For as a lot because the New York Yankees are ingrained into the very material of baseball and its historical past, maintaining with the occasions has turn out to be one thing of a problem for the sport’s most iconic franchise. The Yankees have spent a lot of the time that has elapsed since their final World Collection title in 2009 falling wanting expectations, together with in a 2023 season the place they missed the playoffs and barely prevented ending with a dropping report for the primary time in three many years.
The Bronx Bombers are actually in search of to course right by including expertise, and so they took a significant step towards fielding a greater roster by pulling off a blockbuster commerce for Juan Soto. However to ensure that the Yankees to draw much more stars from a brand new era of baseball, one former Yankee — MLB journeyman Cameron Maybin — believes the workforce would stand to realize from dropping its half-century previous coverage of forbidding its gamers from having facial hair.
“This may be an unpopular take to Yankees followers, however you would be shocked how far more engaging the Yankees can be in the event that they removed that facial hair rule,” Maybin wrote in a post on X. “You would not consider what number of high quality gamers simply suppose it is a wack rule to have. I imply cmon we’re developing on 2024 let that go already, and I swear it might be extra interesting. Once more this solely comes from conversations I’ve had and expertise from really Enjoying.”
The Yankees’ facial hair guidelines had been adopted within the mid-Nineteen Seventies, with then-owner George Steinbrenner and supervisor Billy Martin forbidding gamers from having beards, mutton chops or lengthy hair. Whereas many organizations round sports activities have relaxed such insurance policies over time, the Yankees’ coverage stays, that means their stars — even in an period the place participant individuality and expression is emphasised greater than ever earlier than — should be clean-shaven and stored.
Maybin’s MLB profession included a cease with the Yankees in 2019, when he was dropped at New York in a commerce with Cleveland. Maybin turned a fan favourite, and he joined YES Community as a broadcaster for Yankees video games in 2022 following the tip of his enjoying profession.
