The New York Yankees surprised the baseball world—and sports world in general—when the club on Friday announced that it was loosening the rules of its policy on facial hair, a mandate which was first implemented by longtime owner George Steinbrenner in the 1970s.
As Steinbrenner's son and current chairman and managing general partner of the Yankees Hal Steinbrenner outlined in a statement, the club will now allow players to sport "well-groomed beards."
