One of the captivating aspects each year concerning the Baseball Hall of Fame inductees is determining which team’s cap will adorn their plaque. For the 2025 class, CC Sabathia was the sole player with a real debate over his cap choice.
Sabathia launched his MLB journey with Cleveland, spending eight seasons with them and clinching the AL Cy Young Award in 2007. Nonetheless, he is arguably most renowned for his tenure with the New York Yankees, where he spent 11 seasons. He captured a World Series title in their iconic pinstripes and achieved his only 20-win season (21 wins in 2010) with the Yankees.
Given this, it’s unsurprising that the Hall of Fame declared on Monday that Sabathia will don a Yankees cap on his Cooperstown plaque. He stands out as the only inductee from this year’s group not wearing the cap of his initial team. Ichiro Suzuki will feature a Seattle Mariners cap. Billy Wagner, who played for five MLB teams, will display a Houston Astros cap on his plaque.
Dave Parker, though he played with six different teams over a 19-year career, spent 11 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, making them the clear frontrunner. Meanwhile, Dick Allen, chosen by the Classic Era Committee, will sport a Philadelphia Phillies cap, representing the team he played nine seasons with.
A common misunderstanding over the years is that players decide on their cap. (False rumors also circulate about teams paying players for cap choices.) While players have some say, the Baseball Hall of Fame ultimately makes the final decision. However, some inductees have chosen to have their plaques without logos, possibly to avoid upsetting any teams or fanbases, or perhaps feeling it unjust to highlight one team over others.
For instance, Mike Mussina opted for a cap without a logo after spending 10 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and eight with the Yankees. Fred McGriff, Roy Halladay, Greg Maddux, Tony La Russa, and Jim Leyland are among the recent Hall of Fame members who chose a blank cap as well. “It always begins with a dialogue,” former Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson explained to the New York Times in 2014. “We collaborate with them, keeping in mind how it will resonate 50 years in the future, so a casual visitor won’t gaze at the plaques bewildered and think, ‘What?'”
