TORONTO — In the middle of April, with the Yankees off to a dispiriting start to the season, Brett Gardner arrived at the visitors’ clubhouse at Tropicana Field with several days of stubble, knowing he had to shave before someone tapped him on the shoulder with a reminder that the Yankees had a no-beard policy.
Then Gardner, a career-long Yankee, had a wild idea.
“I told McCann maybe I should leave my mustache and he said, ‘Yeah, I think you should,’ ” Gardner said, referring to catcher Brian McCann. “So, I did.”
Gardner’s barely discernible wisps of hair remained on his upper lip, and as they continued to grow, so did the Yankees’ win totals.