Back in the fall of '91, I met Rollie Fingers at a signing appearance in San Diego. I had heard that the Reds had tried to sign him just before he retired. Fingers told me that the Reds wanted him badly. He signed the contract. After he signed it, he was told he'd have to shave off the handlebar. Fingers told me that he leaned over, took the contract, ripped it up and said "I'm retired." He added a little sidebar about Marge Schott, saying that she bans facial hair "but lets that dog shit all over the field"
I met Eric Rasmussen last year as pitching coach for the Ft. Myers Miracle. He told me that EVERYBODY hated Vern Rapp for his policies and if he got killed in a accident, nobody would have mourned. Rumor was that Charlie Finley wanted to hire Rapp as A's manager but Rapp refused, knowing his wanting to ban facial hair wouldn't fly with Finley. It's funny that Bobby Winkles, who later managed the A's, had a ban when he managed the Angels from '73 to '74. He justified it by saying "we play in a conservative county (Orange)." He was told by Finley when hired that facial hair would stay.
Other former players I met over the years hated playing for the Reds and some refused to report for that reason...
» Scott Levison is a bearded, earringed, ponytailed long-suffering Red Sox fan and free-lance writer in Pinellas Park, FL.
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Posted April 4, 2002.
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