MLBWeird But True

So Long Sweet ‘Stache: Keith Hernandez To Shave His Mustache

In 2007, Keith Hernandez’s mustache was voted the best mustache in sports history by the American Mustache Institute. Apparently, there’s no sanctity in winning such an honor, because — like our greatest nightmares come to life — Keith is going to go ahead and shave his mustache. It’s going to look something like the picture to the left, and it’s going to be terrifying.

The story of how this awful day will come to be starts with the termination of his and Walt Frazier’s long-time endorsement deal with Just For Men. Contract obligations dictated that Keith keep the mustache and keep it dark and keep it on-air. When his endorsement ended, he let his whiskers get a little salt-and-peppery, and further pondered showing up for the final Mets broadcast of the year without the mustache altogether.

Now, it has been confirmed that the former NL MVP, World Series champ, and current SNY broadcaster will shave his trademark facial hair, crushing all our hopes and dreams. It’s going to be shaved by a barber outside Citi Field’s Jackie Robinson Rotunda before the Mets’ final home game of the year, Sept. 27 against Pittsburgh. On the bright side, according to The New York Times, participating partner Schick Hydro “will provide the barber and donate $5,000 to the charity named for his mother, the Jacquelyn Hernandez Adult Day Health Center in Brooklyn, which helps Alzheimer’s patients and elderly and disabled people.

This all comes on the heels of Hernandez’s Mets having one of the worst home second halves ever. Doesn’t Keith know how painfully difficult it is being a Mets fan? Why take away the one thing Flushing Faithful can hang their blue-and-orange hats on?

As long as he’s doing it though, it’s only a shame Keith isn’t shaving his mustache sooner, seeing as it could have slid nicely into the five-hole in the Mets lineup. Maybe in 2013.

[NY Times, photo via @NewsdaySports]

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