New York Yankees Repeal Facial Hair Policy
A buzz cut, an archaic policy, and a weird press conference. What do these things have in common?
Over the reading break, I was after a particular experience. Not just a haircut. A four on top and mid-skin fade on the sides, “not too high though.” Anything less than four feels too short to the hand and looks too short in the mirror. A sharp beard line-up because I look fifteen with a clean-shaven face. For me, this specific combination makes me feel confident while leaving the barbershop. An elite feeling on the same tier as driving after a car wash, smelling a new book, or—dare I say—that first sip of coffee after waking up.
Why are you reading about my haircut in the sports section? Well, because the New York Yankees prevented players from enjoying a similar experience for 49 years, and it has been on my mind ever since they shaved off the policy on 21 February 2025 (pun fully intended).
Sure, players could still get a haircut. But was it the one they wanted? Did they have to settle for a three, when they really wanted a four? A taper instead of a fade? A mustache instead of a goatee? Sideburns instead of a glorious playoff beard? You get the point. Seriously though, how would you like it if your boss forced you to clean-shave and keep your hair at a certain length because his dad did not like the look five decades ago? All while every other player across the league is free to express their personalities by experimenting with whatever haircut or beard style they choose. The good feeling after a haircut or lining up your beard comes from the fact that you got what you wanted. Whether it is a buzz cut, trim, line-up, or clean-shave, what matters is that you had a preference and exercised the freedom to choose it in the barber chair.
For half a century, to be a Yankee, players had to shave their beards and keep their hair above the collar—moustaches, mutton chops, and religious reasons excepted. Why? The late former owner, George “The Boss” Steinbrenner, believed it would instill a sense of discipline and order that would translate to success. They have won more World Series titles than any other team since the policy was officially implemented in 1976, so maybe The Boss was right? I doubt it. The policy was criticized by players, staff, executives, fans, and media. So, when the Yankees announced this longstanding baseball tradition was gone, it was a big deal. A big deal about a whole bunch of nothing if you ask me—this should have been done years ago.
For some fans, it is yet another loss of tradition that characterized a classy, world-class franchise marked by excellence. To the rest of us, it is a long overdue change to an archaic policy by another underperforming team in the league. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the tradition was meant to instill a sense of uniformity and professionalism in the players. But its requirements reflected what uniformity and professionalism looked like back in the 1970s when The Boss implemented it. Did multimillion-dollar deals and the prestige of calling Yankee Stadium home sweeten the deal for players? Sure, but that is not the point.
Today, can we really say a certain facial hair choice or haircut determines whether someone displays professionalism, is a team player, or, more importantly, their ability to hit a baseball 400 feet into the stands? Times have changed, and the league has shifted toward embracing the unique personalities of players. Personalities that reel in new fans for teams and cash for owners—think Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It is their world, and the rest of their teams are living in it. We hear walk-up songs and see customized accessories, blinding jewelry, bat flips, and all sorts of home run celebrations, which would once upon a time cause dugouts and bullpens to empty immediately. The point is that players’ personalities are a part of what fuels fanbases, and a policy that limited how they chose to showcase it went against what the rest of the league, most fans, and society associates with professionalism, uniformity, and talent in 2025.
Hal Steinbrenner, The Boss’ son and current owner, felt the need to give a fifteen-minute press conference to announce the news alongside General Manager Brian Cashman. He started off by saying a lot of “research” was conducted in making the decision. He lectured the media room about the fact that the league is comprised of players in their twenties, thirties, and forties. Years of conversations with them, family, former players—and presumably people around him with a beard—led him to the conclusion that facial hair is “part of who these younger men are. It’s a part of their character. It’s a part of their persona. It’s very important to them and they feel it defines their character. It is also the norm in this country.” Seriously? Again, I understand it was a change to a longstanding policy that was important to his father, with a military background, and the principles it reflected then. But the whole thing came across to me as if Steinbrenner was unsure whether the change was appropriate after already having made the decision and apparently thinking about it for years.
They won the first game of spring training later that day, so it must follow that a World Series banner is guaranteed this Fall. In all seriousness, the policy had been critiqued for years over the concern that it would deter players from signing with and being traded to New York. Cashman implied that the topic came up in conversations with prospective players in the past but stopped short of outright saying that players refused to go there because of the policy. After all, it produced some unrecognizable images of players after parting ways with a part of their ‘persona’ to wear the pinstripes (Johnny Damon, Gerrit Cole, Rougned Odor, etc.) Surely Devin Williams, their new closer, would have appreciated the announcement a few weeks ago before reporting to spring training with a clean-shaven face after years of sporting a beard in Milwaukee. The whole thing is so ridiculous.
On the bright side, players can now enjoy getting the cut they actually want, not necessarily the one forced on them. They can look forward to a pleasant experience at the barber while freely choosing how to express their personality. Did nine-figure-worthy free agents seriously care about this rule? Probably not. Will the change have any bearing on the team’s onfield performance this season? Maybe. If the concerns about free agency and trades had any merit, it may broaden the range of players they can target and add to the roster in hopes of ending the championship drought in the future. The change does more than just let players experiment with haircuts and facial hair styles, though. It sends a message to the clubhouse, the rest of the league, and baseball fans that the organization is finally starting to embrace the world we are living in and no longer clinging onto the past—at least after some “research,” of course.
It was time for the change, despite how hesitant Steinbrenner may be about it. Maybe, just maybe, the change will attract Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to the Bronx and free the Toronto Blue Jays from their toxic commitment to him, another mediocre season, and baseball purgatory–but one can only dream. We also cannot forget that a lot of players on the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers have a beard, so maybe Steinbrenner and Cashman realized this is what will close the gap between them.