Custom Baseball Team Hats and Uniforms: What They Cost and How to Order

Every spring someone on the team ends up owning the hat order. Usually it is the coach or the team parent who said yes too fast. They have a logo on a napkin, twelve families to collect money from, and a vague idea that hats "take a few weeks."
This guide gives that person the numbers. What a team hat really costs by style, what a full uniform package runs, why so many teams end up with the same trucker, and the date you need to order by so the hats show up before the first pitch.
The short answer: an embroidered team hat costs about $18 to $35. A youth uniform package runs $85 to $130 for the basics and $115 to $400 once travel teams add second jerseys and hoodies. Order 8 weeks before opening day, or 12 if you want overseas full-custom caps.
Prices below come from vendor price sheets and from what parents report paying, with a source next to every number. Prices change, and your local shop may beat any of these, so treat them as the range to expect rather than a quote.
What a Team Hat Costs, by Style
| Hat style | Common models | Decorated price per hat | Sizing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trucker snapback | Richardson 112, Pacific Headwear 404M | $18 to $35 | One size, adjustable | Most rec and travel teams |
| Flex-fit (stretch) | Richardson PTS20 and PTS30, Flexfit 6277 | A few dollars more than a trucker | Two sizes (S/M, L/XL) | Teams that want the fitted look without exact sizes |
| True fitted | New Era 59FIFTY | About $40 and up on small orders | Exact head size | Older travel and high school teams |
| Team catalog cap | Champro and similar uniform-company caps | $10 to $12 | Snapback or sized | Tight budgets, fast turnaround |
| Licensed MLB replica | Outdoor Cap (OC Sports) replica caps | Ask your league's supplier | Adjustable | Rec teams named after MLB clubs |
Where those numbers come from:
- Trucker snapbacks. One embroidery shop prices a 112-style cap at $34 each for 1 to 11, $32 for 12 to 23 and $29 for 24 to 47. Custom Ink lists Richardson hats at $20 to $45 per unit. One promotional supplier runs a patched 112 from $31.24 at 24 down to $18.69 at 576 and up. On r/Homeplate, a shop that does a lot of team caps said 112s are its top seller and that it gets as low as $18 depending on quantity.
- Flex-fit. Richardson's PTS line and Flexfit caps cost more as blanks than a 112, so expect a few dollars more per hat for the same decoration. Ask your shop to quote both side by side.
- True fitted. A custom 59FIFTY from Custom Lids starts at $34.99 per cap, plus $30 setup on orders under 12 caps. Spread that setup fee over a 12-player roster and you land around $40 a hat.
- Team catalog caps. A parent in a thread about cheap 11U hats said their kids' team gets its uniform hats from Epic Sports for $10 to $12 each.
- MLB replicas. Outdoor Cap holds the license for MLB institutional replica caps, the plain team-logo caps many rec leagues buy for teams named after big league clubs. Your league's uniform supplier will have current prices.
The difference between $18 and $35 is mostly quantity and decoration. A flat embroidered front logo on 48 hats is the cheap end. Twelve hats with 3D puff embroidery, a side number and a back logo is the expensive end.
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Baseball Uniform Packages: Cost per Player
Hats are usually bundled with everything else, so here is the whole picture.
| What's included | Reported price per player | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Jersey, pants, socks, hat (major-brand package) | $85 to $130 | SquadLocker |
| Two sublimated jerseys, fitted logo cap, tee, hoodie | About $115 | r/Homeplate parent |
| Two jerseys and stitched hats | About $160 | r/Homeplate parent |
| Cap, two jerseys, pants, warm-up shirt, hoodie (13U) | About $400 | r/Homeplate parent |
| Personalized jersey only | About $26 to $85 | TeamSportswear |
Two things drive the spread. Sublimated jerseys (the design is dyed into the fabric) cost less than tackle-twill button-downs and look more modern. Extras add up fast: a hoodie or a second jersey can double the per-player cost.
For context, a Bat Digest survey of about 700 travel ball parents put the average yearly cost at $2,178 per player, and that figure excludes uniforms. The Aspen Institute found families spent an average of $1,016 on a child's main sport in 2024, up 46% since 2019. Uniform cost is one of the few line items a coach controls, so it is worth getting right.
