New Era Alphabet Challenge - M

As the journey down the alphabet lane continues, I stop on Letter M after taking an unscheduled off day. I'm also posting this one late due to unforeseen circumstances occurring late last night. (I fell asleep) But, I do have quite the writeup for the M cap. First, a little background:

I have a lot to choose from on the M logo front. Two current MLB teams, 3 defunct or vintage MLB teams, as well as a couple of minor league teams. This one was kind of simple despite having the Montreal Expos to choose from. (but does everybody even agree that the logo is an M? Check this out from toddradom.com) After careful consideration I have chosen the minor league team that is closest to not my heart, but my zip code.

Behold:

The unheralded logo of the High Desert Mavericks.

These guys have been kicking it around the California League since 1991, being affiliated with a number of different teams, including the Padres, Diamondbacks, Orioles, Brewers, Royals, Marlins, and currently with the Seattle Mariners. Their first manager was Bruce Bochy. They won Cal League Titles in three of their first seven seasons. None since then, and in a way it's a good thing because the Mavericks have a long standing attendance issue, specifically a lack there of. It wasn't always like that.

Maverick Stadium (now Stater Bros. Stadium) was built in Adelanto, very near the now decommissioned George Air Force Base. This allowed for huge crowds on most nights. I can remember going to games (usually rooting for the Lake Elsinore Storm) and hardly seeing any empty seats. Once the base closed and all the military families left, the team had to rely on surrounding communities. Some of which are 10-20 miles away. For myself, it is a 30 mile round trip to attend a game. I believe for that reason, crowds often look like this:

Plenty of great seats still available!

This picture was taken last night. The first Mavericks game I've attended this season. This wasn't because of the mileage issue, it was more of a practical issue having to do with the birth of my third child and now having three boys aged three and under. But last night I took my oldest son to the home of the High Desert Mavericks.

In the past, there were seasons where I attended 30-40 games. That has dwindled dramatically over the past five years. As I mentioned, last night was the first, and most likely will be the only one. I may have gone the entire season without attending a game, but I'd been hearing that there were some improvements made to the stadium, which being city owned had fallen into a deep shade of disrepair. When Minor League Baseball's affiliate dance occurs every other year, it seems the Mavs are one of the last franchises to be paired up with a Major League partner. So in the off season, the team was sold to new ownership and apparently the city decided to chip in enough to keep the team in Adelanto at least until 2015.

So I wanted to go check out what was new. I'd already heard a few things, most notably that the team now charges $2 for parking. This is not a new concept for most minor league parks, but to the fine folks of the High Desert, free parking is like the 28th Amendment. The change did not seem to be popular. Personally, I don't care. I figure it can only mean good things on the inside.

There was fresh paint on the columns along the concourse, which was also controversial to some because the Mavericks had listed the opening day lineups on several columns dating back to 1991. These were now gone. Again, not a big deal to me. Other than that, it didn't look much different. It appeared that the game day staffing that I had grown used to seeing were entirely gone. That may not be true, but I recognized nobody there. They had opened up the little merchandise booth to make it to where people could actually walk in. Well, God forbid you get a crowd of five in that place. That's how tiny it was. I looked over the caps (more on those in a bit) and my son wanted one. They had no 59Fifty child sizes so I had to go with a more generic cap. I took it up to the counter and the female team member (I guess) looked at it, checked a chart for the pricing (odd she had to consult a chart considering there were no more than 20 items in the store), and gave me my total. When I handed her my card, she went tharn. Apparently the card machine was not working at that moment. She asked if I could come back in a little while. Well, having to take the hat off my son was disappointing. He just asked why he couldn't wear it if we paid for it. I had to explain that the machine was broken and we'd have to come back. Fortunately that satisfied him. We left to find our seats.

