s how my life feels right now. All of these terrible things are building up in an effort to make me fail, much like the Oakland Athletics of last season. I realize that things WILL get better; however, it’s human instinct to think that the world is out to get you when things start to go sour. The only thing you can do, like in baseball, is to do your damnedest to win one day at a time.

One thing that I should point out is that it was incredibly difficult to find this hat anywhere outside of Ohio. Believe me, I searched everywhere I could on the internet and in shops along the West Coast. A few years after the Indians elected to shrink the size of the logo the only time I ever saw a hat with the larger size logo came in the form of custom style caps; something I am not a particular fan of. One afternoon in October I found myself scoping around on Ebay and ran across this bad boy from a dealer in Cleveland. I let out the biggest Tobias Fünke “Hazah!!!” I could muster. The only problem is that the hat, including shipping, cost $43 at a “Buy it now” price. Seriously!? Aren’t things on Ebay supposed to cost less? I got up and went to Max’s Tavern to mull over my dilemma with a beer. After giving it some careful thought I decided to crush three more beers. With a slight buzz brewing, I stumbled back to my apartment and made my purchase. Grand total: $56 for the hat and four beers including tip ($2 PBRs).

When it arrived I made sure the damn thing fit me. Luckily it was “like a glove” status. Shortly after, I dropped my marks.

#7- I could have gone with real players. #28 should have been a lock as Cory Snyder was one of my favorite players growing up; but that will wait for another post. This hat will forever be iconic to the film “Major League” and I had to treat it as so because, unlike the actual team, the 1989 “Major League” team will never change. They always beat the New York Yankees at the end, and Bob Uecker’s “The Indians win it!!! Oh my God the Indians win it” will always give you chills. So with that, Jake Taylor, the captain and half of the battery, had to be the first mark. And why not? He got the girl (Rene Russo) in the end, he hit the game-winning bunt and he was clearly the inspiration for future Indians star Kenny Lofton (jersey number wise)… or so I assume.  Jake was the broken down veteran representation that well looked up to in our favorite player going into the twilight of their careers. He knew he was broken down, but he loved to play. He rallied the troops and everyone respected his leadership; the kind of rebel-rousing that only Tom Berenger can portray… at least when he’s not armed with a sniper rifle in the jungle with Billy Zane on his six.

#99- I’ve always been a huge punk rock fan, and one of my favorite bands of all-time is the Los Angeles-based surf punk group X. Most people I talk to about this band have no idea who I’m talking about, but in all of those cases about 75-80% of them have seen “Major League.” That’s when I say, “You know the band that plays “Wild Thing” when Charlie Sheen comes out of the pen at the end of the game? That’s X.” The original version was written and sung by The Troggs back in 1966; however, there’s something about X’s version that kicks you in the nuts (in a good way). Go back and listen to it or watch it and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFrl4U4eIJU

Charlie Sheen did a damn fine job playing Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn. The hair, the attitude, the arm and especially the glasses brought the character to life. So much that fans across baseball try to mimic and pay tribute to it. But not me. I’m too good for that…

Ok, maybe not. It’s just too awesome. Especially when hanging out with long time Indians fan Judy Jones (@jjstatsgirl)