New MLB hats next season

[Chazberg]

I don't think anyone else has posted this yet, sorry if they have. Anyway this was on the Uni Watch blog today:

Hats will be changing next season. The New Era wool 5950 will be no more. We?ve sold our massive stock of hats to the team store, since next year we?ll be getting a newer design. I haven?t seen any sort of prototype yet, but I do know it?s designed to be less vulnerable to getting soaking wet like the current caps do. I also saw a swatch of the Cool Base jersey material, and next year it looks to be a little less meshy, while retaining the softer feel and resistance to moisture.

You can read the whole blog here http://www.uniwatchblog.com/

So obviously it's gonna be made of better moisture wicking material. I'm thinking more of a BP type hat. I think this would be great since I prefer the stretchfit to the sizes, and it would be waaay easier for New Era to produce S,M,L, and XL instead of 7 1/4, 7 1/2, etc.

[Camden Crazy]

It's about time...hopefully they go to Flexfit.

[SabreGuy]

I consider myself a PRETTY staunch traditionalist, BUT, that being said, I think it's definitely time for a change. I haven't been happy with the 5950 for quite some time.

If they changed to something like what Lids sells as the MLB Ace, I'd be really, really happy. If the went with something like the BP hats, I'd be a lot LESS happy, but still I could live with it. If all they did was switch to a blended fabric (like 50% wool, 50% polyester), but made NO other changes, then I'd be pretty freaking annoyed. I'm kind of excited to see what they come up with, and sincerely hope it does not involve the current "billboard" buckram.

[Mac the Knife]

Too bad they aren't going with the Richardson 512. That cap kicks New Era's ass around the block.

[BallWonk]

So obviously it's gonna be made of better moisture wicking material. I'm thinking more of a BP type hat. I think this would be great since I prefer the stretchfit to the sizes, and it would be waaay easier for New Era to produce S,M,L, and XL instead of 7 1/4, 7 1/2, etc.

None of the stretch-fit BP cap sizes comes close to fitting me appropriately, where a 7-1/2 fitted cap pretty much always works. I've tried every brand of stretch-fit cap, and the only one that comes close to fitting comfortably is Zephyr's Z-Fit in L/XL. Everything else is either way too large or way too small.

Though I do prefer the lower crown profile of the stretch-fit to the Elmer Fudd profile of the 5950. Then again, the New Era rep I bumped into last year told me that players prefer the higher profile cap because it's cooler to have the fabric up off the scalp somewhat.

In my experience, the only better rain hat than a wool 5950 is a Tilley Hat. The 5950 uses a twill weave, and twill-weave wool is just really good in the rain compared to most fabrics of similar weight. So I'll definitely miss the 5950 if this is true.

The other superior attribute of the 5950 is that the bill is a gentle curve all the way around; other caps, including the New Era BP caps, have three straighter sides meeting with relatively strong corners. The more rounded 5950 bill provides much more even sun (and rain) protection and less disruption to peripheral vision. A 5950 glides over the top of your vision like this:

\___/

while most caps stab down into your vision on the sides like this:

\/--\/

The last time I wore my CoolBase Nats jersey to RFK, it was raining pretty hard. I got wetter faster than with any jersey I've ever worn before. It's a great material to stay cool in the heat thanks to its weight and ventilation, but the wet-weather performance is just awful.

Question: Have the new caps been tested by, say, a college or minor league team or two over the course of a season? Rolling out an untested equipment change at the highest level of the sport would be so incompetent as to border on the insane, so I'll assume that if this story is true then the new caps have been in use somewhere already. But where, and are there any reviews/photos?

[DGivens87]

So if New Era and MLB are ditching the 5950s, does that mean they'll all be on sale soon??? Please oh please...

[SabreGuy]

As a side note... I'd have to believe that New Era will keep producing the 5950 in other styles, correct? I mean, I don't particularly like the "rapper" style hats, but they seem to be REALLY big sellers for New Era. If this is true about MLB going away from the traditional 5950, it would mean one of two things...

