Boston Red Sox: NESN analyst Jerry Remy shaves mustache

Boston Red Sox analyst Jerry Remy made a surprising decision to shave off his signature mustache and challenged a former teammate to do the same.

What are you doing to pass the time these days while everyone is self-quarantining amid a global health crisis? Former Boston Red Sox second baseman Jerry Remy took the opportunity to make a notable change to his appearance that leaves him almost unrecognizable.

The longtime NESN analyst posted a series of Instagram videos where he expressed his boredom with sitting around at home and decided it was “time for a little shave.”

He then followed with another video of himself shaving off his signature mustache. The clean-shaven face of Remy is a bit shocking for fans who have watched him on television for decades. Remy always had a mustache throughout his seven seasons with the Red Sox and 32 years as a NESN analyst.

"“Just a young man,” Remy says repeatedly while admiring his new look in the mirror post-shave."

That’s not all though. Remy finished the video series with a challenge to former teammate Dennis Eckersley to take a razor to his own upper-lip. How will Eck respond to this dare?

As surprising as it is to see Remy shave off his stache, a clean-shaven Eckersley would be even more shocking. The Hall of Fame pitcher had a thick mustache and long hair during his playing days and the facial hair has stuck around as he transitioned into an analyst. Eck rarely gets through a NESN broadcast without making mention of his mustache or the “moss” on his head.

Remy and Eck both came to Boston in 1978. Remy was entering his fourth season and made the lone All-Star appearance of his career that year. Eckersley was an All-Star the previous year with the Cleveland Indians and finished fourth in Cy Young voting in his first year with the Red Sox.

Remy spent the final seven years of his career in Boston before retiring in 1984. Eck remained with the team until he was traded to the Cubs mid-way through the ’84 season. By the end of the decade, Eckersley’s career was given a second life when he transitioned into a dominant closer for the Oakland A’s. He would return in 1998 for one last season with the Red Sox before he retired but he’s remained close to the organization through NESN.

The former teammates were preparing for another season analyzing the Red Sox for NESN when MLB shut down spring training and delayed the regular season indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic. These are challenging times but Remy has found a great way to connect with fans through social media.

We still don’t know when we’ll get baseball back. Remy might grow the mustache back long before we see him on television again. Otherwise, fans who don’t follow him on Instagram might wonder about the “young man” NESN hired when they tune in to watch the Red Sox.