Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Backwards Baseball Cap: A Protracted Discourse


I’ve always said that there are two folks who can, albeit for a precise reason, wear a backwards baseball cap. Catchers and Home Plate Umpires. Johnny Bench always comes to my mind for some reason.

But I’ve now come to the understanding, after ninety seconds of research, that today’s home plate Umps wear a hybrid cap with a shortened bill.
With this updated reality as context, you backwards ass hat wearers now only have one exception as opposed to two. And I'm not certain that all of you are headed to the Majors for a job.
LFG and I did our American Girl Store walkabout in Gotham last week and I rounded the corner to see this. 
Not one to make a scene…LFG seems these days to be embarrassed by even my modest displays of silliness or any outlier behavior…I discretely made an adjustment to this little fella’s topper. The American Girl store has security guards. If not,  I’d have spanked this piccolo poseur…gently.

And I will continue to do so when the opportunity permits. Backwards baseball hats are beyond juvenile and to me, offer a symbol of the surly, sulky indifference that pervades our current society. And no, for the nineteenth f_ _king time, I’m NOT a Republican. And this isn’t a racial issue…there’s plenty of surly floating around in all shapes, colours and sizes these days.
Even on Merkin’s slummiest sartorial days…
 He always wore his cap forward.

Someone nicely posited this...“The baseball cap should be worn in the direction that your life is travelling.” I’m not that nice. Turn your hat around and pull your pants up above your ass-crack.
Onward. Bill-forward.

ADG



24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really fed up with seeing males (giving the appearance of a little boy) around town wearing baseball caps. Quite frankly, there just ain't nothing cool about it. What gentleman would be caught dead wearing one? Additionally, I find a woman in a baseball cap utterly ridiculous.

Save these heinous objects for sporting, occupational uniforms and the beach/swimming pool.

Did you receive my most recent email?

~Hilton

Anonymous said...

Sweeeet.


SFBayArea

Richard M said...

Backward baseball caps are a clear sign of the decline and fall.

Out Of A Bandbox said...

Shall we also include flip flops as a no-no? Please...please tell me we can.

Don Sutton said...

While I think backwards baseball caps are ridiculous, flip flops have a time and place...so I wouldn't include them in the same category. ...as long as the time and place are not a fine dining restaurant for dinner!

Anonymous said...

One additional item, once you have turned your hat around, you should learn to take it off indoors and at the dinner table.

Does anyone else notice that is when you see a father and son together it is difficult to tell which one is the child?

I am must be getting old, because it seems when I was young we we trying to be more adult in our dress and activities. Now it seems the adults try to be more juvenile.
RTS

Anonymous said...

I know he wasn't the first person to do this, but recently retired future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. was known for his backwards-facing cap. It just killed me every time I saw him doing this, and I wanted to hate him, but he played his entire career with such grace and class that I always just let it slide.

Turling said...

For me, the image is Carlton Fisk. No idea why, since I'm out in California and never rooted for the White Sox in my life. Oh, yea, and only when he played with the guys in the white sox, not those wearing red. Odd.

Anyway, off to get a belt to pull my pants above my ass crack...

Anonymous said...

I'll take a backwards baseball cap anyday over someone who parades their feet and self-aggrandizing "style" all over the internet!

Unknown said...

Oh, man! You've hit on my biggest (well, recently, that is. Along with bra straps hanging out, lardy people wearing too-small clothes,, especially tank tops as NO ONE over the age of 10 should wear a tank top as clothing, and the repugnant words-on-the-butt-sweats, that is) revulsion in today's do-anything sartorial slobber. Bass-ackwards hats and those stupid falling off jeans are revolting and do nothing but show how asininely ignorant, lazy and "piss on you" so much of our society has reverted to now. I thought this look ended when Eminem pretty much dropped off the face of the earth, but noooo. Sigh. It's bad enough seeing it in (shudder) Mall Land but to see it walking into such places as museums, restaurants, and the Capitol makes my skin crawl. As much as I resented it growing up, I'm so glad I was "forced" to wear respectable clothes. With personality, natch, but showing someone such disrespect as that stupid cap makes my blood boil. Alas, time to end this ranting and go cry into my linen hanky!

Bob McClellan said...

What? You're not a republican....I could have sworn that someone as WASPy as you would be on the GOP...lol

Patsy said...

Utterly ridiculous chiming in! Why aren't the little ladies allowed to wear baseball caps? What do you suggest we wear when playing, say, baseball?

LPC said...

Thank you so much for continuing to remind everyone that Democrats can hanker after civility too. We can even be patriots.

Barima said...

Baseball and trucker caps make me chuckle. I remember when a few years ago, Puma made limited edition models using Savile Row-retailed wools. It appears that their manufacturers and wearers will let nothing convince them of their lack of brilliance

Mr Merkin's dressed-down ensemble, though: what an excellent use of reds

How are the holidays, you crazy kids?

All best,

B

Anonymous said...

after one's twelth birthday it's a no no. After Dwight Clark caught the Superbowl winning td from Joe Montana he was asked how he kept the girls away just before and right after games, he was quite handsome guy. He replied, "I put on a baseball cap, girls don't go for guys wearing those."

Anonymous said...

A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat.
P. J. O'Rourke

ilovelimegreen said...

ADG - Never ever did I think dolls (and photographed!) would be mentioned in three posts running!

SouthernProletariat said...

A male in my conference today was wearing shorts and tennis shoes.ugh! I don't think "business casual" goes that far... I couldn't help but think of you and the rest of your merry band of male fashion bloggers who fight the good fight against bad taste. Carry on! (oh, and fyi... a welder will also turn his cap backwards when wearing a welding helmet...)

NCJack said...

When I was a kid, the bassackward ball cap was the sign of the "goober".

Many things have changed in fifty years...that hasn't

ADG said...

Hey Gang....great comments! Thanks. I'm in meetings in Denver and am now headed to dinner with clients so no time to respond to all of these. There are a couple of zingers in here the beg my drivel in response. I'll respond when I return from dinner...if I'm sober and not too involved in self aggrandizing my style and feet.

Paul said...

Hey -- you know everything! Is HTJ coming back? Wash those feet!

Anonymous said...

As the intimidating father of (now adult) daughters, I explained that I'd go much easier to prospective suitors if they left the ball cap in the car. I also explained that, in my experience, a ball cap lowered the IQ of the adolescent wearer 10 points, backwards 20, and sideways 30. And that none of their friends could afford the reduction.

Did the trick.

JFD

Toad said...

Home plate Umpire hats have always been short billed.

Ami said...

Agreed.
I was mortified when I saw the American @ Wimbledon playing in a backwards baseball hat. Unforgivable.