From hair to bare: Miami Marlins restore no-beard policy

Marlins reliever Mike Dunn shaved his goatee.

The reason: the Marlins are going back to a “no facial hair” policy.

“Guys may or may not like it,” said manager Don Mattingly. “I just think when we all get together, this is what we want and this is the way we go.

The Marlins have gone back and forth over the years on allowing their players to grow beards, goatees and mustaches.

Several players, including Dunn, grew beards last season.

Now, it’s no stubble allowed.

“Initially, not too many guys were happy about it,” Dunn said.

For years, Marlins players were not permitted to have facial hair of any kind. That rule changed in 2012 when Ozzie Guillen took over as manager.

“When I first came over, it was goatees only,” Dunn said. “The last couple of years we had beards, but we had to keep them short. In 2014 and ’15, [the rule] it was kind of keep it neat, don’t look trashy or anything.”

Dunn and Mattingly said that, in the end, it’s not that important.

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to win games,” Mattingly said.

Said Dunn: “Play hard. That’s all that matters.”

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "From hair to bare: Miami Marlins restore no-beard policy."