MLB pulls Chief Wahoo off Cleveland's '09 Stars and Stripes cap

Yahoo! Sports

Wed May 20 10:50am EDT

MLB pulls Chief Wahoo off Cleveland's '09 Stars and Stripes cap

Major League Baseball is rolling out a new round of Stars and Stripes caps for Memorial Day and it appears that they designed the lids with some common sense this time around.

Please remember last season, when the first round of special hats included a stars-and-stripes emblazoned version of Chief Wahoo on Cleveland's cap. A mini-controversy erupted with most people agreeing that it probably wasn't a good idea to endorse the logo with the elements of the American flag and the ideals that it represents.

This year, MLB is avoiding the firestorm completely and opting for the alternative that I suggested, opting to modify the block 'C' cap Bill Clinton wore when throwing out the first pitch at Progressive Field in 1994.

So is progress being made? Yes, but only slowly ... MLB.com still sells the '08 version and New Era sells the red version on its website (though not on MLB.com).

To check out the new '09 red caps and some other Stars and Stripes wear, click here.

The caps cost $36.99 this year (up $2 from '08) and sales will benefit the Welcome Back Veterans fund. Thankfully, MLB has finally somewhat defined the amount it's donating from each hat instead of leaving us completely in the dark like they did last year:

"Major League Baseball Properties, Inc will donate all of the proceeds it receives from the sale of the caps to Welcome Back Veterans. In addition, MLB.com will donate an additional $1 to Welcome Back Veterans for each cap purchased through www.mlb.com."

Here's a big BLS head nod to progress.

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