May 22, 2012

BP Unfiltered

Google Bio Pictures and Baseball

by Sam Miller

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Recently, Google began putting short bios of prominent subjects at the top of search results. It's a nifty time saver if all you need to know is What Is Kreayshawn, or whether Angel Pagan switch-hits. There is usually a photo of the person, too. The photo, though, isn't always the most representative photo of the person. That's what normal companies would do. Not Google. Oh, no, not Google*.

I noticed this phenomenon when I searched Felix Hernandez and saw his Google Bio photo: 

For a photo of Felix Hernandez, they have chosen a photo of Larry Bernandez, the character who appears in Mariners commercials. OK! Googling around: 

Shin-Soo Choo's photo is his mug shot: 

Tim Lincecum's photo includes a phonetic spelling of his name: 

Kevin Maas, not the young phenom you are expecting but definitely your dentist:

Bryce Harper, in a Reds hat:

Don Mattingly, with a smaller picture of his Simpsons avatar:

Logan Morrison with a black eye:

And Yu Darvish, dressed up and crying one solitary tear: 

If I knew this photo was going to be the first thing people saw when they Googled me, I'd wear a nice suit with a polka-dot tie, too.

*Actually, I assume these photos are collected algorithmically. Most are player headshots, or baseball cards, or typical action shots.

Sam Miller is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @SamMillerBB
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