Mustache May is back for a good cause

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHILADELPHIA -- It’s that time of year.

For the fourth consecutive season, the Giants are bringing back Mustache May, with outfielders Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater once again creating custom T-shirts to help benefit two charities that work to raise mental health awareness. All proceeds from the sales are expected to be split equally between the Heart and Armor Foundation, which funds research studies to help support the mental health of veterans, and Bring Change to Mind, which aims to destigmatize mental illness.

“It’s been nice to do something that’s fun and gets the team involved, but then also helps out a good cause,” Slater said. “Just with May being Mental Health Awareness month, it’s made a lot of sense to pair that with what we’re doing with Mustache May. Both of us feel strongly about mental health and its importance in our day-to-day lives. A lot of times it goes unspoken, and it’s kind of cool to bring a spotlight on that. It’s been a cool thing to add to our tradition of Mustache May.”

Yastrzemski met Heart and Armor executive director Gerard Choucroun through a mutual friend a few years ago and said he was deeply impacted by hearing veterans talk about their struggles with PTSD and other challenges they faced when attempting to reintegrate back into society following their tours of duty. One of the messages Yastrzemski and Slater are aiming to promote with their Mustache May T-shirts is to “care for your homies” and create a supportive network to help guide loved ones through the inevitable highs and lows in life.

“I’ll put it in baseball terms,” Yastrzemski said. “When you’re struggling personally, some of the best ways to get out of your slump is to put all of your energy into your teammates and really pull for them and really be excited for them. It’s a message that I try to spread in the clubhouse, and it’s a message that I try to spread off the field, too. The more you can find a way to impact people’s lives and to be involved in something other than yourself, it really gives you a greater perspective on life.”

Many Giants have lended support to the cause by growing out their own mustaches, with bench coach Ryan Christenson and LaMonte Wade Jr. among those drawing early praise for their facial hair. Yastrzemski also gave props to Matt Chapman for “trying the hardest.”

Yastrzemski admitted that his own mustache is not yet in peak form (his wife and daughter prefer him clean shaven), so he has work to do to catch up to Slater, who grew out a full beard after undergoing right elbow surgery over the offseason.

“He’s had a two-year headstart on us,” Yastrzemski said. “I respect it. He was playing the long game. I get it. … I was a few steps behind this year. I’m a little disappointed with my performance, but I’m another one of those guys who’s just going to stick it out, obviously.”

The Mustache May movement started at Triple-A Sacramento in 2019, when several River Cats players began growing ‘staches and were rewarded with hot stretches at the plate. The Giants could desperately use a similar jolt this time around, especially Slater, who entered Saturday batting .100 (3-for-30) with no extra-base hits over his first 20 games of the year.

“My swing feels pretty good,” Slater said. “I think I’m making good decisions on what pitches to swing at. The results just haven’t been there, which is frustrating. But at the same time, the more you’re able to keep a consistent mentality and mindset, the better off you’ll be in the long run. Falling prey to the results-based industry that we live in is not the healthiest from a mental state. That’s something that obviously is frustrating, but I’m hoping that it ends here soon.”

Yastrzemski also got off to a rough start, but he’s started to heat up over the last couple of weeks. He's optimistic that a team-wide offensive turnaround could be imminent for the Giants, who have been held to three runs or fewer in eight consecutive games.

“[Tom Murphy’s] first at-bat with a mustache, he hit a home run,” Yastrzemski said. "I’ve also hit a home run since having a mustache. I’m not going to completely claim it, but there’s starting to be some really good evidence for it.”