A side patch is an embroidered badge stitched to the wearer's left panel of a New Era fitted cap, and it marks a specific event: a World Series, an All-Star Game, or a stadium or franchise anniversary. It is the difference between a plain team cap and a cap that dates itself. This guide covers where the patch sits, the three families you will see, how to read a product title, and how to keep the patch flat.
Where the patch sits, and why
On a 59FIFTY the patch goes on the left panel as you wear it, forward of the seam, so it faces the camera in a side profile. The front keeps the team logo and the back keeps the New Era flag. A cap can carry only one side patch, which is why an event patch is a choice by the maker about which season that colorway commemorates.
The three patch families
- World Series patches: the trophy-and-shield badge for a title year. The year on the patch is the season played, not the year the cap was made.
- All-Star Game patches: marks the city that hosted that summer. These belong to the host club, so they turn up on that team's caps and rarely anywhere else.
- Anniversary and stadium patches: a round or shield badge for a franchise or ballpark milestone, like a 40th or 50th anniversary season.
How to read a product title
Titles run colorway first, then team, then event, then the cap style. So "Navy Pinky New York Yankees 1999 World Series Fitted Hat" is a navy crown with a pink underbrim, the Yankees logo on the front, the 1999 World Series patch on the side, on a 59FIFTY fitted. Reading the title in that order tells you the whole cap before you look at a photo.
Why a colorway does not come back
These caps are made in runs. When a colorway sells through, that run is finished and the same patch reappears on a different crown colour instead of the old one being repeated. That is why two caps can share a 1999 World Series patch and never share a colorway, and why a size that shows in stock is worth taking.
Care: keeping the patch flat
Never put a patched cap in a washing machine or a dishwasher. The heat and the tumbling lift the embroidery at the edges and the patch curls away from the panel. Spot clean the crown with cold water and a little mild soap on a soft brush, work around the patch rather than across it, and let the cap air dry on something round that holds the crown open. Store it upright, not stacked under other caps, so nothing presses a crease into the badge.
Sizing
A patched 59FIFTY is sized like any other fitted cap: 6 7/8 through 8, no strap. Measure just above your ears and eyebrows and, if you land between two sizes, take the larger one.
Every patched cap in stock on Game 7 Online lists only the sizes still available, so if your size shows on the page, that cap ships in it.