This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on April 29, 2005.

By Nick Tavares

Well, there's really no need to beat around the bush with some fancy introduction. We all know what happened Tuesday night at Fenway.

I bought another hat.

That's right. Hat No. 30. Or is it 50? 64? I don't even know anymore.

I have a thing for hats. I'm a hat guy. I don't actually wear hats every day -- sometimes to and from work, sometimes if it's raining -- but I've always loved hats, and for the last few years I've been struggling in my relationship with them. I always end up trying to set some sort of rotation up so I wear them all. First it's one almighty hat, which becomes four, then six, then nine, and then I'm back where I started.

I don't think I'm alone in this, either. Many people have some sort of collection that gets the best of them. ESPN.com's Jim Caple recently reflected on his ridiculous T-shirt collection and the quarrels he's had with his wife over them.

Well, I'm not married, but I figured it was time to settle the hat issue once and for all.

It started innocently enough. I remember at age 4 or so being given one of those "Lil' Slugger" hats with the baseball stitched on the front. From there, it was onto my first Red Sox hat, one of those cheap mesh kinds that have since come back into style.

From elementary through high school, I had a constantly evolving hat collection. Some were obvious choices, like whatever size Red Sox hat I had grown into, and others less, like the Kansas City Royals cap I wore quite a bit during the sixth grade or the St. Louis Blues lid I donned during my freshman year.

I never threw one away the entire time. I'd given a few away to family here and there, but that wasn't nearly enough to keep them in check.

They quickly outgrew the shelf I had allocated, forcing me to dedicate a bureau drawer to them. Currently, I have the bottom of my closet littered with caps, ranging from the Minnesota Twins to the New England Revolution to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Speaking of, why do I even own a Pittsburgh Penguins hat? Or a Houston Astros cap? And why do I still have a hat commemorating Super Bowl XXVIII?

Sadly, it doesn't stop with sports. For example, I have two Pearl Jam hats, one from their most recent tour and another done in the style of the old Seattle Mariners' "Trident M" logo.

But, like any collection, there really aren't many accidents here. All the hats I have stored away mean something to me. The Arizona Diamondbacks hat I own was ordered immediately after Luis Gonzalez hammered the final nail in the Yankees' 2001 season. I've had the same Oakland A's hat since my glorious one-hit, one-RBI season in Little League. Most recently, I acquired a Chicago Cubs hat during my trip to the Windy City.

The past is nice, and I'm glad it exists, but it's time to put a cap on all of this, so to speak.

I've decided on a permanent hat rotation of three -- the Sox hat I picked up this week with the "B" purposely ripped up, my Cubs hat and my New England "Pat Patriot" hat.

There could be slight variation here and there -- I have plenty of Bruins hats I could mix in now and again -- but the old hats are retired into the Nick Hall of Fame.

As far buying new hats, I'm through.

Unless someone would like to pick one up for me.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. E-mail him at ntavares@s-t.com.

This story appeared on Page C1 of The Standard-Times on April 29, 2005.