Movember - Token American Style - AL Central

For background on Movember see my original post.

Support the cause - donate to Steve, and the UWO Geography Gentlemen!
Be sure to check out Lindsay's Movember blog! 

On this, the last day of November, I wrap up my MLB Tour de Whiskers.  Though I have featured contemporary players, the moustache has a long history of creating an image and mystic for many ballplayers.  As we have seen with Mr. Redstockings, 'staches aren't limited to those on the diamond, but off as well.  This is also the case with my final Movember profile, AL Central manager - Jim Leland.

James Richard "Jim" Leyland

Jim Leyland actually began his baseball career with the Detroit Tigers when he was signed as a catcher in 1962.  He spent several seasons as a minor leaguer for the Tigers club (1964-1970), though mainly served as a coach in 1970.  Leyland left the Tigers for the first time in 1982 when he became Tony La Russa's third base coach from 1982-85 with the Chicago White Sox.

Jim's first appointment as a manager came on November 20, 1985, when he was named the 33rd manager in Pittsburgh Pirates history.  He was with the Pirate for ten years (1986-96) and won two Manager of the Year trophies (90 & 92).  Leyland led the Pirates to the National League Championship Series for three straight seasons from 1990-92, though unfortunately the club was unable to secure the title. 

Leyland's first championship came in 1997, when he managed the Florida Marlins to a World Series title.  The off-season following 97 saw owner Huizenga dismantle the team, and Leland resigned after a terrible 1998 season.  He was skipper for the Colorado Rockies for one season in 99, before temporarily leaving management to scout for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In 2005, Leyland returned to the franchise with which he originally signed, managing in the American League for the first time.  In the 2006 regular season, Leyland steered the Tigers to a 95-67 record, the best since 1987.  It was enough for the Tigers to enter the playoffs as a wild card, defeating the New York Yankees and sweeping the Oakland A's to claim the AL pennant.  Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to best the St. Louis Cardinals and win the World Series.  However, in leading the Tigers to the AL pennant, Jim became the seventh manager to win pennants in both major leagues.  His first season managing the Tigers earned him the Manager of the Year award for the third time in his career - third person in baseball history to win this award in both leagues.  As of August, 2011 Leyland's contract has been extended through the 2012 season.

These impressive statistics will undoubtedly see Jim Leyland into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager, though which team he goes in under may be up for debate.  As he started a Tiger, and is currently a Tiger, I'm making him my choice for the AL Central representative in this Movember Hall of Fame.

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NL East

AL East

NL West

AL West 

NL Central 

Movember - Token American Style - NL Central

For background on Movember see my original post.

Support the cause - donate to Steve, and the UWO Geography Gentlemen!
Be sure to check out Lindsay's Movember blog! 

The moustache has been so closely related to the game of baseball, that it's easy to frequently find whiskers not only on players, but on mascots as well.  While I found a whole site devoted to moustached mascots, I knew instantly the one I wanted to feature.  With such a long and rich history as a ball club, I knew the team to discuss for the NL Central, was the Cincinnati Reds and their mascot Mr. Redlegs. 

Mr. Redlegs

Mr. Redlegs first appeared in the 1950s when the Cincinnati Reds were re-branded with the name Cincinnati Redlegs, in an effort to remove any potential association with communism.  The name change lasted into the early 60s when the team returned to its original name.  At the same time, Mr. Redlegs shaved his moustache, and became famous for his "running man" pose.

Mr. Red

 Shortly after, in the late 1960s, the Reds instituted a strict rule barring the team's players from wearing facial hair.  This clean cut look was intended to present the team as wholesome in an era of turmoil.  This rule remained in place for the next three decades, and even occasionally cost the Reds potential players such as pitcher Rollie Fingers, who refused to shave his trademark handlebar moustache.  The rule was finally rescinded in 1999, when the Reds traded for slugger Greg Vaughn, who had a goatee.

Mr. Redlegs, in all his handlebar moustached glory, returned as a mascot in 2007, and has been entertaining Cincinnati fans ever since.  His snappy style has earned him a spot in my Movember Hall of Fame.

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NL East

AL East

NL West

AL West 

Movember - Token American Style - AL West

For background on Movember see my original post.

