New York Yankees announced on Friday that their players should no longer be shaved.
The owner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement that players would be able to keep the beards “well neat” after discussing the issue with current and old players in several years.
The rule, which said that players could not have facial hair under the lower lip, was established by Hal’s father, George Steinbrenner, in 1976.
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New York Yankees Michael Kay and John Sterling broadcasters before a match against the Rays of Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium on April 20, 2024, in New York, New York. (New York Yankees / Getty Images)
The broadcaster Yankee, Michael Kay, who is organizing a radio program during the week, called the first training game in the spring of the season and the new era of the franchise.
“I don’t think it’s a hyperbole. [It] A little amazed the world of baseball, “he said.
One of the main reasons why the team has raised the rule was that it could discourage a player from choosing the Yanks as a future destination.
“If I ever discovered that a player we wanted to acquire to improve, to get a championship, did not want to be here, and if he had the capacity, would not come here, because of this policy … It would be Be very worrying, “Steinbrenner told journalists on Friday.
Hal Steinbrenner at a press conference at Yankee Stadium. (Jessica ALCHEH / USA TODAY SPORTS)
Manager Aaron Boone told journalists that he had heard about the change in politics. It should be noted that Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the next big free agent of MLB, had a beard a majority of his career.
This feeling, said Kay, was his biggest point to remember.
“I think the most revealing thing that [Steinbrenner] said: “We never want to be in a position where we lose a player who, in our opinion, can help us win because he did not want to come here because of this rule.” And I think what the Yankees have done. They took things, “added Kay.
“And I have always wondered:” If you want to change the rule, you must almost change the rule before someone is retaliated. Because if you lost a player who said: “I’m not going to go there because I don’t want to shave,” it would seem really bad. “
Judge Aaron of New York Yankees in action against the Minnesota twins at Yankee Stadium on September 5, 2022. In New York. (Images Jim Mcisaac / Getty)
The Yankees Hall of Famers CC Sabathia and Derek Throw have both cultivated the beard since their retirement. Players often cultivate facial hair when you get out of the Yankees or during the offseason.