Why Almost Every Team Orders the Richardson 112
Walk any travel ball complex in June and plenty of dugouts are wearing the same mesh-back trucker. That is the Richardson 112, and there are good reasons it won:
- No sizes to collect. It is a snapback. Nobody has to measure twelve heads, and a player who joins in May just gets a hat. Fitted caps mean collecting a head size from every player before you order.
- Every color your team could want. The adult 112 comes in 122 colors, so nearly any two-color school combination exists off the shelf.
- Every shop can get it. Richardson sells through dealers and distributors, and since January 2026 the 112 is also stocked by SanMar, one of the biggest suppliers embroiderers buy from. Your local shop almost certainly has a box of them.
- Reorders match. The 112 has kept the same shape since Richardson developed it in the mid-2000s. A hat you order for a new player in June looks like the ones you bought in February.
The trade-off is that your team looks like a lot of other teams. If you want to stand out, the cheapest way is decoration (a patch, a side number, a contrasting under-bill), not a different hat.
One sizing warning. Richardson's youth version, the 112Y, is a smaller one-size hat, and sellers list different head ranges for it (some as small as 6 3/8 to 6 5/8). Before you order youth sizes for 11- and 12-year-olds, ask the shop for a sample or measure a few heads. Many kids that age already fit the adult 112.
Snapback vs Fitted vs Flex-Fit Hats for Kids
| Snapback (112 style) | Flex-fit (PTS, Flexfit) | True fitted (59FIFTY) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sizes to collect | None | Two | One per player |
| New player mid-season | Easy | Easy | Need their size |
| Looks like | Travel ball trucker | Clean "on-field" cap | MLB on-field cap |
| Fits growing heads | Yes, adjusts | Mostly | Outgrown in a season |
| Price | Lowest | Middle | Highest |
For most youth teams, the right answer is snapback or flex-fit. Heads grow, kids lose hats, and somebody always joins late. A real fitted cap makes sense for an older travel team that wants the on-field look and has a parent willing to collect an exact size from every family.
A parent asking r/Homeplate about cheap hats for an 11U team worried that one-size hats would swallow the heads of 10- and 11-year-olds. That is the real risk with snapbacks at the young end. A flex-fit in S/M, or the youth 112Y, solves it.
When to Order: Work Back From Opening Day
The most common hat problem is not price. It is hats that show up after the first game. One dealer recommends baseball programs place orders in January to early February, because rosters get finalized late but production time doesn't shrink.
Here is how the time actually breaks down for a domestic embroidered order:
| Step | Time it takes |
|---|---|
| Pick the style and shop, finalize the logo | 1 week |
| Collect sizes and money from families | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Digitizing and proof back-and-forth | 2 to 5 days |
| Embroidery production | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Shipping | 3 to 7 days |
That adds up to about 6 to 8 weeks from "we should get hats" to hats in hand, so plan on 8. Change the plan if you want any of these:
- Sublimated patches add time: one supplier quotes 4 to 6 weeks for new patch artwork.
- Overseas full-custom caps (your own fabric, colors and labels) usually need 100 to 500 pieces and 3 weeks to 3 months including shipping.
- Uniform-company caps can be the fastest: Champro advertises embroidered caps in 10 days with Express, or 5 with Express+, counted from art approval.
Rule of thumb: count back 8 weeks from opening day and put that date on the calendar now. If opening day is March 14, the order goes in by January 17.
Minimums and the Fees Nobody Mentions
The price per hat on a website is rarely the price you pay. Watch for these:
- Minimum order quantities. Many Richardson programs start at 24 pieces. A 12-player team ordering 12 hats is under that line.
- Small-order run fees. One review of custom cap shops found fees like a $59 run charge below the minimum.
- Setup fees. For example, $30 on custom 59FIFTY orders under 12 caps.
- Digitizing. Turning your logo into an embroidery file usually costs $20 to $30, and anywhere from $10 to $60. It is a one-time fee, so ask for the file and keep it for reorders.
- Over and under shipping. Some suppliers reserve the right to ship up to 12 pieces or 5% over or under, whichever is higher, and bill for what ships. On a 12-hat order, that clause covers the whole order, so ask about it.
