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 about the caps I own and the stories behind them.
This episode of “Personal Stories About Ballcaps” is about my Rancho Cucamonga home cap.
In 2012, I went on vacation to California. When my family and I visited a huge mall in Ontario, Ca, I decided to go to the Epicenter, as the ballpark of the Quakes was called back then. It was only a seven minute drive. I was lucky enough, the ballpark was open, so I could enter and take some photos. This ballpark is beautifully maintained and is one of the best looking ballparks I have visited.
After spending about forty-five minutes in the ballpark, I returned to the mall to rejoin my family. But the visit of the ballpark released an urge to attend a game there. This would happen a few days later.
The Quakes (back then, the Dodgers High-A farm team) hosted the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels). A lot happened in this game but mainly on the side of the 66ers, who beat the home team.
Like the first minor league game I attended in Adelanto (High Desert Mavericks), the entertainment at this ballpark was great. Next to the mascot Tremor, master of ceremonies Crazy-J did some silly games with the fans in the stands.
One thing I enjoyed a lot was the beautiful evening sky and ditto backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Since I had fallen in love with the Quakes’ uniform before the team was Dodgerized, I had to buy the black home cap. Nowadays, the team sports a similar cap, but in Dodger blue. I still wear this cap once in a while, but New Era caps in general, and especially this one, are huge dust catchers, so I keep it in a closed box as much as possible. Nevertheless, I am glad I added this one to my collection.
Dutch Baseball Hangout 
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