He decided he wanted to sit in the second row (not like there was a shortage of available seats) I reconnected with an old friend who is a season ticket holder who attends every game. Had a nice chat about the changes, about how some of the other regulars aren't there, and how he says this may be his last season attending as well. Sad. In the bottom of the first, a foul ball dribbled down the first base line and the first base coach scooped it up, preparing to toss it to the dugout. My friend yells his name, and he gets the ball tossed to him. He then turns around and hands the ball to my son. One thing I do miss about the good sized crowds is that it was filled with really awesome people. My son was ecstatic having a baseball.

Anyway, after a couple of innings I took my son back up to try again for the hat and grab a couple of hot dogs. We went back to the store, where the young lady assured us everything was back on line. So, we tried again. Except this time, when the tharn look reappeared, she explained that she had no idea how to use the machine. She said that she'd have to get the help of someone named Jessica. So she calls a guy selling programs, who says that Jessica is getting ready to do an onfield promotion at the conclusion of the half-inning. Well, there was only one out, so she tells me that I can wait, there's only two outs left. Now, I'm irritated, and after once again removing the hat from my son's head, I tell her that that I'll come back again and we're going to go grab some food. Argh.

We get in line after deciding that we both want a hot dog. The gentleman in front of us is crouched down talking through the small window saying "you're kidding? how long? 10 minutes? how could you be out?" I'm thinking no way he's talking about hot dogs. So sure enough, I go to order two hot dogs and the guy tells me that they're currently out of hot dogs and it would be about 10 minutes before they'd have any ready. Someone explain to me how in a game where maybe 75 people were physically in attendance (I'd stretch it to 100, maybe) do you not have enough hot dogs? Hot dogs, for crying out loud! So knowing my son is thirsty I opt to just get us some drinks. Except that's when I realize two things:

1) They no longer serve Coca-Cola products, but Pepsi instead
2) They don't offer fountain drinks.

First off, Pepsi products? Gross. And selling cans and bottles of soda? What is this, an elementary school fundraiser? If I'm going to a ball game I expect that I'm going to be able to sit and enjoy a hot dog with a soda in a cup with ice and a straw. Super lame.

So I have the option to buy a can of soda for $2 or a 20oz bottle for $3. So I bite the bullet and get myself a 20oz Mountain Dew (pretty much the only Pepsi product I can tolerate) and a Gatorade for my son since it's the closest thing they have to juice. We sit down and watch some more of the game. About 10 minutes later, I took us back over to try the hat again. Now I see Jessica sitting down watching the game. The merchandise girl saw me and again gives that tharn look. I said, pointing, "is that Jessica?" and then I went over and told Jessica that her employee needed help. So now I have two people trying to figure out how to work this machine. I got a few apologies for it being a new machine they weren't familiar with, but finally my son got to walk out wearing his Mavericks hat. Geez.

By that time the hot dogs were ready to go, so we went over and sat at a table by the home bullpen and watched some more of the game from there while we ate.

Then my son wanted to play on the so-called "grassy knoll" out by right field. Hey, he's three. He had a blast. Of course we did not have to interact with any other staff or mascot. (we only saw Wooly Bully once, and he still looks like a rodent) Outside of the baseball game, the entire experience was irritating, and seeing how nearly every aspect of my experience had deteriorated from even last season, as I said I doubt I'll be returning.

So, that's my report on how the High Desert Mavericks improved under new ownership in 2013.

One thing I've never understood is how this logo, the M with the black cowboy hat, has never been very popular. I think it is an amazing logo. Very simple, but with style. And the black and red colorway is very popular. I've always felt it was unfortunate that it hasn't held more of a presence in the eyes (and collections) of cap collectors. Also, other than switching the black and red between crown and visor, the Mavericks have never used another logo in their entire existence. That is, until 2012, when they introduced two new logos. Here are all three onfield caps of the High Desert Mavericks:

Home, road and the seldom, if ever worn alternate.

I'm just gonna say it up front. The middle one sucks. I have it because, well, I have to. But the HD font doesn't exist on anything else the team wears. If they had used to same font as the M, then maybe. Also, the rising sun with the mountains makes it reminiscent of the Del Taco logo. 

