“Look like Duck Dynast”: Gerrit Cole shares candid reaction to Yankees’ new beard policy | MLB News
In the baseball world, everything seems to be changing; one day, it can be fastballs and sliders; the other, it can be the beards. This time around, New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is lifting the veil on team grooming policy.
Gerrit Cole Jokes About Yankees’ Beard Policy: No “Duck Dynasty” Looks Allowed
Cole just recently divulged how Yankee animal husbandry for facial hair goes—like any spoiler: not the lumberjack kind. According to Cole, the conversation with GM Brian Cashman was short and not particularly thorough. The one-and-only piece of advice that Cashman gave? “We’re not trying to look like Duck Dynasty.”
Now, before anyone grabs a pitchfork, one must realize Cashman was not talking ill of the popular television show or its famous bearded family. Cole himself made it perfectly clear, stating, “No diss against this iconic reality show.” Certainly, if you’re “grinding in the woods,” as Cole put it, then you’re going to have a free pass to really let that beard go!
Natural equilibrium is what the Yankees swear by. The team would want players to look sharp without allowing the clubhouse to turn into a swampy reality show set. Somewhere in that classic gray area of “we want you to look professional, but not that professional”-unless, of course, you were to throw in some extra flair .
As the discussion opened, it somehow wandered to the other end of the spectrum: Just how much beard should be considered too much? Are we talking dapper, “there’s a sharp jawline under here” business, or are we crossing into duck calls and camo realms? Surely there’s got to be a middle ground in there where one can cultivate an abundance of respect but safely send the hunting gear off to the locker room.
So stay tuned to see if one player pushes those limits. In Yankee land, it isn’t only fastballs that need control; facial hair does too.
