Call it the Duck Dynasty phenomenon. Call it the lazy-man syndrome.
Call it whatever you want, but these bearded baseball players are out of control.
From Brian Wilson to Dustin Pedroia, these beards are getting long, gray, and did I mention long?
What happened to a nice, clean-shaven man who is groomed?
While watching the World Series this year, all I can see are beards. At every at bat, there’s a new beard to see. It looks like these guys are part of some sort of brotherhood that makes it morally wrong to shave.
With the Duck Dynasty guys, I get it. They are hunters. They are in camouflage, and need to have as much of their bodies hidden as possible. But these baseball players are playing on the biggest stage in baseball, yet they look like a bunch of homeless men who would rather sell a baseball for money than play with it.
Former San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson started this trend, I believe. He started growing his beard in 2010, and has not shaved it since. Earlier this year, Wilson was offered $1 million dollars by a razor company to shave his beard, but he would not shave his lengthy beard, and said the beard is going with him to the grave. As of now, he pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the beard is so long that he actually puts it in a little ponytail. It is odd looking for a man, but it’s typical for the closer-mindset, which is considered to be different than most other baseball players.
But these guys for the Boston Red Sox – there’s four of them – who have these long beards. What is going on? I feel like if I ran into one of them in a dark alley, I would be scared, and I never thought I would be scared of a baseball player unless it was John Rocker.
Are they all superstitious? After all, Wilson and the Giants won two World Series with his ever-growing beard. Do all of the Boston players think if they let their beards grow to abnormal lengths they will win a World Series title? What about Cardinals players like Adam Wainwriter and Matt Carpenter who also have beards? They aren’t as unruly, but they are there. They are full-grown, manly beards.
I’ve heard of superstitions, and I’ve heard of team comradery, but this is maybe going too far. I have known teammates to shave their heads or to wear the same color socks, but this beard thing this has got to go.
I want the old fashioned baseball player back. The one with a clean-cut haircut, a freshly shaved face, a clean uniform, and a chain around his neck with his baseball number on it. I’m not even that old, and I miss the old days.
I guess whichever team wins the World Series this year can keep growing out their beards. The other players can just become duck hunters.
(Chrissy Smith is Sports Editor of the Slidell Independent, and a former college athlete. She can be reached at chrissycsmith@gmail.com.)