The common reactions to the latest trend making its way around the horn on baseball diamonds throughout the Chattanooga area – the long and the short of it, if you will – is that moms and girlfriends are cringing and balding dads are envious.
Because everything old is new again, the mullet – hair cropped short on top, even shorter on the sides with a full flowing mane in the back – is making an inexplicable comeback among young baseball players.
The fashion fad, which became a phenomenon in the late 1980s and early ’90s, began to pop up in dugouts here and there last season but has seen a noticeable explosion in popularity this spring, becoming as essential as eyeblack and batting gloves.
“As soon as football season ends you have to start growing out your hair to get ready,” said Lookout Valley junior Jaxon Quails.
All but three of his teammates also played football, and none of them had mullets during the fall. Now nearly a half-dozen Jackets players are sporting the hairstyle.