The Origin Of The New York Yankees' Bizarre Ban On Beards And Long Hair

Publish date: 2024-05-06

George Steinbrenner's death in 2010 did not mark the end of the New York Yankees' edict against beards and long hair. According to the official MLB website, the late exec's daughter Jennifer Steinbrenner-Swindal has made it a point to keep enforcing the policy, making sure that today's Yankees maintain an appearance that her father would have approved of. That's precisely the reason why Gerrit Cole, who was known for his long-ish hair and beard, switched to a clean-shaven look and a shorter (though not exactly short) hairdo after he signed a massive free-agent deal with the Yankees toward the end of 2019.

While Cole joined Randy Johnson, Johnny Damon, and other high-profile acquisitions from recent decades who toed the line and cut their hair and/or shaved their beards upon joining the Yankees, there have, of course, been some notorious offenders. Back in 1991, multiple-time All-Star first baseman Don Mattingly was benched by the Yankees for refusing to chop off his trademark mullet. This incident generated so much controversy that "The Simpsons" parodied it in the Season 3 episode "Homer at the Bat," where Mattingly was one of several MLB stars who voiced themselves as ringers for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's softball team.

Ironically, Mattingly himself instituted a facial hair ban in 2016 while managing the Miami Marlins; doubly ironic is the fact that he wore a mustache for most of his MLB career as an active player. But thankfully for those Marlins who preferred a more hirsute look, Mattingly (pictured above, sans 'stache) relaxed the policy just one year later.

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