Courtesy of New Era
New Era just released each MLB team’s new spring training hats as well as the new batting practice hats. I am going to compare the two and choose which one is better for each team. Starting with the National League East.
Philadelphia Phillies:
I personally really like both of these hats. The spring training ones are symbolic of their home state of Pennsylvania with the Liberty Bell. The batting practice one features Phanatic, their mascot, who is always a fun Phillies icon. While the spring training hats are cool and match the team's colors a little bit better, the bp hats are more fun and are my pick for my favorite of these two.
New York Mets:
Both of the Mets’ new hats stay true to their typical logos and color schemes, which is something I really like about both of them. However, I personally think that the batting practice ones are new and different in all the best ways and so of New York’s newest hats, I would say that the batting practice ones are the better of the two.
Washington Nationals:
Both hats of these hats are cool, and I like both a lot. The spring training hats are a tiny bit different from the Nationals’ typical uniform color scheme, but that subtle navy ‘W’ with the red and white outlines is what really draws me to it. The bp hats are a closer match to their uniforms but also have that ‘DC’ as their acknowledgement of their home city. Deciding between these two was a really tough decision, however, I think I like the spring training hats more. There is just something about the subtle colors on the ‘W’ that draws me to it and gives it that edge.
Miami Marlins:
Both of these hats are pretty cool, and I think they are both very fitting for the Marlins. The spring training hats are true to the typical uniform and color scheme, which I am usually a fan of, but these just seem almost too similar to typical Marlins hats. The batting practice ones, however, stay true to typical uniform color and theme, but in a much different and fun way and so of these two, I prefer the batting practice hats to the spring training ones.
Atlanta Braves:
Right off the bat, I like the spring training hats. They are essentially the inverse of the Braves’ typical hats and I really like that about them, this decision is one that drastically changes the hat. With the batting practice hats however, I like the color schemes, but the lowercase ‘a’ just throws me off too much seeing as the uppercase is the typical logo for Atlanta. With that being said, I like the spring training hats more than the batting practice ones.
Next division, the NL Central!
St. Louis Cardinals:
Both of these hats stay true to typical Cardinals’ colors and themes while also switching it up a little bit, which is something that I really like about both. As for my favorite of the two, I think I would prefer the batting practice ones only because the black base of it provides a nice accent to the uniforms.
Chicago Cubs:
I absolutely love both of these hats! The colors on both work perfectly with the typical colors, logo, and theme, making both hats look so good. The decision on my favorite between these two was really tough, but ultimately, I decided that the spring training ones are my favorite. I love the full cub on it with that baby blue base and dark blue accents; it works well together and was a home run for sure. I think these hats as a duo might just be my favorite- at least in the NL.
Milwaukee Brewers:
The Brew Crew’s new hats are both really cool and I definitely like them both. I like the typical look of the spring training hats; they are similar to the typical hats, but they incorporate more yellow on the hat which is a nice differentiation from the normal hats. The batting practice hats though, are the ones that I am drawn to the most of the two. It leans more into the look of their city connect uniforms with the light blue color and the brewer on the front rather than their typical logo, so they are my pick of these for sure.
Pittsburgh Pirates:
I like both hats a lot; they both stay true to the standard themes and colors of the Pirates’ typical uniforms while still changing some things up a little. I think between these two, I like the batting practice ones more just because of how different they are. I also like the stars that were added around the signature “P” just because it adds a little something else to a simple hat.
Cincinnati Reds:
Both of these hats are very fitting for Cininnati in the logo and color scheme. Of the two however, I like the batting practice one better. I like the full logo, and the red and white balance just draws me to it more than the spring training one.
Rounding out the NL, the West!
San Francisco Giants:
I really like both of these hats. The spring training one is an inverse look of a typical Giants’ hat with the black and orange flipped. I also really like the “Giants” written over the baseball on the hat in Giants colors with the plain black base of the batting practice. This was another tough choice for me, but I ultimately leaned towards the batting practice one as my favorite of the two. It is different while still staying true to the Giants’ typical theme.
Los Angeles Dodgers:
Both of these hats are very similar since they both just feature a simple script “D” just with different base colors. I personally have a preference toward the solid Dodger blue, so with that being said I prefer the spring training hat over the batting practice one.
San Diego Padres:
Both hats stick to San Diego's typical colors and theme, and I really like that about both. I like the gray section on the front of the batting practice one, but I also like the simplicity of the spring training one. I think between the two, the batting practice one catches my eye more because it does have that gray contrast element to it, so I think it has to be my favorite of the two.
Arizona Diamondbacks:
Despite these not exactly matching the color theme of the DBacks, I am a big fan of both hats alone. The snake on both of them is a signature Diamondbacks' logo and I like that they kept that on both of them, despite changing the color scheme. I love the red snake on the spring training one but the solid black base color for the batting practice hat makes the blue pop. This was another hard decision for me because I really like them both a lot, but I think the batting practice one won me over. I love the black background with the orange outline on the snake and the use of blue only as an accent color.
Lastly but certainly not least, the Colorado Rockies:
I love the fact that these hats also were kept on theme with typical Rockies’ colors and theme with both of these. The spring training hats are another inverse hat where the colors of the lettering are switched with the base color of the hat, which I really like. Even though I am a fan of the color inverse of the spring training ones, the batting practice hat won me over. I love the purple base with black stripes and the Rockies’ logo, it is definitely my pick of these two.
While I am super excited about these new MLB hats and love the look of all of them, I preferred the batting practice hats: choosing 11 teams’ bp hats over their spring training hats. Though, many of them were tough choices. My favorite set definitely was the Chicago Cubs though, with the DBacks giving them a run for their money. I am so excited to see teams repping these hats this spring, and during the season!
Edited by Giana Robertaccio
Graphics created by Giana Robertaccio
Social media content created by Simran Sandhra and Thea Heckel