To put it simply, I love baseball caps. They’re the perfect way to tell the world that you believe in something, even if it’s just a color combination, all while protecting your head against the sun or the rain. Despite the fact that I wear my pillbox Pirates cap roughly 95% of the time, I’m also in a state of constant acquisition, whether they’re throwbacks, new designs, or simply replacements for those that are either weather-beaten or were forgotten in a bar after a few too many rounds.

But while my love for Major League caps is due to their simplicity, usually just the hometown letters intertwined in their own unique font and color scheme, my love of minor league hats is for the opposite reason. Half the reason the minor leagues exist is to develop the Major Leaguers of the future, and the other half is to make the children giggle. And isn’t it always about the children?

Because it is not an official on the field hat, here is the lone Honorary Mention:

Asheville Tourists BP Cap:





I normally hate batting practice caps, but you can’t deny a smiling moon eating ribs. Ribs, people!

And now onto the real list:

Carolina Mudcats

10.

I can’t wait for Carolina Mudcats Mud Flaps ballcap day.

9. Williamsport Crosscutters





Mustache, baseball bat, saw for lumber cutting? I’m sold.

8. Fort Wayne Tin Caps

That is an apple wearing a tin cap. What kind of argument do you have against that?

7. Greensboro Grasshoppers

You know what would have made Dumbo a better movie? If Jiminy Crickett was a pitcher. This hat rectifies that situation. (Is there a difference between a cricket and a grasshopper? Should I have gone to Wikipedia? The answer to both is maybe.)

6. Clearwater Threshers

Imagine if instead of Jaws featuring Richard Dreyfuss it featured Richie Ashburn. Yes, that would be a better movie.

5. Auburn Doubledays





It’s a letter that’s grown a mustache. I can’t even grow a mustache. Victor: hat.

4. Ogden Raptors

This hat passes the two necessary conditions:

It manages to make Utah interesting. There is a dinosaur on it.

3. Jamestown Jammers

An angry, possibly just extremely grumpy, bunch of grapes with a baseball bat. Toast never seemed so…delicious?

2. Nashville Sounds Alternate

A guitar by itself isn’t cool. You know what is cool? A guitar that hits dingers.



1. Montgomery Biscuits:

What’s better than a warm, buttery biscuit? Giving it eyes and making it your minor league logo, that’s what.

So that’s my personal list. Which of your favorites did I leave out?