Why Are the Yankees and Red Sox Wearing Copycat Caps?

Imagine if, after watching the Yankees celebrating their AL East title Sunday, you plunked down money to buy the same style of t-shirts and hats that the Yankees wore while pouring champagne and beer all over each other in the clubhouse.

And then you discovered that the Boston Red Sox’s own commemorative gear, for their AL Wild Card title celebration, had the same design as the Yankees stuff does. Yikes! It’s a bit jarring to see Yankees and Red Sox wearing the same styles in the cluhbouse, no?

I don’t know what the MLB designers were thinking by having all their playoff-bound teams wear the same design on their commemorative clothing items.

True, it really doesn’t bother me if, say, the Cardinals have hats with the same design.

But it’s a different story with the Yankees and the Red Sox wearing such similar gear. It  just seems so wrong on so many levels. Doesn’t MLB understand that Yankee fans are uncomfortable with those red patriotic “Stars and Stripes” caps the players wear on the Fourth of July, Memorial Day Weekend, and 9/11 simply because of the color of the hats? So why not differentiate the Yanks and Sox playoff stuff better (and no, dark blue vs. black on the cap part doesn’t count.)

Granted, I have never understood why any baseball fan would buy memorabilia reflecting a Wild Card title, or even a division title, in the first place. It’s just asking for trouble. (And how far do fans  go in emulating the way the players wear them, anyway? Do they keep the little white plastic hook thingies on the top of the caps as  well, the way the players do?  And do they pour champagne on each other after a big win?)

I’t's not for me. While I’m excited the Yankees are doing so well this year, and got to see them clinch the AL East in person on Sunday, I’ll save my money for when the Yanks win something I’ll be proud of celebraing years later. Imagine  if I had spent money on a t-shirt commemorating the Yankees 2007 Wild Card title or the 2004 ALDS. Talk about setting myself up for grief  from Yankee-haters each time I’d wear it. No thanks.

And that also goes for the generic “2009 Playoffs” stuff I’ve seen. We don’t know year whether this season’s playoffs will be worth wearing a sweatshirt about six months after the face.

Just because my Yankees wore those celebratory AL East clothing items in the locker room while pouring champagne and beer all over themselves doesn’t mean that I feel the need to buy a t-shirt or  plunk down $29.99 for an “Authentic 2009 AL Eastern Division Champions Cap” (Authentic? Is there a huge bootleg market in faux AL East title gear that I’m unaware of?)

And yes,  I think I’ll pass on getting the Highland Mint’s commemorative AL East coin as well.

But even so, I still feel badly for any fan who rushed out to buy any this stuff to emulate their Yankee icons, only to have Boston wear the same design. No Yankee fan ever wants to look like a Red Sox, after all (and vice versa.)  You would think MLB would understand this by now.

Photos by MLB.com

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