Yankees shock the world by altering facial hair policy as spring training games begin
Better late than never, and even though this announcement would’ve done the New York Yankees a bit better at the onset of free agency, owner Hal Steinbrenner has rightfully altered a longstanding team policy that needed to go.
Steinbrenner announced Friday morning that the Yankees have altered their facial hair policy as a result of mounting criticisms from current and former players (and we’re sure he’s heard it from the fans over the last couple decades).
It’s not exactly a momentous change. You won’t be seeing someone like Brandon Marsh take the field for the Bombers anytime soon. But we’ll take the baby step of allowing “well-groomed beards” as an upgrade from “mustaches only.” The only trouble here might be defining “well-groomed” since that may be subjective to some facial hair aficionados.
There’s no doubt that closer Devin Williams’ arrival to the Bronx pushed this conversation forward, and fast. The former Brewer came to spring training sporting just a stache, and the reaction from fans was particularly loud. Many are just sick of these unrecognizable looks from players they’ve grown to know over the years.
Alex Verdugo’s look was jarring last year. To be frank, we’d like to see Gerrit Cole rocking the beard like he did in Houston because it was intimidating. Let’s see which players respond after Hal’s announcement.
