Armed Forces Day — the “holiday” that MLB discovered in 2019, when it finally decided to start treating Memorial Day more respectfully but still wanted an excuse to do an annual camouflage merch dump — is coming up on May 18. This year’s on-field caps haven’t officially been launched yet, but 12 teams’ designs have shown up on the Dick’s website. Here’s a group shot, followed by a closer look at each one:
As for the remaining 18 teams, they’ll presumably be released soon, but the design approach is pretty straightforward, so I’m sure you can use your imagination in the meantime.
It’s not yet clear if teams will wear these caps only on May 18 or if, as in past years, Armed Forces “Day” will actually be celebrated on-field as a three-day weekend.
In case you haven’t read it (or just want to refresh your memory), here’s my 2019 interview with Nick Francona — a former U.S. Marine and former MLB front office employee — who did a great job of explaining why MLB’s camouflage program is bullshit.
(My thanks to Twitter-er @Robbierobc10 for bringing the Dick’s listings to my attention.)
YUCK.
Atrocious and lazy. The stars look terrible on Atlanta in particular given its asymmetrical logo and the lightning bolts have the Adidas Nazi issue. “The usual slop”
Why do lightning bolts anyway? Two (fully rendered) bats behind that shield make more sense to begin with. Just running into weird could-be-construed-this-way territory. No reason to even venture there.
Is that a different Tiger’s logo? I remember some articles talking about the difference in D’s on the jerseys and hat the last few years but that looks awful.
It’s their current standard logo. Looks/feels a bit different because they’ve added an outline to it.
Ugly.
And I find it funny that the Twins and Astros have seven stars on their caps….
But the kids will love it!
Only Pittsburgh looks okay, because black & gold. Why not have a ceremony before the games and leave the unis alone? Why not prove your sincerity by removing merchandising concerns from the equation?
HAHAHAHAH!
Wait, where are the logos? I can’t see anything.
Wow – that is slop.
Really ugly and should be forgotten as soon as possible. Waste of materials and labour.
Who buys this crap? I rarely see anyone wearing the special event caps. They mostly just turn up at Marshals for less than half the price because no one bought them to begin with.
I like the hats because I actually served.
I think you guys are being too hard on these. I like them. Not as much as last year’s design, but better than when the entire crown was camo. The side patch is a little too much.
It works better with some teams than others. I imagine the Orioles will go with the O’s design. Also curious to see how they handle the Blue Jays.
Not everyone’s cup of tea, to be sure. But I like the design.
I was so ready to ask “Why do they keep putting out camouflage over and over?”, but I kind of almost wish they would have stuck with it now…
I know the stars and lightning bolts are military motifs but I agree with Randy, they should just probably have some cool ceremonies or some simple red white and blue uniforms…
I’m sure those would look great from Nike
Once again, this is some real stolen valor bullshit. SMDH.
So anyone who wears camouflage but isn’t/wasn’t in the military is “stealing valor”? Please.
That side logo looks like something you’d see on a red armband.
Waste of resources.
I can’t wait to see the Blue Jays cap :-\
Any idea why MLB is not offering these theme caps (or Mothers Day 2024) with MLB Batterman logo? Umpires have been wearing the theme caps during the games where the players wear them, and they have been sold on mlbshop in the last few years. Not in 2024 for some reason.
No idea. I write about what the players wear on the field, not the retail slop. Sorry.