2020 MLB Batting Practice and Spring Training New Era Caps Released

They finally did it! Logos inside of logos.

The New Era Cap Company today has launched the official 2020 Major League Baseball Batting Practice Collection, caps which will be worn both during batting practice as well as during the upcoming Spring Training schedule.

Click here for a chance to win 1 of 30 brand new 2020 New Era MLB Batting Practice caps!

2020 New Era MLB Batting Practice caps available to buy now

Designs this year feature a logo-within-a-logo design for each of the 30 Major League teams. The caps are made of a new performance fabric — a light breathable mesh with moisture-wicking, and include embroidered team logos on both the front and right side of the cap. These new patches are replacing the annual Spring Training patches we had seen in that spot in recent years. The New Era logo is on the left side, the MLB logo on the back.

“We wanted to have some fun so we centred the designs around each team’s individual logo”, Tim Shanahan, Director of Baseball at New Era told SportsLogos.Net. “To do that, we decided to combine each team’s authentic cap logo with its alternative logo, which created a never-before-seen design.”

Seattle Mariners 2020 Batting Practice/Spring Training cap logo detail

San Diego Padres 2020 Batting Practice/Spring Training cap logo detail

It’s the first time we’ve seen a league-wide total redesign of Major League Baseball’s Batting Practice and Spring Training caps since we headed into the 2018 season. Though we did see some considerable changes to the construction of these caps last year, a clear majority of teams still retained their design from the year before.

Cincinnati Reds Spring Training caps over the last three seasons

Many of the new 2020 caps either feature each team’s usual Spring or regular season cap logo on the front crown, their familiar colours and details stripped away in favour of an embedded secondary logo. That secondary logo gets the opportunity to shine all on its own, embroidered onto the right side of the cap where it’s allowed to break free of the boundaries set by its more highly ranked brother-in-brand.

This style works just wonderfully with some teams, such as the Houston Astros or Detroit Tigers, who won the “I Can’t Believe It Took 120 Years To Try This” Award with a cap design featuring tiger stripes inside their iconic “D” mark. While other teams seemed to struggle to find two logos that worked well together in this format, the Cincinnati Reds had some a tough time fitting their very-detailed Mr. Redlegs logo into the relatively-thin wishbone “C”. The Toronto Blue Jays, looking to avoid an infinite maple leaf loop, had to offset their primary bird logo inside the larger leaf.

“Our design teams collaborate closely with the leagues and the individual teams. Each team chose the alternate logo they wanted us to use and we worked with them to bring each design to life in a way their players, coaches, and fans would appreciate”, Shanahan explained.

As far as side patches go, teams took full advantage of the logo buffet presented to them. While some of the usual suspects, the more traditional-minded clubs, played it safe by simply going with their current primary logo — the Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees. Others brought back logos not used by the team in some time — the Astros are using their 1970s “Tequila sunrise” wordmark and rainbow stripes, the Tigers made use of their old “walking tiger” logo from the 1990s. Meanwhile, the Rockies, as they’ve done previously, paid tribute to their home state by emblazing their logos with the Colorado State Flag.

“Custom caps and logos are on trend right now and that guided our thinking as we developed this collection”, said Shanahan. “We saw a unique opportunity to combine the Authentic Cap logos with alternate logos to create something that hasn’t been done before. We worked hand-in-hand with the teams and they were really excited about the way their logos came together.”

These new caps will make their first on-field appearances as pitchers and catchers report to their respective Spring Training camps as early as next week (yes, it really is almost time for baseball!). The first Spring Training games are less than three weeks away, with the inaugural “Play Ball!” of the decade scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, February 21st.

The New Era 9FORTY “Stretch-Snap” retail version of this cap

As always, players will wear New Era’s 59FIFTY-style cap on the field, for retail the cap is available in 59FIFTY (standard and low-profile), 9FIFTY, 39THIRTY, 9FORTY, 9TWENTY, Casual Classic, bucket, knit, and a visor.

For a more detailed look at your favourite team’s new 2020 Batting Practice/Spring Training ballcap simply click any of the photos below, and don’t forget to click here for your chance to win 1 of 30 brand new 2020 New Era MLB Batting Practice caps!