Baseball Hall of Fame Members Should Wear Blank Hats on Their Plaques

 

Lionel Richie played a mean right field.

Andre Dawson will go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Montreal Expo cap, as opposed to his desired Chicago Cub. The 'Spos have one other player in the Hall, Gary Carter. He didn't want to go in as an Expo either, but the Hall of Fame took the choice out of the players' hands a few years back in the wake of rumors that Wade Boggs was willing to take compensation to wear a Tampa Bay Devil Ray cap.

As players from the past 20 years begin to be considered for induction, the cap decision will only get harder. Players like Mike Piazza, Manny Ramirez, and Alex Rodriguez, amongst others, are strongly associated with two teams. Even where the choice is clear, stars change teams far more often than in the past. The only logical step is to have players wear blank caps. Or better yet, no caps at all. In light of some of the more garish modern hats (Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Devil Rays, Astros and Brewers) it would certainly be more dignified. Moreover, just as players change teams, teams change hats far more often. Several teams wear as many as three different hats. Should Craig Biggio or Jeff Bagwell make the Hall, which of the thirty different hats they wore during their careers in Houston be immortalized on their plaque? Same question for Pudge and the Rangers. NFL Hall of Fame busts don't feature helmets. And, as seen in Joseph Tinker's plaque, not every player goes in wearing a team cap.