MiLB Baseball: My Favorite Five MiLB Hats

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January 15th was known as National Hat Day in Minor League Baseball. Just like in the majors with the City Connect jerseys in minor league baseball, they like to design hats. These were the top ten-selling hats from last year, so I am going to choose my favorite five out of the top ten. All of them are cool and these hats are from all three levels of the minors. Minor league baseball is very important to MLB. When players are drafted, they are sent to minors to develop and possibly make it to the majors. The top ten teams that were the biggest sellers were Hartford Yard Goats, Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Akron RubberDucks, West Michigan White Caps, Durham Bulls, Las Vegas Aviators, Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Eugene Emeralds, Lake Elsinore Storm, and the Clearwater Threshers. I will rank them from my least to my most favorite.

Sugar Land Space Cowboys
Photo Credit: MLB.com

The Cowboys are the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. What I like about this hat is its color and symbolism. The symbol looks like the old-school Astros logo surrounded by a space logo. Normally you would see these hats in navy blue but this one is light blue. This organization went on to win the Triple-A National Championship. It is a sharp hat and it’s cool to see the old Astros symbol on the hat. The space relates to the Houston Space Station where some of the shuttles are launched. We will see the future of the Houston Astros in playing for the Space Cowboys.

Akron Rubber Ducks
Photo Credit: MLB.com

The Rubber Ducks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. This hat is royal blue with a yellow rubber duck. Most of us grew up playing with rubber ducks either inside or outside of the bathtub. Most do not know that individuals who own a jeep-like to leave and trade rubber ducks. The franchise took a gamble with the logo trying not to make it look childish. The logo does not look that way and with the bright yellow duck on the royal blue hat, it looks great. The name was changed from Aeros to Rubber Ducks but it’s cool to see this hat.

Las Vegas Aviators
Photo Credit: MLB.com

We all know that the city of Las Vegas is known for gambling. This hat shows that with the snake eyes the double one die and the cowboy which was the welcome sign for Las Vegas. The Aviators are the Triple-A affiliate of the Las Vegas Athletics. The same Athletics that moved from Oakland and it will be interesting to see how they do in Las Vegas. This hat is brown with a red bill. This is an alternative to the Las Vegas Gamblers which had different color poker chips which is huge in Sin City. Vegas is a great city to visit, and it will be nice to see how major league baseball does.

Durham Bulls
Photo Credit: MLB.com

The Durham Bulls have been around for a long time. There was a movie made about them starring Kevin Costner. That movie was famous for the sign “Hit Bull, Win Steak” many times, which happens during the movie. This hat is royal blue with an orange D and a bull running through the D. This is a classic hat with the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Many have said that it looks a lot like the old-school Denver Broncos logo. The orange D pops off the royal blue hat which makes it sharp. I can see why it was one of the top ten most sold in 2024.

Clearwater Threshers
Photo Credit: MLB.com

It’s kind of hard not to pick my favorite as a team that comes from the state of Florida. The Threshers are the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. This team and where the stadium is big to the city of Clearwater during spring training. What makes this hat my favorite is the dog on a surfboard throwing a baseball. The hat is a vice blue with a red bill. It shows how cool minor league baseball is in the state of Florida. The waves surfboard and dog show many popular aspects of the state. I am going to try to go to a Threshers game and pick up one of these for myself.

No matter what, it’s nice to see what these minor-league teams come up with. All ten of these would be a hit for the fans of these teams that get to wear these hats. These ten may or may not be in the high sellers in 2025. This also shows how the minor leagues can show the fans what designs these organizations come up with. We are hoping to see what hats make it in 2025. Also, what teams’ minor league teams show how cool the colors on their hat are similar to the City Connect jerseys in the majors.

Out of these five hats which one do you like the most? Leave a comment below.

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