Casper Ghosts

When it comes to Minor League Baseball, teams generally have absolutely no fear in the way they name their teams, design their logos, insane mascots, or submit their fans to the wackiest promotions, for that I salute them. For if it were not for Minor League Baseball's inability to feel shame, we would not have such great logos on New Era caps that we currently have, instead we could possibly have just the same blend that we see in Major League Baseball, even though they are always respectable.

One of my favourite Minor League Baseball logos is the city of Casper, which decided to take the play on words and emulate the name of that old cartoon that we've all probably seen at least once in our lifetimes, Casper the Friendly Ghost. Casper, Wyoming didn't think their logo needed to be all that friendly though, and through the process of taking the city's name and putting it through the mind of an eight year old we are submitted to the magic embroidered below.

The Casper Ghosts originated as the Butte Copper Kings in Butte, Montana, but the team ended up in its current location of Casper, Wyoming until 2001 when they became the Single-A Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, but the team was then known as the Casper Rockies. After 7 solid seasons as the Casper Rockies the creativity set in and come opening day of 2008 the Casper Ghosts hit the field.

The embroidered on the front of the cap for the Casper Ghosts is a fierce skull-like face which represents the ghoul, along with this is a simple baseball stitching on the top which makes it appear as if it's a baseball. The background and outline of the logo is embroidered with a shading technique that creates a haze giving the cap an eerie look to it.

One of the most simple and unique aspects of the cap that won't be appreciated until it dawns upon the viewer is the fact that when viewed in the dark a “G” appears due to the glow-in-the-dark threading used for the certain area. The hidden “G” in the hat is what really takes this cap up a notch, and really adds to the cool factor.

As of the end of the 2011 season, the Casper Ghosts will be moving out of their ballpark of Mike Lansing Field and will relocate to Suplizio Field in Grand Junction, Colorado. This move will effectively kill the team name and the brief history the team had, and the team will revert back to the name Rockies. The team called the Casper Ghosts were short lived, and I'm sure they will be missed.

Is that the Pizza Hut symbol in purple and grey?

Tucson Sidewinders

Being an Arizona Diamondbacks fan, this cap was a huge part of my childhood and was a cap that I always wanted to get my hands on. I grew up in Las Vegas, NV and often attended Las Vegas Stars and 51's MiLB games, and I currently am a Season Ticket Holder, so the Diamondbacks' Triple-A Affiliate was always something that had interested me greatly, and I was also a die-hard Sidewinders fan and always wanted one of their caps, but by the time the Sidewinders left Tucson, it appeared that it was too late. The internet allowed me to do the required hunting though, it was a lot harder than it sounds but after 3 years of hunting I finally came upon it and I snagged it up immediately.

The Tucson Sidewinders began their organization as the Tucson Toros in 1969 as part of the Pacific Coast League, this team went through 5 different Major League Affiliates prior to the emergence of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, and thus the Tucson Sidewinders were born. When the Arizona Diamondbacks moved in, it was natural that the team wanted the affiliate close to them, and Tucson was a perfect candidate. The team evidently had its name changed from the Toros to the Sidewinders, in an attempt to tie their names together by basing them both off of rattlesnakes local to the area.

Come the 1998 Season when the Arizona Diamondbacks had their first year, the Tucson Toros finally became the Sidewinders and were a strong force in the PCL South for the beginning of the next decade and saw many famous veterans from their MLB affiliate take stints down in the minors. However after constant years of low attendance over location and playing field maintenance at Tucson Electric Park, the Tucson Baseball LLC made the decision to sell the Sidewinders and the team eventually moved to Reno and became the Reno Aces.

The cap is a basic flat black that is complimented with a copper snake with turquoise diamonds on the back, this snake has a single coil that wraps in a loop and points up to reveal it's rattle located at the tip of the tail. The threading on the snake is rather unimpressive when it comes to comparing it to other caps in the minor leagues. The thing that really strikes me about this cap is the way that the logo really sticks out on the base black cap, and this is caused due to the simple fact that New Era utilized a metallic thread on the copper much like they did on the Arizona Diamondbacks road cap of the same era, and these two caps show a great amount of similarities.

