Several leaks and promotions had already indicated what MLB’s Armed Forces Day caps would look like this year, and MLB has now confirmed that earlier hints by releasing the full merch dump.
All 30 caps are shown above, and here’s a closer look at each of them (the most notable being Toronto’s because it doesn’t include the American flag behind the team logo):
Armed Forces Day takes place on Saturday, May 20, although MLB often engages in holiday creep by having teams wearing the merch-dump caps for an entire weekend.
I wonder what would happen if any conscientious objectors (those who choose to refuse service based on their religious beliefs) refused to wear the caps. After all, if those whose supposed religious beliefs can refuse to wear Pride warmup jerseys, surely those who are opposed to war and the killings of innocents can be given the same respect, no?
Considering the baseball demographic, any player would take a monster PR hit. I assume most just wear the cap to avoid the issue.
I think that’s a very fair question. As one who objects to the Pride promotions, I also object to the military promotions. For that matter, if a league wanted to promote a position that I was 100% in favor of, I’d object to that, too, just on general principle.
Part of the issue regarding the Pride Nights in the NHL is that the majority of objectors are Russian. With Russian players, it may well be that they are refusing in accordance with beliefs from growing up in the Russian Orthodox Church, But equally and perhaps more important is that these young men have families back in Russia, where Putin has aggressively gone after LGBTQ people. If I were a young Russian here in North America, and if my participation in a Pride Night was used as a PR vehicle for Putin to put my family’s lives in danger (prison, forced military service in Ukraine), I would object as well, my personal feelings on human sexuality notwithstanding. Maybe they are anti-LGBTQ, maybe they aren’t, but they have a convenient way to opt out and protect their loved ones. Baseball is a different demographic and nobody’s family is going to be threatened over a military-adjacent cap (by militant peaceniks?!).
“If I were a young Russian here in North America, and if my participation in a Pride Night was used as a PR vehicle for Putin to put my family’s lives in danger (prison, forced military service in Ukraine), I would object as well”
I would as well, but to my knowledge, not one of them has said that. If that’s indeed the case they should say it — rather than using religion as an excuse.
Well, you say, maybe if they DO say that they’ll further endanger their families in Russia. But that would seem even more reason to say it, or even say something to the effect of, “I’m for inclusion and I support the right of my teammates to wear Pride gear. For personal and/or private reasons I choose not to wear it.” That neither implicates Russia nor threatens their families, but it doesn’t allow them to use “religion” as an excuse. It’s very convenient to couch one’s anti-inclusiveness by citing “relgious beliefs” as a crutch.
Do you really wonder what would happen? Or is this a hypothetical question.
In our society, there’s things we respect and/or worship and things we punch down at. Figure out which is in which pile and that’s your answer.
It’s actually not a hypothetical. I truly DO wonder what would happen if someone refused to wear the
ribboncap. As others have laid out below, the cap (speaking aesthetically) is awful, is in violation of the flag code (something those who enjoy singing GBA should feel strongly about), and isn’t — for example — one team like the Padres celebrating their close association with military members and families located in close proximity to their ballpark. I’d love it if someone opposed it just based on those criteria.But I’d be much more interested to see a) how MLB would handle it if someone opposed the caps based on religious grounds; and b) what those who support players who refuse to wear Pride gear (either for warm ups or in the case of MLB, for in game action) feel about those opposed to wearing military glorification gear.
“It’s very convenient to couch one’s anti-inclusiveness by citing “religious beliefs” as a crutch.”
It is also very convenient to make the assumption that someone is couching anti-inclusiveness by citing religious beliefs.
Until the day one of those players comes out and states, “I did this because I’m anti-inclusive”, I’m going to take them at their word.
Reposting my comment when we had this same discussion on 4/13 when the leak was discussed
You forget Desmond Doss? A conscientious objector who won the Medal of Honor?
link
What exactly does Doss have to do with MLB and/or wearing camo/olive caps?
You make it sound like a CO doesn’t serve in the military. They do. Many serve as medics, are extremely heroic, and are proud of their service.
