"I don’t have hair in my eyes" - Mets ace Sean Manaea credits new haircut after impressing from the mound in spring training

Veteran pitcher Sean Manaea secured a two-year contract worth $28 million with the New York Mets in January 2024. However, it was his recent decision to shave his head that caught the attention of the baseball fraternity.

Manaea, renowned for his head full of hair, decided to shave it all earlier this month. The left-handed pitcher maintained his mane for nearly four years and his 'impulsive' new look was a sight to behold.

A change in hairstyle has brought good fortune for the veteran pitcher as Manaea bounced back from a tough spring training debut for the Mets on Saturday. The former Padres pitcher dished out four scoreless innings with five strikeouts and conceded just two hits after throwing 61 pitches.

Sean Manaea made a cheeky comment following his strong outing against the Cardinals.

“So much easier,” Manaea said after his scoreless outing. “I don’t have hair in my eyes. A little cooler [on the mound]. Except for the walks, I thought everything played really well and the slider took a little to get control over it, but everything else felt good.”

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Sean Manaea latest Mets pitcher to impress in spring training

The former Oakland Athletics pitcher's new haircut not only took the MLB fans by surprise but also shocked a few of his new Mets teammates in the clubhouse.

“It’s just the facial reactions of everybody, which is funny,” Manaea said. “It’s such a drastic change.”

Sean Manaea was introduced as a new player by Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. He praised the performance of the latest edition to the Mets rotation, which showed further signs of solidification after Luis Severino's impressive outing against the Marlins in the previous game.

“I thought [Manaea] was really good in a lot of different ways,” Mendoza said. “Not only was he able to get up to four innings, 61 pitches, the way he was using the cutter, the changeup, four-seam up to 95 [mph] … it was good, the way he attacked the strike zone.”

Despite star pitcher Kodai Senga's injury concerns, the Mets' rotation continues to dish strong performances in the spring training games.