Gunnar Henderson swiveled his head to survey the clubhouse. He thought for a moment before offering an answer, with his honey-blond hair ruffling out behind his ears and under the back of his cap. The flow is more prominent from his side profile, complemented by his matching mustache. If there was a superlative for the Orioles’ best mullet, Henderson landed on giving it to Cole Irvin’s curls.
Irvin, whose locker sits directly across the clubhouse, gave his vote right back to the reigning American League Rookie of the Year. Baseball aside, Henderson’s country boy look — which his fiance Katherine Lee Bishop encouraged him to keep this season — is becoming part of his notoriety.
“Gun’s got a solid look right now,” Irvin said. “Especially with the, kinda [Roy] Doc Holliday-ish, blonde mustache.”
It’s becoming something of a trend.
“I love the mullets,” Irvin said. “Frickin’ in right now.”
Irvin’s style association is — sort of — in baseball, too. He’s heard the comparison for years but Ryan Mountcastle was the first Oriole to nickname him Kenny Powers, a Danny McBride character playing a former major leaguer from the HBO series “Eastbound and Down.”
Henderson and Irvin have some of the best mullet-with-facial-hair combos. The former isn’t too particular about barber loyalty or the specifics of his cut, be it back home in Montgomery, Alabama, or one of the barbers who intermittently come through the clubhouse. Irvin spends more time thinking about it.
“I am pretty particular,” Irvin said, having rocked the mullet since his time in Oakland. “I’ll start with taper to a four because I like it a little longer on top. But typically, it’ll be a two or three to maybe a four at the very top. It’s like a mild taper. Then everything else is just scissor cut. A good mullet stays behind the ears.”
Mountcastle has been growing his hair and ‘stache out. Jordan Westburg and Austin Hays are growing mustaches. There’s a consensus that Dean Kremer’s hair is too nice to trim to a mullet. Maybe Corbin Burnes could rock one, Henderson said. So could Mike Baumann. “He’s got great lettuce,” Irvin said.
Could Adley Rustchman ever pull off joining that list? Gunnar didn’t skip a breath, “No. No. He definitely could not.” Irvin quipped Adley was having trouble with his mustache but was intrigued by the idea of Rustchman with a mullet, curious how it might clash with his Oregon roots.
Fans are noticing the trend, too.
One blurted out “The powers of the mustache!” as Henderson approached the plate in Saturday’s win against the Milwaukee Brewers. By that logic, the facial hair was responsible for the single he poked up the middle moments later.
Mullets and mustaches are only part of the look for part of the team. More broadly, this is a team whose identity on the field is continually shaping with its budding style off of it.
When it comes to game day outfits, the Orioles aren’t the most fashion-forward team in baseball. Rustchman was the only Oriole this year featured on the @mlb.fits Instagram account to its 100,000 followers — a subjective quantification — for his textured maroon suit at the MLB Awards night.
Rather, the collective likes to err on keeping it comfortable and casual, not necessarily experimenting with bodacious streetwear. But for many of the guys, their style looks a little bit like John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” sounds. Or the southern charm of Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan, at times the soundtrack of the pregame clubhouse.
That is, with a few exceptions. Teammates say Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander would be at the top of the list for a “best dressed” superlative.
Mullins tries to organize a team-wide suit day here and there. “Just so I can see who’s putting some thought into it,” he joked.
Mullins has been working with a Towson-based brand called Branded Bespoke. Some days his getup is his own creation. Other days he lets the professionals dress him. Branded Bespoke — which made a trip to Sarasota, Florida, for spring training and has partnered with Ravens players Zay Flowers, Isaiah Likely and Malik Hamm — helps Mullins with everything from his formal suits to comfortable wear for a long plane ride.
How would Mullins describe the evolution of his style?
“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “But I’m trying to branch out a little more and show more unique-type pieces. Past that, I’m very [into] athleisure. I love sweats, even when it’s warm outside because I don’t have to wear it long.”
For home games, Mullins is most likely strolling into the ballpark with a matching sweatsuit. He’s more interested in dressing up for road trips, like last year’s American League Divisional Series, when he sported an Italian Wool double-breasted suit jacket with an Egyptian cotton dress shirt.
He liked a recent blue and white pinstripe jacket with a light blue undershirt and white cuffs. “Just smooth,” he said. “I like white sneakers with that, just keeping it simple.”
Santander was another name mentioned amongst the team’s most fashionable. “He brings it like every day,” Irvin said. “He dresses the part.”
James McCann has broken out the cowboy hat and pearl snap. Irvin relies on his wife’s help. She lays out pieces to pack and calls the collection his “ready-to-go outfits.”
Irvin reckoned that it’s only a matter of time before someone debuts a Western-style bolo tie.
“Everyone has a unique style,” Mullins said. “It’s just all about personal style. It’s the whole concept of feeling good and feeling confident in what you’re wearing going out to the field. It’s part of the preparation.”
