Is the Yankees’ Swoon Cosmic Karma for Folding on Facial Hair?

It is hard to imagine the depth of George Steinbrenner’s despair as he watches the most storied franchise in sports, his beloved New York Yankees, from that big owner’s box in the sky. The losses and dimming prospects for making this year’s post-season. Embarrassing errors committed in the infield, outfield, and on the mound. A manager’s mismanagement. Will someone be fired here? Anyone? Worse: All of the above could perhaps be fixed — but those beards?More than 20 years before purchasing the Yankees in 1973, the late Steinbrenner served in the United States Air Force. There he learned the importance of discipline in building a winning team. In 1976 he cited that word, discipline, to justify a unique policy that has guided the Yankees for 50 years: Mustaches are allowed, but no beards. The hippie look of the 1970s was also taboo, as team players were banned from growing hair below the shirt collar.Think of the great outfielder Johnny Damon. His dark, long mane was a signature feature when he flew around the bases for the Kansas City Royals, the Oakland Athletics, and Boston Red Sox. He was forced to cut it when traded to the Sox’s New York rival. “Now he’s a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said approvingly. Now, the Boss’s son, Hal, has declared that rule “outdated.” The main reason was that he coveted a highly regarded closer, Devin Williams. Mr. Williams’s six-year career with the Milwaukee Brewers was remarkable, including last year’s 1.25 earned run average. The Yankees agreed to pay him $8.6 million. The 30-year-old pitcher, though, had an additional demand: The beard he has always sported stays. The old argument that discipline could be instilled through grooming and a clean-shaven look was out. Now, following an auspicious early season, the Yanks are losing. Badly. Some of the team’s latest additions had to trim their previous extra-wild looks, but the ban on facial hair is gone. And how about the man who prompted the rule change, Mr. Williams? On Monday he coughed up a ninth-inning home run that tied a game against the Texas Rangers, one that was lost in extra innings. Yesterday the Rangers banged two runs against Mr. Williams after eight scoreless innings — a fifth straight loss.Following Mr. Williams’s Monday loss, Manager Aaron Boone kept him in last night’s game even after he was evidently out of gas. The closer has been a great disappointment, but he’s far from the only one. Last year the Yankees played in the World Series for the first time since 2009. Fans are still smarting from an error-filled fifth inning in the fifth game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Was anything done to fix the tendency to commit errors? A four-game series at Toronto two weeks ago saw the Blue Jays surpass the Yankees as division leader. Mr. Boone defended the defensive errors during that series and promised improvement, but errors persist. Remember: The Yankees won more titles than any other team. Their current captain, Aaron Judge, boasts the league’s highest batting average, and he leads in other statistics as well. A talent-filled roster was the envy of the league until mid-June.Now this team has fallen to third place in its division and it wouldn’t be eligible for the postseason if play started today. The Boss, whose mean-guy image landed him a role in the sitcom “Seinfeld,” would have long ago lost his patience. His son seems less eager to use the whip. Perhaps the new beard policy is not the sole reason for the current string of losses. Yet, tighter, military-inspired discipline increasingly seems to be much needed in the Bronx.

Is the Yankees’ Swoon Cosmic Karma for Folding on Facial Hair?

Is the Yankees’ Swoon Cosmic Karma for Folding on Facial Hair?

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