Outside of his pitching skills, new Chicago White Sox pitcher Dallas Keuchel is known for his impressive facial hair. Seeing him without it would definitely take some getting used to. But now he is on a team that has a policy against such looks and faced a dilemma when he showed up at the facility.
The White Sox have rules in place that make sure their player's facial hair is trimmed to perfection -- unlike Keuchel's trademark wild beard -- but they were willing to negotiate when it came to the AL Cy Young Award Winner.
Keuchel told USA Today that the team made make an exception, with one condition attached: Win.
The World Series champ snipped two inches off the iconic beard in the offseason, but realized that might not be enough.
"I thought, 'Oh, crap, I've got to trim this even more,'" he said.
That's when he chose to talk to team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf about the situation.
"He was like, 'Hey, man, you're officially violating team policy. But I hear you're a great guy. So let's just keep winning, and we'll be all right.' I said, 'All right. My guy.' Now, we've just to keep winning to keep this beard going," Keuchel explained.
Keuchel is entering his first year with Chicago, coming off one season with the Atlanta Braves. Before that, the pitcher was with the Houston Astros from 2012 to 2018.
Though he is new to the club, Keuchel immediately became a mentor to the White Sox and their new wave of pitchers due to his MLB experience. As long as his new teammates keep playoffs hopes alive, Keuchel's beard can stay.
