The Pinwheel Design Makes an All-Star Game Return

Plan for colorful All-Star festivities in Washington, D.C., helped along by what Major Leaguers will wear during the event. New Era introduced the All-Star Game cap design, showing a return to the tri-color pinwheel scheme of old, to go with a mixture of new event-specific apparel items. With the hat a colorful display of nostalgia, also expect a fresh perspective for All-Star Sunday’s Futures Game, All-Star Workout Day on the Monday before the big game and, well, the most patriotic sock design we’ve seen on-field to date.

The 59Fifty cap design from New York-based New Era includes an embroidered team logo at the front panel and the MLB Batterman logo at the rear. Additional details include a 2018 MLB All-Star Game side patch at the right-wear side and metallic silver accents, including embroidered stars replacing traditional eyelets at the top of the crown.

Each player in the All-Star Game will wear their team’s home (NL) or away (AL) uniform, but don the special All-Star cap for the event.

For the first All-Star Game in D.C. since 1969, the event at Nationals Park features a pinwheel design—akin to an old look seen from the Montreal Expos, the team that relocated to Washington, D.C.—with a white front panel hosting the team logo, a colored side panel and a different color on the back panel. The bill matches the back-panel color.

Additional details include silver trim around the team logo and the All-Star logo in team-specific colors.

The color scheme was meant to tie to caps from the 1980s and 1990s, New Era said, still with a modernized metallic silver an effort to merge together classic and modern aesthetics. The retro theme embedded throughout the cap also connects to the current fashion trends that New Era says continues to grow in popularity, such as its Cooperstown collection.

The Stance Socks offer up a red, white and blue version of the US Capitol building for the workout day. The All-Star Game version removes the building, but retains the same coloring, helping accent the All-Star Game uniform in a completely DC-driven design.

Majestic gets in on the event-specific designs with a batting practice uniform—also worn during the Home Run Derby—for each league. The jerseys, worn on Monday, feature Washington, D.C., monuments and red and blue workout caps with silver stars. The blue American League design includes the Washington Monument, while the red National League version features the US Capitol building. The Sunday Futures Game mimics the colors and design of the workout looks, simply changing the team name on the front to either “World” or “USA.”

The workout caps from New Era come in a matching blue or red, depending on the league, with the team logo on the front encircled by silver stars. Six stars on the bill of the cap leave little doubt—along with the All-Star Game logo on the right side—about the cap’s connection to the event.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.