Yankees' beard ban could complicate free agency

When the New York Yankees introduced Juan Soto to the media last week after a blockbuster trade with San Diego, their new slugger was already in mid-season form.

Her cheeks were smooth and her hair was short. Not even a buckle came out from under his brand new Yankees cap.

That's not always easy for the club's acquisitions, many of which arrive with a certain assemblage required. This is the case for Alex Verdugo, a bearded outfielder acquired in a December 5 trade with Boston. Verdugo, a 27-year-old, faces a choice unique to the Yankees: adhere to the team's ban on beards and long hair, instituted by team owner George Steinbrenner in 1976, or go to the bench.

For the Yankees, who still don't have a name on the back of their jerseys, adhere to an appearance policy created by an owner who died in 2010 is yet another tradition that makes them stand out from other teams. But in an era where facial hair is commonplace, even in the corporate world, a sports team with strict grooming rules has inspired a former Yankee to wonder aloud what it might cost him. team in terms of recruiting new players.

“This might be an unpopular view with Yankees fans, but you'd be surprised how much more the Yankees would be attractive if they got rid of that facial hair rule,” former Yankee Cameron Maybin wrote on X this month. "You can't imagine how many quality players think this is a crazy rule."

Johnny Damon was famous for his long hair and beard during his time with the Red Sox, but he came clean for the Yankees in 2006. He brought back the beard and hair in retirement. Credit... Photos by Winslow Townson/Associated Press; Mark Mandrake/New York Yankees, via Reuters; Johnny Damon

To be clear, many top players over the years have agreed to cut their hair or shave their faces – as long as their salary was big enough.

The policy, which only allows a neat mustache, hasn't scared off bearded free agents like Gerrit Cole ($324 million in 2019), Carlos Rodón ($162 million in 2023) or Johnny Damon ($52 million) in 2005). It also didn't hinder a 2005 trade that sent future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson from Arizona to New York. Mr. Johnson, who was rarely known for compromising, agreed to waive his no-trade clause — and cut his long, shaggy mullet — in exchange for a two-year contract extension worth $32 million dollars.

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