1999-2006 Arizona Diamondbacks Reproduction by Lee's Sneakers

The Arizona Diamondbacks may have a little more representation on this blog than other teams do, and that is mainly due to my bias being that they are my favourite Major League Baseball team. The Diamondbacks' organization has been a huge portion of my life and I find myself following them daily even when the season is over. Ever since I started to collect New Era caps in 2000, I of course started with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and although my first cap was the purple Home cap my second was of course the Away cap. Buying the cap in the early 2000's it got a lot of use out me over the years but it was eventually retired due to its age.

After years without this cap I decided that I should attempt to replace it, after buying a few deadstock items on ebay I just found that I didn't wear it as much as I used to because it just didn't feel right on my head. After being spoiled with the new and more modern shapes of the 100% Polyester On-Field fitteds I became accustomed to the deeper crown I began to look into the many reproductions that were on the market. After not exactly giving up on my hunt, Lee's Sneakers on Facebook/Twitter posted a picture of their newest shipment which included an accurate reproduction of the Arizona Diamondbacks 1999-2006 away cap.

This Arizona Diamondbacks away cap is a pretty good representation of the caps worn On-Field from 1999-2006, it includes a white sweatband, grey underbrim, along with no New Era flag embroidered on the side of the cap. The cap is a base black which is constructed in 100% wool and includes the original copper “D” snake logo on the front two panels. The only inaccuracy of the cap is the rear batterman logo which include a framed raised embroidery. Going along with the aspect of the accuracies in which this cap does and does not partake in, it utilises the Official On-Field patch on the inside of the cap, the patches also on the interior contrast the colour choice by using black while on top of the white sweatband.

This Diamondbacks logo follows the accurate representation of the “D” logo which is a stylized version of a snake which is embroidered using a metallic copper thread. Inside of this snake there are several details which are prominent such as the diamond detail on the back of the snake which is embroidered in a turquoise thread. The snake is then outlined with a thick but thin raised embroidery in black which is then silhouetted by a thin layer of purple which helps to offset the polarity between the black base cap and the metallic copper threading.

The rear batterman logo is the only disappionting aspect of this cap. It functions as a half-assed version of the raised embroidery of the batterman logo which is worn on the modern day On-Field Fitted but is vastly different being that it is extremely flat and includes no rounded edging which is complimented by a black threaded frame around it. The detail of the batterman is extremely poor but has a better shape than a vast majority of these framed batterman logos contain. Other than the lack of detail and the incorrect version of the batterman, the colour selection is accurate by using the black and purple threading surrounding the pictorial embroidery.

Overall this is a very accurate representation of the original cap worn by the Diamondbacks from 1999-2006. Other than the overall modernized shape of the On-Field Fitted, this cap strays from its origins very softly such as the colours of the logo being that the turquoise colour that was on the original cap has since been discontinued, and the copper threading used is slightly less yellow than the original. If anyone wants to pick up this cap be sure to hit up Lee's Sneakers on Twitter @leesneakers23 or on Facebook!

Diamondbacks Custom from HatClub & My Fitteds

This Arizona Diamondbacks custom cap is the cap that I went to HatClub in Phoenix specifically to pick up, that is before I discovered another pair that I couldn't live without. This cap is a strange case though, being that since New Era has started putting “authentic” patches on the inside of certain customs as a workaround to also not having the New Era flag on the side. The strange part about this cap and the process of choices that awarded it the Authentic On-Field patch lack of the New Era flagis that this was NEVER a cap worn by the Diamondbacks On-Field.

Several months back I got an automated e-mail from MyFitteds advertizing caps in their “90's” style, which basically meant that the cap is 100% wool, includes a flat embroidered batterman logo, and the basic overall style of caps before they changed to 100% polyester in the 2007 season. When looking through the caps I was attempting to find myself another copy of the purple Diamondbacks Home cap from 1998-2006 but they were not available, the only Arizona caps for sale were the 1998 white crown alternate and this custom cap we see here. Since I was originally distraught about the inaccuracy of calling this a “throwback” or any kind of Authentic at all I decided not to buy it, but by the time I decided to pick it up MyFitteds were all sold out in my size. When I heard word that HatClub picked them up for distribution I decided that I definitely needed to get the cap, and picked one up a week later as I made a trip down to Phoenix, Arizona.

