Tom Brennan - BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF LONG HAIR ON PITCHING PERFORMANCE

 

Jake with winning hair.

The Cowsills once sang about the importance of HAIR:

"Gimme a head with hair, long, beautiful hair

Shining, gleaming,  streaming, flaxen, waxen

Give me down to there, shoulder length or longer hair

Here baby, there mama, everywhere daddy daddy

Hair (Hair! Hair! Hair! Hair! Hair! Hair!)

Grow it, show it, long as I can grow it, my hair."

Long hair can be quite beneficial to pitchers.  

Especially when "shoulder length or longer".

Take, for instance, Jake deGrom.

He cut off his flowing locks right after the season ended in 2017.

Fans groaned.

How did that long hair help his pitching?

Well, ERA-wise, he was not nearly as good with long hair.

2.97 in 681 long-hair innings, down to a 1.94 ERA after his hair was chopped off, but he was 45-32 with long hair, 32-21 with short hair despite a run per 9 innings lower ERA.  Virtually identical winning %'s.  

It had to be the hair effect.

He may look better neatly groomed, but it has no doubt cost him wins after his October 2017 shearing.

Sampson from the Bible was not a Met, but he was unstoppable - as long as he kept his hair long.  Once it was cut, his performance immediately declined.  The modern-day Sampson, Tim Tebow, failed to make the majors only because of his stubborn refusal to grow his hair long.

Noah Syndergaard - pitched with long hair and is a fine 47-30 with the Mets despite a career 3.31 ERA.  Usually with a 3.31 ERA as a Met, you are lucky to be a .500 pitcher with the Mets.  We all know that from experience.  

Roger Craig, for example, was just 5-22 for the Mets in 1963 despite a hardly-higher 3.78 ERA.  His hair was short - so was his win total.

But longer hair makes a huge difference.  Compare Thor's W-L results to those of short-haired Jon Matlack, who was a mediocre 83-82 as a Met despite a far superior 3.03 ERA. 

Only possible conclusion?  Hair length.

Jerry Koosman had short hair when he went 11-35 in 1977 and 1978 despite a hardly-higher-than-Thor 3.62 ERA.  Had he had waist-length hair, the Kooz might have been 35-11 instead.  Prove me wrong.

Robert Gsellman has had long hair throughout his tenure, with the added success catalyst of a myriad of tattoos.  Hair AND tattoos?  A superb winning combo, with remarkable synergies.  

So, despite a high creer ERA of 4.59, a run per 9 higher than Koosman's above, Gsellman is 20-16 lifetime.  Kooz knows it now - he just wishes he knew it back then.

It is no accident.  It's the hair, people.

Marcus Stroman?  He is 10-8 as a Met with a much better ERA than his career ERA - with longer hair, he is much better, clearly.  He has 6 wins mid-season, but the hair still gives him a chance at making this a 20 win season when all is said and done.  Even if that means including his 3 wins in this year's playoffs.

Clean-cut Paul Sewald was a horrid 1-15 as a Met.  It was clearly the short haircuts.  

Short hair is a huge plus factor in Seattle, though, where Paul now pitches, as is evident from his 5-2 record, 1.46 ERA, and 43 Ks in 24.2 IP.  You know...Jake #'s.  He could have had those numbers in NY if he had long, flowing hair.  A shame.

On the other hand, in his clean-cut days, Drew Smith struggled to stay with the club, and also needed TJS.  Then he figured out what the cause of his ills was:  

NOT ENOUGH HAIR.  Long hair added this year, and through Wednesday, 17 games, 3-1, 2.70, and a K per inning.  

DO NOT CUT THE HAIR, DREW!

Josh Hader?  Only great because of the hair, dudes.

How Tom Seaver was successful, even great, with his short hair is however a complete mystery to me.   I am doing research on this anomaly.  

Fellow Hall of Famer and member of the 300 Win Club, Randy Johnson, had a better lifetime winning % for one reason only - curly locks (see below):

Big Unit, Bigger Hair

 

It can even extend to hitters.  

Joe Pepitone was the first long hair player I can recall, and it clearly worked to his advantage.  Lots of homers.  In his case, long hair, coupled with a short Yankee Stadium porch, really helped.  Prove me wrong.  You know I'm right.  It's the hair, stupid.   

And short haired HOME RUN DERBY REPEAT CHAMP Pete Alonso might like to know that long haired Pepi only fanned once every 10.5 times up in his career.  The weight of longer hair apparently keeps a hitter's head from pulling off the ball.  Just look at Vladimir Guerrero.  Then look at...

Michael Conforto?  If he grows his hair, maybe the highlight of his season won't be a controversial walk-off HBP.

One thing is abundantly clear.  Every pitcher in the Mets' system seeking success in Queens should just ("give) us a head with hair, long, beautiful hair."   Hitters, too.

They'd be unbeatable.  A truly hairy bunch.