Elder is finally free of lucky beard everyone hated

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Elder arrived at Spring Training without the big, bushy good-luck beard his mother, grandmother and Braves manager Brian Snitker hated.

“[Snitker] made some comments last year and I kind of thought he was joking, and then I realized he wasn’t,” Elder said. “He’s made a comment quite a few times about how he likes it clean shaven.”

Superstitions, rituals and habits rule in the baseball world, so Elder wasn’t going to mess with the facial hair that continued to give him luck as it got heavier and heavier -- or messier and messier, depending on the perspective. But truth be told, he understood what his mother, grandmother and Snitker were thinking.

“I hated it,” Elder said. “The first night I got home, I shaved it. But it worked. So I rode with it. Hopefully I don’t ever have to see it again.”

As uncomfortable or unsightly as the beard might have been, nobody was complaining when Elder helped the Braves win a fifth consecutive National League East title by posting a 1.75 ERA over the four starts he made after Sept. 1. His success at the big league level extended the good fortune he had found since beginning an early July road trip with Triple-A Gwinnett without one of his toiletries.

“We went to Norfolk and it was a two-week trip,” Elder said. “I had been really inconsistent and not really any good. I forgot my razor and then for two weeks I threw good. So I was like, 'I’m going to keep [the beard].' It worked out.”

Told Elder wasn’t initially sure he was joking about the beard last year, Snitker paused, chuckled and said, “He looks good now.”

What really matters is how Elder looks as he spends Spring Training attempting to strengthen the Braves’ confidence in their starting pitching depth. Michael Soroka’s bid to compete with Ian Anderson for the fifth spot in Atlanta’s rotation may evaporate as he deals with a tight hamstring.

Elder would seemingly be the next man on the depth chart if the Braves find a rotation need at some point during the next few weeks and months. While the 23-year-old right-hander might not be positioned to begin the season in Atlanta’s rotation, he is just one injury or ailment away from stepping in.

“It’s kind of very encouraging to know we have him in the mix,” Snitker said of Elder, who posted a 2.79 ERA while making his first nine career starts last year.

As Elder produced a 2.48 ERA over five July starts for Gwinnett, he positioned himself to be a key contributor in Atlanta. He limited the Marlins to one run over seven innings during a spot start on Aug. 14 and then returned to allow one or zero earned runs in each of his three September starts in the Majors.

Along with helping the Braves win two of those three games, Elder allowed Snitker to set his rotation for the final regular season weekend series against the Mets. Atlanta essentially wrapped up yet another NL East crown by sweeping that three-game set against New York.

How did this experience prove beneficial for Elder?

“I think just kind of knowing that what I can do in the simplest form can get it done,” Elder said. “All I’ve got to do is go out and execute pitches.”

Elder walked 16 percent of the batters faced in his first four career starts and then produced a much more efficient 7.1 percent walk rate over his final five starts. His improvement extended the steady growth he has experienced through just two professional seasons.

There is still plenty to learn for Elder, who is already considered by many teammates to be the best golfer in the Braves’ organization. He stopped playing baseball for a few years before resuming it during his sophomore year of high school, when a coach agreed to allow him to play baseball and golf, which are both played scholastically in the spring in Texas.

Eight years later, Elder is in a good spot, even without that good-luck beard.

“It has happened so quick,” Elder said. “I don’t want to say I was underprepared. But for some of that, I didn’t know what to expect. Now, I understand what it looks like and what it takes. I’m much more prepared this year.”