New team, new look: John Jaso shaves his glorious beard in 4 easy steps

On Wednesday, veteran catcher John Jaso was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Oakland A’s as a part of the three-team, five-player deal that included the Washington Nationals.

It was a fairly significant trade that featured Michael Morse as the centerpiece. Or at least that's what the Mariners hope he is as he'll slide into the corner outfielder with right-handed pop role they've attempted to fill all winter. However, it should be said that Jaso is no slouch himself, and the A’s obviously valued him highly since they were willing to trade one of their top pitching prospects, A.J. Cole, back to Washington in order to acquire him and accommodate the deal.

On Thursday, the A's designated another catcher, George Kotteras, for assignment to make room for Jaso on the 40-man roster, and the two side then avoided arbitration by agreeing to a new one-year contract. Those two steps put the finishing touches on the deal from a business standpoint.

However, Jaso decided a cosmetic adjustment would be necessary as well for his brand new start, and he achieved that by shaving off his — in the opinion of many around the interwebs — glorious beard that he's been growing since just before last year's all-star break.

With new teammates such as Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick, we’re not sure Jaso felt the need to tone down his look. In fact, he almost seems a perfect fit with those guys. But hey, at least he didn't stick us with a single depressing before and after shot. He actually turned it into a ceremony and a learning experience — with the help of fiance Shannon Bobel — as they tweeted John Jaso's "4 Stages Of Proper Beard Shaving" to the admiring masses.

Though Jaso doesn't go into any detail, I think we can gather his technique from the photos.

Another thing we can gather? That would be Seattle's attachment to the beard.

John Jaso without a beard is like Seattle without the Sonics; something is very, very wrong.

— Ashley Van Halen (@shakeitupbabyy) January 18, 2013

And that's not to mention Jaso's appreciation for the city, whom he thanked via Twitter shortly after symbolically completing the transaction.

Thank you city of Seattle for all the hospitality and great fans! Great place to live and play ball. Excited about my new adventure in Oak!

— John Jaso (@johnjaso27) January 18, 2013

Fresh start indeed.

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