Gabe Kapler Gives Passionate, Authoritative Thoughts on Beards and Mustaches

The baseball season is very long which means there's plenty of time for media members to hang out with their interview subjects. Unlike in the NFL and, to a lesser extent, the NBA, every media appearance does not need to be squeezed for every tiny bit of intricate information possible. Sometimes, reporters, players, and managers can just hang out and shoot the bull in pursuit of building positive relationships and enjoy themselves without feeling like it's a waste of time.

Hopefully that helps explain why Gabe Kapler, manager of the San Francisco Giants, spent time today speaking to the media about a topic he is clearly passionate about: beards and mustaches. Specifically, Kapler wanted to assert his firmly-held belief that if one has a beard, one also has a mustache, and thus could be considered a participant in Mustache May.

It should be noted that Kapler has a beard and may be exhibiting some bias.

Speaking personally, I've never run into this issue because I have only ever grown a beard OR a mustache. Never both at once. Mostly because I can't grow a mustache worth a damn and my beard, unfortunately, turns red the longer it gets, which is very much at odds with my very dark brown hair. But I have to say I side with Kapler here. Mustaches and beards are two separate things. That's why we have different words for them. Just because the mustache connects to the beard does not mean it ceases its existence as a mustache.

Kapler is wrong to say it's like the hot dog-sandwich question. This is much more cut-and-dry. But I appreciate the tone he takes. Very firm in his belief that he's correct.