Here is a little time-lapse capsule of my day yesterday that I think effectively describes my experience of this game:

 

3:00pm or so:

 

"At some point last weekend i called my brother, the uptight one/yankee fan (not to be confused with the cool one/party-animal/mets fan that some of you guys know), to ask him about rally caps.  we don't bond much (see the previous mention of "uptight") so i call him with baseball questions because he's a real baseball fan like me, and it gives us something to appreciate together besides guitar rock, 80s/90s pop music, and 70s era sit-com television.

 

I was looking to find out when exactly is the right time to put it on, and to see if it's inappropriate or bad luck to have it on at the wrong time, etc., and also if there is any specific association for it to the new york mets, because i recently saw a television commercial showing mets fans in various new york settings all listening to or watching a game and putting on their rally caps.

 

brother assured me that there is no special time to put it on besides when (duh) you really need a rally, and (he seemed annoyed to point out) there is no special association with the mets.

 

upon looking it up on wikipedia, i see the article which upholds that first widespread use of rally caps was seen in the 1986 ws by ny mets fans, however the article is in dispute in a forum on that board by other annoyed guys arguing that it's not especially a mets thing."

 

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Rally cap

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A Rally CapA Rally Cap is a baseball cap worn while inside-out or in another unconventional manner by players or fans, in order to will a team into a come-from-behind rally late in the game. The Rally Cap is primarily a baseball superstition.

 

(The factual accuracy of this article or section is disputed.

Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. )

 

The first appearances of the Rally Cap may have been during the 1985 baseball season, when fans of the New York Mets, while in attendance at Shea Stadium, occasionally would wear their baseball caps inside-out as a makeshift talisman to generate a come-from behind victory in the late innings of a baseball game. The superstition spread from the fans to the Mets players themselves, and rose to national awareness during the 1986 World Series when the New York Mets were playing the Boston Red Sox. The Mets were losing Game Six and already down 3 games to 2 in the series; it seemed almost certain that the Red Sox were going to be the 1986 World Series Champs. In the 7th Inning of that game, television cameras captured certain members of the Mets in the dugout wearing their caps inside out. Subsequently, in the tenth inning of that game, the Mets who trailed 5 - 3 with two outs and no one on, down to their last strike on two occasions, rallied behind a string of hits, a wild pitch and a ball rolling between the legs of Boston first baseman Bill Buckner to win the game 6-5. The historical rally forced a Game 7 which they also came from behind to win, allegedly with the prominent assistance of their "Rally Caps" and become the 1986 World Series Champions.

 

The Rally Cap subsequently was adopted by baseball fans internationally, being used to give their team a little extra mojo and come from behind.

 

The belief behind the rally cap is generally to sacrifice a small amount of one's dignity in exchange for a little luck for one's team. It is widely understood that the baseball cap must be one depicting the logo of the team in order to be used as a Rally Cap.

 

The Rally Cap was seen as early as 1982 at The Kingdome in Seattle. Mariner closer Bill "Cuffs" Caudill would ringlead the Seattle bullpen into wearing their hats inside out during the ever-rare Mariner rally.

 

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rally_cap[/url]

 

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3:30pm or thereabouts:

 

"I did more research on this, and every source I looked to named the 86 era Mets as the origin of the thing.  There appears to be no particular time that is best to put one on, simply whenever a rally is needed, most often in late innings."

 

5:00pm-ish: 

 

"Braves series starts tonight :nod:

Mets beat Braves + Yanks beat Sox = happy Miss Blue Sky.

Only because i want the mets to have the best record in mlb, not because i particularly care for the yanks, of course."

 

9:25pm: 

 

"D'oh! :blush:

Good thing I got that whole rally cap thing sorted out!

Let's go Mets!!!!"

 

10:45pm:

 

"... Sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.  Oh, well :(

Perez tomorrow :cool:"

 

5:30pm Wednesday, the day after:

 

Revenge

Go get 'em, Ollie!

Lets go Mets!!!

 

And you listen to me, Shawn Green, yes, I find you super-hot as you know, however if you don't start moving with a purpose out in the field I'm going to personally come over there and give your super-hot-ness a good stern talking to.  Don't test me on this, I don't make empty threats.  Damn, you're hot.  What was I saying again?