Tim,
I never said nor implied that. And just because you inferred it doesn’t make it right. And yeah, I saw “Hacksaw Ridge” (good movie, btw). So I’m WELL aware that some CO’s served, both with bravery and heroism. I thank them for their service. But many CO’s didn’t serve (more than did), and it was because they invoked their religious beliefs. Some (not all, but most) who refuse to wear Pride gear also voice their objections based on religious beliefs. I merely said I’d be curious of CO’s would object to wearing camo (“military appreciation”) based on religious beliefs.
And if so, I was curious as to what the public reaction might be. Just as not all Christians refused to wear Pride gear, some did: link
We saw what happened in the NHL (and MLB too: link) with Pride gear. I was merely curious what public reaction to someone refusing to wear a camo cap due to religious concerns.
IMHO, You’re making an apples and oranges comparison. I don’t think you can compare the military argument and the pride argument.
“the most notable being Toronto’s because it doesn’t include the American flag behind the team logo”
Didn’t they fuck that up last year?
Replying to myself
It was 4th of July caps. Though I was neither confused nor angry.
link
Ugh, these are ugly and they desecrate the US flag. (Well, not Toronto, so kudos Blue Jays on that front.) But at least they’re not ugly, flag desecrating, and camo soldier cosplay. So, you know, could be worse?
I don’t understand the hate, if you don’t like the hat, don’t buy it.
I know plenty of Marine’s who saw this hat and can’t wait to get their favorite team’s version.
I realize this may be an amazing thing to hear on a website devoted to uniforms, but some of us don’t care about these caps as something to buy (or not buy); we care about them because the players will wear them on the field, so our reactions to the caps are based on how they’ll look during a game.
Incredible, I know.
Paul, save your snark for somebody else.
We all know what your criticism is, and it isn’t because you have to see green hats on the field one day this summer, and that it’s that you hate the marketing and the capitalism behind the merchandise.
BUT, the fact is there are plenty of people, who are the target audience (ie, not you)
And as a critic, you fail ever consider design within context, something that a professional designer (ie, me) does daily
We all know what your criticism is, and it isn’t because you have to see green hats on the field one day this summer, and that it’s that you hate the marketing and the capitalism behind the merchandise.
Actually, I hate the marketing behind it *because* we have to see it on the field for one day (or possibly several days) this summer. That’s what my criticism is — that the retail tail is wagging the on-field dog.
There are tons of awful fashion caps that are produced and sold and marketed. Do I write (or care) about them? No, because they’re not worn on-field. I care about *these* because they *are* worn on-field, and they look like shit. As a critic, that’s the only context that matters to me, because that’s what Uni Watch is about — what the players wear.
Then why did you say that you don’t understand the hate?
Replying here because I can’t comment on your later post.
I have seen you critique countless fashion caps. How about those clip art ones that never had a chance of seeing the field? Let’s not pick and choose to prove a false narrative. And further a critique is not simply, good, bad, insufferable. There is plenty of nuance you can write about. How do they compare to years past? How do individual design elements work? What can be improved upon? What can be subtracted?
I am not asking you to not have an opinion, I am asking you, as a professional designer, to have a nuanced opinion, one that offers critique, rather than glosses over something as simply blah, or “wags the dog”
You used to give a fuck about that nuance, It’s why, as a designer your column was always must read, prior to uni-watch.com, hell prior to uniwatchblog.com.
I have seen you critique countless fashion caps. How about those clip art ones that never had a chance of seeing the field?
I honestly don’t know what you’re referring to, and I certainly do not write (or care) about fashion caps.
In fact, when people complain to me on twitter about a new fashion cap, my response is always the same: “Whatever — I don’t care one way or the other. I write about what the players wear, not the retail slop.”
My philosophy lately has been to try and focus more of my energy on the things in this world that I like instead of giving the things that bother me negative attention. With that said, these hats are:
–Poorly designed
–In violation of the US flag code
–Catering to a crowd I have zero interest in associating myself with
–Further cheapening the actual on field identity of all the teams in the league.
That last point has bothered me for years. The whole league looks exactly the same for all sorts of special merch dump weekends. There’s no parallel to this in any other league. The NFL changes up the sideline gear and all the players wear helmet stickers for various themes throughout the year, the NBA has special warm up shirts and a jersey patch (maybe), the NHL does the same. Pro soccer leagues have special captain’s armbands, shoelaces, etc… Meanwhile, MLB teams pull this nonsense in pink, light blue, camo, etc… for like 20 games a year. It’s just so stupid.
