Right field—Bryce Harper, Washignton Nationals
The final four for best beard on a right fielder includes two famous guys and two lesser-known beardsmen. The lesser-known guys are Domingo Santana and Steven Souza, Jr. Santana is teammates on the Brewers with the Eric Thames, whose beard is the tops among first baseman. Santana’s beard is what Thames’ beard looked like about a year ago. Give him another year and he may own the best right field beard in baseball.
Souza and his beard play their home games in Tampa Bay. Luckily, the Rays play in a climate-controlled dome, so Souza and his beard don’t have to suffer in the heat and humidity of the Florida summer. His beard would be much more useful for protection from the elements if he played for the Mariners in the Pacific Northwest, which is where he was born (Everett, Washington).
Santana and Souza have nice beards, but they don’t have the star power of the other finalists for this position. The brightest lights are currently shining on George Springer and his beard after they won the MVP Award for the 2017 World Series, won by Springer’s Astros. He and his beard hit .379/.417/1.000 and tied the record for most home runs in a World Series, with five (tying 1977 Reggie Jackson and 2009 Chase Utley).
Springer and his beard are the hot items right now because of the Astros’ world championship, but Bryce Harper and his beard were featured on the cover of ESPN’s Body issue in 2015. They won the NL MVP that year in what was one of the best season’s ever for a 22-year-old. It was definitely the best season ever for a bearded 22-year-old, but a few clean-shaven 22-year-olds may have been better (1941 Ted Williams, 1909 Ty Cobb). For appearance and overall excellence, Bryce Harper has the best beard of any right fielder.