See oldest Yanks cap, futuristic logos on 'Inside Stitch' and 'Carded'

September 17th, 2023

The Yankees logo is the most iconic in sports. Travel the world and you'll see people in Yankees caps who may have never even seen a baseball game. But what does the oldest Yankees cap in existence look like? Fortunately for you, there is Tom Shieber and the Hall of Fame with the answer. In the newest episode of MLB's uniform-and-gear-obsessed show, "Inside Stitch" -- available on MLB.TV and airing on Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. ET on MLB Network -- Shieber also shares how the Hall of Fame managed to get its hands on such a cap: It came from Yankees player Bill Otis himself, who was with the team for all of four games in 1912.

Of course, uniforms have changed a little bit over the last 100-odd years. And no place is that more apparent than in the Minor Leagues -- where bright, colorful and off-the-wall jerseys have become the norm. Now, teams have also adopted new identities inspired by their "Copa de la Diversión" or "Fun Cup" games. Find out a little more about these incredibly cool jerseys below:

As for the greatest and/or wackiest of Minor League jerseys? Well, we've got the ranking for you:

"But Mike," I hear you asking. "What will MLB team logos look like 1,000 years from now? Sure, I'll be long gone, but for my great, great, great, great, great grandchildren -- what will that look like?" 

I'm glad you asked. I teamed up with MLB designer Tom Forget and took a little peek into the future. Come along for the ride:

Of course, it's important to stay in the present, which is why the Off Base crew figures out which traded ballplayer -- Tommy Pham or Josh Bell -- looks best in his new uniform:

Then, it's time for "Carded" -- the show dedicated to the love, obsession and collection of baseball cards. D-backs starter Merrill Kelly ripped open a pack, managing to get two Shohei Ohtani cards in the pack.

"Anytime Shohei is on the front, probably pay attention to that one," Kelly said. "One pitch I remember [throwing to him], is a 93-mph, two-strike, front-hip sinker that he almost hit into the pool here at Chase [Field]."

Host Alex Giaimo goes through the latest Topps Chrome set, highlighting the greatest new refractor cards, including the highly sought after Tacofractor. (Yes, you read that right.)

Twins pitcher Joe Ryan -- rocking his own great T-shirt -- rips open packs from the 2022 Bowman set while trying to find his own rookie card. How many packs will it take?

Ethan Roberts also shares the story of how far he went to track down a particular card of his own.

Finally, former Phillies and Astros closer Brad Lidge joins the show to discuss his own baseball-card obsession. Though he now mostly collects rare and unique pre-war cards, he remembers the pain that came right after he bought a Dave Winfield rookie card as a child.

"I remember getting his rookie card in probably '86 or '87 and it was $20 or something like that back then -- which took me a while to [save] up to [buy] that," Lidge said. "I brought it home and I was so pumped up. I had it laying on the floor, not in any plastic thing, and my dog walked in the room and just walked right on it. I was like, 'Get off! Get off!' She got off it, but punched a nail through it. I was just wrecked, but I learned: You need to protect these things or your dog will step on them."

You'll definitely want to stick around to hear about which Hall of Fame ballplayer lost to him in fantasy football, helping fund his purchase of a Babe Ruth card:

Click here if you're an MLB.TV subscriber to watch both episodes in full or remember to tune in to MLB Network at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday to catch both new episodes.