A stretch, perhaps, but it's what I always think of.

Now, as for that alternate cap, as much as I love a good simple letter logo, that cowboy (some call him the Marlboro Man) is amazing. It's not too gaudy as some similar caps tend to be, and has just enough attitude not look stupid. And it's just the cowboy. No trees or vegetables to distract. In my humble opinion, this should be the exclusive road cap of the team. Just my opinion.

Now, the M caps that didn't make the cut:

I have a lot of Mavs caps, as you can see.

Some nice ones. I chose to get the orange Marlins cap instead of the black because I just knew that would be the first one mothballed (not worn this season at all according to Chris Creamer of sportslogos.net.) Also, the throwback Mariners cap is the cap worn when I first started following baseball closely. Love that one.

And then the issue of the Midland Angels. (yes, I know it's dusty) One thing I always loved about the Angels minor league teams is that they always incorporated the halo into their logo. Here, the M is in front of the outline of Texas, star indicating Midland's place in the state. The halo placed around the panhandle. So cool. I have caps of Lake Elsinore and Quad Cities that have the halo as well. It's the little touches that make the difference.

Anyway, after a delay, there is the letter M.

 

New Era Alphabet Challenge - L

Today's cap representing Letter L is another that was a challenge. Not because I had a tough time choosing. I only have three. But of the three I had to choose from, all three have logos which nearly drown out the letter, and two of them are same team, same logo, just different colorways. So I went with the one which I've always liked best:

The former logo of the Lancaster JetHawks of the California League.

Back before life caught up with me I actually attended three or four JetHawks games per season. Lancaster is around an hour from where I live, so it was a nice little drive, but always a nice park to watch games. And by that, I mean there's nothing else to look at but the games. No real view out there to look at. Also a lot of wind. And it can be hot in the summer. You know, take my word for it, it's a nice place to catch a game.

So anyway, as I've mentioned I went through this phase where I was really into buying minor league baseball jerseys. The JetHawks jerseys, both home and road, were to die for. I had to have them. They went with this futuristic, yet retro Jetsons kind of look in the font. Very pleasing to the eyes.

Sleeveless home jersey.

Lancaster road jersey.

And of course they had to be #19. Both of these jerseys were worn by a pitcher named AJ Shappi, who made it as high as a few games with Tucson in the PCL in 2008. I love both of these jerseys. And I've said that I'm looking to purge a good percentage of my jersey collection, I can say that these two will not be available for sale.

But back to the cap, I always thought it was really unfortunate that Lancaster never chose to integrate this font or style into the cap logo. In fact, as you'll see momentarily, the cap that went with these jerseys was actually the original cap in a different color scheme. Those jerseys were completely different. They looked like this:

Must have been a 90s thing.

And here are the other two letter L caps I have, including the JetHawks cap that goes with this jersey.

The other cap is the defunct Lethbridge Black Diamonds.

Several years ago Lancaster rebranded completely, and now have a cap which does not feature any letter. I have not yet picked up that cap, but I'm sure I will someday. It has been far too long since I've been out that way for a game.      

On the whole, I like the Lancaster franchise, but there is always this bittersweet feeling I have towards them. You see, they were relocated there in 1996 after spending three years in Riverside, CA as the Riverside Pilots. The story behind my feeling regarding that is a long and sad one which I will save for another time.

For now, representing Letter L are the Lancaster JetHawks.

New Era Alphabet Challenge - K

So here I am again, working on the latest letter and having nothing in particular to say about it. Letter K is one where I only own a single cap with that letter. In fact, when I purchased this cap two years ago, that was actually the reason I bought it. Because I thought it looked cool and I didn't have a cap with the letter K.

So let's just cut to the chase:

Kingsport Mets. Rookie league affiliate of the, you guessed it!

