Tim Smith has not shaved in nine months.
It’s not as if he is waiting for a special order to arrive from the Gillette factory.
He may look like he is auditioning for a spot with ZZ Top, but he, his thick black bushy beard and his bat are looking to help Canada defend its Pan Am Games gold medal.
Play begins on Saturday at noon in Ajax, with Cuba meeting Colombia. Then Team USA faces Puerto Rico before Canada opens against the Dominican Republic at 7 p.m., at President’s Choice Field.
The growing process — hey we all have to grow as people — began late last season when his Les Capitales de Quebec teammate Shawn Sanford began boasting about the red beard he was sporting.