Some Former Yankees Celebrate Facial Hair Freedom

As traditional as the pinstripes are to the New York Yankee uniform and their identity, so is the policy on facial hair. Mustaches are allowed, but anything that begins to resemble a beard, goatee, or anything in between--those are just not allowed. When players join the Yankees, either by working their way up in the farm system or being acquired via free agency or trade, they all know the policy is just part of the tradition and the way it is done in New York.

It was just last fall that the Yankees captured their 27th World Series championship. As is common in today's game, the winter, or off-season, brought about a little re-tooling and shuffling of that winning roster. The former Yankee with the longest tenure, Hideki Matsui, went to the California Angels. Regular contributors in the outfield, Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera, now play for Detroit and Atlanta, respectively. While valuable back-up catcher and great defensive player, Jose Molina, now is with the Blue Jays.

It's interesting to observe former Yankees when they leave the Bronx Bombers and have the freedom to express themselves, not being restricted by other teams when it comes to facial hair. The most curious is Damon. Before coming to New York Damon played for the Yanks arch-rival, Boston. There, he caught national baseball attention by wearing long hair and growing a full beard, hence garnering a new nickname--"the cave man"--similar to those Geiko commercials. Of course, Damon cleaned up in New York and so far, is still clean-shaven in Detroit.

Matsui, who is as humble and unassuming as anyone to ever play for New York, looks exactly the same, albeit strange in that Angels uniform with "double nickels" on the back.

The two who have busted out and are enjoying facial hair freedom are Molina and Cabrera. Molina has the well-trimmed full beard working as a Blue Jay, while Melky has opted for the latest baseball rage, the minimalist style of goatee, which is akin to the shell of a chocolate dipped ice cream cone on his chin.

You wonder if that was something they always wanted to do, but were too restricted in New York, or was it just such a surge of independence that they felt they had to express themselves now that they were no longer Yankees? It's kind of analogous to a teenager who transfers from a private school to public school and can shed the uniform for whatever is stylish and cool with his new schoolmates.

Facial hair isn't a bad thing, unless you have a graying old mustache with a wild variety of hairs in it, like me. But, for Molina and Cabrera, whatever version of a beard or goatee they wear isn't bad either. It just signifies that they are no longer New York Yankees.