(NEXSTAR) — Yet another newly released MLB hat has been pulled from online stores after fans noted the potentially crass design the cap sported. Meanwhile, two others previously taken down are now selling for hundreds — and even more — online.
The recently unveiled hats are part of New Era’s Overlap 5950 collection. The designs superimpose each team’s logo over the team name. As creative as that may sound, fans were quick to point out the less-than-ideal wording of some of the designs created.
Two such hats — those created for the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers — have already been taken down from online fan stores, Nexstar reported on Tuesday. A third potentially vulgar hat, carrying a Houston Astros design, was still available at the time.
However, as of Thursday, the Astros — or “Ashos,” per the design — hat in question is no longer on the MLB fan shop. A link that brought you to the hat Tuesday now redirects to the shop’s homepage.
The MLB previously declined to comment, according to the Dallas Morning News, while New Era and the impacted teams have also not responded to the hats. A league source told Front Office Sports that the Rangers hat — which had the team’s “T” logo over its “Texas” wordmark, displaying a vulgar Spanish word used for women’s breasts — was “unintentional” and missed the standard product review.
Like other flawed items before them, some of these seemingly exclusive hats are selling for hundreds of dollars online.
At least two authentic misdesigned Rangers hats have sold for $1,000 on eBay as of Thursday, with others selling for no less than $700. Several Angels — or “Anaels” — have sold for between $500 and $1,000, eBay records show. Error Astros hats have seen similar sales. As The Athletic reports, Fanatics — responsible for running the MLB fan shop — has also ended its eBay listings for these hats.
If you’re hoping to own one such hat, eBay shows multiple listings for the Rangers, Angels, and Astros designs, but they’ll cost you much more than the $44.99 retail price of the other New Era Overlap hats.
There are other potentially confusing designs, though none nearly as vulgar. The Arizona Diamondbacks hat could be read as “Ariana.” The design for the Seattle Mariners looks more like “Masers.” By covering up most of the vowels in Miami, the Marlins hat has been construed as “MMmi,” as some fans noted on X. The Philadelphia Phillies? No, it’s the Phipies, just in time for Pi Day on Friday.
The Chicago Cubs hat, on the other hand, is nearly perfect, with the “C” logo largely covering the fourth letter in the city’s name.
Hat design mishaps have happened before, of course. Last year, an unfortunate New Era cap for the Oakland A’s featured layered logos that seemed to add an extra “s” after “A’s.” Some of those hats have sold on eBay for upwards of $300, in case you’re curious.
