The Orioles posted one of those “Packing up and heading to spring training!” videos yesterday (shown above), and it includes something intriguing: At the 0:19 mark the camera shows a cap sitting atop a stack of boxes — a cap that doesn’t match up with anything the Orioles have previously worn:
As you can see, the cap is hybrid. It features the team’s primary cap logo from 1989, but set on the black/white template that’s normally used for the team’s “cartoon bird” logo:
It’s hard to know what to make of this cap’s appearance in the video. We know it’s not a spring training cap, because it doesn’t have the proper logo on the side. I asked my source who has access to the 2024 MLB Style Guide if this cap appears in the Orioles section and was told that it does not. It might just be a fashion cap, but why would the O’s equipment staff be packing that for the trip to Florida? Is it a hint of something to come? Are they just fucking with us?
Personally, I really like the hybrid design and hope it turns out to be an on-field option. Meanwhile, if anyone knows more, feel free to be in touch. Anonymity assured, of course.
(My thanks to Marcus Hall and @NicksProps for bringing this one to my attention.)
That’s an awesome hat.
O’s real bird better than cartoon bird.
I agree. I’ve always preferred this version of an Oriole over the cartoon one. I really like this hat.
I’m definitely getting this for my Uncle, hardcore O’s fan.
Always thought I was the only person to hold this opinion! Glad to have some company.
I never liked the real bird because the cartoon bird was just so damn awesome.
I think the past couple years the spring training hats have been same as the BP hats during the season. But the BP hats do not have the patches. So still maybe….
As Orioles Fan (who grew up in 90s) this is an amazing hat!
Agreed…this might be their 2024 batting cap. For whatever reason perhaps they couldn’t get one with an ST patch for the video.
Nothing wrong with the cap, per se, but I prefer the cartoon bird on the tricolor cap. The ornithologically correct bird feels a bit, I don’t know…off(?) on the more whimsical cap.
I’m also wondering whether this may indeed be a ST cap, but the lack of the patch on the side would seem to indicate otherwise.
I’m pretty sure it’s the spring training cap. At full screen on my desktop, I can see the same grid pattern in the fabric. The patch may just be behind the fold. That’s my bird growing up, was hoping for a retro bird for the spring!
Everyone’s been bouncing back and forth between the cartoon bird and the realistic one. I’m over here having always preferred the script O to both.
It’s a matter of taste and there’s no wrong answer…but…That’s absolutely incorrect. Cartoon bird and realistic bird are both vastly superior to script O.
Only 2 teams have non-letter logos on their caps–Toronto and Baltimore (and I’d count the Brewers too, the MB is hidden). Love all 3, VERY unique. Being an Orioles fan helps. I too, hate the “O’s” Friday hat for this reason.
The Ornithologically Correct bird is OK, but my preference is the Lifelike Bird from 1998 to 2008
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Crazy idea, but hear me out, how about they go with a B for Baltimore. Use the stylized B from the old Baltimore Baseball Club that is found on Camden Yards seats:
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Yep, that would be cool, even a ST version, I just don’t think they have that connection to their history….
Pretty sweet!!!!!!!
Should have used that B for their city connects. They’re terrible but that B would have been pretty sweet on the hat, instead of the all over the place crap they put out. :)
I remember when this bird debuted in 1989, after the terrible 88 season, it was like a breath of fresh air. Happy to see it back but do not think it belongs on the tricolor cap. Put it on a black with an orange bill and I’m on fanatics today.
I could see this being the BP cap, so just the spring training cap without the side patch.
Zooming in on the image, you can make out the new texture pattern on the caps in the shadow, so I’d bet it’s the BP cap for the regular season. Either that or they’re going to use the same material for the “clubhouse” caps they release now.
Let’s not gloss over the “Baltimore” script at the 0:29 mark. To the best of my knowledge, that’s new too.
That looks like a standard cursive used for all teams on that particular item.
what is that particular item?
Whatever it is, it looks like “Baltimore” is by the pocket, and a zipper is seen behind it. If its the jacket hanging with the jerseys, it’s likely a new dugout jacket. They’re changing those every year now, rather than every 2-3 years. I really doubt they’d have 2 distinct Baltimore scripts.
Trucker caps need to die.
Ok… but that’s not a trucker cap, it’s a tricolor cap. A trucker cap is made of plastic mesh.