It's hard to explain but I think that blue and orange work well together. Denver Broncos (prior to those nasty USFL jerseys they wear these days), New York Islanders (even though I don't like the team), and the New York Mets. And as I've previously stated, I really like minor league teams that incorporate the parent logo into their own. A simple Mets-esque K. Looks simple and beautiful. And actually, the only NY Mets cap I own is the same colorway as the Kingsport one.

I do intend on getting a standard Mets cap someday.

I acquired the Kingsport cap a couple of years back after checking every minor league website, which is something I do a month or so into baseball season. A lot of teams offer unique alternate caps that you won't see on any other website. I've gotten a lot of caps that way, directly from the team. This one, however I did order through Lids.com. The Kingsport website does not link directly to their store, but checking out their site did give me a good look at it, which made choosing to order it easy when I saw it available through Lids.

As I stated, I have no other cap featuring a single letter K, so here you go. Kingsport Mets, representing Letter K.

(I just found out while writing this that Kingsport is in Tennessee. Who knew?)

New Era Alphabet Challenge - J

So today's cap is the toughest choice yet. When you're talking about J caps, these are some of the coolest ones I own. I mean, just look at these:

A dream come true for someone who likes parent team logo influence.

You've got, from left to right, Jacksonville Suns (throwback), Jacksonville Expos and (believe it or not) the current alternate cap of the Jacksonville Suns. Earlier this year I wrote extensively of my Jacksonville cap collection, which you can read about here.

The middle cap, the Jacksonville Expos cap, I must confess, is a "snapback." Back in the 80s when this cap was worn, we called it an "adjustable." And I must further confess that if this cap was fitted it probably would have been my selection to represent Letter J. I mean, come on. It's the Montreal Expos logo, one of the greatest ever, trimmed to a J. How freaking awesome is that? Doubtful that a fitted version of this cap will ever exist.

Or will it?

The New Era Flagship store in Miami, FL has a custom version of this cap, albeit in a different colorway, available for sale. At least they did as evidenced by the following blog entry by Benjamin Christensen (Twitter handle @shakabrodie) He has written extensively about this amazing cap. You can read about it here. Hopefully they still do as I'm hoping to somehow score one someday.

 So of the two remaining, which one did I choose to represent J? The Mets or Pirates lookalike? They are both incredible logos, but in the end I had to roll with this one:

Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver wore this cap! Well, not this one, but you get it.

From 1966-68 the Suns were affiliated with the New York Mets and wore this incredible cap. It is one of my favorites of my entire collection. Unfortunately, the Suns do not offer this cap for sale any longer on their website, which makes me grateful I bought it when I did.

New Era Alphabet Challenge - I

So now we're up to letter I. This one was really easy because I only have one cap with a single letter I in it. It's a team that plays in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. It's a team whose cap won my heart by doing the one thing that I love best about a Minor League Baseball logo. That is, integrate the parent club's logo into its own. This one goes a step further. It is essentially the same cap, just with a different letter.

Oddly enough, several letters ago I passed up parent cap of this team.

Here is the Iowa Cubs cap, in all its glory:

So simple. So beautiful. Other teams should pay attention.

This one was acquired in a very roundabout way. It started, actually, with a jersey purchase. I found an Iowa Cubs jersey on ebay which I purchased.

Worn by Ricky Gutiérrez, who played with them briefly in 2004.

This was before I had any cap of theirs. Of course, once I had the jersey I had to have the cap. The only available cap at that time (nearly 10 years ago) was this one:

Leaves nothing to the imagination.

Eventually I saw that they had a new cap that was the Chicago Cubs-esque I and I had to have it. I had a nice little email exchange with their merchandise director and she was kind enough to facilitate my purchase and acquisition.

Iowa Cubs. Front view.

It's a very solid looking cap. If you (or someone you love) is a Chicago Cubs fan, I would highly recommend getting this one.

