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Hottest Trend Among Criminals: The Yankee Cap

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Police sketches, surveillance videos and mug shots of violent criminals often have one thing in common – the head gear.

The New York Times consulted criminologists, sports marketing analysts and consumer psychologists to determine why so many criminals seem to do their dirty work wearing a Yankee cap.

LISTEN: 1010 WINS' John Montone Reports

The Times reported that since 2000, over 100 people suspected of committing a serious crime in the City were wearing Yankees attire either at the time of the crime or during their arrest or arraignment.

The experts concluded criminals may identify with the teams' aura of money, power and success. One criminologist even said the trend could be a result of Jay-Z donning Yankees gear for years on his album covers and in his videos.

In "Empire State Of Mind," which has sort of become the unofficial anthem of the Yankees and the Big Apple over the past year, the rapper boasts, "I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can."

Sports marketing analysts said it's all about numbers: the Yankees sell more merchandise than any other team in the league.

However, some New Yorkers said there's an even simpler explanation for the phenomenon: the team is just popular.

"Everybody roots for the Yankees, even the bad guys," one man said.

"It's a good, fitted cap that's popular," another man said. "That's all it is, everybody wears it, not just criminals, everybody wears those hats."

A woman who just recently moved to Atlanta told 1010 WINS' John Montone that even in Hotlanta the Yankee cap is a hit.

"Wearing a Yankee fit, you're down with the trend," she said.

Not many crimes seem to have been committed by suspects wearing a Mets cap -- the Times reports only about a dozen people were caught in the act wearing Mets gear.

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