Retro pitcher

When I was growing up, a major league pitcher was required to have two things. He had to have a mustache ...

... and he had to have long hair.

Those were necessities to being allowed to patrol a major league mound. In fact, I think it was in the collective bargaining agreement. "No ball player may be permitted to toe the rubber unless he owns a fabulous head of hair."

And so it went. You pitched. You sported a mustache.

And you had long hair. Pitchers were like Samson. Cut their hair and they couldn't get the ball over the plate. Unless you were Tom Seaver. But Seaver was, like, God.

Sometimes, a pitcher could get away with one terrific mustache and some fierce sideburns. No long hair necessary.

But if you couldn't grow a semi-respectable mustache, like Bob Stanley here. Then you better grow some long hair. And feature some chest hair, too.

It was a fact of life 25, 30 years ago: Mustache ...

... long hair ...

... mustache ...

... long hair ...

... must ---

Wait, what?

You want me to go back to that last card again?

 You don't remember horizontal player cards in 1978 Topps? You say Brian Tallet is a present-day pitcher on the Toronto Blue Jays?

Well, you could have fooled me. Have you seen this guy? He looks like almost every pitcher I saw in the 1970s. Mustache, long, curly, scraggly hair. It's fantastic. I hope he keeps this look for the rest of his career, because I miss it.

After years of Randy Johnson being the only guy who looked like this, we finally have someone else who reminds me of Mike Marshall, Catfish Hunter, Al Hrabosky, Dennis Eckersley, Jack Morris, Sparky Lyle, Pete Vukovich, and even Steve Carlton, for a time.

Long live long hair and the 'stache. Hope you've re-started a trend, Brian.