When the New York Yankees traded for bitter rival Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo, the erratic outfielder was compelled to cut his bushy red beard to conform with a long-standing Yankee facial hair policy.
The long-standing Yankee rule states that players’ hair cannot be longer than shoulder length, and no facial hair, other than a mustache, is permitted.
But a fresh-faced Verdugo came up to Yankees photo day wearing an outlandishly thick set of silver chains that appear more like they belong on the neck of a 25-pound rapper from Atlanta than a player who plays for baseball’s most renowned organization.
Now, I don’t really like the Yankees’ facial hair policy. I’m a great believer in “live and let live.” But, if you’re going to maintain strict beauty standards, why stop with facial hair? Why let this guy promote your brand with a platinum choker like he’s in a BET music video?
It doesn’t make sense to me. Not that I have an issue with grown guys wearing jewelry. I think it’s ridiculous to wear a heavy chain in a game where you have to move rapidly, but I have no personal objections to a guy trying to express himself through shiny neckwear like he’s a 1500 BC Egyptian Emperor.
But I don’t get the Yankees’ double standard here.
The late great Yankees owner George Steinbrenner instituted the “Neatness Counts” criteria in the 1970s, claiming he was “trying to instill a certain sense of order and discipline.”
Sorry, but allowing boys to arrive at camp dressed as Flava Flav lacks discipline.
The latest Boston Red Sox great to join the Yankees and change his appearance was outfielder Johnny Damon, who transformed from a caveman in Beantown to a polished gentleman in the Bronx.
However, if you’re going to compel a guy like Damon to change his entire appearance for the purpose of “order and discipline,” be consistent throughout. The term uniform literally means “the same in all cases and at all times.”
Verdugo’s chains are a direct departure from that standard. God forbid we ask a young man not to wear a startlingly large set of jewelry around his neck.
