All That is Old is New Again: "Trucker" Mesh Caps Return for Spring Training, Lost 2020 Padres St. Patrick's Day Cap Surfaces

 Despite the MLB lockout, the new MLB Spring Training caps are finding their way to stores. Much to everyone's surprise, the new caps are "trucker" style mesh caps, the likes of which have not been seen on a professional baseball field for decades. Commonly worn in snapback form from the 70s through the early 90s during spring training, mesh was the last thing I expected to see with all of the fancy high-tech moisture-wicking fabric we have available today. New Era has used "basketball shorts" mesh in the past before experimenting with fancy materials for the past decade such as "Diamond Era", "Prolight", honeycomb-patterned "Hex Tech" and finally "Dash", a material similar to the kind used on jerseys which was used for the past two seasons and will likely continue to see use in the minor leagues.

I can't say I wasn't completely surprised though, as the cancelled 2020 All-Star Game caps were to be made with mesh and the NY Mets had been seen testing out what were likely the prototypes for this spring's caps during last years' spring training.




I purchased the San Diego Padres version as well as the St. Patrick's Day cap. The Cactus League logo is a cloth patch attached to the cap by an embroidered outline. And yes, the mesh is exactly like the caps of old but now fitted and not snapback.





Spring training caps haven't been made in the USA for nearly twenty years (with the exception of St. Patrick's Day during certain seasons) and this year is no different. China has been the country of choice the entire time, so I was shocked to see Laos as the country of origin. Kahn Souphanousinphone would be proud.


The St. Patrick's Day cap was also made in Laos. No patch or shamrock design on them this season.



Speaking of Padres St. Patrick's Day caps, a source connected with the team sent me some green Padres caps that had been stashed away at the team facility in Peoria, AZ. I initially thought these were leftover 2015 St. Patrick's Day caps, but I quickly saw that they were newer and made at New Era's Florida assembly plant. After speaking with a number of people, the consensus is that these were last-minute replacements for the 2020 St. Patrick's Day cap, which would have featured a controversial logo that made headlines at the time. Since spring training was cancelled before St. Patrick's Day, these caps never saw the light of day.



The black stitches on top of the backs of the tags indicate these were assembled at New Era's Florida facility.



The 2015 version, which has a "Fly Your Own Flag" tag and is made with 100% wool.

Comments

  1. Viet PhanMay 30, 2022 at 10:59 PM

    Thank you for your post. This is excellent information. It is amazing and wonderful to visit your site.
    How to bet on baseball

    ReplyDelete
  2. Zahra WilsonJune 15, 2022 at 3:19 AM

    Nice Post, Thanks For Sharing
    BTW Hey, my name is Zahra Wilson and I am working as a marketing manager at PapaChina Company. It deals in a wide range of pcustom patch hats at wholesale prices. If you want to buy these then visit our website and place your order.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sara MartinAugust 3, 2022 at 7:17 AM

    Really it's a very useful informative post, which you have shared here about here. This is a great way to increase knowledge for us, and also beneficial for Fantasy Sports App Development. Thank you for sharing such a meaningful article like this.

    Ludo Game App Development

    ReplyDelete
  4. onlineAssignmenthelpMarch 7, 2025 at 2:35 AM

    Nursing is a challenging but satisfying profession requiring specialization and commitment. Essay writing is intimidating, but we at The Tutors Help are here to assist you. We assure you of our professional assistance to ensure your nursing essays are adequately researched, well structured, and professionally written.
    Sleepless nights stressing over essay writing are now a thing of the past! Chat with The Tutors Help today and let us offer professional assistance to achieve your best grades in nursing.

    https://www.thetutorshelp.com/nursing-essay-help.php
    Nursing Essay Help

    ReplyDelete
  5. onlineAssignmenthelpMarch 7, 2025 at 2:36 AM

    Essay writing is a valuable skill, but it can be difficult for the majority of students. Whether you require assistance with research, writing, or editing, The Tutors Help will always be ready to assist you.
    Our essay writing company is designed specifically for your needs, giving you expert advice to enable you to submit quality essays and get top grades. Do not worry about essay writing anymore—chat with The Tutors Help today and enjoy the best assistance for your success!
    https://www.thetutorshelp.com/custom-essay-writing-services.php
    Custom Essay Writing Services

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Chronology of New Era Cap Tags: A Guide

Image
The history of the New Era Cap Company has been well-documented. New Era has been the dominant cap supplier for Major League Baseball and anything baseball-related for decades but their dominance grew slowly, starting in the 1930s. Eventually they steam-rolled the competition, providing the majority of on-field caps to MLB teams by the 1970s. They have been the exclusive cap supplier for Major League Baseball since the 1994 season. New Era's MLB on-field cap interior tags evolved very slowly from the 1930s through the mid 80s. Since then they have changed rapidly, usually about every two years. Since 1982 there have been three tags inside of the cap; the MLB license tag (left side), New Era band tag (middle) and size tag (right). Let's take a look at the evolution of New Era’s MLB on-field cap tags from as early as possible to the present day. Keep in mind that this guide is not 100% perfect. MLB game used and team issued caps were all used as references for this gu...
Read more

Cap Care: Mold & Mildew Removal

Image
One of the biggest problems today facing vintage cap collectors besides stiff or broken visor boards is mold & mildew. This happens if the cap is stored too long in a warm and humid area. I receive vintage caps with this problem every so often. Since many of these caps are priceless or very hard to replace, I thoroughly clean them rather than throw them out. Here is my tutorial on how I remove mold & mildew on caps. Supplies: You will need disinfectant wipes and isopropyl alcohol, the strongest you can get. Mine was 99%. If you get sick easily, perhaps you will need a hospital face mask. You can get all of these at your local drugstore. First, look everywhere on the cap for any signs of mold or mildew. On the outside it may appear as powdery-looking spots. On the inside of the cap and the outer area of the sweatband, they may appear mostly in black, white, and green-ish spots or a larger powdery area or layer. If you spy plenty of it in plain sight, prepare for an unpleasant su...
Read more

Differences Between USA-made and Chinese-made New Era Caps

Image
UPDATED 9/22/19 PLEASE NOTE THAT AS OF JUNE, 2019 MADE IN USA ON-FIELD CAPS ARE NO LONGER BEING PRODUCED FOR RETAIL. One discussion that keeps coming up between baseball cap enthusiasts is the difference between New Era's USA-made and Chinese-made caps. The 2011 season saw the majority of all minor league teams wearing on-field caps made in China, and even some major league caps are being made in China, mostly special events caps. Ironically, from 2010 to 2012 the patriotic "stars & stripes" caps were exclusively Chinese-made. After receiving complaints, patriotic caps were made in the USA again starting in 2013. Since 2016, only team issued stars & stripes caps were made in USA. The spring training/batting practice/occasional regular game caps are also being made in China.. The differences between USA-made and Chinese-made caps are many. I have been told that New Era has received many complaints about Chinese-made caps regarding quality. I will go over the ...
Read more