A tip of the cap to the Big Unit, Randy Johnson

[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=Randy+Johnson&iid=3277461″ src=”3/6/3/9/Randy_Johnson_51_421b.jpg?adImageId=8809165&imageId=3277461″ width=”500″ height=”336″ /] This is how I’ll remember Randy Johnson – snarling, defiant, dominant. His long hair a tangle, his facial hair prickly, his fastball hurtling menacingly toward the plate from that lanky 6′ 11″ frame. I’ll remember him most in a Mariners’ cap as above, for it was in […]

Caps off to The Captain, Derek Jeter, on tying Lou Gehrig’s hit mark

It took me a while to appreciate the greatness of Derek Jeter, who tonight in New York tied Lou Gehrig for a record 2,721 hits in a Yankees’ uniform. He’ll undoubtedly break the record in the next few games, and I hope he keeps on swinging until he reaches 3,000 hits. For most of my […]

Ichiro gets his 2,000th MLB hit

A tip of the cap and a deep bow to the honorable Ichiro Suzuki, who struck his 2,000th major-league hit this afternoon in Oakland. Those hits came after the 1,278 hits he had playing in Japan before crossing the Pacific to play for the Mariners. Ichiro’s accomplishments are remarkable. Statistically, he’s one of the greatest […]

The All-American baseball cap, by way of China

This is 2009, and Google pretty much rules the world. For no particular reason, tonight I typed “baseball caps” into the Google Images search bar to see what would come up first. And here it is, at right: the “6 Panels Baseball Cap with Brass Buckle” as displayed on made-in-china.com. The irony cannot be escaped. […]

Caps on sale at MLB.com

In the market for a new cap or two? Major League Baseball has a sale on at its online store: Buy one cap, get the second of equal or lesser value at a 50 percent discount. The sale runs through Aug. 3. It’s a great way to build your collection. A Seattle Mariners trident model, […]

Capping off the Home Run Derby

While not wearing a cap, Prince Fielder won the Home Run Derby tonight in St. Louis on the eve of the All-Star Game. In fact, several sluggers went capless in taking their hacks at Busch Stadium, and maybe that’s just as well. I was not keen on either of the league’s cap and jersey styles. […]

Ken Griffey Jr. returns to the Seattle Mariners…

… and there was great rejoicing in the land — especially in the Pacific Northwest. When I first heard the rumblings a few days ago that Ken Griffey Jr. might return to the Mariners, I tried to keep from getting too excited about the possibility. In today’s big-money baseball world, team allegiances are more fading […]

Which cap for Rickey in the Hall of Fame?

Players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame no longer get to choose which cap they’ll be depicted wearing in the bronze plaque that enshrines them. There’s no question that Jim Rice, who played his entire career for Boston, will be wearing a Red Sox cap. But what about Rickey Henderson? In a 25-year major […]

A new cap for the Big Unit

Randy Johnson has signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, and that’s good news for baseball fans by the bay. Even at 45, The Big Unit has some good games left in that 6’10” frame. The move to the Giants will be a bit of a homecoming for Johnson, who grew up nearby […]

The ecstasy – and the agony – of September baseball

April is the cruelest month, T.S. Elliott said. But he never had to suffer through September on a baseball club eliminated from playoff contention in August. That’s the plight of the Seattle Mariners, who’ve been left in the dusty cellar of the American League West. As I write this post, the M’s are 30.5 games […]