ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A light-colored cowboy hat sits atop the bat rack in the Los Angeles Angels' dugout, a temporary prize for any player who sends a baseball over an outfield fence. The home-run ritual was the brainchild of Tim Buss, a coaching assistant Angels manager Joe Maddon calls his "VP of stuff," and it has quickly become the team's most cherished in-game tradition.
The hat -- an off-white Cody James model with black trim -- was recently outfitted with decals to commemorate every one of these celebrations and is now decorated with 44 of them, representative of the Angels' major league lead in home runs.