The Legacy of the Closer

[From the JSF Vault...] It's often said throughout baseball circles that it takes a certain type of personality to be a closer. "Normal" players might not be able to handle the pressure associated with being entrusted to lock down the most difficult three outs of the game, so those players with the rare combo of great stuff, a short term memory and a "unique" personality typically get the nod. In the setting of a traditional baseball game, those personalities don't get many opportunities to shine, so closers are forced to get creative. These days, they'll buzz their hair into a Mohawk or choose some 80's glam rock song to blare over the sound system when they come out of the bullpen. In the formative years of the specialty relief pitcher, they expressed themselves via a different avenue ? their facial hair. Never was this more apparent than from 1977 through 1988 when Major League closers did for the mustache what hockey did for the m...