The All-American baseball cap, by way of China

This is 2009, and Google pretty much rules the world. For no particular reason, tonight I typed “baseball caps” into the Google Images search bar to see what would come up first.

And here it is, at right: the “6 Panels Baseball Cap with Brass Buckle” as displayed on made-in-china.com.

The irony cannot be escaped. The first image for the All-American baseball cap is a generic black hat on a Web site in China where, for all I know, the people are banned from viewing my blog (poor comrades!).

I did a quick check of several of the caps in my closet, and at least half were made in China. Of the Major League Baseball caps I checked, the Giants, Cubs and Nationals all said “made in China.” My Phillies and Mariners caps are from Macau, and the Marlins lid is from Bangladesh. I couldn’t determine the origin of my Brewers lid, which is from New Era.

I’ve come to two conclusions. The Chinese must love our national pastime, if only for economic reasons. And I need to find a few more caps from the American League.

Popular: Baseball caps are all about popular

I spent the day with my son and two of his friends at the Great America theme park in Santa Clara, Calif. While I joined the guys for several rides, I sat a few out and amused myself by taking inventory of the baseball caps people in the crowd were sporting.

As the San Francisco “Don’t Even Think About Moving Here, Athletics” Giants will unequivocally tell you, Santa Clara County is Giants’ territory. So it wasn’t a surprise that I spotted more orange and black caps than any other.  But it was nothing close to even 10 percent of all the caps on display.

The cap that most got my attention was a green Giants cap not unlike the one depicted, only the crown was spangled with glitter and the word “FRISCO” was emblazoned across the back. If San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen weren’t already dead, this cap surely would have killed him.

There were other colorful variations on Major League Baseball caps, such as a red, white and navy Oakland A’s lid on a guy ahead of me in a roller coaster queue. Another guy had a Yankees cap the color of lima beans with white piping (which actually was kind of cool).

I didn’t count, but the team most represented after the Giants and A’s was the Pittsburgh Pirates. The yellow-on-black “P” cap seems to resonate with young men.

After that, it was a mish-mosh of sox (Red and White), Yankees, Phillies, Nationals, even a Tampa Bay Rays cap. One Cubs cap, too, come to think of it.

Refreshingly, I didn’t see a single Dodgers cap all day.

Let’s go, Big Unit!

Randy Johnson heads to the mound Wednesday night in Washington in search of victory No. 300.

Over the years, Randy has worn the caps of many ballclubs in both the American and National leagues, starting with the Montreal Expos. It’s a quirk of fate that his first crack at No. 300 comes against his old franchise, now in the guise of the Washington Nationals.

Johnson will be wearing the orange and black of the San Francisco Giants tonight. No matter what cap he’s worn, he’s been a dominant force in baseball for two decades.

Good luck, Big Unit!

McCain or Obama: Who looks better in a ball cap?

Ready or not, the Democratic National Convention begins in Denver on Monday, to be followed a week later by the Republican convention. There’s no doubt about the nominees: Barack Obama for the Democrats, John McCain for the GOP. Which leaves us with one serious question: which president will look better in a baseball cap?

Making their pitch to America: Obama and McCain

This is a serious issue. Whichever candidate America chooses this November will earn not only the right to govern the country, he will also have the high privilege of throwing out the first pitch when the 2009 baseball season begins.

Most likely, the president will throw out the ceremonial ball at a Washington Nationals game. While this blog is politically neutral, it’s fair to pose the question of whether McCain or Obama would look better sporting a Nationals’ cap like the one above.

Presumably, the next president will have the funds available for an authentic fitted wool cap, rather than the bargain model shown here. I bought the cap at a Wal-Mart in 2005 when the National League expanded to include the Nats.

I was delighted that the franchise brought back the classic script “W” on a red cap, identical to the model worn by the Washington Senators of my youth. Those were the hapless Senators 2.0, the franchise that became the Texas Rangers. The original Senators bolted the District of Columbia long before and became the Minnesota Twins.

I’ve searched the Internet diligently for photos of McCain and Obama wearing baseball caps, and I was surprised to find relatively few. I found shots of Obama wearing a Chicago White Sox cap and jersey, but not much else. The New York Times reports that John McCain often wears caps to protect his skin from the sun, although the photo with the story showed him wearing what appears to a cap with an American flag.

So who’s the better man to take the mound at Nationals Park for the first pitch? Let the people decide. Leave a comment with your choice – McCain or Obama.