Home Run Derby champ Yoenis Cespedes had help from unexpected source

Oakland outfielder Yoenis Cespedes became the first non-All Star to win the home run derby on Monday night, showing baseball fans everywhere what can be accomplished with a lot of talent and hard work, plus a probably a little luck.

And a tiny bit of facial hair.

That’s right, that little smudge of a soul patch below his lower lip seemed to do the trick for Cespedes, whose 32 home runs at Citi Field in Flushing, N.Y., ties him for third-most in the history of the event.

What’s hair got to do with it, you might ask? Well, the fine folks at STATS determined going into Monday’s festivities that 60% of the winners over the last decade (I flunked a math course in college, but I’m pretty sure that’s six of the last 10) have had facial hair.

Incredible. But there’s more. According to the study, which covered the last 10 years, players with facial hair have averaged more homers per derby than cleanshaven batters, 12.3 to 10.5, and guys who have competed with and without facial hair over the years have averaged way better with than without, 17.6 to 10.9.

You can see a few infographics related to the subject here.

Facinating. And the four players who have laid a giant goose egg during the derby had cheeks and chins as smooth as a baby’s bottom at the time.

Back to Cespedes. That soul patch of his is sometimes more prominent than others and every now and then is accompanied by a goatee. On Monday night, those follicles weren’t all that visible, but they apparently were enough to help the A’s slugger edge out the much scruffier Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, 9-8, in the final round.

One final note. Baltimore’s Chris Davis, who leads the majors with 37 home runs this season, usually sports a soul patch of his own. But on Monday night he looked more like a guy who just hadn’t shaved in a day or two rather than someone trying to make a fashion statement with his facial hair.

That stubble might have been enough to get him into the second round, but not any further. Davis might want to get that soul patch back in a hurry -- according to STATS, the home run champions of the last five seasons all had pronounced facial hair.

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