Andrew McCutchen on Yankees' Hair Policy: 'It Takes Away from Our Individualism'

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen said Sunday the New York Yankees' strict policy related to hair and facial hair should "change there in the future." 

McCutchen, who briefly played for the Yankees during the 2018 MLB season, told Jensen Karp on The Sports Bubble podcast (via Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media) the policy limits individual expression.

"I definitely do think it takes away from our individualism as players and as people," he said. "We express ourselves in different ways."

The Yankees' long-standing guidelines allow for no hair beyond the collar of the jersey and no facial hair that extends past the player's top lip.

Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, who signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with New York in free agency, wasn't immune from the standards. After displaying long, flowing locks and a full beard with the Houston Astros, he showed off a new clean-shaven look after signing the monster deal:

McCutchen said on The Sports Bubble podcast playing for the Yankees was still an "honor" after being acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants. He noted it would have been even tougher before 2015, when he sported his trademark dreadlocks.

"Because that was who I was," he said. "That was how I expressed myself. That's [what] made me Andrew McCutchen. That's how people noticed who I was, it made me unique. I think, especially in this year, the year of 2020, I just feel like these things are, or should be, things that people should take at heart and realize that we have a way of expressing ourselves in different ways."

In 1976, then-Yankees owner George Steinbrenner explained the rules were less about the hair and more about trying to establish a standard, and he'd have no problem trading players who didn't want to comply, per Murray Chass of the New York Times:

"I have nothing against long hair per se. But I'm trying to instill [a] certain sense of order and discipline in the ball club because I think discipline is important in an athlete.

"They can joke about it as long as they do it. If they don't do it, we'll try to find a way to accommodate them somewhere else. I want to develop pride in the players as Yankees. If we can get them to feel that way and think that way, fine. If they can't, we'll get rid of them."

Steinbrenner died in 2010, but the hair rules he put in place have remained steadfast with his family, led by chairman Hal Steinbrenner, now running the organization.