He laughed recalling that conversation with Houston's equipment staff. His cap no longer fit, and he had to get one two sizes bigger. He did run into a small problem when he first added his extensions. "Just watching Tik Tok during the process and it's fine," Garica said. What does a 15-game winner do for four hours in the barber's chair? "It was kind of loud when I was walking, and the guys said: 'What is that sound?' And I said: 'This,'" Garcia said, pointing at the beads on his hair. He didn't have beads on the first extensions he got in June, and his teammates were perplexed about where a clicking noise was coming from as they took the field this week. Garcia had his extensions all summer but recently took them out to "let his hair rest." He got a fresh set of thin braids - with three clear beads at the end of each - installed Monday after Houston's workout. Subsequent touch-ups run about 90 minutes to two hours. Both Valdez and Garcia said the initial installations took more than four hours. The hair accoutrements come with a major time investment. Both say they don't care if people dislike the unconventional styles. Valdez took some good-natured teasing from Gurriel and others at first, but neither he nor Garcia have endured mockery like Butler. By the time he took the court for Miami's first preseason game, the long-haired look was gone. He denied they were extensions at media day, even though his Instagram posts made it clear they were. The Miami Heat forward was bombarded by blowback on social media when he unveiled long dreadlock extensions.
It's been a better reception than NBA star Jimmy Butler got for his faux-locks this summer. "But now, I like his style and think it looks really good, and I really like when people change their style because I also like to change mine." "At first, I thought he looked very strange with all of the hair that he came in with," Gurriel said in Spanish through a translator. Gurriel wasn't initially a fan of Valdez's extensions. His spiky top looks like the leaves of a pineapple, and he is known as "La Piña," the Spanish word for the fruit. Quirky facial hair has long been a staple in the sport, too - like Rollie Fingers' handlebar mustache or Al Hrabosky's Fu Manchu.Īstros first baseman Yuli Gurriel long had Houston's most notable hairstyle. Longtime MLB outfielder Oscar Gamble had a resplendent Afro in the 1970s, and more recently, pitcher Noah Syndergaard earned the moniker "Thor" for his flowing blonde locks. Standout 'dos aren't unheard of in baseball. To stand out at his first All-Star Game in July, the 28-year-old left-hander added dreadlocks that fall past his shoulders to hair that was previously cropped closely on the sides with a few inches of growth on the top.
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"When I have the braids, everybody knows me more, because it's not a normal look," the 25-year-old said.įor Valdez, who will start Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Thursday against Seattle, the transformation was more dramatic. Garcia, who opened the season with natural shoulder-grazing curls, this summer opted to add length and volume via braids adorned with beads at the end. "But at the end of the day I feel comfortable with my hair, and I feel good about my hair, so I'll keep having my hair like this." "At first a lot of people were talking about it and joking about this topic," Valdez said in Spanish through a translator. They're showing off those locks this postseason as Houston tries to reach the World Series for the fourth time in six years.
HOUSTON - Astros starters Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia look like naturals on the mound, even in the hairiest of situations.Ī lot of work to make it seem that easy - at the ballpark and, as it turns out, at the barber shop.īoth pitchers completed their coiffures with an artificial boost this season, adding hair extensions as a means of expressing their individuality.
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