What Are Rally Caps In Baseball?
Rally caps are baseball's most infamous superstition, where fans and trailing team members turn their branded hats inside out or unconventionally wear them to motivate their team to come from behind and steal a victory, typically in the late and dying parts of a game.
It's thought that the cap has to be branded with the baseball team's logo to work, and the superstition intends to give up a little dignity on your part in exchange for some luck for the team.
Although this trend originated from the game of baseball, it has now transcended the sport.
From softball rally caps to hockey rally hats, superstition has its part in every sport, and rally caps have proved that time and time again.
What Is The Point Of Rally Caps?
Rally baseball caps are a tool that fans and supporting players utilize to expose a small part of their dignity to bring power to the player who needs it most.
This baseball tradition highlights the unity between fans and team members alike as both are willing to put ego aside to get behind their team.
Rally Caps tap into the very core of baseball and sport in general, showing the importance of unity and doing everything you can for your team's success over individual gain.
This connection between player and fan is not shown often in other sports and is something to be admired by all.
How Do You Wear Rally Caps?
So you want to show support for your favourite MLB team but are unsure how to rock a rally cap?
Ultimately there is no blueprint, but here are some loose guidelines so you can identify how to wear rally caps:
You must make sure that you are wearing a branded cap. When supporting your team, ensure your teams' branding is on the hat.
- You must wear your baseball hat in an unconventional way, something to harness attention from players who need a boost.
- You can turn your ball hat inside out so that the branding is inside.
- You can turn your bill the other way round so it faces upwards.
- You can face your cap backwards, so the buckle side is on your forehead.
- In some instances, baseball fans and players in the dugout like to wear rally caps shark style, cap folded in half and the peak pointed straight up to the sky.
What Are Popular Baseball Rally Caps?
Across the years, we have seen countless styles of rally caps. This long-lasting tradition has forced both players and fans to get creative when rooting for their ball team.
But Four styles have stood the test of time and come out on top of the others these are:
- The Inside Out Rally Cap
- The Shark Styled Rally Cap
- The Backwards Bill Rally cap
- The Standard Backwards Baseball Cap
The Inside Out Rally Cap
This style is probably the most common, a straight-up switch around where supporters turn their hats inside out to reveal the inner stitching.
The Shark Styled Rally Cap.
Another typical style in baseball is where the cap's folded in on itself with the brim pointed skywards to mimic a shark's dorsal fin.
The Backwards Bill Rally Cap
Another classic rally cap style has the cap worn in a typical way, with the only difference being the bill on the front of the hat is turned around the other way so that it faces upwards.
The Standard Backwards Baseball Cap
Thought to be founded by Ken Griffey Jr in the '90s the backwards ball cap has moved from the field into the stands as a way to rally behind your favourite baseball team.
How Do You Make A Rally Baseball Cap?
If you want to make a rally cap, we advise you to get creative and choose what you think will bring your team power in the vital moments of the game.
Alternatively, you can follow these steps to make a rally cap:
- Ideally, buy a ball cap with your team's logo on the front panels.
- Wear your hat to a game and hold out for the moment your team needs some support.
- When required, take your cap from your head and slowly work it so that the branding faces inwards and your lid is inside out.
- Place your ball cap back on your head.
- Turn your bill upwards, so it faces the sky.
- The final and vital step, make sure the intended player/players can see your support.
Who Invented The Rally Cap?
It isn't easy to put an exact date on the 1st time a rally cap appeared in baseball. Some recall attending a Detroit Tigers ball game back in the 1940s where multiple players were seen wearing ball caps differently.
However, there is no way to tie this instance to the rallying of today's game, and it seems to have just been somewhat coincidental.
If you had to credit someone with the creation and invention of the rally cap, it has to be the New York Mets of the 1980s.
The Mets breathed life into the Rally cap and helped it become the superstitious trend it remains today.
Like all good traditions, it started from the fans themselves and, after proving effective, transferred its way to the players.
Over multiple campaigns in the 80s, it helped the Mets clutch victory from the jaws of defeat and became an iconic part of their history.
One of the most notable rally cap moments for the Mets was in the 1986 world series between the Mets and the Boston Red Sox, where the Mets managed to claw back from behind in game 6 to force game 7, where they also sealed a victory with another late comeback.
That's the power of the rally cap!
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