The signature look at the corner of 161st and River is no more: The Yankees facial hair policy was amended to include beards.

Well, not just any beards, as you shall soon see, but team owner Hal Steinbrenner made the shocking announcement on the date of the Yankees’ first Spring Training game of the 2025 season. What was generally a clean-shaven franchise is no longer, though tasteful mustaches were the permitted facial hair of choice for numerous Yankees throughout the years. Some with said hair looked like they were going to leave Yankee Stadium after the game to travel back in time and shoot an adult film scene in the 1970s, but that is for another article at an indeterminate time in the future.

Yankees Facial Hair Policy: New Details

Steinbrenner, in a public statement, said that the Yankees’ former stance on facial hair was a “familiar comfort.” The Yankees will now allow for “well-groomed beards,” meaning they still must be trimmed and neat. (Hoch, 2025) There will be no stringy or overly fluffy beards; not in this proud organization.

The prior Yankees facial hair policy was in place since the 1970s. Hal’s father, “The Boss,” George Steinbrenner, instituted this policy. The 70s were a crazy time for everyone, and the old-school elder Steinbrenner was trying to instill some discipline and professionalism in a team that had been losing for years and was falling victim to some of the style disasters of the decade. It is still unclear which was worse.

Shock Incoming in the Bronx, But We’ll Get Beyond It

My first Major League game was at Yankee Stadium in the summer of 1995, back at the tail end of Don Mattingly’s career. His mustache was iconic, and to that I think we can all agree. That signature look, for a long while, was recognizable around baseball.

We might also agree that seeing Yankees players with beards, though nicely sculpted, will be a shock to the system. The Yankees facial hair policy that was just amended had been in place for decades upon decades, to the point where the lack of facial hair became synonymous with the franchise, in addition to a running joke. Those who feel strongly against the change might say that this was one policy that no other North American professional sports franchise had, and therefore it set them apart.

I think we can all, as one, get over that relatively quickly. Do you know what else sets the Yankees apart? 27 World Series titles. Again, this is a matter of perspective. If the Yankees, by some miracle, trip up the Dodgers and win number 28 this year, do you think anyone is going to throw a fit because they didn’t do it clean-shaven? Will the trophy shine less bright? The Yankees’ biggest problem would be cleaning the champagne out of their luscious new beards in time for the parade.

No Need to Mourn the Yankees Facial Hair Policy

Maybe there are Yankees fans out there today who are sad that the franchise is abandoning tradition. It was the one look the team had that nobody else cared to adopt. (Then again, perhaps there is a reason that’s the case.)

However, Hal Steinbrenner owns the franchise and is allowed to modernize it if he so chooses. By his own admission, this was not a decision he reached lightly or on a whim. Over a century of championship pedigree does not dissolve into dust overnight because Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton get to grow out beards. I think you would be more concerned with how much hitting they are going to do in October than counting the hairs on their jaw.

I know what you’re thinking: Yankees players are rich, so if the boss tells them they have to shave, then you won’t feel sorry for them. Well, the boss isn’t telling them that anymore, so why complain about it?

Look, it’s not the 1970s anymore, and culturally, it certainly is not the 1950s. A male does not have to be clean-shaven in order to present a professional appearance in 2025. If you are of the opinion that they do, then perhaps it’s time you wake up and smell the 21st Century. It has an aroma of artisanal beard oil, which can be purchased at any major retailer. Besides, let’s all take a deep breath: For the love of God, this is just baseball. It’s not that serious.

References

Hoch, B. (2025, February 22). Yanks amend longstanding facial hair policy, to allow “well-groomed beards.” MLB.com. https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-change-facial-hair-policy