Hal Steinbrenner Lays Out One Big Reason He Changed Yankees' Facial Hair Policy

Beards are now allowed in the land of pinstripes.

Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman addressed the media on Friday. / YES Network

The New York Yankees will look a bit different in 2025.

Sure, the Yankees' roster has undergone significant change from the '24 squad who fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series—Juan Soto has been replaced by Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Devin Williams. But another big addition in '25 will be the facial hair sported by the club for the first time since the early 1970s.

Hal Steinbrenner announced Friday that the Yankees are parting ways with their longstanding facial hair policy, which denied players the right to wear long hair and beards. Per Steinbrenner, the Yankees are now permitted to wear "well-groomed beards" in 2025 and beyond.

"If I ever found out that a player we wanted to acquire to make us better, to get us a championship, did not want to be here—and if he had the ability, would not come here—because of that policy, as important as it is to [past generations], that would be very, very concerning," Steinbrenner said in a press conference Friday. "And I am fairly convinced that's a real concern."

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During his Friday presser, Hal Steinbrenner cited the possibility of players not wanting to join the Yankees due to their facial hair policy as a reason for altering it. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/16anS8gIhz

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) February 21, 2025

The Yankees' policy dates back to 1973 when legendary owner George Steinbrenner requested his players get haircuts during his first year at the helm. The tradition lasted over 50 years and continued to be enforced long after Steinbrenner's death in 2010.

New York's facial hair ban did cost the franchise consideration from at least one free agent over the years. Back in 2013, All-Star closer Brian Wilson—nicknamed "The Beard"—informed general manager Brian Cashman to not even bother attempting to sign him in free agency because his facial hair was staying on.

Signing Wilson wouldn't exactly have given the Yankees a championship, as he went on to pitch just 62 innings over the next two years for the Los Angeles Dodgers before his MLB career ended. But the Yankees aren't taking a chance that another free agent could share Wilson's affinity for whiskers and refuse to sign with the club.

New York—still searching for its first World Series title since 2009—won't let facial hair get in the way of its championship pursuit.

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