Charlie Blackmon has the Rockies’ most voluminous beard. He also has an MVP bat.

Welcome to the 2017 MLB postseason, baseball fans! You’ve spent 162 games with your favorite team, and now it’s time to watch the teams you haven’t paid much attention to. Who are these teams, and who are their best players? We can help.

Who is Charlie Blackmon?

Blackmon is the Rockies center fielder, and he has a magnificent beard. Importantly, he is best friends with teammate Trevor Story and their friendship is fantastic. He’s been with the team since his debut season in 2011 and until last year rotated between all outfield positions before being permanently installed as the team’s man in center.

What did he do this year?

He won the NL batting title, for one, with a .331 batting average to end the season. The next best BA in the league was the Nationals Justin Turner with .322. He also set the major league record for RBI by a leadoff batter, ending the season with 104. The previous record was 100, set by Darin Erstad for the Angels back in 2000.

He’s a legitimate candidate for NL MVP (alongside fellow Rockies player Nolan Arenado). He led the team in batting average (.331), home runs (37), hits (213), and on-base percentage (.399). He led the entire league in triples (14), runs scored (137), and hits. All of the offense. So much offense.

How did the Rockies acquire him?

The Rockies drafted Blackmon in the 2008 amateur draft. He was drafted in both 2004 (by the Marlins) and 2005 (by the Red Sox) but declined to sign. He was a pitcher in junior college before transferring to a role as a position player at Georgia Tech when the Rockies first noticed his potential. He spent 2008 through 2010 in the minors before beginning to split time between the Rockies’ AAA clubs and the major leagues. In 2014, he finally got the job in center after Colorado traded Dexter Fowler to the Astros after the 2013 season.

Was he always supposed to be this good?

The Rockies anticipated that he could be a strong presence at the plate when they drafted him, and his first few full-time seasons weren’t completely under the radar. He had six hits out of the leadoff spot in the Rockies’ home opener in 2014, so the fact that he could do great things with a bat isn’t a shock. He’s also improved every season he has been with the Rockies full time, so while a season this wildly successful might not exactly have been anticipated, it also tracks with his growth as a player.

tl;dr

Blackmon and his offense are a big reason that the Rockies made the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Even if the Rockies can’t win it all, that doesn’t diminish his offensive output and prowess and how fun it is for people to watch him at the plate. Plus, again, he’s rocking what can only be described as a truly great beard.