Never mind that Rodney could do this simply because he wants to, but it's done partially to throw off runners on first by not being able to have eye contact. Many seem to have an issue with Fernando Rodney of the Seattle Mariners who not only wears his brim flat, he wears the brim off to one side. The word “thug” wasn’t used, but I was waiting for it. This is where the flat brim as fashion moves from being a silly commentary on personal preference and into something larger. As one Facebook comment was made, “The next thing you know, these players will be wearing their pants below their ,” a clear reference to those “gangstas”. I do hear some comments from some over-40 white males that edge closely into racism. I never hear that “flat brims must go” from young people. No gangster rap vidoes before 1994 featured a straight brim hat.There is a serious note to all of this, and I don’t think the “flat brims must die” crowd is going to like it.

Sources: Rapper, Slang inventor and style originator E-40 mentions in a documentary Blueprint of a self made Millionaire, where the style originated. Post 2005 people without idea of origin wear the hat as the new style, rarely bending the brim in an 'on field' cap style, this style is associated with post 1990 born, any social group from club goers to skaters. Crack and drug dealers would wear glasses and a hat with a straight brim to throw off the stereotypical image' (of a backwards cap or bent baseball cap which was commonly worn in the 1990's) 'I wear these glasses so i can look like a square, but if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me nigga, help the bear' The style generally moved to the gangster rap scene in the mid to late 90's to associate the rappers with drug dealers, wearing clothes straight off the rack (tags included) and being clean cut and fresh. 'The first thing people did when buying a baseball hat in the 90's was bend the brim. The flat brimmed baseball hat is said to have originated from Oakland and California.

Flat baseball cap