Yeah, not always attractive, but thousands of HS baseball and softball players benefit greatly from the cooler temps that come with the mesh caps during the Summer months, much like the mesh fabric in some jerseys, they just breathe better…
This doesn’t necessarily confirm anything, but I do some business with New Era and those are definitely NE boxes underneath the hat.
This hat should definitely rope in the much coveted birder demographic.
To be a sports fan is to be an amateur ornithologist, so prevalent are birds in team iconography. It’s one of the few things you can name your team after that you know you won’t have to change in a few decades!
Always liked this bird. Was disappointed when they scuttled it for the Lifelike bird in the late ’90s.
No! The ornithologically “correct” bird and the realistic bird are symbols of systematic loss. Their appearance and the losing ways are best consigned to history’s dustbin! The original Cartoon Bird, and the modern (November 2011) Cartoon Bird are the only symbols suitable to a winning Orioles franchise.
Long Live the Cartoon Bird & GO ORIOLES!
The cool thing about the Orioles is there is no wrong answer between the cartoon bird and this one. They’re both awesome in different ways.
Having watched the video again, I gotta say I think Baltimore teams should never, never, NEVER show pictures/videos of moving vans in their videos. I know it’s not a Mayflower van, but just the idea of a moving van anywhere near a Baltimore sports franchise gives me a sick feeling in my stomach.
Cartoon bird on the tricolor is what I grew up with and what I prefer. I was chuffed when they brought it back (and am chuffed now that I got to use chuffed). Fine for a fashion cap mashup (or even spring training) but I don’t want to see it on the field. However, I’m not against mixing the O’s black City Connect cap with the road grays or Friday night black jerseys. I know, I know, I’m a ball of contradictions!
Orioles are one of those teams that even at their worst always look great. They are like the Chargers of MLB. Also, I like this hat.
Hatland has had this on their website for months and while I like it, I always just assumed it was a fashion cap. It’s on page 3 of their O’s hats which, to me, means that it’s not new or official looking at the hats on sale around it.
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While similar, that’s not quite the same cap as depicted in the video (the link cap is almost definitely a fashion cap).
Even if the cap in the video were the same as the linked one (which they’re not), that doesn’t explain why the team is featuring it in their moving south for ST montage. They’re clearly not packing a bunch of fashion caps for the journey.
As I and others have posited, I’m going to bet this is indeed the ST cap — even if we can’t see the ST logo on the side.
Here’s me, who’s been reading uniwatch since the page 2 days, and never knew there were multiple “non-cartoon” bird logos
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Gotta say that’s a fantastic cap.
The cartoon bird should forever be the Orioles logo, but I’ll gladly buy ornithologically correct bird alternate hats all day. Also, the new Maryland flag patches on the sleeve look super cheap. Smaller, screen printed logos don’t look nearly as sharp as the bigger, stitched logo from majestic. Don’t understand the smaller script/logos Nike has going on♂️
I’ve always noticed that the Orioles logo looks as though the oriole is grasping a branch or something, kind of like the Cardinals’ bird-on-a-bat, but there’s nothing underneath its curled talons…
Could look better, IMO..
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Love the ornithologically correct bird, love that cap.
Pedantic alert. Confidentiality, not anonymity.
Love this hat, but I love evey Oriole hat as I love the name and all the logos. My favorite AL team. along with Toronto (the bird theme).
It is the 35th anniversary of this logo being on a hat… I personally love this logo and hat. As a kid going to Camden Yards, this is the bird I was wearing, so I’ll always love it.
Minor point, but the realistic bird cap has white stitching on the white front panel. So much better than the team’s normal cap with lazy, cheap black stitching on the white front panel. That alone would make it an upgrade even if the cartoon bird logo wasn’t a sloppy mess. If the O’s wear this on the field in any capacity, it will be the best thing in the team’s uni set.
I would bet it’s the ST/BP cap in its in-season/non-ST patched version. I hope that’s the case. I know BP caps are just merch dumps and etc. but if they have to exist, I like when teams use deep pull old/alternate logos for those kids of caps. Much better than just using the normal cap logo on different material. (I’m looking at you Yankees)
All the Orioles’ cap birds have a cool history. Pretty sure I stumbled across this via UniWatch some time ago, but bumping for the topic.
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Looks like this is the design from ’96-’97, worn by two awesome playoff squads that kindled my love for the Orioles.
Now that the Spring Training caps have been released, it makes me wonder what this cap was.
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