August 23rd, 2013 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka It was a subtle tweet. So subtle, in fact, that perhaps it went unnoticed by many of his 636,000 Twitter followers and/or recipients of their retweets.
It was a tweet from new Dodger reliever (and once hated former Giants closer) Brian Wilson – the Brian Wilson of “Fear the Beard” fame who was absolutely loathed by Dodgers fans back then.
But what does it mean? Knowing what we do about Brian Wilson, nobody knows what it means except for Brian Wilson himself. Face it, the guy is… well… different.
As a retired police detective who solved riddles and puzzles (i.e. crimes) for a living based on clues, some of which themselves were very subtle, my take on Wilson’s tweet is that it involves his famous (or infamous – depending on how you look at it) beard, hence the Santa reference. And of course whatever it is will take place on Friday evening, August 23, which will be Wilson’s first appearance at Dodger Stadium in a Dodger uniform – number 00 by the way (did I mention that Brian Wilson is… different?).
But what ‘treats’ could Brian Wilson possibly have in store for Dodger fans?
Again, I believe that it involves his beard and the way I see it, it involves one of two things:
- He is going to dye it blue or,
- He is going to shave it off completely which, in my humble opinion, would be the best possible thing he could do. The beard was a San Francisco Giants thing and he is no longer with the Giants – it’s time to move on.
Number one would be very Brian Wilson-like and he would still have his beard, which is undeniably a huge part of his shtick, perhaps even the biggest part of it – and his ego absolutely loves all of the attention (good or bad) that he gets from it. But it is the second possibility that makes the most sense even for the most skeptical Dodger fans.
Why?
Because it has been reported that a new start-up on-line razor company named 800Razors.com has offered the 31-year-old Winchester, Massachusetts native one million dollars to shave off his beard using their product. You heard right, $1,000,000. And when you consider that Wilson’s recent signing by the Dodgers was for exactly that same amount, one million dollars is a lot of money, even for a guy who has already made slightly more that $22 million in his 7 MLB career (so far).
There are a million reasons why Brian Wilson might be clean-shaven the next time he takes the mound for the Dodgers. (Video capture courtesy of KCAL9)
Taking this one step further, Wilson’s tweet came after the story broke about the razor company’s million dollar offer.
As audiences used to scream to contestants on ‘Deal or No Deal’ – “Take the money!” Or better yet, take the money and donate it to charity – just lose the beard… please?
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I don’t like the Giants. Not one bit. But, I always kind of enjoyed Wilson’s antics when he was with them, just as I enjoy watching Buster Posey play the game. Since Wilson’s salary is prorated, he’ll “only” be making $333,333.33 this season, so the $1,000,000 is a lot more than a drop in the bucket.
Personally, I hope he keeps the beard, be it black or preferably Dodger Blue. It’s a major part of his persona and I fear a Samson syndrome should he shave it off.
Characters like him are great for the game as far as I’m concerned, and a welcome relief from the Ryan Brauns, A-Ro(i)ds, Barry Bonds, John Rockers, etc. that disgrace the game.
I doubt very much that Wilson’s contract with the Dodgers is pro rated. Contracts these days are guaranteed and there is nothing in Cots to suggest that it is pro rated. This from ESPN:
This from Tony jackson:
“A razor company has offered Wilson $1 million to shave his famous facial hair, a decision Wilson might not take lightly given how long it must have taken him to grow that thing. But $1 million is $1 million. That’s a lot of money to most of us, and it might even be a lot of money to Wilson given that it matches his salary for this season. Actually, it’s considerably more than his salary for this season given that he didn’t sign with the Dodgers until July 30, so he’s getting a prorated share of $1 million, which is about $333,000.”
I saw Tony’s blog post and I mean absolutely no disrespect to him but I believe that he is mistaken. I have researched this and nowhere can I find any mention of Wilson’s salary being pro rated. With several other teams in the mix to sign Wilson, there is no way that he would have gone for a pro rated contract – especially when there are performance incentives attached to it. This from Cot’s:
This from Dylan Hernandez:
…or handing out to fans little zip-lock baggies containing locks of his beard. Gross.
Wonder what one of those would go for on eBay?
I don’t care if it’s part of his persona or whatever. It is ugly, not cool, and out of character for the Dodgers just as Manny’s dreadlocks were. Thanks to the razor company for their offer.
Only you could bring that up Kevin 🙂 at any rate why the hell would he not shave it off???? It’s not like it won’t grow back in a month or so! Hell i’ll take a million dollars to shave Kevin’s arse with Ron’s hand holding the razor!!! :0 Really you guys wouldn’t go for that?! We’ll slipt it 3 ways!
According to Tony Jackson Wilson says the beard is not going anywhere. I thought Ron’s idea of a charity thing would have been a nice move for Wilson.
I expect most fans have a least favorite on their teams – Wilson will be mine.
Interesting, Bluenose. I am quite intrigued by your comment.
Having pitched to exactly four batters, allowing one hit, inducing one ground out and having struck out two (including Giancarlo Stanton) in his only inning pitched thus far as a Dodger, I am amazed that you already have Wilson tagged as your least favorite Dodger. Why wouldn’t it be someone like Carlos Marmol or Brandon League who have seemingly hurt the team more than helped it? Wilson has thrown exactly 19 total pitches while in a Dodger uniform. Isn’t it a bit premature to deem him your least favorite Dodger? Is it only about his looks and/or his antics?
I certainly understand that it is your prerogative to like and dislike who you choose but I am really curious about why you feel this way – and I certainly do not mean this in a smart aleck way.
Good point – I forgot about Marmol and League. However, You are absolutely right. I really dislike his disguise. That’s the issue for me. That in itself may be immature but I just prefer players to be clean shaven and well attired.
I don’t dislike Brian Wilson, Brandon league, Carlos Marmol or any other Dodger. (I dislike Braun, A-Rod, Manny) Wilson’s get up just doesn’t sit well with me. Having said that, if I love+ the rest of the players, least favorite has to fall to someone as I expect it does for everyone. I doubt most fans hold every player on a team in the same regard regardless of their performance.