If you have ever been to a baseball game you will notice that all players wear a hat. You might wonder why and what is the tradition behind wearing a hat.
The tradition that has been set around for over 100 years and it has become quite embedded in the game. Most players would never dream of playing the game without wearing a hat. Most of it started out of necessity and has now become tradition.
There are some competitive advantages to wearing a hat.
Baseball players wear hats to block the sun, to shield the stadium lights and to provide team identity and pride.
Why do baseball players wear hats: To block the sun (1)
Baseball is a game that is played in the spring, summer and fall. At the Little League level, you play many games in the heat of the summer. With the game being played outside for the most part, the sun can become a major barrier to making plays in the field.
The brim on the hat provides a shield against the sun and allows the fielder to have a clear vision of a ball coming at them.
Keep in mind, some batted balls travel over 100 mph and could cause injury if the player cannot properly see the ball. The baseball hat becomes an essential piece of the uniform. Even on days when the sun isn’t extremely bright, the glare from different sources can cause issues.
As far as batting, players now have a baseball helmet on for protection. However, the batting helmets do you have a broom to help provide better vision for the batter. At the youth level, some players will often wear their hat underneath their helmet to help with fitting or for cleanliness reasons.
At today’s youth level, a baseball helmet is often provided by the family, to eliminate sharing of helmets. This also helps with proper fitting to help with comfort and vision at the plate.
Why do baseball players wear hats: To shield the bright lights (2)
In the early days of baseball, the majority of games were played during the day. Now, more and more games are played at night under the stadium lights. Even at the Little League level, it is not uncommon to see games played under the lights.
The lights provide another barrier to making plays in the field. They call third-base the hot corner for a reason. The ball flies fast off about a ball and the fielder must be able to make the play quickly.
As far as the outfield, with the baseballs hit up in the air, the lights can really mess with the vision of the ball. Like when dealing with the sun, the hat provides a barrier to shield the lights. The difficult part about the lights is that the ball can get caught in the lights on the way up and then again back on the way down.
The fielder should practice in the lights before his or her first game to ensure they are prepared and can deal with the vision being impacted.
Other options to block the sun or the lights:
Eye black and sunglasses have also made their way into the game. They provide another layer to help players increase their vision both at the plate and in the field.
The vision of a player is extremely important and losing the ball in the lights or the sun can lead to injury, poor performance, or a lost game. Coaches and players should take their vision serious and consider having a quality hat and these other two options.
Why do baseball players wear eye black?
Why do players wear hats: Team identity and pride (3)
There is something special about getting your team hat at the beginning of each season! It is a source of pride and team identity that set you apart from others.
Fans also love to wear their team hat for this very reason. It identifies you as a fan of the team and there are some pretty awesome looking hats at the major-league baseball level. Kids at the Little League level also get excited about the hat and wear that hat all summer!
Baseball hats have become embedded in the tradition of baseball and this is a pretty cool thing. It is a major source of pride for both players and fans. Teams, nowadays, will have multiple hats that identify their team and provide an extra money maker as they are made available to fans for purchase.
Little League teams are also known to buy several hats as a way to build excitement around the game in the upcoming season!
How To Pick Out Your Baseball Hat
Hat Options: straight brim or curved brim
One style that has become more common in the recent game of baseball is the straight brim or curve brim option. I believe that the curved brim provides a greater layer of protection for your eyes to maintain your vision. The curved brim provides protection from sun glare and can protect your side vision as well.
You will hear some traditionalists get upset about players wearing a straight brimmed hat. At the end of the day, as long as kids are enjoying the game of baseball and are future fans of the game, here at sportswarrior365, we are happy. The goal of any season is to encourage, support, build skill and hope that kid plays again next year. If this takes a straight brim hat, let’s go for it!
Hat options: fitted or adjustable
At the major-league level, the hats are fitted. The quality of hat continues to improve and there are hats that appear to be fitted that provide flexibility on sizes for those ordering for youth teams.
Why do baseball players wear batting gloves?
Why do baseball players wear hats: Final thoughts
Most people played little league baseball as a kid. It is a time of great excitement, quality fun and there’s something appealing about a baseball game on summer day.
The hat adds to the overall appeal to the game for many youth and also provides a competitive advantage. Maintaining quality vision at both the plate and in the field is essential to overall success.