On Thursday, the New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner announced that their players would be permitted to sport "well-groomed beards" ending a near half century edict issued by his father, the late George Steinbrenner prohibiting beards.
The change in policy has been attributed to the off-season acquisition of closer Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers. Williams has played his entire professional career with a beard and expressed the desire to continue to sport this look. While beards will now be allowed, long hair remains verboten.
It is worth noting that Williams was acquired from the Brewers back in December in exchange for starting pitcher Nelson Cortes, who sported a mustache. The Yankees have tolerated upper lip hair from the likes of the late Thurman Munson, Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly and Jason Giambi, to name but a few.
The Yankees facial hair rule, while antiquated, was liberal in comparison to the grooming rules with the Cincinnati Reds which forbade all facial hair except for sideburns until the arrival of Greg Vaughn prior to the 1999 season. While the policy was only in place from 1967 on, Vaughn was the first Red to wear facial hair in nearly a century.
To give you an idea of how entrenched the Reds facial hair rule was that when Pete Rose wanted to sign Rollie Fingers prior to the 1986 season, he was told he could only pitch if jettisoned his handlebar mustache. Fingers chose retirement over shaving off the mustache. When I asked Fingers about it in 2013, he told me, "Marge Schott could have used a shave."
MLB players should be judged how they can hit, field, run and throw not if they are clean shaven or wear their hair long. At least, the Yankees have taken a step in the right direction. Now let's see if they can put one foot after the other.
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