Derek Norris trimmed his beard to make a good first impression with the Padres
Derek Norris shaved his beard for Padres presser
It's been statistically proven that there is a strong, positive correlation between beard density and plate production -- one look at Adam Lind's .321 average in 2014 and it's easy to buy into the superstition behind substantial facial hair in baseball.
So, when the newly acquired Derek Norris showed up to his introductory press conference with the Padres sans that enormous thing that used to be on his face, everyone was wondering the same thing:
Why?
OK. Great. First impression made. Now can we bring the beard back, please? Not everyone can rock a beard that strong, so he should really feel obligated to roll with it.
When infamous distance runner Steve Prefontaine said, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift," we're pretty sure he was talking about his incredible mustache, not his negative splits in the the 5,000-meter.