Same argument can be made for City Connect BS.
If fans would stop buying this crap, they’d stop churning it out. There must be a willing market out there…and the numbers must add up to make these rollouts profitable.
Exactly. The masses get what they wish for and therefore deserve. The moment they stop buying it the production of these horrors stops right away. Players will wear anything the league asks them to wear because they know a lot of fans will buy it when they wear it on the field. Might be a nice bonus attached to it.
I actually disagree–CC uniforms are all different. Criticisms of individual designs are completely reasonable, but that’s because there are individual designs. My issue with all these special, league-wide promotions is that I think it devalues the notion that there are 30 different teams with unique traditions, colors, logos, etc… dating back 150 years in some cases.
Refresh my memory: what part of the flag code is in violation? The part about wearing the flag or that it’s not red, white and blue?
link
Trust me, I googled and read it before I asked. I couldn’t remember the which of the specifics I mentioned was at play.
Pretty cut and dry:
The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, firefighters, police officers, and members of patriotic organizations.
From Wikipedia
The United States Flag Code establishes advisory rules for display and care of the national flag of the United States of America. It is Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code (4 U.S.C. § 5 et seq). Although this is a U.S. federal law, the code is not mandatory: it uses non-binding language like “should” and “custom” throughout and does not prescribe any penalties for failure to follow the guidelines. It was “not intended to proscribe conduct” and was written to “codify various existing rules and customs.”
That not prescribing conduct bit is from a court case
Remind me to use this argument the next time anyone is upset when the flag is being used in any kind of protest.
I guess one could argue baseball teams are “patriotic organizations”.
This.
Beyond the flag background, looks like Toronto’s also doesn’t include the side patch. I’m legitimately astonished that MLB didn’t screw up the Toronto caps. Like, agog.
I mean, they’re all hideous. But Toronto’s is just a little less so as a result.
“surely those who are opposed to war and the killings of innocents can be given the same respect, no?”
Phil,
I think this goes a bit too far. I don’t think any one supports war and killing of innocents. I think they do respect the people in our armed forces who put themselves in harm’s way to protect us and our freedoms. I don’t think there is anything about these caps that glorifies or romanticizes the acts of war.
I get that you don’t like the holiday caps or the reason they exist, and that’s fine. Lots of room for opinions in the universe. But when I look at a soldier, I see a person serving his or her country, not someone who engages in the killing of innocents. I think there is a difference there.
To your original point, if a player says he or they are opposed to wearing the caps, I’d be fine with that.
As for me, I like this design. I tend to like some of the holiday designs and sometimes purchase the caps – though certainly not all of them.
Just my 2 cents.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have added “of innocents” — since it wasn’t even necessary. There are some people who literally take the 10 Commandments at face value, and “Thou Shalt Not Kill” is a big one. One of the inevitablities of war is killing (perhaps not of innocents, although there are always civilian casualties). There are people who oppose war based on that alone.
Whenever they do this, the poor Blue Jays stand out because there’s always something awkward about their design. By putting no flag on instead of the Canadian flag, MLB found a way to make it even worse.
Man those Cardinals uniforms are brutal.
Too bad they just didn’t do all of them like the Blue Jays. Make them clean.
The official cap of open carrying at your son’s tee-ball game
Why even have the Blue Jays wear one of these caps? With the removal of the flag and the side patch, it renders the hat meaningless.
Another thought, as all ballplayers in the US are not American, rather than a religious position, could choose not to wear it in protest just straight up to the American Military. Maybe if there were Russian ballplayers, this could be an issue, how about Cuban ballplayers? lots to discuss really.
When I posited Russian players were on shaky footing when begging off wearing the Pride uniforms, I maintained they should read the fine print of their contracts concerning the upholding team promotions, because they seem to have no problem cashing the NHL’s million dollar checks. This puts me in the untenable position of chiding a CO for not wearing the uniform, a position I certainly do not endorse.
So…maybe have a stadium-wide promotion, offer discounted tickets to specific groups, have theme nights, etc., but let the players just wear their regular unis?