The New York Yankees decided to relax a long-held tradition.

Major League Baseball official media MLB.com reported on the 22nd (Korean time) that 'now the Yankees team will look different from previous generations of the Yankees team.' Hal Steinbrenner announced that the long-standing tradition regarding shaving, which dates back to the 1970s, has been changed. Moving forward, Yankees players, coaches, and staff wearing uniforms will be allowed to maintain 'neatly trimmed beards.'

The Yankees have a long-standing tradition that prohibits all players from wearing beards. This tradition was established by George M. Steinbrenner, the former owner and father of Hal Steinbrenner, and it continued to be upheld even after George Steinbrenner passed away. It often became a topic of discussion when new players appeared after shaving off beards they originally had when joining the Yankees.

However, this winter, a small commotion arose over this tradition. Newly acquired relief pitcher Devin Williams, obtained from a trade with Milwaukee, mentioned that he had been growing his beard for six years and said, 'I want to keep my beard as long as possible.' With the Yankees now somewhat relaxing the tradition, he has been able to grow his beard as he wished.

Hal Steinbrenner noted that he had been considering changing the long-standing tradition even before the acquisition of Williams, mentioning that 'it was an outdated and somewhat unreasonable policy.' He continued, 'During the past few weeks, I heard perspectives on our shaving policy from many current and former Yankees personnel. I appreciate their serious and diverse feedback. After much deliberation, we decided to revise our standards for players' neat appearance. Now is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of tradition.'

The Yankees' tradition has also influenced players' considerations when thinking about joining the Yankees. Hal Steinbrenner said, 'Winning was important to my father. If someone had confidently said that this tradition might affect our ability to acquire the players we want, my father would have embraced change.'

Key Yankees players, including Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, and Giancarlo Stanton, have all supported this change. Cole commented, 'It's a good change. It makes sense. We will still maintain a neat appearance, but personally, I will feel a little freer and will be able to shave without getting injured as much,' he laughed.

Gerrit Cole, who joined the Yankees on a nine-year, $324 million (approximately 466.1 billion won) contract on December 9, 2019, immediately shaved his beard cleanly. Cole, who had grown a long beard during his time with Pittsburgh and Houston, stated he has not yet decided whether to grow a beard again, saying, 'As a Yankees fan, I want to follow everything the Yankees have done. So, I shaved and it was really great to be part of the Yankees legacy. Changing to another tradition is also a wonderful thing. It's great to be a part of both traditions.'