The New York Yankees shocked observers Friday by revealing a change to their long-standing facial hair policy. Those who approve of the change may have one specific player to thank for the decision.
Pitcher Devin Williams admitted Saturday that he had sought a meeting with owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman over the team’s facial hair policy before the change was announced Friday. Williams, acquired in an offseason trade, made clear that the policy would have negatively impacted the chances of him staying with the Yankees had it remained in place.
“It’s something that I would consider, for sure,” Williams said of the policy, via Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.
Williams had worn a beard for his entire career while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was very reluctant to shave it after being traded to the Yankees, and did not even do so until the first full day of team workouts. Even after that, the reliever seemed unwilling to completely commit to a clean-shaven look even before the policy change.
After the change was made, Williams said he was surprised and excited by the decision, and will begin re-growing his beard immediately.
Williams’ comments underline the biggest reason for the change. The 30-year-old has emerged as an elite closer, and the Yankees parted with former All-Star Nestor Cortes in order to acquire him. He is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2025 season, and the Yankees would no doubt prefer to keep him long-term after making a big move to get him.
Despite being limited to 22 appearances for Milwaukee in 2024, Williams still posted a 1.25 ERA. In six career seasons, he has a 1.83 ERA and an absurd rate of 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
Some, including perhaps the owner who instituted the policy to begin with, would say that if facial hair is such a dealbreaker to certain players, those players should not be playing for the Yankees anyway. However, the team has not won a World Series since 2009, and very much wants to change that.
If the policy threatened to cost the Yankees players, it probably wound up being a pretty easy decision to make a change. Williams is proof of that.