The caps both utilize black caps as the base along with copper threading that makes the logo really stand out from the background, and they both have turquoise coloured diamonds radiating from the back of the snake. The sidewinder logo is however much more detailed and more fluent than the Diamondbacks' due to the fact that the “D” on the road cap appears to be a little more forced due to the sharp turn and swoop to complete the typographical image that is trying to be expressed; the detail has since been repaired on the team's current uniform representations.

This is a great cap for any fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks, but it evidently may be uninteresting or bland for a casual baseball or cap fan, or just anyone from the Tucson or Arizona area. The details on the cap are fairly static and doesn't appear to express any great breakthroughs in embroidery in regards to detail.

Portland Beavers 2008-2010

The Portland Beavers have a vast history that were part of four different incarnations over the years, each being a rebirth of a team that has since left the vicinity but picking up after its predecessor. The Beavers' history began in 1903 as one of the first of the Pacific Coast League teams and continued to run until 1917 when the team took a one year hiatus from the Pacific Coast League to join the Class B Pacific Coast International League; regardless of this move they became a PCL team in 1919 and were so until 1972.

Six after the Beavers withdrew from existence, they once again sprung up in Portland to become the second true incarnation of the team, and this team stood strong until 1993 when the Beavers' owner evidently moved them to Salt Lake City and forced them to become the Salt Lake Buzz, now the Bees. The city of Portland was once again without baseball until the year 2000, this was until the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to switch affiliates leaving the Dodgers with Las Vegas and the Padres with Albuquerque, so the Padres decided to move the team up to Portland and create a brand new Beavers team.

The 2000-2010 Beavers were the first in Beavers history to really utilize the team's rich history in their favour, always wearing 1903 patches on their shoulders they boldly celebrated that their team has just as much history behind them as most of the current Major League teams, however come the 2010 season the city of Portland and the Beavers couldn't come to an agreement on a new stadium, due to the fact that Portland General Electric Park was being converted into a primarily soccer stadium which forced the Beavers out. Without a stadium and the 2011 season looming, the Portland Beavers had reached an unfortunate set of events that forced them out of town, with several cities up for bid it eventually fell upon the shoulders of Tucson, AZ to take upon the team.

With the 2011 and the Beavers moving the Tucson, it is unlikely that Portland will be able to regain a stadium in the upcoming years, and with a stadium situation in Escondido, CA under question and a lack of attendance in Tucson the team's most recent incarnation has a questionable future, but the possibility of Portland regaining another Beavers team is always a possibility, perhaps in the Major Leagues next time.

The Portland Beavers have and always will be one of my favourite baseball teams, minor and major league. This is a team wish so much rich history and a team that is naturally a Pacific Coaster as I am, it's hard not to have an affinity for such a team as this. After attending a Portland Beavers game in 2009 while visiting a friend up in the Greater Portland Area, I always regretted not going into the team shop and at least checking out their cap selection, but come a few years later I finally came upon this cap after repeated hunting online to acquire the cap that has eluded me for the past year.

The Beavers cap is a dark blue base that includes a stylized “P” on the front, included with Lucky the Beaver embroidered right on the front. This “P” has a pale blue outline to it and has a beige interior which blends extremely well with the outline and the base of the cap, it allows the logo to really pop on the front although the logo and letter may not be exactly clear without up close investigation. The “P” in a sense isn't completed on the underside of the loop, and to complete this the designers decided to use Lucky's beaver tail to do so, which may mask the letter and cause confusion to those who do not know this is a cap from Portland and is styled with a “P”. The space in the letter is also gone due to the fact that Lucky's head is covering it, the beaver has a great amount of detail in the face and even utilizes two different thread colours to increase the realism of the beaver along with the dimensions of threading and directions they can take. Lucky is also completely with a blue cap which is most likely a throwback to the original Beavers uniforms, along with the jersey top that he appears to be wearing that has been stitched in crème threading.

The detail on this beavers cap is what really draws it to me, this cap once again amazes me with what can be done with a needle and thread when introduced to a ballcap. This cap doesn't appear to be the style that would be desired from a passive fan or just a hat collector, but would most likely be most appreciated by those who were original fans of the team or those who love baseball history.