Support the cause - donate to Steve, and the UWO Geography Gentlemen!
Be sure to check out Lindsay's Movember blog! 

When I started doing research for my baseball moustache hall of fame, I found a surprising number of sites dedicated specifically to ballplayers facial hair.  Some ranked players according to the impact their whiskers had on their legacy, while others simply listed their favorites.  But no matter what site I consulted, there was one name that appeared over and over, and frequently ranked number one.  It was none other than the Oakland A's Rollie Fingers!

Roland "Rollie" Fingers

Though Fingers was a starter throughout his minor league career, he established himself in the majors as a late inning closer.  In the 1970s, an era allowing for greater opportunities for closers than had previously been available, Fingers' excellence in relief allowed him to gradually increase his annual saves totals past 30.  In 1980 he broke Wilhelm's record of 227 saves, and eventually finished with 341, a record that stood until Jeff Reardon passed it in 1992.  (The same year Fingers was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.)

Some of Rollie's career highlights include seven All-Star appearances, three World Series championships and a World Series MVP, he won the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in 1981, and was the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year for both leagues.  Fingers is also one of only a few MLB players to have his number retired by more than one club (Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers.)

However, Fingers wasn't known just for his pitching ability.  His waxed handlebar moustache was originally grown to earn a $300 bonus from A's owner Charles Finley.  Finley, who was known for all kinds of gimmicks, offered prize money to the player who could grow and maintain the best facial hair for opening day in 1972.  Fingers went all out and modeled his whiskers after players of the late 19th century.  Finley went a step farther and came up with "Moustache Day" at the ballpark, where any fan with a moustache could get in free.  Though a majority of the other players shaved their moustaches off after the team traded most of their players in 1975-76, Fingers maintained his and still has one today.  His dedication to the upkeep of this classic facial hair earns him a spot in my Moustache Hall of Fame.

Previous Posts

NL East

AL East

NL West

 

Movember - Token American Style - NL West

For background on Movember see my original post.

Support the cause - donate to Steve, and the UWO Geography Gentlemen!
Be sure to check out Lindsay's Movember blog!

 

Both players featured in my previous Movember posts have been inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  My moustache pick for the NL West is a recent retiree from professional baseball (January 5, 2010) and so won't be eligible for induction until 2015.  I suspect Summer 2015, or shortly thereafter, will see the arrival of Randy Johnson in Cooperstown, New York - along with his moustache and his mullet.

Randy "Big Unit" Johnson

Johnson has a staggering list of accomplishments that stack up nicely next to his lanky 6-foot-10-inch frame.  This south paw was known for his dominate fastball and his self-nicknamed "Mr. Snappy" sliders.  His pitches regularly approached, and occasionally exceeded, 100 miles per hour (160 km/h for my Canadian friends) in his prime.  

These skills earned him five Cy Young Awards (1995, 1999-2002), 10 All-Star appearances, and a World Series co-MVP (with Curt Schilling, 2001).  Johnson lead the league in strikeouts nine times, ERA four times, holds the record for most strikeouts in a relief appearance, and struck out 20 batters on May 8, 2001 against the Cincinnati Reds.

There are several milestones every pitcher strives to reach during his career and Randy Johnson hit all of them.  He collected his 300th win in a 5 - 1 victory against the Washington Nationals on June 4, 2009.  He struck out 4,875 batters - second most of all-time, trailing only Nolan Ryan.  Johnson pitched a no-hitter for Seattle on June 2, 1990 and the illusive perfect game for the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 18, 2004 - the oldest pitcher to do so in major-league history.  With these stats it is not surprising that Randy Johnson has defeated every major-league team at least once, and was named to the Sports Illustrated MLB All-Decade Team in 2009.
While Randy Johnson's 'stache may yet to grace the plaque gallery in the Hall of Fame, his skills on the mound and his fabulous facial hair has earned him a spot in my Movember Hall of Fame.

Previous Posts

NL East

AL East

 

Movember - Token American Style - AL East

For background on Movember see my original post.

Support the cause - donate to Steve, and the UWO Geography Gentlemen!

