Cease's sublime 'stache no match for his arm

CHICAGO -- Let’s talk about Dylan Cease, but not just about the sheer mound dominance shown by the White Sox right-hander.

You’ve seen one 26-year-old possessing a wipeout slider as good as any in the game and a fastball capable of hitting 100 mph, and you’ve seen them all, right? Let’s instead get to the real point of interest with Cease, which is as plain as the nose on his face.

Actually, it’s just below the nose, as in Dylan Cease’s mustache. The mustache isn’t the reason why Cease has emerged as one of the game’s truly elite starters -- chalk up that success to hard work, maturity and harnessing ridiculous stuff. But when things are going great -- and things couldn’t be going much better for Cease -- everything gets noticed.

Unlike that high-end repertoire, which Cease consistently is looking to refine, the mustache might be as good as it gets.

“I don’t know how I improve it,” said a smiling Cease during an interview with MLB.com. “Maybe twirl it at the end or something like that. I don’t know if it’s getting any thicker. This might be as much as my 26-year-old body can produce right now.”

There are ways to quantify Cease’s dominance throwing the baseball in 2022, although for some strange reason, being an American League All-Star was not one of them. Cease will enter his start Thursday afternoon in Kanas City with a 1.98 ERA that currently ranks third in baseball. His 166 strikeouts also sit third overall, while his .198 average against checks in seventh.

Over his last 76 innings pitched, covering 13 starts, Cease has yielded five earned runs. Even some video games might reject those numbers as difficult to fathom. He also became the first non-opener to allow one earned run or less in 13 straight starts since ERA became an official stat (1913).

Cease’s 97 strikeouts on the slider are Major League Baseball’s highest total on one pitch, according to Statcast, just edging out Carlos Rodón (95) and Gerrit Cole (93) on their respective four-seamers. Yet, there’s always work to be done for the White Sox ace.

“It’s not hard to look back and say, ‘OK, I could have been better here,’” Cease said. “Obviously you can never be perfect, and it’s been a great stretch. But there’s definitely been a little bit of sloppy pitching mixed in there. Fortunately, I have good enough stuff to where I’ve gotten out of jams.”

Cease allowed one run on two hits in six innings during Friday’s 2-1 victory over the Rangers, but he noted that if he would have had better fastball command, the 45 pitches he tossed over the first two innings could have been reduced. Cease escaped a first inning where two walks were issued and Adolis Garcia singled to right against the shift with two outs with just one run allowed, which is another sign of the maturing process compared to even last season, when he fanned 226 over 165 2/3 innings.

“Oh yeah, in the past I probably would have unraveled and probably wouldn’t have gotten out of the first with less than one [run],” Cease said. “I definitely have a much much better idea of what I’m trying to do.”

The most recent MLB.com American League Cy Young poll had Cease third behind Shane McClanahan and Justin Verlander.

As for top mustaches in the game, Cease also is in the top bracket.

There’s Atlanta’s Spencer Strider, who’s having a strong season on the mound for the Braves, and Matt Carpenter, who has had a resurgence with the Yankees. Cease gives the nod to the veteran Carpenter.

“I saw it the other day. It’s good. It’s nice and groomed. It’s thick,” Cease said. “I don’t think he’s got the middle part missing I have. His is up there for sure.

“We all admire the differences in our mustaches. Not compare them. He’s got a good one. There are some good ones out there.”

Freddie Mercury is the lookalike Cease gets most with the mustache. He acknowledges the reference, but also mentions former MMA fighter Don Frye as a mustache comparison. But there are very few pitchers to compare to what Cease currently is accomplishing on the mound.

“It’s hard to have fun when you are not having success,” Cease said. “So, it’s just much easier to relax and you are working, as opposed to going out there and not knowing if you are going to contribute or not. That’s not a fun feeling.”