5 MLB Players Who Look Way Better Wearing a Hat

The mark of any baseball uniform is the cap.  Sure, the jersey is all well and good, but wearing the sacred hat carries a sort of pride that most can only dream about.

I mean, come on.  At introductory press conferences for new players, ever notice how the hat is usually put on last? 

Perhaps it's because people view it as the best.  Either way, players like Ken Griffey Jr. turned a simple piece of clothing into something just plain awesome and made owning baseball caps, for some young children, a borderline obsession.

Yet, the hat serves a purpose besides panache.  With some players on the wrong side of balding, the cap serves as not only a cool part of the uniform, but as something to keep some fans from going blind out of fright.

That said, time to buck up and look at some players who look way better with their hats on.

5. Mariano Rivera

photo courtesy of myyesnetwork.com

I love Mariano Rivera and have nothing against the follically challenged (especially since I'm slowly entering that department myself), but he'd be wise to keep his hat on most of the time, at least during games. 

Combined with his oddly shaped head and skinny frame, he just looks like an awkward bobblehead doll with the cap off.

4. Gerald Laird

photo courtesy of flickr.com

Take a look at Gerald Laird's balding on the left, and then have a look at his face. 

Am I the only one who thinks he looks fresh out of an episode of Cops? 

Either way, for the love of all that is holy, Gerald, keep the hat on!

3. Nick Johnson

photo courtesy of natsnq.com

In this particular photo, Nick Johnson looks like a '70s porn star, and it can only be fixed by the following: Rogaine, shaving the 'stache and wearing the cap.

2. Dustin Pedroia

Gail Oskin/Getty Images

I don't mean to sound like a Red Sox hater, and I think that Dustin Pedroia is one of the best second basemen in the game, but he flat-out scares me when he doesn't have a hat on. 

I look at pictures like this, and this song immediately starts playing in my head.

1. Ken Griffey Jr.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

This man isn't horribly balding, nor is he someone who just looks better with a hat on.  Ken Griffey Jr. just made wearing a baseball cap something...well, cool.

He was my favorite player growing up, and whenever I played Wiffle ball with friends, I would always wear my hat backwards and try to copy his legendary swing. 

He was a great player loved by many, and to top it all off, he looked great in the hat.