Yankees' Strict Rules Cost Them Players, Former Yankee Claims

Chamberlain played for the Yankees from 2007 to 2013. During his tenure, he claimed that the policy prohibiting facial hair below the lip was an issue for him at times.

“I've been kicked out of the dugout and told to go shave,” Chamberlain wrote.

The policy was established by the late George M. Steinbrenner when he purchased the team in 1973. It is still enforced by his children, who now hold majority ownership of the team. The Boss, as the elder Steinbrenner was known, passed away in 2010.

"I honestly don't think it will ever change if I am being honest," Chamberlain said.

Chamberlain said the players discuss the policy and admit they sometimes try to push the issue.

Still, the policy has not been an issue at Yankees spring training since 2017, when CC Sabathia showed up with a manicured beard. Some believed that was in response to the longer-than-normally acceptable mop of red, curly hair that then-prospect Clint Frazier wore to camp.

And some players respect the rule as tradition. Reliever Jake Cousins said it wasn't that bad.

"Like, when I got traded over there, I was a little bit like, 'Man, it's gonna be really strict. Like, I'm nervous, like, what's things gonna be like in the clubhouse?' But once you get there, the shaving is, like, I mean, it's what it is. It's fun to, like, be a part of that history," Cousins said. "It's been like that forever, and we're just following what, like The Boss (George Steinbrenner) wanted and what the Steinbrenner family wanted.

"So it's kind of like a fun history that you get to be a part of," Cousins added. "And the clubhouse is super welcoming. And like, that whole aspect of it, they eased me into it really quick."