Angels' New Era ‘Overlap’ hat sees price surge after MLB pulls it out of official store

Prices for the Los Angeles Angels “Overlap” edition hat shot through the roof, topping $950 per unit on resell sites like eBay. MLB and New Era launched the special edition caps this spring in which team logos were overlaid on team names.

According to Front Office Sports, the removal of the Angels’ cap from the MLB store created a buzz as fans sought to get their hands on the unique piece of baseball memorabilia. The news broke on Wednesday, shortly after two other teams’ hats were removed.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles Angels Overlap version was removed due to potentially negative connotations of the word spelled on the cap. With the “A” logo with a halo placed on top of the “G” in “Angels,” it formed a letter combination close to an obscene word.

The situation prompted MLB to pull the cap from its online store, fueling the frenzy for the unique item. It is unknown if MLB will issue a new version of the Angels cap. In the meantime, some fans are scrambling to get their hands on what could be a highly valuable item of regrettable baseball history.

Los Angeles Angels Overlap cap pulled following Rangers and Astros removals

The Los Angeles Angels Overlap was unfortunately not the first cap to be removed from MLB’s online store. As ESPN reported, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros Overlap cap versions were the first to be removed from MLB’s online marketplace.

In the case of the Texas Rangers, the Texas “T” superimposed on the “X” in “Texas” created an offensive Spanish word referring to women’s breasts. The designers, likely not Spanish speakers, did not realize that the design created this comical, yet obscene word. As a result, MLB was pressured to remove the cap from its online store.

Similarly, the Houston Astros Overlap cap was the second casualty as it spelled out a word that could be misconstrued with a vulgar connotation. As such, MLB was once again forced to remove the caps from its online store.

ESPN also reported that MLB officials denied requests for comments from the Dallas Morning News.

MLB’s Overlap caps retail for $44.99 apiece. However, the prices of the pulled caps are spiking on the secondary market as they have now become collector’s items.