Inside the Orioles clubhouse, where fashion is varied

Gunnar Henderson turned his head to look around the clubhouse. He thought for a moment before offering an answer, his honey blonde hair tousled behind his ears and under the back of his cap. The flow is most visible from his side profile, complemented by his matching mustache. If there was a superlative for the Orioles' best mullet, Henderson decided to give it to Cole Irvins' curls.

Irvin, whose locker sits directly across the street from the clubhouse, cast his vote for American League Rookie of the Year. Baseball aside, Henderson's country boy look that his fiancée Katherine Lee Bishop encouraged him to keep this season has become part of his notoriety.

The guns now have a solid appearance, Irvin said. Especially with the, a little [Roy] Doc Holliday-ish, blonde mustache.

It's becoming something of a trend.

I love mullets, Irvin said. Frickin is there right away.

The Irvins style association also exists in baseball. He's heard the comparison for years, but Ryan Mountcastle was the first Oriole to call him Kenny Powers, a Danny McBride character playing a former major leaguer in the HBO series “Eastbound and Down.”

Henderson and Irvin offer some of the best mullet-facial hair combos. The former isn't too picky about the barber's loyalty or the details of his cut, whether at his home in Montgomery, Alabama, or one of the barbers who intermittently pass through the clubhouse. Irvin spends more time thinking about it.

I'm pretty particular, Irvin said, having rocked the mullet since his time in Oakland. I'm going to start with a four taper because I like it a little longer on the top. But usually it will be a two or three, or even a four at the very top. It's like a slight cone. Then everything else is just a scissor cut. A good mullet stays behind the ears.

Mountcastle grew his hair and mustache. Jordan Westburg and Austin Hays are growing mustaches. There's a consensus that Dean Kremers' hair is too good to cut into a mullet. Maybe Corbin Burnes could make one, Henderson said. Mike Baumann too. “He has great lettuce,” Irvin said.

Could Adley Rustchman one day join this list? Gunnar didn't waste a breath, no. No. He certainly couldn't. Irvin joked that Adley had trouble with his mustache, but he was intrigued by the idea of ​​Rustchman with a mullet, curious how it might conflict with his Oregon roots.

Fans are also noticing the trend.

We let The Powers of the Mustache escape! as Henderson approached home plate during Saturday's win over the Milwaukee Brewers. By that logic, facial hair was responsible for the single he released in the middle moments later.

Mullets and mustaches are just part of the team's look. More broadly, it is a team whose identity on the pitch is continually shaped by its emerging style.

When it comes to game day outfits, the Orioles aren't the most fashion-forward team in baseball. Rustchman was the only Oriole featured this year on the @mlb.fits Instagram account to its 100,000 followers, a subjective quantification of his textured brown suit at the MLB Awards party.

On the contrary, the collective likes to strive to remain comfortable and casual, without necessarily experimenting with full-bodied streetwear. But for a lot of guys, their style is a bit like John Denver's Thank God Im a Country Boy. Or the southern charm of Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan, sometimes the pregame clubhouse soundtrack.

In other words, with a few exceptions. His teammates say Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander would be at the top of the list for the “best dressed” superlative.

Mullins tries to throw in a team-wide combine day here and there. Just so I can see who's thinking about it, he joked.

Mullins works with a Towson-based brand called Custom made. Some days her outfit is her own creation. Other days, he lets himself be dressed by professionals. Branded Bespoke who traveled to Sarasota, Florida for spring training and teamed up with Ravens players Zay Flowers, Isaiah Likely and Malik Hamm helps Mullins with everything from his formal suits to his comfy clothes 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 expand a little more and show more unique pieces. Beyond that, I am very [into] Athletics. I love sweatshirts, even when it's hot outside because I don't need to wear them for long.

For home games, Mullins probably walks around the stadium in a matching sweatsuit. He's more interested in dressing for road trips, like last year in the American League Divisional Series, when he wore a double-breasted Italian wool suit jacket with an Egyptian cotton dress shirt.