Beards and Baseball

Although not a baseball fan, I decided to watch the Baseball World Series. Is there any significance to all the players growing beards?

 

Thats the "playoff beard"

Its just a playoff superstition that started mainly with hockey a few decades ago and has since expanded to almost every major sport.

 

Sox 2013 world series champions....

 

Kind of. It's true that almost every postseason hockey team does the playoff beard, remaining unshaven as long as they are still playing. But if you look at some of the red sox, guys like Gomes, Napoli, Predroia, it's pretty obvious that they started those whiskers LONG before the playoffs rolled around. A few of the players started growing beards back in spring training (7-8 months ago). Well the red sox got off to a hot start, and baseball players are some of most superstitious athletes there are, so the trend stuck.

A few teams here and there might half-heartedly pick up the trend in the three major pro sports leagues, but it remains, by and large, a hockey tradition.

 

I think they are pretty cool. good to see men looking like men these days.

 

Thank you for the responses. We do not have hockey at our end of the world so that contributed to my lack of knowledge. I believe there are more Sox players with beards (may be more noticeable) so they may win the World Series.

 

I love all the funny fake beards one sees when the Bosox play at home. Makes one forget for a moment how obnoxious Boston fans can be.

 

Glad it wasn't just me...I thought for a second the MLB had become all Amish!

 

I think the tradition started in hockey as a means of confusing the Russian players. The opposing players figured that if they grew beards, the Russians might mistake them for their mothers.

:Þ

 

Oakland A's in 1972 grew mustaches and beards.
Charlie Finley the owner gave a player more money to grow a beard vs mustache
Always loved that Rollie Fingers handlebar mustache!

 

"Makes one forget for a moment how obnoxious Boston fans can be."

Boston has beyond a doubt the most obnoxious and rude fans in all of the major sports. Arrogant, condescending pricks.

New York, the perennial leaders in obtuseness prior to '04, has to settle for a close second place.

 

Second you on Yankee fans being in the top two. They have the edge on smugness while Bosox fans are bigger know-it-alls.