This Diamondbacks cap consists of a black crown with a concord brim and button on top, as stated above the cap also includes a grey underbrim which was used to mimic the style used up until the 2007 season. The cap is also 100% wool and also made in China, but the quality of the cap is extremely good and the only part that may be lacking is the overly raised portion of the logo's embroidery. This cap might be advertized as an On-Field fitted, but I think that this cap would have looked great if worn On-Field by the actual retro Diamondbacks, and based upon everyone’s apparent hatred of the all-purple caps this might have sold better.

The logo on the cap is a basic copy of the original Diamondbacks logo with the choice of colours, but purple and black threading for the outline of the “A” were inverted in order to contrast with the base black of the crown of the cap. The main thread colour used is turquoise which makes up the base of the “A” logo, this is inaccurate from the original version but this problem can not be avoided due to New Era discontinuing the thread that was originally used in this situation, so this thread was the nearest alternative to make the cap as accurate as possible. What really stood out to me with this cap was the fact that the logo is the correct size, being that so many custom Diamondbacks caps use the original oversized logo that was used in pre-production starting in 1995 prior to the team ever taking the field.

This Arizona Diamondbacks cap features a flat embroidered Batterman logo on the rear, this cap more or less lucked out in getting the flat embroidery due to its miss-categorization as an On-Field fitted. The stitching on the flat embroidery looks fantastic and shows up much better than many of the raised batterman logo caps, the flat stitching is able to avoid foam poking through completely. The colours used here are relatively familiar in regards to the Arizona Diamondbacks colour scheme, the black and purple batterman does not feature colours used on traditional Home caps for the original Arizona logo, but mimics the Away caps more accurately.

This cap is awesome, plain and simple, but I can also see why many people wouldn't like it and it would most likely cater to fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks before many other New Era or Baseball fans. The overall quality of the cap is really good, especially for a Chinese cap, but there are a few issues that I do have with it. The raised embroidery on the logo of the cap is definitely too tall and slightly too thick, but the thickness has been an issue with these Custom New Era caps using the Diamondbacks logo, so I guess this can be unavoidable at this point. The other issue I have with the cap is the position of the logo itself, it is about a centimeter too high but the position of the logo can vary between the caps so I might have just gotten one with poor placement.


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Diamondbacks Alternate Logo Custom from HatClub

On a recent trip to Phoenix, AZ to visit the annual Diamondbacks FanFest I made sure to hit up the few HatClub locations in town in order to check out the customs that they had available. I went into the store initially to pick up just one specific cap but I ended up walking out of there with three brand new New Era caps in my bag, which was unexpected because the two extras I walked out with were not available or listed on Hat Club's website.

This New Era cap here is an Arizona Diamondbacks custom cap, it is a base graphite cap with a grey underbrim, and the embroidered logo on the front is the team's secondary logo that is often seen around the stadium and on the left arm of the jersey. This logo features the letters “d” and “b” which are stylized and arranged in a manner to which they appear to create the look and shape of a snake's head.

The embroidery on this cap is extremely neat and it is one of the reasons that I fell in love with this logo. This is the third cap of mine that features the Diamondbacks secondary “db” snake-head logo, and this one has definitely become my favourite overnight. The embroidery on this cap is fresh in the manner in which they embroider, the main “db” snake is stitched in a raised embroidery fashion whereas the lower layers that introduce the snake's eyes or forked tongue are flat embroidery. The manner in which they raise the script above the snake details and outlines of the logo to create depth to really introduce the fact that the “db” and snake-head are two concepts in one.

The batterman logo on the cap is also a really neat feature that only customs can really make true alterations to, and this is seen in the outline and colour of the batterman's main features. The logo itself is nothing too impressive when comparing the stitching to any On-Field cap, other than there is no foam peeking through which gives it an edge up in current On-Field fitteds that have been rushed through production (USA and Chinese Made). The colour choices on the back make an extremely powerful image on an all ready dark hat without using bright colours to direct attention, the main frame and batterman are embroidered in a black thread which is complimented by accenting Sedona Red and Senora Sand respectively.

