The Perfect Blue Jays Fitted

 

Sometime around 2021 (I think), right after the lockdown I bought this Blue Jays fitted hat.  I remember thinking it was so perfect because it had almost everything I want in a New Era fitted hat: Blue Jays logo, grey under visor, wool material, regular MLB batterman logo, and a great hat shape.  Of course if I were picky I could also say it should have been made in USA, nevertheless it’s still a great hat for contemporary times.  Unfortunately I was only able to find two hats; despite searching the style code online and in other stores.  To this day though my favorite hat has been the New Era “Heritage Series Fitted Hat”, which I own only 1 hat of, so owning two of this version isn’t bad.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaYQDLDyEik

Toronto Blue Jays World Series New Era Fitted Hat

When you love a hat, you buy it as many times as you can.  The Blue Jays World Series patch is one of those hats that I need to own multiple times.  What’s funny is, I didn’t even know I owned this extra hat; but I just happened to find it in my collection one day and was pleasantly surprised.  While most people wouldn’t care that it’s an extra hat, for me it’s special because it’s slightly different from my other World Series patch hat because this one is wool.  I love wool hats because I find them more comfortable and their quality is best.  So if New Era releases this hat again in the future, you better believe that I will be buying it again.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wl2SC7oeDY

New Era Retro Classic Collection Blue Jays

When it comes to material goods, when I see something that I love I tend to buy it in multiple versions because I’m always cautious that I might never see them again.  This time it’s a New Era retro fitted Blue Jays hat.  Unfortunately just after this release the New Era company announced that they were closing down their New York plant and moving all production to China (though a small number would be made in Miami).  This particular Blue Jays retro hat was made in the USA, so it’s of particular importance to me.

For some reason Made in USA hats are or rather were better quality than those made in China.  This hat is of no exception, it’s beautifully made.  The material is quality, the stitching is clean, and the fit is exact.  This is actually the second version that I’ve bought in this retro style; the first one was all blue, and this version the front is white.  While it’s sad to see New Era hats no longer made in USA, I hope they continue to make fitteds with this kind of quality.

Toronto Blue Jays:

www.bluejays.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LQydIYsZiA

New Era MLB Retro Classic Collection

New Era’s MLB Classic Collection is a throwback to their 90’s Pro Model fitteds.  These retro hats feature 100% wool material, a New Era tag, grey underbrim, white sweatband, flat embroidery, and are made in the USA.  This release has revitalized my interest in New Era fitteds after years of poorly made polyester hats.  I knew it was time to quit collecting on-field fitteds as soon as the MLB batter man was missing his hat, and occasionally the ball on the logo.  Thankfully New Era has corrected all their quality control issues and has made an immaculate product.  Every stitch is perfect, the crown is true the original, and the sizing is correct (past hats could be off by 3 sizes).

Please note that unlike their Heritage Wool series from a few years back the MLB Classic Collection doesn’t have 3D embroidery, the New Era logo on the side of the hat, or a black sweatband.  Admittedly these are more subjective preferences on a fitted that I’m personally indifferent about.  Although I do love seeing the return of the white sweatband, a feature that I used to hate but I have now grown to love.  Just seeing a brand new pristine white sweatband just makes it look so much better.  For now I have only purchased the Away blue, Blue Jays fitted but I do plan on getting the whole Jays collection eventually.

New Era:

https://www.neweracap.com

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/hW-TJnAGB0A

Removing the New Era Logo

New Era makes amazing hats.  However, since I first fell in love with their on-field 59fifty from the late 90’s, I decided that I only want to buy hats that resembled those glory days.  Back then hats were 100% wool, made in the USA, had grey under brims, and didn’t include the New Era logo.  So my reason for making this post isn’t so much to disrespect New Era by removing their logo, but rather it’s to customize my hat to look the way those older fitteds used to look.

In order to remove the logo, the first thing I recommend is to have lots of patience because this task takes lots of time, and concentration.  You want to begin by using a sharp knife that gets under each thread and individually cuts them (while I have seem other customizers use a seam cutter to remove the thread I don’t recommend one because it can warp the wool material).  As your cutting the threads, you also want to use tweezers to detach each thread.  And finally you want to use some tape (I use painters tape) to clean off any excessive threads, which will also leave the wool spotless.  Once you’re done your fitted should resemble a New Era fitted from the past.

New Era:

http://www.neweracap.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pJKiDLWijE

Blue Jays Retro Solid Blue Fitted Hat

This style of hat was worn by the Jays from 1989 to 1996.  Although it was occasionally used at home games, I consider it a road game hat.  I like it because the front panels aren’t white making it perfect for everyday use because the dirt won’t show up as easily.  I also like that the underbrim is green, a distinctive feature that honours the hats from the 80’s.

