For nearly a half-century, the New York Yankees personal grooming policy has been a running tribute to the days when men were men, ballplayers simply played ball, and they shaved every day to meet the demands of their late owner, George Steinbrenner.
Not anymore. In a significant sign of the times—or a sign of the coming apocalypse if you’re a traditional Yankee fan of a certain age — current Yankees chairman Hal Steinbrenner rescinded the team’s beard ban, which has stood the test of time since his father instituted it in 1976.
The Yankees’ no-beard policy has left a trail of shaved beard hair
Younger fans will likely have a different reaction: It’s about time. Anyone who’s watched a baseball game in the last few years knows that baseball has been an ongoing hairscape of long, flowing locks, ghastly overgrown mullets, and impenetrable beards that would make ZZ Top proud.
The latest ballplayer to feel the must-shave wrath of the Steinbrenner’s antiquated policy was Milwaukee closer Devin Williams, who was ordered to shave his beard when he was traded to the Yanks in December. Yankee ace Gerrit Cole was another victim; he wore a beard when he played in Pittsburgh and Houston, but he’s been clean-shaven since the Yankees signed him to a mega-deal a few years ago.
We could go on. Johnny Damon, who looked like a cross between a rock star and an outlaw biker when he led the Boston Red Sox to a championship in 2004, quickly became Corporate Johnny when he signed with the Yankees after the 2005 season.
There are dozens of other examples, but the point here is that the Yankees suddenly realized that being clean cut may not be a prerequisite for winning. Their last championship came in 2009, so maybe adding some bearded brigands who play with an edge will help end the current drought.
“Winning was the most important thing to my father,” said Hal Steinbrenner in his media statement. “And I think if something like [having to be clean shaven] would detract from that, lessen our chances, I think might be a little more apt to do the change that I did than people think, because it was about winning.”
Many former Yankee players would dispute that, but there is another angle to consider here: Now that beards and other more flamboyant grooming touches will be allowed — in a well-groomed way, of course (don’t expect anything too crazy from the Yankees) — can player and team ad deals for beard-related products and other men’s grooming possibilities be far behind?