Incidentally, a gorgeously simple cap like this has always led me to wonder why minor league teams don't at the least have an alternate cap that mirrors the parent club? The Braves are the best at this (of course, almost all of their affiliates are called the Braves) The Dodgers used to do this. Great Falls had a great one. Also, the Jacksonville Suns had a cap that interlocked the JS in Dodgers fashion. Even the Angels, back in the day had many minor league affiliates that incorporated a halo around a letter in the logo. It's the small touches such as those that really show pride and a connection between a team and its parent club.

Difficult these days because teams want their own identity.

But that's another story.

New Era Alphabet Challenge - H

Today's cap has a little more of a background than the previous letter. My choice for H, despite having some decent competition, is a cap that comes from another learning experience from the early days of my collecting. Specifically, if you think you're gonna regret not getting it, then you'd better get it.

In an earlier installment of the Alphabet Challenge, I referenced a purchase made in 1996, and the StarStruck catalog that came with each purchase. After I received the catalog, I poured over it, studying every cap, every logo, dreaming of how cool it would be to have a number of these caps. I was quite limited in funds at that time, so I had to stick with what I considered essential, which were the three I had bought. The rest would have to wait.

Little did I realize that sometimes logos and affiliates change. By the time I got around to expanding my collection, several of the caps that I had my eyes on in '96 were no longer available. After a brief period of mourning, I started scouting eBay. Eventually I did come across a fitted version of one of the caps I'd coveted all those years ago.

It is representing letter H:

Defunct logo of the Helena Brewers.

There was just something about this one that caught my eye. I just knew this was one I wanted. I was very ecstatic when I was able to add this one to the collection. Let's just say it was a life changing experience. Now, I'm a lot less likely to hesitate if I think there's a chance a cap may not be available down the road. Sometimes I'm wrong, but those times when I jump and then find that the cap is no longer available, well, win for me.

Early last decade I also was into collecting Minor League baseball jerseys. A Helena Brewers road jersey became available on eBay and I got outbid at the last second. I was devastated! I knew (and I've been right for 10+ years) that I would never see another one. I always referred to that jersey as the one that got away. I'm over it now, mainly because I don't buy jerseys anymore, but it took a long time.

The current Helena Brewers logo is a nice one as well, though I have not picked one up. I probably will at some point, but I'm not as desperate for that one as I was this one. They did have a cap that had a variation of the current logo H inside a gold state of Montana. Very awesome, but it was one of those old meshy style BP caps. No thanks. Would love to see it on a 59Fifty. Here is a 39Thirty version of it from their website:

So Helena Brewers, think about it. If you build it, I will buy...

Anyway, to summarize, my advice to anyone who collects caps:  Just get it. Don't be that person who hesitates then regrets it later on when they can't find the cap. Just get it.

Now, onto the H caps that didn't make the cut:

Yes, I passed over the classic Houston Astros.

Funny thing about the Astros cap. When I was but a lad in the early 80s, my very first baseball hat was a mesh (now called "trucker") California Angels cap on sale in a Stater Bros grocery store. They had a rack full of these caps, and my dad would let me get one every month for a while. The mesh version of this Astros cap was the second cap I had gotten. I think I was caught up in the hype of Nolan Ryan's no-hitter, but the logo is somewhat nostalgic for me. I ended up with about 10 mesh caps, but they are long gone.

New Era Alphabet Challenge - G

Moving on tonight to Letter G. I honestly don't have any particular story behind the cap I chose. I remember I bought it for its simplicity and unique colorway. Also, the team is an affiliate of the Red Sox, so the G was stylized to look like their cap, except this one was done in a deep green, so it looked cool.

Greenville Drive. One letter says it all.

Yes, the Greenville Drive. Not a very exciting name. Especially considering they were the Capital City Bombers for 12 years prior. Of course, naming your team Capital City is kinda lame as well.

As I said, no real story behind this one. I just like the color. Good looking hat. Not much else to say about it.

Here are the other two G caps I own:

Both of these are Greeneville Astros caps.

I like that orange hat so much, if I were to do this again in another year I might choose it to represent G.

And that's all I have to say about that.