 
When I started my Movember series of blog posts, I didn't originally take time to consider how many I wanted to publish.  I knew I wanted to do more than one or two, so I started to ponder various numbers associated with baseball.  First, I considered nine - one for each inning - until I realized that would mean basically writing a post every other day until the end of the month, at this point that seemed a bit much.  Doing one for each fielding position wasn't an alternative, as there are nine of those as well.  Other numbers, such as games in a series - five or seven - just didn't seem like the right fit as that number may vary depending on the series.  I finally settled on a moustache from each division.  This gives me five posts in the 15 days left in the month.  Which seems reasonable.  I even sat down and chose a someone from each division (not as easy a task as one might suspect!)

Since I started out in the National League East Division with the Phillies, I decided to tackle the American League East Division next.  As much as I may loath to mention the Yankees, I can't help but bring up the mutton-style moustache of Richard Michael Gossage.

 

"Goose" Gossage

Goose is often credited with creating the role of the 'closer' in baseball, the main difference from today being that he would often pitch the last three innings of a game, compared to only the final inning most closers pitch today.  Gossage played 22 seasons for nine different clubs, spending the best of his years with the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres.  

Before retiring in 1994, Gossage pitched in 1002 games, finishing 681, which earned him 310 saves.  He racked up 1502 strikeouts in 1809 innings, and three seasons he led the American League in saves (75, 78, and 80).  He also holds the Yankees career record for ERA (2.14) and hits per nine innings (6.59).  These stellar stats earned him nine All-Star appearances, and he took the mound in three World Series.  Goose was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. 

In 1983, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner directed then-manager Yogi Berra to tell Gossage that his beard had to go.  In response, Gossage grew and extended his moustache even further down his jaw.  He was known for his "wild facial hair and gruff demeanor to go along with his blistering fastball," thus earning him a spot in my Movember Moustache Hall of Fame.

For those of you wondering how I chose Gossage as an AL East player when he pitched for nine different teams, he is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Yankee, so that was good enough for me.
 

Movember - Token American Style - NL East

Movember fever has swept the Room of Requirement . 

For those of you not familiar with Movember (as I wasn't prior to this year), it is a world-wide movement to raise funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer.  At the beginning of November, previously clean-shaven men start growing moustaches and register on the Movember website (USA Canada) to track their progress and raise money.  Turns out it is pretty well known in Canada because last year the NHL got in on it (hockey, go figure.)

Lindsay got the ball rolling on her blog, tackling the topic with famous historical moustaches.  While brainstorming future posts, she solicited suggestions from the rest of the public history crew.  Soon names of political leaders, actors, athletes, and artists were flying about the room, everyone advocating their choices.  It became apparent that perhaps this topic was pretty broad for just one blog.  So a few of us have decided to do spin-offs.

As the Token American, I knew I had a responsibility tackle a specific area: moustaches in baseball.

Those of you who know me personally, know that there is only one man to start off this series for me - Michael Jack Schmidt.

Iron Mike

Ask your average Phillies fan who is the best player the club has ever seen, and most will say Mike Schmidt.  Schmidt spent his entire 18-year career in Philadelphia, along the way earning three National League MVPs, 12 All-Star nods, 10 Gold Gloves, and was named the The Sporting News Player of the Decade for the 1980s.  

Known for his slugging as much as his fielding, he racked up 548 career home runs, hitting 40 or more in three separate seasons, and at least 30 home runs 10 other times.  His success is frequently attributed to his signature stance  in which he would nearly turn his back to the pitcher and wave his derriere while waiting for the pitch.  In 1976, he hit four consecutive home runs in a single game, and his 48 round trippers in 1980 set a major league record for a third baseman.

On May 26, 1990 - just shy of one year after making his last MLB appearance, the Philadelphia Phillies retired Schmidt's uniform number 20.  Later they erected a statue of him outside the third base gate at Citizens Bank Park.

In 1995, Mike was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  He earned an amazing 96.52% of the votes cast.

While his amazing skills on the diamond saw him into the Baseball Hall of Fame, his well known facial hair would also undoubtedly earn him a spot in any Moustache Hall of Fame.  So widely known, Nike has already immortalized it on a t-shirt.