After 49 Years, the New York Yankees Will No Longer Police Their Players’ Faces

Under the old policy, players were allowed to have a mustache, but beards and long hair were a no-no. Yankee legend Don Mattingly was once fined and suspended for refusing to get a haircut in 1991, and this offseason, Seattle Mariners’ pitcher Luis Castillo (who was rumored to be a Yankee trade target) joked about not wanting to cut his dreadlocks if he wound up in the Bronx. It’s unclear if the Yankees’ front office will allow locs, mullets, or ponytails now, but at least one player is thrilled about no longer having to diligently trim their facial hair.

The main reason for the change, per Steinbrenner, is twofold. One is a desire to get with the times. “This generation, the vast majority of [men in their] 20s, 30s into the 40s, in this country have beards,” Steinbrenner said. “It is part of who these younger men are, it’s part of their character, it’s part of their persona.”

The other is not wanting it to cost them a chance at premier bearded players. “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 if he had the ability to, would not come here because of that policy, as important as it is to that generation, that would be very, very concerning,” Steinbrenner admitted. (Astute baseball fans have pointed out that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Luis Arráez, two All-Stars whose looks would not have flown under the old guidelines, are both free agents after this season.)

As winter thaws into spring and flora starts to bloom, so too, finally, will the Yankees’ beards. Some of them—notably, Aaron Judge—have experimented during offseasons of yore, but now the floodgates are open. The defending American League champions still aren’t on the same level as the Dodgers, at least on paper, but maybe their guys rocking some manicured facial flow can at least help the Yankees get their aura back.