Beloit Snappers

The Beloit Snappers cap is one of my favourite Minor League Baseball caps, it is such a clever little design that I just had to get it when I discovered it. The Beloit Snappers are the Single-A Affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, and are located in Wisconsin.

The Beloit Snappers has a fantastic logo, as with other Minor League Baseball teams the Snappers didn't shy away from using a neat design that covered a large chunk of the front of the structured crown. I love the turtle with the baseball bat, and it is complimented well with the Light Grey Heather/Light Navy base colour that New Era has listed for the cap's base. I'd have to call the cap Light Navy though, although Light Grey Heather does sound pretty sexy.

In regards to the logo, the turtle holding the bat wearing a backwards cap has a ton of great detail that greatly expresses the ability of New Era's complexity in embroidery. Although the embroidery is flat, the hatching of the embroidery is what really makes it special, most notably the level of detail seen on the shell due to the almost-swirl seen, giving a level of depth without making a literal raise which New Era is definitely capable of doing.

Recommended 6/10

The level of detail of the embroidery on the turtle really made it worth it to me. The logo is definitely one that needs to be seen up close to fully appreciate it, unfortunately it is not one that will be seen in stores that would allow people to buy it on the spot. The cap may be seen as boring to many, but it was definitely a cap that caught my attention and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to get a Minor League Baseball cap.

Depth of the Minor League Baseball Cap

The embroidery of the collection of Minor League Baseball caps is also much more in depth than the embroidery of a Major League Baseball cap do to the level of detail that is involved. Most MLB caps only consist of typographical depictions and few teams utilize pictorial imagery, only expressed by few teams such as the former Florida Marlins, the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Toronto Blue Jays.

Of the four teams listed above, there are many discrepancies with the idea that they only utilize complex designs, being that they also can have alternate caps that consist of simple typographical designs; Florida is the only team listed to use the complex cap daily. Two of the teams listed above will be missing in the 2012 season however, the Florida Marlins are moving onto a new proliferation if their existence and will become the Miami Marlins, this change will bring about a new design of their New Era cap that will have a base a simplicity. The Toronto Blue Jays have also announced that they will also be changing their uniforms, but it is widely believed that they will revert back to their previous design ideas with the traditional bird head, so there should be little to no change here in regards to complexity vs. simplicity.

I'm sure it may be curious to some by what exactly I mean by complexity and simplicity, what I mean is in regards to the logo itself and not the level of complexity required to do the embroidery. Realistically, it is easier for New Era to make the bird on the Baltimore Orioles cap than it is to make the “S” on the Seattle Mariners cap, so the level of legitimate complexity may be surprising.

What I love about Minor League caps is the freedom of creativity that they seem to have. Minor league caps seem to have absolutely no shame and have the feeling that they can for the most part do whatever they want without limitations. The lack of boundaries when it comes to their freedom to design allows the teams to have fun with their logos, and permit their teams to really exploit their location's stereotypes.

Ashville Tourists - Class-A Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies

Augusta Greenjackets - Class-A Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants

Casper Ghosts - Rookie Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies

Fort Wayne Tin Caps - Class-A Affiliate of the San Diego Padres

Jamestown Jammers - Class-A Short Season Affiliate of the Florida Marlins

Lansing Lugnuts - Class-A Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays

Las Vegas 51s - Triple-A Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays

Montgomery Biscuits - Double-A Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays

Nashville Sounds - Triple-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers

Ogden Raptors - Rookie Partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Quad City River Bandits - Single-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals

Trenton Thunder - Double-A Affiliate of the New York Yankees

Mobile BayBears New Era

So for months I was holding off on purchasing a Mobile BayBears cap, and I can't even tell you why.  I've always loved this logo, and it definitely helps that they're the Double-A Affiliate of my Arizona Diamondbacks.  So since I was holding off on purchasing the hat, I happened to be browsing a New Era forum that I frequent and someone posted one for sale in my size for $40 plus shipping.  Now that price was a little too steep for my liking, the guy did say that is what he originally paid though but I wasn't going to give up that much cash.

