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.
In today’s episode of “Personal Stories About Ballcaps,” we pay attention to the cap of BC The Herons from Heerhugowaard in the Netherlands.
Before the Herons adopted their current cap, the club sported an all black cap with a big yellow Old English H on the front. I always liked that one but never got to buying it. But then, in 2021 photos of a new cap showed up on the club’s Facebook page. You may guess it already, I wanted to have that one.
In the course of the 2021 season, I approached Mitchell Berghmans, the coach of the flagship team, to ask how I could lay my hands on their new cap. He made me an offer. He was working on a plan for a cooperation with the club from the neighboring city Alkmaar and if I would write an article about that cooperation and the vision of both clubs, he would arrange that cap for me for free. Of course that was a no-brainer.
Mitchell even invited me to attend the official opening of the new upgraded facility of The Herons somewhere in February 2022, but for some reason that opening was postponed. Eventually, the opening was scheduled on a Friday but to drive all the way to Heerhugowaard from where I live, on a weeknight, is a bit too much too ask.
But at one point in the 2022 season, the Alcmaria Victrix – Herons combo team which now played in the Eerste Klasse (second-tier league), visited Jeka in Breda, close to where I live. So we agreed to meet there so I could interview the coach. During the interview, the head coach told explained the reason for his plan and that the intention was that this cooperation would not be limited to the flagship teams of both clubs. Also the youth teams should be involved. He also stated that many players preferred to play in the Eerste klasse instead of the Dutch hoofdklasse, because playing in the Eerste klasse would be more fun.
Unfortunately, after an evaluation both clubs decided to pull the plug because several players decided to hang up their cleats and it was hard to find proper replacements. Second reason was that when Eelco Jansen took over from Mitchell Berghmans, he made clear that he would only be interim manager. Both clubs could not find a good replacement for him either. Both Alcmaria Victrix and BC The Herons decided to step down to the Tweede klasse (third-tier league) and because of this move, the continuation of the cooperation was not necessary anymore. A sad ending of a good initiative.
But thanks to this former cooperation, yours truly was able to obtain a new cap.
Dutch Baseball Hangout 
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