NYC Mayor Eric Adams' Baseball Hat Offends Mets, Yankees Fans - Newsweek

Pandering to fans of the local sports teams is a classic page from the politician's unwritten rulebook. Sometimes it's genuine; many civic leaders grow up with a heartfelt attachment to their local teams and are happy to display their fandom in public. Other times the gesture comes off as insincere.

In New York City, it's rare to find fans of both the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. The two local Major League Baseball teams play in different boroughs and have vastly different traditions and folklore. It's rare to see someone wear both hats — let alone a hat with both logos.

That didn't stop New York City Mayor Eric Adams from wearing a one-of-a-kind Mets/Yankees hat Monday at the city's Columbus Day parade.

Adams at the Columbus Day parade wearing a Mets X Yankees cap. pic.twitter.com/7PG3aUbW8f

Suffice it to say, the Mets x Yankees cap will not be a popular fashion item among anyone watching the Yankees play the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series, or the Mets play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Both series are ongoing this week.

The possibility of celebrating an all-New York World Series was perhaps too much for the mayor to pass up in his latest photo op. But, the replies to New York Post reporter Craig McCarthy's post on his Twitter/X account, didn't go over well.

Umm pic.twitter.com/pjN9BTer5b

"Umm" was McCarthy's caption to the post.

The replies were more decisive.

"How To Make Yourself Even More Hateable: A Concise Guide To Pandering" - by Eric Adams," wrote Twitter/X user Joshua Robert.

“How To Make Yourself Even More Hateable: A Concise Guide To Pandering” - by Eric Adams

"This actually makes sense if this ends up being a NYC subway World series," wrote user Pot Dent. "That said, I can't imagine anyone licensed made that hat legally."

This actually makes sense if this ends up being a NYC subway World series. That said, I can't imagine anyone licensed made that hat legally.

"The audience cringes at Adams trying to *play popular---> with his hat," wrote user AcidKatSullivan.

The audience cringes at Adams trying to *play popular---> with his hat. pic.twitter.com/IQ5qABUvhG

"Superseding indictment now," wrote Twitter/X user Ann Buckley.

Superseding indictment now

The quandary facing Adams is special. New York and Chicago are the only MLB cities that can claim two teams, making the usually straightforward exercise of pandering to local fans more difficult.

What's comical is the premise that playing one side would cost a mayor votes, or that playing both sides would earn them support among both Yankees and Mets fans. Loyalty to sports teams is not important as a prerequisite for voters compared to the candidate's public policy positions.

Leave it to fans on social media to point this out in the funniest ways possible.

For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.

J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.

J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers ...Read more