My dad has taught me many lessons in life, but he made no mistake in choosing the first bit of knowledge to impart on me: I hate the New York Yankees. Although I couldn’t tell you when I first donned the iconic Boston Red Sox ‘B’ cap, I’m positive one-year-old me watched the Red Sox conquer the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series en route to their first World Series Championship since 1918.
I set my personal biases aside to recognize the Yankees as the premier historic franchise of Major League Baseball (MLB). With history comes tradition, and with tradition comes outdated practices: the New York Yankees must toss their appearance policy.
Then-owner George Steinbrenner codified an appearance policy in 1976 that required all players to trim their hair so that it did not reach their collar and maintain a clean-shaven face, with the exceptions of a well-groomed mustache and religious exemptions. Steinbrenner enacted this policy following the rising popularity of The Mustache Gang, a group of Oakland Athletics players led by Reggie Jackson. The Yankees were not the first organization to do so, as the Cincinnati Reds forbade facial hair from 1967 to 1999 — the clean-shaven Reds lost to the well-groomed Athletics in the so-called “Hairs vs. Squares” 1972 World Series.
The arrival of appearance policies in the MLB after the Athletics’ popularity raises questions regarding the motivation for such practices. The Mustache Gang formed after the Athletics management failed to convince Jackson to shave his facial hair before the start of the season and instead encouraged Jackson’s teammates to grow their own to show Jackson how outrageous they look. This strategy backfired — the team rallied around their newfound love of mustaches. Steinbrenner became owner of the Yankees the following year and ordered his players to adhere to a “Neatness Counts” policy after MLB Opening Day in 1973. The timing and dialogue surrounding Jackson’s hair and Steinbrenner’s subsequent implementation conveniently occur in the post-civil rights movement era of the United States.
Since the Yankees introduced their appearance policy, America has lost countless beautiful beards and luscious locks. The organization refused to give Oscar Gamble a uniform unless he trimmed his signature afro when traded to New York in 1976, which cost Gamble an endorsement deal with Afro Sheen. Notably, the Yankees allowed Gamble to sport an afro in all promotional pictures and merchandise, profiting from the afro he could not wear. New York then fined Don Mattingly and removed the first baseman from the starting lineup in 1991 for his longer hair. Mattingly returned only when he agreed to clip it in accordance with the policy. Former Red Sox players weren’t safe either, as Kevin Youkilis had to shave his goatee upon signing with the Yankees in 2013.
Shockingly, this rule has existed for 48 years without abolishment and with few amendments. To put it frankly, this is ridiculous. The MLB is no stranger to limiting player agency; for example, the regulation of players’ cleat colors to 51% of their cleat color be that of the team’s primary color, but the Yankees’ appearance policy seems particularly archaic in comparison.
While I agree that the players should hold respect for the history of the clubhouse, a question arises: does this practice even demonstrate respect for the Yankees’ legacy? New York has collected an MLB-best 27 World Series Championships since their conception in 1903, and the Yankees organization is concerned about their players’ facial hair because of a standard set by Steinbrenner 48 years ago? Many claim the appearance policy is an extension of the uniform; thus, the policy is no different than requiring all players to wear the same hat. However, the Yankees are the only team that has continued to institutionalize uniform rules beyond the requirements of the MLB.
The same year Steinbrenner implemented the appearance policy, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple, meanwhile Georgia’s proudest Jimmy Carter won the presidential election The evolution of United States society is apparent and yet the policy stands. For an MLB team to limit player agency in such a specific way seems to overstep the relationship between employer and employee.
Simply stated, is tradition for tradition’s sake a worthy argument? With no foundational reasoning for the policy to continue to exist, the Yankees should eliminate their appearance policy and look to champion the storied franchise through other avenues.
I can promise one thing will never change: I will always hate the New York Yankees.