The Boston Red Sox take their craft seriously. Catcher David Ross owns a special comb. First baseman Mike Napoli has reached a level of forestation so impenetrable that a family of squirrels could be living on his face. And pitcher Andrew Miller has stayed true enough to the cause that he said his wife had “given up the battle.”

The Red Sox have done two things exceptionally well this season: play baseball and grow beards.

The team’s fervor for facial hair has become a phenomenon in Boston, where fans have once again embraced a winner. Perched atop the American League East since July 31, the Red Sox left New York on Sunday after taking three of four games from the Yankees.

“The characteristic of this club is to grind all the way through to the end,” Manager John Farrell said.

Part of that has entailed surviving the itchy, scratchy and sweaty quest for the perfect midsummer beard. The Red Sox are fairly conformist with their look: trim along the cheeks with a bulbous bottom, as if a hairy water balloon were swaying in the breeze. For the team, beards have become more than a hobby.