The baseball world was stunned when the Yankees announced they were changing their longstanding facial hair policy on Friday, allowing players to have “well-groomed” beards.
The policy was put into place nearly 50 years ago by late owner George Steinbrenner and had stood the test of time until just before spring training games began for the Bombers. So, what was the catalyst for the change?
Well, it’s possible Devin Williams was. The All-Star reliever, whom the Yankees traded for this offseason, told The Athletic that he met with Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman last week with his concerns about the policy.
Williams always wore a beard while pitching with the Milwaukee Brewers and looked noticeably different after, eventually, adhering to the Yankees’ policy.
“It’s not my preference,” Williams said Saturday morning.
In his news conference Friday, Steinbrenner said that changing their facial hair policy was a topic of conversation internally for about a decade but it wasn’t until the last few weeks that he felt the policy was “outdated.”
Steinbrenner spoke to leaders in the clubhouse like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole about the policy, and the change was eventually made.
“[Beards are] a part of who these younger men are. It’s a part of their character, a part of their persona,” Steinbrenner said. “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 a very important thing to them. They feel it defines their character. It’s also the norm in this country…
“The most important thing was to sit down, face to face, with several of our players and senior staff… I did all of that Monday… There were a lot of things told to me that resonated. There were some things told to me that were concerning, even if they happened to be more of a hypothetical in nature…”
Those “hypothetical” things were whether the policy would deter potential free agents from signing with the Yankees. While there’s been no evidence that it has in the nearly 50 years of its implementation, Williams, who will be a free agent at the end of the 2025 season, admitted it’s something he was thinking about.
“It’s something that I would consider, for sure,” Williams said.
“If I ever found out that a player we wanted to acquire to make us better, to get us a championship, didn’t want to be here — and if he had the ability, wouldn’t come here — because of that policy, that would be very, very concerning,” Steinbrenner said. “I’m fairly convinced that’s a real concern.”
Williams said players always talk about the policy before they join the Yankees and that some players are not “ok” with it. He added that he was surprised and excited when he heard the team was changing the edict.
Judge told the media Saturday morning that he supported the policy change but was a proponent of keeping the hair-length policy in place. Yankees players are not allowed to have hair go below the collar.
However, the Yankees captain did not believe the policy should impact players wanting to sign with the Yankees.
“I feel like, as a Yankee, if that little rule is going to stop you from coming here, then you probably shouldn’t be here,” Judge said. “A little rule like that is going to stop you from doing your job, then I don’t think — I don’t know. I haven’t heard too much about guys and stopping them from coming here.”
Either way, with that potential hurdle now gone, the Yankees and Williams will have this full season to see if a fit is there for a long-term deal.
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