Jose De Leon, Cincinnati Reds. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Rollie Fingers must love José De León’s throwback Cincinnati Reds mustache.
No chili parlor can unfurl José De León‘s epic 1890s Cincinnati Reds mustache.
The 2020 MLB season will finally be underway here in a matter of days. While seemingly any team can win the World Series in a 60-game season, even the fish-out-of-water Miami Marlins or the stuffed animal Detroit Tigers, one team that is poised to pop this year is the Reds. By trading for Trevor Bauer last deadline, the Reds have a pitching staff to make them NL Central contenders.
While Bauer’s one-of-a-kind personality always has him in the headlines, today, we must respect the use of mustache wax by his teammate De León. With only eight big leagues game under his belt, the former Tampa Bay Rays reliever and Los Angeles Dodgers starter is looking to make a name for himself. It just may have more to do with rocking some Rollie Fingers-esque facial hair.
Jose De Leon won the facial hair game on Sunday, as his Twitter told us so.
Cincinnati was established as the first truly American city. The Southern Ohio river town was a good bit inland from the coastal cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia. In relative isolation, Cincinnati emerged as a metropolis built on pork, chili, baseball and epic mustaches. If you could combine all four entities in one, you could rule over the entire Ohio River Valley as you desired.
De León doesn’t have to be anything close to Bauer on the mound, but he must rock that mustache like it’s a hockey playoff beard. It doesn’t matter if Cincinnati has never had an NHL team, it’s about going back to your roots as a baseball club and proudly sporting facial hair like men did when Benjamin Harrison was in office. Let that thing curl like Fingers or Captain Hook.
If De León were to have a sub-2.00 ERA, you better believe the rest of the Reds pitching staff will cease shaving their upper lips as a glorified team bonding activity. It may be hidden under a mask most of the time, but when one is on the mound, let the mustache breathe to celebrate Movember a few months early. What do you have to lose besides copious amounts of cash set aside for wax?
De León needs to become the next star pitcher for the Reds strictly because of his mustache.