The MLB regular season will start soon, which means a slew of new merchandise and hats are being released. That includes a line of New Era caps, which, for a couple of teams, have already been removed from their fan shops amid some potentially vulgar appearances.

Michael Shapiro is a sports reporter for Chron, covering the Astros, Rockets, Texans and every team in town. Michael is a Denver native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and a noted fan of pull-up threes, wide-receiver passes and a good hot fudge sundae.

Major League Baseball’s latest attempt at a stylish cap release quickly turned into an embarrassment. New Era’s “MLB Overlap” collection, which aimed to put a fresh spin on team branding, instead led to widespread mockery and controversy.

Some baseball fans are getting big bucks online for MLB hats with rather provocative design flaws. Here's what happened.