Brand: New Era

Team: Toronto Blue Jays

Style: 59Fifty, Fitted, Cooperstown Collection

Additional: Made in USA, 100% Wool, Green Underbrim

New Era:

www.neweracap.com

Dodgers New Era MLB Retro 1981 World Series Patch Fitted

This hat is part of New Era’s World Series patch collection, which features a World Series patch for teams that have won the World Series in the past.  To celebrate my birth year I decided to buy a Los Angeles Dodges version because they were the Champions back in 1981.  New Era tried to stay faithful to the original on-fields by excluding the MLB “batterman” logo on the back, and yet retained contemporary style by using 3D embroidery and a grey underbrim.  While I appreciate the effort, I miss the MLB logo and would have preferred its inclusion.  Besides that, this is a beautiful fitted that I will wear on special occasions.

Brand: New Era

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers, L.A. Dodgers

Style: 59Fifty, Fitted, MLB Retro World Series Patch Collection

Additional:  Made in China, 100% Wool, Grey Underbrim, No MLB logo on the back, Embroidered 1981 World Series Patch

Dodgers 1981 Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_World_Series

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgBbyL9UbKA

Blue Jays New Era Heritage Series Fitted Hat

I’ve been a hat collector for a few years now, and one of the things I keep kicking myself over is that I never took care of the hats I bought years ago.  I just used to wear them and not care how they looked.  I didn’t even clean them when they got dirty.  I was fine with that until New Era stopped making wool fitteds and I couldn’t buy them anymore.  Once that happened I started to clean and maintain my wool fitteds so that they could last me as long as possible.  Thankfully New Era never forgot about wool fitted collectors and has released wool fitteds consistently, though in limited runs.

The wool fitted that I’m showcasing here is part of their Heritage Series collection.  The hats are 100% wool and are made similar to the classic MLB hats from the mid 90’s with 3D embroidery, a flat MLB logo, and a grey underbrim.  A nice detail about this fitted is the return of the white sweatband; a feature that I used to hate (it’s funny how you miss something when you don’t have it anymore).  My only complaint about this collection is the inclusion of the New Era logo on the left side.  Other than that this is a beautiful hat that reminds me of the greatness of those 90’s fitteds, and I am delighted that I can now wear one with the current Blue Jays logo.

Brand: New Era

Team: Toronto Blue Jays

Style: 59Fifty, Fitted, Heritage Series

Additional:  Made in China, 100% Wool, New Era logo on the side, White Sweatband

New Era:

http://www.neweracap.com/en_us/explore/New_Era_Heritage.aspx

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xjvcEs8rJ4

New Era Blue Jays Mini Cap

A few weeks ago I was on twitter when I noticed that New Era had sent out a tweet asking people to follow New Era Canada on twitter.  The best part was that they would also enter people who joined into a contest to win a fitted mini cap.  I joined to follow New Era Canada regardless of the contest because I am a fan, but I also wished I could win that mini cap.  I had wanted one of these mini caps for years but I was never able to find a Blue Jays version.  Thankfully, I was one of the lucky contest winners.

What makes these mini fitted caps so special is that they’re exactly like the regular on-field versions that New Era makes, only smaller (size 4 ¼).  Even the logo embroidery has the same quality, which is impressive.  New Era even added their famous 59fifty sticker on the brim, which I find extremely cute.  Thank you once again New Era Canada; @NewEraCanada.

Brand: New Era

Team: Toronto Blue Jays

Style: 59Fifty, Fitted, MLB Mini AC Cap

Additional: Made in China, 100% Polyester, 4 ¼ Fitted

New Era Canada:

http://www.neweracap.ca

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osYq-u1OK9c

Removing a Baseball Hat Sticker

Here’s a topic that isn’t really relevant anymore, whether to remove a sticker from a baseball hat or leave it on?  The practice of leaving the sticker on became popular in the early 2000’s when multiple fake fitted hats started showing up, and the sticker could be used as a check of authenticity.  Eventually the demand for fake hats died down, and the style of leaving the sticker on petered out.  Today most people that collect hats prefer to remove the sticker when they wear their hats.

I also fell victim to the ‘leaving the sticker on’ trend.  Unfortunately this resulted in an unpleasant looking faded spot when the sticker was removed or fell off.  Since that time I always remove the sticker.  If the sticker is nice, I like to place it in a sticker album.  Once you get used to removing the sticker you will find that the hat looks cleaner and you won’t have to worry about faded spots in the future.

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLc8qNhkJo8