Tip of the Cap — The Carolina League (South)
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Welcome to another edition of Tip of the Cap, where we (I) go team-by-team through a minor league to find a hat I love for each team! Today we’re returning to the Carolina League and diving into their South Division. Let me tell you — these teams brought their A-game (their Single-A game, at that!) with some absolutely killer hats. I’ve spent way too many hours staring at minor league baseball hats lately (my wallet is crying), but these beauties were worth every second.
Before we get started, let’s take a look at some things that make this league special.
Welcome to the South Division!
The Carolina League is a Single-A MiLB league consisting of 12 teams along the coast of the South Atlantic. Today we’re breaking down the hats of the 6 teams of the South Division, which are the Augusta GreenJackets, Charleston RiverDogs, Columbia Fireflies, Hickory Crawdads, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Since 1945, this league has been a launching pad for baseball greatness. We’re talking legends like Wade Boggs, Barry Bonds, Darryl Strawberry, Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada, Wade Boggs, and Chipper Jones.
The classic baseball film Bull Durham features the Durham Bulls, which used to be in the league at the time the movie came out. Writer/Director Ron Sheldon started his career as an infielder in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system. While he never played in this league, he did play for the Stockton Ports who we featured a hat from two weeks ago!
Each team has their own vibe, traditions, and most importantly for us hat nerds — its own unique style.
And speaking of style — holy cow, did these MiLB teams deliver! Picking just one hat per team was like trying to choose my favorite SplinterCell game (THROWBACK, BABY! Someone bring those games back.) The creativity on display here is off the charts. Let’s dive in!
Augusta GreenJackets Pimento Cheese 59FIFTY Fitted Hat
Okay, stop what you’re doing and look at this hat. Just look at it! The Augusta GreenJackets took a sandwich — yes, a SANDWICH — and turned it into the most adorable hat I’ve ever seen. Those eyes! It’s like the hat is saying “Hey friend, want to watch some baseball and eat delicious pepper cheese?”
Which is honestly creepy. Kind of. I dig this hat.
For my fellow golfers out there, you know exactly why this hat is perfect. The Masters Tournament at Augusta National is famous for its pimento cheese sandwiches. It’s become such a tradition that this hat feels like a love letter to both baseball and golf culture. The red accents peppered (PUN INTENDED) throughout the design tie everything together perfectly, from the brim to the eyelets to the squatchee on top.
Here’s the kicker for me — this New Era cap doesn’t even technically have a smile in its design, but I dare you to look at it and not see a happy face. It’s impossible. This is exactly what minor league baseball is all about — having fun and not taking yourself too seriously. Great hat.
Charleston RiverDogs — Navy 59FIFTY
Sometimes the standard team hat is just chef’s kiss perfect, and that’s exactly what we have here. This MiLB hat features this evocative design of a dog bursting through their “C” logo, while snapping a baseball bat in half. It’s aggressive in the best possible way, like if your friendly neighborhood golden retriever suddenly decided to become a superhero. (But this isn’t a Marvel Defender’s of the Diamond hat, to be clear.)
The stitching on this hat deserves its own appreciation post. Every detail of the dog is crystal clear — the fur, the determined expression, even its teeth curved around the splintering bat. The monocolor paneling with the matching brim, eyelets, and squatchee creates this perfect canvas for the design to pop. It’s clean, it’s classic, and it’s got attitude for days.
My favorite thing about this hat is how the dog can look either menacing or friendly depending on your mood. It might be ready to play, it might be ready to break your kneecaps with a baseball bat. Depends on the mood and the interpretation of the viewer.
If I had one gripe? The New Era logo should’ve been white. That’s it, though.
Columbia Fireflies — Team Alternate 59FIFTY
You know that feeling when you’re sitting outside on a warm summer night, and suddenly you see fireflies starting to dance around? That’s exactly what the Columbia Fireflies captured with their Team Alternate 59FIFTY New Era cap. This hat hits you right in the nostalgia feels. Which is weird, because this is not a core memory for me, at all.
That’s the brilliance of the hat, it evokes a feeling we’re so familiar with across so many different pieces of media across time. It’s a quiet, contemplative feeling that harkens back to simpler times, even when you were never part of those times.
The mason jar design rocks. The all-black background makes the design pop like actual fireflies in the night sky. It’s simple, it’s elegant, and it tells a story without saying a word.
