“Give the Man His Beard Back”- Fresh Look for New York Yankees’ Latest Signing Has Fans Mocking the Decorated Outfit

New York Yankees have been very active this offseason with a number of different deals taking place. The most important deal is their new 9-year contract with Aaron Judge. The Pinstripes recently announced their latest signing and expected fanfare. But the reaction they got was a little different.

Notably, The Yankees have signed Carlos Rodon to a 6-year $162 million deal. But when Rodon was announced on Twitter, his appearance was different from usual. The pitcher looked a lot different from his usual self and fans took notice.

Rodon shaved his facial hair upon signing with the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees recently announced that they had signed Carlos Rodon. While doing so, they also released the first look of their ace in a Yankees jersey. But Rodon looked very different without his trademark stubbly beard. In the Tweet, the Yankees said, “Rodón is ready.”

The left-handed ace had to shave his facial hair in accordance with the Yankee’s long-standing appearance policy. This has made the pitcher look very different from his usual appearance.

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Fans have reacted to the image of Rodon wondering where his beard has gone. Many have even trolled the Yankees for their old-fashioned rule and are asking for it to be changed.

But it seems unlikely that the rules that have been in place for such a long time will change anytime soon. For those unversed, these appearance rules were introduced by George Steinbrenner in the later 1970s.

Why did Steinbrenner introduce the appearance rules?

When George Steinbrenner first bought the team, he was shocked by how unkempt some of the players looked. He immediately wrote down their jersey numbers since he didn’t know their names at the time and asked for them to get haircuts. This was followed by the origin of the appearance policy otherwise known as the appearance rules.

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The policy expressly forbids players, coaches, and male executives from having facial hair other than mustaches. There have been exceptions for religious reasons, though. Rodon had to get rid of his signature facial hair because of this rule. What do you think of the Yankee’s appearance policy and Carlos Rodon’s new clean-shaven look? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.