The embroidery on the flag is especially unique in regards to custom caps produced by New Era, and this is because multiple colours and layers are used rather than one simple colour for stitching the flag. With most caps produced by New Era, they evidently place their flag logo on the left temple of the cap, and they can vary in colour in order to contrast it with the base of the cap or even to hide the logo when someone tries to create a mock Cooperstown. By using two different colours on the New Era flag it brings extra attention to the side of the cap that seemingly can only be done when a side patch is applied. The Senoran Sand stitching is what makes up the base of the flag but the unique aspect of the second thread choice is the Sedona Red inside of the flag, this contrasts the cap well and compliments the rear batterman and the front logo all in one.

The overall quality and look of this cap is fantastic, the only downpart about it is that it is Chinese made and 100% Polyester, but it is not nearly as stiff as regular polyester Chinese made caps are, so it will definitely be getting more use out of it than some of the minor league baseball On-Field Fitteds that I have which are Chinese made. If you would like to get your hands on this cap I'd recommend hitting up your nearest Phoenix HatClub being that they are no longer available on the website.

Diamondbacks Throwbacks - Sept 9th-11th

Over the September 9-11 weekend series vs. the San Diego Padres, the Arizona Diamondbacks donned their throwback jerseys which included their iconic purple and teal uniforms for the first time since the finale of the 2006 season. With the start of the 2007 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks switched over to their Sedona Red, Sand Beige, and Black, these changes were highly controversial and took a long time for the Arizona fans to finally accept the changes. Since the 2006 season, the original purple Diamondbacks hats were out of production and could only be acquired through custom orders and were never released in an authentic fashion since.

When the Throwback Weekend was approaching, all of the New Era cap fans knew that the Diamondbacks were going to produce a new On-Field Fitted in the original purple style, so we had the expectations that the caps would be as accurate as they once were, being that the caps were out of print only several years ago so they would have to try very hard to get these wrong. Turns out, New Era probably didn't try hard at all, in fact they didn't try what so ever as it appears, but no one knows exactly who to blame for the mistakes.

The Diamondbacks New Era that was released at the game was extremely inaccurate, but even more confusing was the fact that the team didn't even wear these on the field. The differences between the caps are extremely noticeable, most notably the size of the "A" located on the front of the cap which appears to be 30% larger than on the original. The other major error is that the fangs in the cavity of the "A" is teal, whereas the original should be black; this area along with everywhere else that has black thread should be raised when this cap expresses flat embroidery.

Image owned by Major League Baseball

Being an Arizona Diamondbacks fan, I am extremely disappointed with the way that New Era handled the cap situation. As mentioned above, the team itself didn't even wear the caps which were supposedly worn on field, being that they appeared to have a second style of cap to wear which were significantly accurate as compared to their original sources. It is hard to say why this is the case, but when it comes down to it the caps that were sold as "On-Field" were not. One theory that I had come up with when the story first broke was that the team might have had old stock back from when the team originally wore purple, which isn't that far of a stretch due to the fact that they sell them during their FanFest in February, but pictures of players in the caps beg to differ.

Image owned by Major League Baseball

As shown above, the caps have different coloured threading inside of the "A" which can be explained due to New Era discontinuing the original thread, and the patch on the interior of the cap tends to lean towards it being a reproduction such as those sold by stores like My Fitteds or Hat Club.

The only element of the cap that wasn't a disappointment was that they were made in the USA, noted on the interior of the cap on the inside of the sweatband. It was very hard to walk away from the cap, since I have been an Arizona Diamondbacks fan since their formation in 1998, and I was really looking forward to getting a modern throwback hat made out of the modern Performance Polyester material. Buying the cap wouldn't justify anything in my mind, the frustration of the lack of accuracy was really the nail in the coffin when it came down to my determination on whether to buy it or not.