One of Don Mattingly's most distinctive features as a player was his mustache. Sure, he's gone without one for a long time, but he's enforcing a new rule on his new team: no facial hair.

To understand Mattingly's new attitude on the facial hair debate, you have to go back to 1991, when Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, who originated the policy, went toe-to-toe with Mattingly over his refusal to cut his hair. Donnie Baseball had a mullet at the time and he was benched until he got it cut.

The incident was lampooned on a 1992 episode of The Simpsons:

One player who also turned the Yankees' grooming code on its ear was this guy.

Detroit Tigers v New York Yankees
Jim McIsaac/GettyImages
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Hall of Fame relief pitcher Rich "Goose" Gossage kept his signature horseshoe mustache after he creatively shaved his beard at the request of coach Yogi Berra per Steinbrenner.

Mattingly did not institute a grooming policy during his time with Dodgers, and ironically, the Marlins did have a no facial hair policy until 2011. I guess everything that's old is new again.

 

 

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