So after being disappointed with his sale price, I decided to head on over to the Mobile BayBears' actual online store, and guess what they had for sale for $23 + shipping?  I took full advantage of this by buying the cap and when it arrived I absolutely loved it.  This was my first Minor League purchase ever, which is insane with me being a Triple-A Las Vegas 51s season ticket holder for 5 seasons running.

This cap is definitely one of my favourite caps that I currently own. I definitely love the colour and the embroidery, but the only downfall is that it is Chinese made, almost unavoidable with MiLB caps nowadays. The embroidery is done perfectly, a nice balance of flat and raised embroidery really complement the thread colour choices and makes this a cap that is really hard to beat; especially in Minor League Baseball.

Highly recommended 8/10

The embroidery definitely makes this cap worth it. The different levels really bring the bear's face to life, and the colour choices are really need especially for an on-field fitted.

My First New Era Cap

What was your first New Era Cap?

My first experience with New Era was a purchase made over the internet back in 1999, this is when the internet was still very new to me and quite a lot of us who are current internet users today. In 1999, this was a year after the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays had come into formation as legitimate MLB clubs, and both of them sported brand new New Era caps that were readily available for purchase. Being about 12 years old at the time, I was browsing around my Arizona Diamondbacks' website and stumbled (lol ya right, I wanted stuff just like any kid) and found myself looking at the cap that the actual players wear, and I wanted it. It really wasn't hard to convince my parents to buy me the cap, especially since New Era was a lot cheaper back then, and after ordering it a few weeks later it was mine.

I love my Arizona Diamondbacks to death, and I definitely showed that cap some respect. It was most definitely worn on a daily basis, and was pretty much worn anywhere it was permitted. The cap was pretty much brought anywhere I could take it, I'd put it into my backpack at school since it couldn't be worn on days except for Field Day or Hat Day, and I just can't stress on how much use this cap got. Over the years, it definitely needed to get replaced due to the fact that it was getting so ragged and was starting to get a little too tight for my growing body. My original Arizona Diamondbacks hat is still in my possession today, and it will be an item that I keep forever.

The Legacy - New Era

New Era is a company that I absolutely love, I have been purchasing New Era caps since about 1999 and I haven't quit since. New Era is a baseball cap company, and over the years they have expanded their wares to other sorts of clothing such as t-shirts, and other stylish caps for many consumers.

New Era Cap Company was founded by German immigrant Ehrhardt Koch in 1920, and since then New Era has grown into the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of the official on-field cap of Major League Baseball along with their Minor League Affiliates. New Era also has licenses for many other sporting entities such as the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association, however neither of those utilize New Era during play.

The company of New Era started out in 1920 under the name of E. Koch Cap Co., and began in Buffalo, New York. The company's main angle had yet to become baseball related, but simply designed and built caps that were worn for every day use, but it wasn't until 1932 that the company designed its first baseball cap, and two years later the Cleveland Indians commissioned the then E. Koch Cap Co. to design and construct the home and away caps for their team. By 1954, then fitted hat was re-designed and was then named the 59Fifty, the brand that we all know and love today. The cap was originally known as the "Brooklyn Style," and included cloth and leather sweatbands that were laid on the cap's interior. By the 1960's, New Era was producing caps for ten of the MLB teams, and continued to grow in popularity with both the players and the fanbase who finally had the ability to purchase the caps. More and more teams eventually jumped onto the New Era bandwagon, and by the 1980's they had supplied caps for 23 out of 24 of the MLB teams, and finally for the 1993 season they had been granted the exclusive licensing brand for all MLB caps.

This blog will be dedicated to the company of New Era, and will analyze and investigate the fashion that these caps have become over the past few decades. New Era has since grown into the largest cap supplier in the United States and the company promises to supply superior quality to all of their caps and also promises to beat the competitor. I assume that many of my readers here will be New Era Cap enthusiasts and will enjoy reading cap reviews of modern caps all of the way to ancient caps that were worn by our fathers and grandfathers. I also plan to make a monthly purchase and review said cap and post it up here for all to see.