Ian Desmond shaved his goatee in the middle of a game

For whatever reason, baseball players are some of the most superstitious athletes in sports. Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond is no exception.

On Tuesday night, Desmond strolled to the plate in the 1st inning with a goatee and ended up grounding into a double play. When he returned for his second at-bat in the 3rd inning, the facial hair was gone.

As JP Finlay of CSNWashington.com pointed out, Desmond flied out to right in the 3rd and grounded out again in the 6th. Losing the goatee did not seem to give him a boost on a night where he went 1-for-4 and the Nationals lost 4-2, but I guess it was worth a try. As Bryce Harper reminded us a few months back, MLB players are willing to try some incredibly weird things to help them find success.

Screenshot via MLB.com