Nationals wear Virginia Tech hats

[DEAD!]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Nationals wore Virginia Tech baseball caps during Tuesday night's game against the Atlanta Braves as a tribute to the victims of the shooting rampage at the school.

Nationals players wore the burgundy hats with "VT" in orange when they took the field for the top of the second inning, and the team said they'd keep them on for the rest of the game.

Manager Manny Acta, pitching coach Randy St. Claire and other coaches wore white "VT" caps with burgundy stitching.

The Nationals said the idea of wearing the Virginia Tech caps came from a fan from Calvert County, Md., who e-mailed team president Stan Kasten. The plan was to wear the caps from the beginning of the game, but a truck bringing them from Virginia got stuck in traffic.

The Nationals held moments of silence for the victims of Monday's shooting before their home games Monday and Tuesday. Washington's RFK Stadium is about 4 hours away from the university's Blacksburg campus.

[TBGKon]

Good for the Nats, nice way to recognize the situation at hand.

[SmoothieX]

Touching gesture.

I want to say something about the hats being ugly, but I just can't.

[McCall]

I actually like their hats, especially the Maroon/Orange combo. I know. Strange. But I'm weird like that.

Anyways, I think this goes to show how effected everyone can be with a tragedy like this. I mean this was a school. Peoples family, friends go there to be educated and something like this happens. I think this shows that pro players can be effected by anything and that they know what's really important. Life. Not their million-dollar salaries or endorsement deals. I applaud them, but choose to put the focus on what they are saying the focus should be on by wearing these hats, those who suffered and/or lost their lives in this senseless tragedy.

[eRay]

i wasn't going to say anything, but this is a message board, so i feel free to express my opinion. i think these look dumb in action on the team, and the idea is dumb to begin with. a moment of silence is great, maybe just a VT painted near the on-deck circle for a couple games, but wearing their hats? just seems a little overboard for a tragedy that (at a different level) happens everyday. maybe i'm an a$$hole, but this has been made into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

[AndrewPF]

I think it's a good idea and I actually do really like those hats

[IceCap]

i wasn't going to say anything, but this is a message board, so i feel free to express my opinion. i think these look dumb in action on the team, and the idea is dumb to begin with. a moment of silence is great, maybe just a VT painted near the on-deck circle for a couple games, but wearing their hats? just seems a little overboard for a tragedy that (at a different level) happens everyday. maybe i'm an a$$hole, but this has been made into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

It was the largest on-campus massacre in US history. I don't think it's been made any bigger then it actually is.

That said, the hats do seem a little overboard. A patch, or at least matching VT hats would have been nice.

[rams80]

They also had a moment of silence last night.

[RollWolfpack]

I think this is such an amazing gesture and I am incredibly pleased to see this tribute. As a student at one of Virginia Tech's closest sister institutions I know many people at VT and in the VT community. I just returned from a candlelight vigil honoring the victims, and that might make me be more emotional than usual, but I wish all teams would find some way to pay tribute to these kids and professors who had their lives cut short.

[bbills42]

... maybe i'm an a$$hole...

yup

[steiny_ramone]

i wasn't going to say anything, but this is a message board, so i feel free to express my opinion. i think these look dumb in action on the team, and the idea is dumb to begin with. a moment of silence is great, maybe just a VT painted near the on-deck circle for a couple games, but wearing their hats? just seems a little overboard for a tragedy that (at a different level) happens everyday. maybe i'm an a$$hole, but this has been made into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

It was the largest on-campus massacre in US history. I don't think it's been made any bigger then it actually is.

That said, the hats do seem a little overboard. A patch, or at least matching VT hats would have been nice.

Agreed. If they were all wearing the first hat shown this would be very nice.

But the sentiment is more important. It's still a good idea.

[IceCap]

i wasn't going to say anything, but this is a message board, so i feel free to express my opinion. i think these look dumb in action on the team, and the idea is dumb to begin with. a moment of silence is great, maybe just a VT painted near the on-deck circle for a couple games, but wearing their hats? just seems a little overboard for a tragedy that (at a different level) happens everyday. maybe i'm an a$$hole, but this has been made into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

It was the largest on-campus massacre in US history. I don't think it's been made any bigger then it actually is.

