I decided to wear a Boston Red Sox cap on Monday, June 29. I floated the idea to the hive mind on Facebook and got loads of comments with varying advice.

Matt Boyle, of Buffalo, sports a Dodgers cap.

Why that particular day? Well, if you don’t follow baseball, on the preceding Sunday, the Sox had accomplished the unthinkable − the improbable feat of sweeping a four-game series with the New York Yankees. The basement-dwelling Sox had posted three decisive wins and a series-ending one-run decision much to the chagrin and consternation of Yankee fans the world-over.

My real focus here: The politics and emotional power of baseball caps. I’m a fan of baseball. I have the cap of every MLB team and some minor league teams, including multiple Bisons caps. I grew up in New York City and my parents also loved baseball and took me to both Mets and Yankee games. This is a rarity in NYC.

But back to caps. The caps are the battle helmets on the frontline of all the rivalries. It is well known that there are only two groups of fans, Yankee fans and everyone else. Ask Kansas City Royals fans who they are fans of and they’ll reply, the Royals − and whoever is playing the Yankees that day.

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