Although Jesse Chavez remains unsigned four months into the offseason, (please come back, Jesse) he's certainly not forgotten.
During BravesFest this past weekend, Braves reliever, Tyler Matzek, sat down with the Atlanta Braves Radio Network and was asked about his love of stylish hats.
"It started with Jesse Chavez," Matzek stated.
"Jesse Chavez is a huge hat guy, and Ian Anderson and I were sitting on the plane one day, and we said, "Hey man, if we win the World Series..." This was like in July, "If we win the World Series, I'm rocking one of your hats when we go through the parade.""Tyler Matzek
At the time, the Braves were hovering below .500 and, depending on when the pitchers had this conversation, might have already lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to his season-ending ACL injury. For most players in this situation, dreaming about a potential championship would be nothing but wishful thinking.
But not for the Braves, of course. The team got hot down the stretch, rejuvenated by new acquisitions, and took home the franchise's first World Series since 1995.
After winning the championship, Matzek revealed that Jesse Chavez kept his word and took the two pitchers to his hat shop of choice, Fruition Hat Company, and picked up the bill.
Here's what Matzek wore at the World Series Parade that year, courtesy of the veteran reliever:
And here's what Anderson wore:
Since being converted to the hat club, Matzek said he loves hats, saying "Most of the time it's just a ballcap but if I wanna dress it up I'll pick something a little nicer.
Anderson and Matzek aren't the only Braves to join the fancy hat club. Michael Harris II has been rocking his array of fancy hats (AJ Minter's always been a part of the cowboy club), although it's unknown whether the fan-favorite reliever influenced him.
Which #BravesGala hat are you? pic.twitter.com/xWqRmz0k0E
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) January 27, 2024
You can find Matzek's full interview with the Atlanta Braves Radio Network below.