As if international relations between the U.S. and Canada aren’t already on tenterhooks, the deans of American baseball merchandise have delivered an unsavoury salvo back this way.
The U.S. is celebrating its 250th anniversary next month, and the Blue Jays will be in Seattle to play the Mariners on the blessed birthday. Major League Baseball always issues commemorative caps to mark special days in the baseball calendar. And the Jays are getting in on the action this season.
The league revealed its July 4 cap collection online earlier this week, and some Jays fans, perhaps on either side of the border, are less than pleased with the Toronto design.
“First hat to sell 0 units,” said a user on social media site X. “What was the thought process here?”
“Well, it purposely doesn’t have the Stars and Stripes inside the team logo on the hat for that reason. All the others do,” added another X user.
A True Keepsake for Baseball Fans
The beige-toned cap sports a red Jays logo, red bill and red button on the point of the hat, along with the logo “USA 250” in a patch style, stitched on the right side of the hat. The Jays logo is the only one in the MLB collection that doesn’t have the stars and stripes theme buried inside the logo itself.
For example, here is the cap of the Baltimore Orioles.
MLBShop.com says the cap “features the Toronto Blue Jays logo with the American flag filled inside the outline for stars, stripes, and hometown pride all in one. Inside the hat, Canadian flag imagery inside the crown makes this a true keepsake for any baseball fan.” If you’re looking to pick one up for yourself or a Yankee doodle dandy friend of yours with a love for all things Blue Jays, the limited-edition cap is currently listed at about $85 on the MLB website.
There is another Blue Jays July 4-themed hat, dating back to 2022. But don’t bother trying to order one as MLB says it’s out of stock.
ganderson@postmedia.com