That said, the hats do seem a little overboard. A patch, or at least matching VT hats would have been nice.

Agreed. If they were all wearing the first hat shown this would be very nice.

But the sentiment is more important. It's still a good idea.

I agree, the sentiment is important, but how hard could it have been to get matching caps?

[DEAD!]

i wasn't going to say anything, but this is a message board, so i feel free to express my opinion. i think these look dumb in action on the team, and the idea is dumb to begin with. a moment of silence is great, maybe just a VT painted near the on-deck circle for a couple games, but wearing their hats? just seems a little overboard for a tragedy that (at a different level) happens everyday. maybe i'm an a$$hole, but this has been made into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

It was the largest on-campus massacre in US history. I don't think it's been made any bigger then it actually is.

That said, the hats do seem a little overboard. A patch, or at least matching VT hats would have been nice.

Agreed. If they were all wearing the first hat shown this would be very nice.

But the sentiment is more important. It's still a good idea.

I agree, the sentiment is important, but how hard could it have been to get matching caps?

How can you find VT hats in DC on such short notice? (yeah I know Virginia is close by)

[IceCap]

i wasn't going to say anything, but this is a message board, so i feel free to express my opinion. i think these look dumb in action on the team, and the idea is dumb to begin with. a moment of silence is great, maybe just a VT painted near the on-deck circle for a couple games, but wearing their hats? just seems a little overboard for a tragedy that (at a different level) happens everyday. maybe i'm an a$$hole, but this has been made into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

It was the largest on-campus massacre in US history. I don't think it's been made any bigger then it actually is.

That said, the hats do seem a little overboard. A patch, or at least matching VT hats would have been nice.

Agreed. If they were all wearing the first hat shown this would be very nice.

But the sentiment is more important. It's still a good idea.

I agree, the sentiment is important, but how hard could it have been to get matching caps?

How can you find VT hats in DC on such short notice? (yeah I know Virginia is close by)

Yeah, but they're a Major League Baseball club. Couldn't they have called up the supplier directly?

Eh, whatever. The gesture was very important, and it shows a lot of class on the Nationals' part. That still doesn't mean it couldn't have been executed better.

[DEAD!]

i wasn't going to say anything, but this is a message board, so i feel free to express my opinion. i think these look dumb in action on the team, and the idea is dumb to begin with. a moment of silence is great, maybe just a VT painted near the on-deck circle for a couple games, but wearing their hats? just seems a little overboard for a tragedy that (at a different level) happens everyday. maybe i'm an a$$hole, but this has been made into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

It was the largest on-campus massacre in US history. I don't think it's been made any bigger then it actually is.

That said, the hats do seem a little overboard. A patch, or at least matching VT hats would have been nice.

Agreed. If they were all wearing the first hat shown this would be very nice.

But the sentiment is more important. It's still a good idea.

I agree, the sentiment is important, but how hard could it have been to get matching caps?

How can you find VT hats in DC on such short notice? (yeah I know Virginia is close by)

Yeah, but they're a Major League Baseball club. Couldn't they have called up the supplier directly?

Eh, whatever. The gesture was very important, and it shows a lot of class on the Nationals' part. That still doesn't mean it couldn't have been executed better.

*I was about to make a joke, but it better suited for a different thread....*

[NJTank]

I like it, and its good way to show your allegiance to the fans of Virginia.

[DomTheAthlete29]

classy like baseball was ment to be.

[Gothamite]

I just returned from a candlelight vigil honoring the victims, and that might make me be more emotional than usual, but I wish all teams would find some way to pay tribute to these kids and professors who had their lives cut short.

I'm sorry for the loss, and can't imagine what you're going through, but I think that would be an over-the-top gesture.

Where do we draw the line? Should we have all teams wear NYPD caps on the anniversary of 9/11? Ten times as many people had their lives cut short that day than at VT.

The Nationals should do it, as the closest representative. Simple, dignified. An appropriate response to a terrible crime.

[Gothamite]

Sorry, double post.

[HatManTC]

great jester, i wonder if they stoped at a local LIDS/Hatworld and bought them there. it looks like a lot of the styles that we carry or have carried in the past. i hope were ever they got them they got a great deal on them. I am surpised NE didnt try to supply them with some, but i can understand how hard it would be to get it to them on such a short deadline.