Introduction to the Great Hat Debate
The MLB regular season will start soon, which means a slew of new merchandise and hats are being released. That includes a line of New Era caps, which, for a couple of teams, have already been removed from their fan shops amid some potentially vulgar appearances.
The hats, part of New Era’s Overlap 5950 collection, superimpose the logo of each team over the team’s name. The mashup may seem innocuous and simple, but fans were quick to point out the less-than-ideal wording some of the designs created.
Affected Teams
The Texas Rangers Mishap
The Texas Rangers hat, for instance, by superimposing the Rangers’ “T” logo over its “Texas” wordmark, appeared to be labeled with a vulgar Spanish word used for women’s breasts, ESPN reported Monday. That hat is no longer available via the MLB or the Rangers’ online stores.
The Los Angeles Angels’ Disappearance
As of Tuesday, it appears an additional hat has also been removed from online fan stores. The Los Angeles Angels hat — “Anaels,” per the design — are no longer available. As The Athletic reports, however, it could still be found via Fanatics on eBay.
Other Design Mishaps
The Houston Astros and Beyond
The Houston Astros hat — which seemed to read “Ashos” — was still available. There are other potentially confusing designs, though none nearly as vulgar. The Arizona Diamondbacks hat could be read as “Ariana” while the design for the Seattle Mariners looks more like “Masers.” The Chicago Cubs hat, on the other hand, is nearly perfect, with the “C” logo largely covering the fourth letter in the city’s name. By covering up most of the vowels in Miami, the Marlins hat has been construed as “MMmi,” as some fans noted on X.
Reactions and Precedents
New Era and the impacted Teams have not commented on the potentially confusing designs. The MLB declined to comment, according to the Dallas Morning News. Hat design mishaps have happened before, of course. Last year, an unfortunate New Era cap for the Oakland A’s featured layered logos that seemed to add an extra "s" after "A’s." Earlier this year, the MLB unveiled green and orange hats for every team ahead of St. Patrick’s Day. They all contained four-leaf clovers which, as SFGate explains, are not associated with the holiday’s history — instead, they should have been shamrocks, which have only three leaves.
Conclusion
The removal of these hats from team stores highlights the importance of careful design and review in merchandise production. While the intention behind the Overlap 5950 collection was likely to create a unique and modern look, the execution fell short for some teams. As the MLB season progresses, it will be interesting to see how teams and New Era respond to these design mishaps and whether they will release revised versions of the hats.
FAQs
- Q: Which teams had their hats removed from online stores?
- A: The Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels had their hats removed due to potentially vulgar appearances.
- Q: What was the issue with the Texas Rangers hat?
- A: The hat appeared to be labeled with a vulgar Spanish word when the "T" logo was superimposed over the "Texas" wordmark.
- Q: Are the hats still available anywhere?
- A: Some hats, like the Los Angeles Angels’, could still be found through third-party sellers like Fanatics on eBay, though their availability might be limited.
- Q: Has this kind of design mistake happened before?
- A: Yes, there have been previous instances of design mishaps, including an Oakland A’s cap with an extra "s" and St. Patrick’s Day hats featuring four-leaf clovers instead of shamrocks.
