This series is inspired by the must read book “All Caps, Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection” by Craig Colby. Craig wrote this book about the many caps he has and the stories behind it. Anyhow, this series will be the caps I own and the stories behind them.
In this first episode, I will pay attention to my New York Yankees cap. The one on the photo replaced an old worn-down piece, which I bought in 1992 at the Haarlem Baseball Week.
That cap, I wore when the Yankees played the 1996 World Series. At the time, baseball wasn’t broadcast live in the Netherlands, so I had to check the results at Teletekst and watch extensive summaries. During the 1996 World Series, I was without work, so even though I felt bad about not having a job, the timing was great because I could watch the summaries at daytime.
After game three, I had to do some errands, so I walked to the local shopping center (about a ten minute walk from my home in Amsterdam). On my way back to home, I saw a guy walking the opposite direction, wearing an Atlanta Braves cap. When we passed each other, we only looked at each other and both had a big grin on our face, a great example of non-verbal communication.
Eventually, in 2008, that cap was so worn down that it needed to be replaced. I decided to buy this cap with a commemorative patch of the 2008 All Star Game that was played at Yankee Stadium II, which lived its final season in the same year. Even though I had never been to Yankee Stadium, I wanted something that reminded me of that cathedral. The pin that is attached to the cap is the (cap) logo of my very first baseball club, defunct since 1988, Amstel Tijgers.
I am still mulling what to do with my MLB merch. Since I have turned my back on MLB, I don’t wear it anymore, nor do I buy new MLB merchandise. So, in fact, it is a shame that this cap is in a box and nothing is done with it.
Dutch Baseball Hangout 
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