Yankees change facial hair policy, will allow players to have beards

The New York Yankees, at long last altering a George Steinbrenner-era policy on facial hair, will allow players and personnel “to have well-groomed beards moving forward,” managing partner Hal Steinbrenner announced in a statement Friday.

In keeping up with a major league environment in which beards – extreme and otherwise – have been increasingly intertwined with the big league culture this century, the Yankees listened to internal and external feedback from current and former players and determined that competitive concerns in acquiring players outweighed a disciplined and – based on your definition – classy look for their players.

Staid is out; sideburns – well-kempt, anyway – are in.

Steinbrenner’s decision was the result of conversations with current players in recent weeks and external indivudals over the years, resulting in the ballclub “amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward.

“It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”

A good shave and a haircut was often a rite of passage for Yankee free agents, from the likes of Gerrit Cole, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon, along with the flowing mane of incoming prospects such as Clint Holmes. After signing a $162 million contract in December 2022, left-hander Carlos Rodon showed up to his introductory press conference clean-shaven for the first time in a decade.

And beloved first baseman Don Mattingly was famously benched and fined $250 by Steinbrenner in 1991 because his hair hung at the back of his collar.

In a press conference Friday at Steinbrenner Field, Steinbrenner said competitive concerns outweighed tradition.

“If I ever found out that a player we wanted to acquire to make us better, to get us a championship, did not want to be here, and would not come here, because of that policy, that would be very, very concerning,” says Steinbrenner.

“I am fairly convinced that that’s a real concern.”

Conversely, players often left the Yankees and showed up to their new digs with beards. Second baseman Gleyber Torres, a Yankee from 2018-2024, rocked a solid beard upon arriving in Detroit Tigers camp this spring.

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As facial hair became further ingrained in the big league, um, culture – think of the 2010 San Francisco Giants and their “Fear The Beard” mantra – the Yankees only presented themselves as further out of touch.

Major League Baseball is a far more diverse and creative endeavor than it was when Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio were patrolling the Yankee outfield, shilling for Mr. Coffee and embodying a form of American mythology. George Steinbrenner instituted the grooming policy in 1976; son Hal continued it after his father’s 2010 death until Friday, when the club held a team meeting before their Grapefruit League exhibition opener against Tampa Bay.

Monday, he met with players of all experience levels and Yankee tenures and by week’s end decided to make a change some might consider long overdue.

“I heard why (facial hair) is important to this generation,” he says. “And again, this concept and belief that we may very well be missing out on players, believe it or not, because of this one particular policy they may find unreasonable.

“Do I totally relate to that? It’s difficult for me. I’m an older guy who’s never had a beard in his life. It’s an important thing for them and they feel it defines their character.”

The balance between tradition and adaptability resonated with players, many who appreciated the policy’s merits but appreciate the freedom.

“He certainly doesn’t want to turn anyone away that can be impactful for us,” says Cole, who shaved his beard upon joining the Yankees in 2020, “but at the same time, maintaining our team look.”