Yankees amend long-standing facial hair policy, will now allow 'well-groomed beards'
The New York Yankees have amended their long-standing facial hair policy and will now allow for "well-groomed beards," owner Hal Steinbrenner announced on Thursday.
"In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback," said Steinbrenner in a statement. "These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years.
"Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be 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."
The rule had been in place since the 1970s when George Steinbrenner and former manager Billy Martin instituted the "Neatness Counts" policy, which forbid beards, longhair and sideburns. Mustaches were allowed.
Over the years players who sported long hair or beards were forced to trim them upon joining the Yankees. When Johnny Damon signed with the team in 2006 after growing his hair out with the Boston Red Sox, he understood he was going to have to visit a barber before donning the pinstripes.
"Mr. Steinbrenner has a policy and I'm going to stick to it," Damon said at the time.
On the flip side, players have refused to sign with the Yankees due to the policy. Former closer Brian Wilson told general manager Brian Cashman in 2013 that he would not shave his beard to come to the team.
New Yankees closer Devin Williams appears to be the first beneficiary of the amended policy after he was spotted with a light beard in his official team photo after growing it out fuller while with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Mattingly! I thought I told you to trim those sideburns! pic.twitter.com/lMXqvQabuU
— Simpsons Quotes (@Simpsons_tweets) October 3, 2024
The antiquated Yankees' policy turned into comedic fodder over the years, maybe most notably during the 1992 "Homer at the Bat" episode of "The Simpsons" where Don Mattingly gets kicked off the Springfield power plant softball team by Mr. Burns after failing to shave his (non-existent) sideburns — a bit inspired by a 1991 dispute the former first baseman had with ex-Yankees manager Stump Merrill, who threatened Mattingly with a benching until he cut his hair.
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New York Times
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Boston Red Sox pitcher Hunter Dobbins did not allow a walk or get a strikeout in his Yankee Stadium ... More Sunday night when he pitched five innings in an 11-7 win Hunter Dobbins entered the narrative portion of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry for comments made to the Boston Herald regarding his thoughts about the Yankees. The narrative did not necessarily die down Sunday night, but when Dobbins actually took the mound, he produced a highly unique pitching line. He allowed three runs in five innings so nothing notable there in a game that ended with the Red Sox winning 11-7. Instead, the notable part was the fact that none of the 18 at-bats ended with a walk or a strikeout. And when Dobbins earned the win as a starting pitcher, it became something that according to the game finder section of baseball reference rarely occurs against the Yankees. Dobbins is now the 18th pitcher to achieve that distinction. Overall, there are 711 instances of it occurring but against the Yankees it is so rare that it was the first time at the current Yankee Stadium. The last time it occurred was Paul Byrd giving up three homers but hanging in there for 5 2/3 innings in a 6-4 win in Cleveland on April 25, 2008. The last time it occurred in New York was David Wells allowing one run in five innings on April 29, 2000 for Toronto in a 6-2 win. For the Red Sox, it was only something that occurred twice in their rivalry with the Yankees. Denny Galehouse got a three-run lead before throwing a pitch on Sept. 25, 1947 and managed to pitch a complete game without a strikeout or a walk and this was a little over two months after achieving the feat against the Chicago White Sox. Before Galehouse, Wes Ferrell achieved the feat in a two-hitter on April 16, 1935. It was a game notable for the Yankees playing without Babe Ruth on the team for the first time since 1919 but also because plate umpire Bill Dinneen decided balls and strikes nearly 30 years after achieving the feat for the Red Sox in an eight-hitter against the St. Louis Browns. There is no evidence if Galehouse or Ferrell made any comments about the Yankees ahead of their games. Dobbins achieved the feat after entering the chat within the context of the rivalry when he was asked something about pitching for the first time against the Yankees by the Herald on Saturday afternoon. Often those types of questions elicit responses along the lines of 'I'm excited to start, but it's just another game and I'm hoping to give our team a chance to win.' Instead it was a comment that may be viewed as a critique against the Yankees, when he said he 'would rather retire if the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract'. He noted his father was a hardcore Red Sox fan and that he expressed the belief previously. To show the differences between the internet and real life, there was virtually no reaction to Dobbins when he was announced in pregame introductions or during the game when he was announced. The most reaction was when Aaron Judge sent the first pitching he saw from the 25-year-old into the stands. 'You can't really say something like that and not expect a passionate fan base like the Yankees' to say something,' Dobbins said after an outing where he reached ball three on three occasions and strike two in eight instances. 'If anything, it made the rivalry atmosphere feel a lot more fun. I enjoyed it a lot. Looking forward to more of it in the future to kind of get this rivalry going.' Eventually word got back to the Yankees, who may or not have discussed it in their pregame hitters meeting well ahead of Sunday's game. 'I like it, I do like it,' Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said before seeing nine pitches from Dobbins. 'I like the competitiveness. I'm a huge fan of college baseball right now just because of how they are. They are super-competitive and super-fiery, and I like that. 'It adds a little bit of fun,' he said of Dobbins' remarks and trash talk in general. 'It adds a lot of spiciness. You enjoy it more. You are more locked in as a fan because you know what is going on. It's fun. I think it's fun, at least.' As for others, manager Aaron Boone chuckled before answering and saw Dobbins' remark as youthful enthusiasm about being on the Red Sox. 'It's a little funny,' Boone said. 'It sounds like a hypothetical.' As for their take after the game where the Yankees allowed the Red Sox to show incremental progress with their losing record the past two nights by allowing 21 runs, Judge seemed kind of surprised about it. 'I've only heard Ken Griffey Jr. say that, so I was a little surprised,' he said. Perhaps the Yankees would be equally as surprised to find out they played a game where they did not get a walk or a strikeout against an opposing starter who lasted five innings for the 63rd time in their history and first time since 2008 when Byrd took a 6-3 loss while pitching seven innings without a walk or a strikeout. Either way the comment added another talking point for a rivalry that is nowhere near the levels of the mid-2000s but still compelling enough for national television to swoop in.
