Sandomir: Famous Sports Mustache Is Going ... Going ... Gray

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Keith Hernandez’s mustache has rarely left its perch below his nose in his adult life. It is the thicker, longer cousin to his eyebrows, the hirsute geometric center of his face. His mustache is an entity and a signature. After years of renown, it was voted the top sports mustache of all time in a survey by the American Mustache Institute in 2007.

But now, the Hernandez mustache might have a month of life left in it.

He announced the possibility of shaving it last week on a Mets broadcast. But Hernandez, 58, said Monday that he might simply show up for the Mets’ final game of the season, on Oct. 3, with nothing but bare skin between his nose and upper lip.

“I don’t want to draw attention to it,” he said by telephone from his home in Jupiter, Fla. “I’ll do it, and whoever’s watching the game will see it.”

... Hernandez once kept a stockpile of Just for Men to comply with his contract, which said he had to appear on-air fully dyed. Two executives monitored Mets games to be sure he did not turn into Mr. Gray. He still has a few boxes left, but he isn’t using it.

The result is visible: with each passing Mets broadcast on SNY, the mustache has grown considerably grayer. Sometimes the mustache is more interesting than the game.

“I’m not totally happy with the gray,” he said. “It’s something I have to get used to. I have more people, on the female side, who tell me they prefer it gray.”