Home Run Derby

It seems like every single sports blog out there seems to have an article about some Beard lately.  Beard after Beard after Beard. 

Well, we’re gonna jump on the bandwagon too … Baseball’s had some memorable faces in its history. Some young and handsome, some unforgettably ugly, some clean- shaven, and some … a little more hairy.

Let’s take a look at ten of the more memorable beards in MLB history.  From the big to the small, the thick to the thin, and the groomed to the grizzly.

Bruce Sutter

Good God.  You really can’t tell where the hair ends and the beard begins on this guy.  It’s like a vertical halo of hair around his face.

This might be the best beard in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sutter finished with 300 Career Saves, most of them with the beard.

Rick Aguilera

This might be the most well-groomed facial hair on a white guy in the history of the Major Leagues.  It looks like it’s right off the box of a package of Just for Men.

Aguilera set up the Mets amazing comeback against the Red Sox in Game Six of the 1986 World Series by letting the Red Sox score twice in the top of the 10th inning.

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Back in February, we mentioned that Nick Swisher had gained a bunch of muscle in the offseason … and at the same time had gained a bunch of hair …

Well yesterday - Swish got clipped. The Hair was cut before Saturday’s game against the Giants. Swisher was growing the hair in order to honor his late grandmother, who passed away from cancer in August 2005. He donated 11 inches of hair to the Women’s Cancer Research Fund - an organization which makes real hair wigs for women with cancer.

But those sideburns and goatee are hideous. I’m surprised UmpBump hasn’t added Swisher to their ever growing list of Unfortunate Facial Hair.

Because this has a Samson and Delilah theme all over it … we’re going to track Swisher’s stats before and after the haircut …

• Pre Haircut: Batting .290 and slugging .500 with 6 HR.
• Post Haircut: One Game - 0 for 3 with 2 Walks. Hmmm. Not a good start.

Playing the role of Delilah for this post is Swisher’s girlfriend, former Raiderette and FHM and Playboy Model Danielle Gamba. I wonder if she likes Swisher’s new look?