Red Sox’s Payton Tolle Explains Inspiration For Famed Mustache

All eyes will be on Payton Tolle Friday when the Boston Red Sox rookie makes his MLB debut.

The left-hander has rocketed through the Red Sox organization this year, which started with him in Single-A.

When Tolle, the top-ranked pitcher down on the farm, takes the mound at Fenway Park, he will be bringing some nostalgic history out with him.

That’s because the 22-year-old explained the inspiration for his famed mustache: actor Tom Selleck, who rose to fame on the 1980’s hit TV show “Magnum, P.I.”

Tolle told the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast that his connection to Selleck’s signature character dates back to six years ago, when the left-hander needed to dress up for Halloween.

“It was an easy costume,” Tolle said, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford. “Khaki shorts, very high. Nice Hawaiian shirts. I didn’t have a Tigers hat at the time, but I wore some vintage hat. I was in a group with high schoolers, and they thought I was some tacky tourist, so I had to explain to them, ‘Magnum P.I.'”

“Tom (Selleck) was definitely the inspiration for this,” Tolle said about his mustache.

On the show, the mustached Selleck wore a Detroit Tigers hat as a nod to his hometown. In fact, Selleck attended Tigers spring training in 1991 while rehearsing for his role in the movie, “Mr. Baseball.” Selleck even took an official spring training at-bat, thanks to former Tigers manager Sparky Anderson. Selleck struck out against All-Star reliever Rob Dibble, but did manage to hit three foul balls.

Yes, Selleck loves the Tigers and the city and its fans love him back. As such, Detroit hosts an annual “Tom Selleck Day” at Comerica Park. It dates back to 2008 with hundreds of fans each year going to Tigers games dressed up as Selleck’s “Magnum P.I.” character.

This past Sunday marked the 16th annual Selleck Day. And those in attendance received a special treat: Selleck actually attended the game.

The actor was a good sport, taking photos with fans and throwing out the first pitch. He even joined the broadcast booth for part of the game and reminisced about his time at Tigers spring training.

He also talked about the time he took batting practice at Tiger Stadium, and the broadcast surprised him with video of the one home run he hit in BP.

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Oh, and for what it’s worth, Tolle won’t be the only pitcher sporting a mustache Friday. Pirates ace Paul Skenes, the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award, will be on the mound for Pittsburgh with an MLB-leading 2.07 ERA.