1) they're just re-designing the 5950, which means that in general all styles of 5950 will change or

2) they're going with an entirely new model, which begs the question of whether the 5950 does or does not need to be bolstered by being the official cap of MLB to still be a big seller for new era.

[fonz]

I actually really like the 59/50's. But you guys are right, its time for a change.

[JohnnyFriedRice]

20 bucks says the New Era logo is now bigger than the team logo.

[baseballking99]

I think it would be stupid for them to stop making the 5950. Its the highest quality hat you can buy. Hopefully they'll keep making the 5950's as normal and just sell these new caps as the "authentics"

[JohnnyFriedRice]

I think it would be stupid for them to stop making the 5950. Its the highest quality hat you can buy. Hopefully they'll keep making the 5950's as normal and just sell these new caps as the "authentics"

High quality? Really? A lot of them are made in sweatshops, they aren't consistantly sized, and can come apart way too soon. They're priced to be high quality, but the product doesn't back it up.

[EatSleepJeep]

I think it would be stupid for them to stop making the 5950. Its the highest quality hat you can buy. Hopefully they'll keep making the 5950's as normal and just sell these new caps as the "authentics"

Seriously? You cannot believe this. When I went to buy my Twins road 5950, I had to go to three stores to find a hat that had the M straight, the red and white aligned without gaps, the red top button in the real middle, and the mlb logo on the back straight. I looked at over a hudred hats and they were all shoddy.

Good riddance 5950, New Era's riding on yesterday's laurels and tomorrow's compost.

[leedsunited]

Not good. Not good at all. the 5950 was one of the best things about the MLB uniform.

I can only imagine what stretchy crap sports material they're gonna use <shudder>

[Mingjai]

Interesting...

The Japan League, which has used polyester hats for a long time (LINK), is finally making all wool 5950 hats available (Look at the price of this bad boy! That's not yen...).

Meanwhile, the MLB is going from all wool hats to something not unlike polyester. I love the fit and feel of my Twins BP cap, but I also like the look of all wool. I'm with you SabreGuy--those "MLB Ace" caps combine the best of both worlds. Too bad they don't make them for college teams.

[Silver Shamrock]

Wow, I'm really not a fan of stretch-fit hats. The elastic is constantly contracting and sliding the hat upward, like it's trying to climb off your head! Someone else mentioned that Zephyr makes the only good one. I agree with that, and I think Z-hats are some of the best fitting and most comfortable hats I own.

I like 5950's, but I'll agree that there is a lot of inconsistency in sizing. I still like to wear a hat that sits where you put it, and stays put. You gotta have a fitted to get that, imo....

I'll be pretty surprised if they go to Flex fit in the Majors...

[Pharos04]

has anyone checked out the 'MLB Alter Ego" line? got some pretty interesting logos that i've never seen. Such as the Mets and the Tigers.

http://www.lids.com/style/4581

[griffelh]

This is big big news. My guess is that they will go to a fitted version of a cap made out of the BP cap material, as they have done for Kenny Rogers and a few others. Personally, while frustrated with sizing inconsistencies, I love the 5950. I complete dislike the way the flex fit caps fit me, and I hate low profile, as it gives complete hat head.

[SabreGuy]

I hate low profile, as it gives complete hat head.

See... that's not a problem for me. My wedding was probably the longest I've gone without wearing a cap outside of the house in 5 years, lol. No hat head if you never actually take the hat OFF! lol

All other hopeful speculation I've been doing aside, I fear that what you say is exactly what they'll do... the Kenny Rogers special.

[Gothamite]

20 bucks says the New Era logo is now bigger than the team logo.

There isn't a New Era logo on the caps to enlarge.

MLB vetoed the New Era logo a couple years ago, electing to put the league logo on the back instead. Let's hope that they stick to their guns.

[Discrim]

I must be one of the few non-players who prefers high-profile. Honestly, low profiles look dumb on me, so I'm hoping these new ones don't look like the 3930s, those really look small on me. Ideally, something like the mesh 5950s that were the original BP caps would work for me, but I doubt that's happening.