- Rush fees. Ordering late is the most expensive thing you can do.
How to beat the minimum: order hats for the coaches, two spares for the kid who loses his in the parking lot, and a few for siblings and grandparents. A 12-player team can usually get to 24 without anyone paying for a hat they don't want.
The Logo Question: Can You Use an MLB Logo?
A lot of rec leagues name teams after big league clubs, and every year someone asks a shop to put the real Dodgers logo on the hats. Don't.
Little League's own policy says that if a league uses unauthorized MLB trademarks, the business that made the items is the one most likely to be held liable, and it urges leagues to buy only licensed merchandise. Reputable shops will refuse the order anyway.
Your options:
- Rec team named after an MLB club: buy licensed replica caps through your league's uniform supplier.
- Travel team or your own name: make your own logo. A simple letter or initials in your team colors embroiders cleanly and costs less to digitize than a detailed mascot. Fine detail and small text are what make embroidery look muddy.
Where Teams Actually Order
| Where | What it's good at | What to watch | Typical lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local dealer or embroidery shop | Samples in hand, easy reorders, someone to call | Minimums, prices vary a lot | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Uniform company (Champro, Boombah and others) | Hats bundled with jerseys, fast | Fewer hat styles and colors | 10 days to 3 weeks |
| Online custom shop | Design online, proofs by email | Small-order fees, no samples | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Print-on-demand team store | Families order and pay for their own | Fewer blanks, higher per-hat cost | 1 to 2 weeks per order |
| Overseas factory | Lowest unit price, full custom | 100 to 500 piece minimums, quality risk | 3 weeks to 3 months |
Parents on r/Homeplate mostly recommend a local dealer for hats and a uniform company rep for jerseys. Whoever you pick, ask for a proof and a sample before you hand over the whole team's money.
A team store is worth considering if collecting money is the hard part. The shop sets up a page, every family orders and pays for its own hat and sizes, and the coach never touches a Venmo request. You pay a little more per hat for that convenience.
Questions to Ask Before You Order
- What is your minimum, and what does it cost if we are under it?
- Is digitizing included, and will you send us the file?
- How many proofs do we get, and how long does each round take?
- What is the production time after we approve the proof?
- Can we see or buy one sample hat before the full order?
- If a player joins in May, can we order one more hat, and what will it cost?
- Do you ship exactly the quantity we order, or within a percentage?
If a shop can answer all seven without hesitating, you have probably found your shop.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do custom baseball team hats cost?
Most teams pay about $18 to $35 per hat for an embroidered trucker or flex-fit cap, depending on quantity and decoration. Budget team-catalog caps can run $10 to $12, and custom true-fitted caps cost more, often $40 and up once setup fees are spread over a small order.
How much does a youth baseball uniform package cost?
A basic package (jersey, pants, socks and hat) runs about $85 to $130 per player. Travel team parents who add a second jersey, a hoodie and practice shirts report $115 to $400 per player.
Why do so many baseball teams use the Richardson 112?
It is a snapback, so there are no sizes to collect. It comes in 122 colors, every embroiderer can get it, and its shape has stayed the same for about 20 years, so a hat ordered for a new player in June matches the ones ordered in February.
Should a youth team order fitted or snapback hats?
Snapback or flex-fit is the practical choice for most youth teams because heads grow and new players join mid-season. Choose true fitted caps only if you can collect an exact head size from every family before the order goes in.
How early should we order team hats and uniforms?
Plan on 8 weeks before opening day for embroidered hats and uniforms from a domestic shop. Add about 2 weeks for sublimated patches, and a month or more for overseas full-custom caps. For a spring season that usually means ordering in January or early February.
Can our rec team put a Yankees or Dodgers logo on its hats?
Not on a custom order. MLB logos are trademarks, and the shop that makes unlicensed hats is the one most likely to be held liable. Rec teams named after MLB clubs should buy licensed replica caps through their league's uniform supplier.
The single most useful thing you can do this week is put one date on the calendar: opening day minus 8 weeks. Everything else on this page, the style, the shop and the logo, can be decided before that date. Missing it is the expensive mistake.
About the Author
Former Stanford baseball player and professional in the Seattle Mariners organization. 7 years in professional data analytics. Founder of Dugout Edge.
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