If you’re a hat person, but not a baseball person, this is a New Era cap that can transcend the sport. Even if you’ve never been to a game in your life, you get it. You feel it. It’s like wearing a piece of summer on your head.
Add this piece of nostalgia to your closet here.
Hickory Crawdads — Hickory Dickory Docks 59FIFTY
Stop everything — we need to talk about this Crawdads hat for their rebrand as the Hickory Dickory Docks, because it’s absolutely perfect. This team took a nursery rhyme and turned it into baseball gold. If you’re not familiar, “Hickory Dickory Dock, the mouse ran up the clock” is the original source material, and they ran with it in the best possible way.
Check this out — we’ve got shelf-top clock with a mouse climbing up it, both ready for a showdown with you, the viewer. The mouse is wielding a baseball bat like a member of the Sopranos crime family, while the clock has a pendulum made of a baseball. My favorite piece? the clock’s hands are set to 8:28, which is Hickory, North Carolina’s area code. That’s the kind of detail that makes me geek out.
I do not own this hat. I would like to. I can’t help but think it looks like Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast decided to start a baseball career. It’s not actually Cogsworth, of course, but try getting that image out of your head now! The color choices are subtle but perfect, which is way harder to pull off than you might think.
I also love that outside of the black outlining, no color from the mouse exists as part of the clock, and neither feature the primary paneling / brim colors. It makes them wholly unique to themselves. Excellent, excellent hat.
If you get any hat, I think it should be this one.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers — Road 59FIFTY
The Road 59FIFTY New Era cap from the Cannon Ballers is all about perspective, and wow, did they nail it. The design shows someone (who happens to be a baseball) being shot from a cannon, and the angle makes you feel like you’re right there in the action. It’s dynamic, it’s exciting, and it’s exactly what minor league baseball is all about.
Let’s talk about that white outline for a second. It’s not just there to make things pop — it cleverly becomes motion lines that show just how fast our cannonball friend is moving. That kind of smart design will get me every time.
And can we appreciate the character design? Looking at this baseball rocketman, you know immediately that there is an expressionless resolve to their existence. Something about the placement of the goggles, and the lack of curve to the mustache gives you a straight face without a face even being there.
The blue eyelets matching the paneling (instead of going with the obvious red choice) keeps your focus right where it should be — on our mustachioed friend’s excellent adventure.
Need this mustachioed gentleman? Get him here.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans — Pelicanos de Myrtle Beach 59FIFTY
Usually when I look at Copa de la Diversión hats, they tend to dominate my favorites list. But the Pelicanos de Myrtle Beach is special in a different way. It stands out by being uniquely itself in a way that I can’t take my eyes off of..
The color work here is stunning. The wings flow from blue to red, passing through a mid-tone of yellow that perfectly matches the bill and feet. When your eye follows that color gradient, it leads you right to that striking face design. This is clearly a pelican, AND the colors add a vibrancy to the hat that would make it fun to wear with almost any outfit.
This is what I call a conversation starter MiLB hat. Wear this anywhere and people will want to know the story behind it. It’s bold without being loud, unique without being weird, and cool without trying too hard. That’s the sweet spot, folks. Great hat.
Wrapping Up the Carolina League and looking to the Florida State League
You know what makes me sad? Having to leave the hats from the Carolina League behind and move on to the next. But that’s also what makes this journey so exciting — there’s always another amazing hat waiting to be discovered!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — the lower you go in the minor league system, the more creative and fun the hats tend to be. This league proves the theory beautifully. These teams aren’t afraid to take risks and have fun with their designs, and it shows in every stitch. This league is truly among the best minor league baseball hats out there.
The special event hats in this league deserve their own shoutout too. They give fans a reason to keep coming back to the ballpark (as if we needed another excuse) and make for some incredible collector’s items. I’ve already got my eye on a few upcoming releases!
Get ready, because next week we’re heading down to the Sunshine State to check out the Florida State League. We’ll start with the Western Division, home to teams like the Bradenton Marauders, Clearwater Threshers, Dunedin Blue Jays, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Lakeland Flying Tigers, and the Tampa Tarpons.
Here’s a fun mystery to ponder until then — the Florida State League has an uneven number of teams in each division (six in the West, four in the East). Why? That’s something we’ll dig into next week!
Until then, keep adding Squatchee to your everyday lexicon! See you at the ballpark!
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