What comes to mind when someone mentions the Yankees? Is it their reputation, their success, and their aesthetics? The Yankees have stuck to their rules over the decades with little to no flexibility. This includes their well-known “clean shave” and “short hair” policy. The Yankees established this policy by George Steinbrenner in the 1970’s. Steinbrenner was quoted saying that he had nothing against long hair, just that he was “trying to instill certain sense of order and discipline in the ball club because I think discipline is important in an athlete.”1 This policy has continued up till the current 2025 season with close to zero changes in the policy throughout the decades.
Some athletes have spoken up about this policy, explaining that this outdated policy restricts their ability to freely express themselves and their personalities. Former Yankee captain Don Mattingly has spoken out against the rule, saying that the approach of either you cut it or you don’t play was the wrong approach for establishing this type of rule.2 In 1991 he was benched for a game because his hair was too long.3 Recently, relief pitcher Devin Williams was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Yankees.4 Williams, also known as the “Airbender“, is known for his overall look, including sporting a complete beard. He recently was seen walking into his first practice with the Yankees with a full beard and leaving completely shaven.5 The fans were quick to hit back on Devin Williams, saying he lost his ”aura” and personality by being required to be fresh shaven per the Yankees requirements.6
Is this Yankees standard promoting a sense of discipline, or is it taking away from these players’ ability to express themselves? So far, the players have quietly spoken out against these strict standards, typically after leaving the team or in discussions when deciding whether to join the team. This includes Don Mattingly for having long hair, Andrew McCutchen deciding to donate his locks when he was traded, and Jordan Montgomery, who immediately donned a beard after leaving the Yankees.7 In addition to players’ subtle hints at the disagreement with the Yankee dress code, one of the personal barbers of the league, Aneudys Duran, stated,” The policy has been in place for so long that nobody really talks about it unless a player is traded… Then it’s like, ‘Damn, I have to shave and change my look’.”8
It has yet to be seen whether the Yankees will move past their dress code policy from the 70’s. The Yankees remain one of the most successful franchises of MLB worth $7.55 billion as of March 2024.9 As Matty Conrad, a expert at men’s overall style for the company GQ, has said, “The idea of being able to control people’s expressions outside of the workplace is becoming very outdated.”10 Whether you love it or are not a fan of the restriction of expression, it looks like this policy is here to stay as of 2025.
- https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/23/archives/steinbrenner-rule-on-hair-splits-yanks-steinbrenner-cuts-yankee.html ↩︎
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/style/yankees-beard-hair-policy.html ↩︎
- Id. ↩︎
- https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/42951126/yankees-acquiring-devin-williams-brewers ↩︎
- https://x.com/snyyankees/status/1889727477724967358?mx=2 ↩︎
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/yankees-devin-williams-hits-back-at-fans-for-trolling-his-shaved-look-due-to-bronxs-infamous-no-beard-policy/ar-AA1z8Pbu ↩︎
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/style/yankees-beard-hair-policy.html ↩︎
- Id. ↩︎
- https://www.forbes.com/teams/new-york-yankees/ ↩︎
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/style/yankees-beard-hair-policy.html ↩︎
image credits: https://www.mlb.com/news/devin-williams-on-joining-yankees-open-to-extension
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