Here in the U.S., that’d be called a “flat cap” (sometimes a “driver cap,” “newsboy cap,” or “Irish cap”). In recent years, that style has had a comeback, as something that hipsters wear.
Tim McCarver, color guy sports analyst, made the brilliant observation that baseball is on the only game where fans come essentially wearing the uniforms of the players. The hats, the jerseys’ with their favourite players name and number on the back. ETA: And gloves, if they’re feeling lucky,
Even the coaches and managers are in full uniform. Baseball is the only game like that.
Are you talking specifically about baseball caps or with the roughly equivalent golf caps or trucker caps?
Any cap that is in the shape of what is typically known to be a baseball cap. So trucker caps, yes. I don’t quite know what distinguishes a golf cap from a baseball cap but if you’re talking a cap that Tiger Woods wears, then yes those too.
There still seems to be an association of that style of cap with old fogies.
You can find them in Taiwan, but when I lived there, they were just called “hats”. I didn’t know they were associated with baseball at all until I moved to the U.S. I actually still don’t know this… do they actually wear those when they play baseball here? (I don’t watch many sports…)
Wikipedia says that they’re also called baseball hats in Chinese (or literally, “stick-ball hat”), but notes:
In Taiwan, people often mistakenly refer to a baseball cap as a “duckbill cap.” This is a misunderstanding of the true traditional British duckbill cap (Flat cap or bunnet).
I guess Western fashion travels widely, but a lot of context is lost along the way. Similar, those basketball jerseys (if that’s what they’re called) are commonly found in the night markets there, but usually with made-up team names and numbers, and they’re just called “clothes” or maybe “thin clothes” or “sporty stuff” or such. I also never knew they were associated with basketball or any sport until the U.S.
I wear a baseball cap – emblazoned with the local team’s logo and a smaller manufacturer’s logo, which is not a swoosh – for two reasons. To shade my eyes and to keep the sun off my growing bald spot.
Like baseball itself, the baseball cap is probably a variant of the cricket cap which predates it…
But probably still invented by an American.
So it’s an American cricket invention, which might be the wildest thing about baseball caps.
Although as I read more I’m compelled to edit more. There is some suggestion it was invented for baseball, then taken up by cricket in the mid 19th century. Sorry, this has taken me down a rabbit hole and I’m in danger of hijacking the thread.
So far as I can tell, fans of every sport wear replicas of their favorite player’s jersey. Is it just including the headgear that makes baseball fans special?
Yes, baseball players usually wear this style of hat. Usually not when batting: They have helmets for that, to mitigate the risk of being hit by a pitch. But certainly when fielding.
It was back in the 80’s when he was doing color for the Mets when he said this. i do suppose he’d include shoulder pads and non-catcher helmets.
He also once postulated that Baseball is the only game where the other team controls the - object in play (?) - and I repeated that to someone and they were like “What about Tennis?” - erm, well, i do not know.
Somehow McCarver was insightful when he did color with the Mets. Much less so when he went to the networks.
too late to edit: he said something like, “Baseball is only game where the defense controls the ball.”
George Carlin made the same observation in his “Baseball vs. Football” routine some years earlier.
Certainly one of his famous bits, that he’d tweak over the years
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I’ll be safe at home!
George Carlin, masterful.
I usually wear one while walking. If I’m walking away from the sun, I often wear it backwards to keep the sun off my neck to prevent sunburn.
He said that they wear the same hats and shirts/jerseys. But they don’t typically wear the pants or spiked shoes.
Football fans wear jerseys but not the helmets, pads, pants or cleats. Similar for hockey but replace cleats with skates.
But basketball fans are probably the most complete. They don’t have headwear but people will certainly wear the same jerseys, shorts and shoes. Everything.
McCarver is full of shit.
That has been said more than once before.
I’ve been to lots of games and never saw a fan wearing the home/away pants of their team. And I reckon spikes are right out.
Yet in his defense, football and hockey fans are not wearing the shoulder pads and such.
Though you make it sound like basketball fans are ready to “in the game” which I’m certain is allowed in the NBA.
The only basketball game I attended was about 50 years ago: Harlem Globetrotters. Meadowlark Lemon, Curly; the gang who met Scooby Doo. They beat the New Jessey Generals by a lot.
It’s a comfortable outfit, but I bet not many fans wore the short shorts to games that the players sported how ever many years ago.
He often was, but did he even say this? I certainly don’t trust the source here.
This was also said in the opening episode of Ken Burns’ Baseball series.
So, anyone live in or a visit any places where no one wears baseball caps?