Andrew McCutchen couldn’t be himself when he was with the Yankees.
McCutchen played 30 games in the regular season and in the postseason for the 2018 team that was eliminated by the Red Sox at ALDS.
The Yankees do not allow players’ hair to extend beyond the neck or facial hair that extends beyond the upper lip. As a result, McCutchen had to shave off the beard that had been growing before his first day with the team.
For most of his career, McCutchen sported dreadlocks, helping him become one of the league’s most recognized players, but he eliminated them in 2015 to raise money for charity. If he was still scared when he came with the Yankees, McCutchen said cutting his hair would have been “a very difficult thing for me.”
“Because that was what it was,” McCutchen said on the “The Sports Bubble” podcast. “That was how I expressed myself. That’s what Andrew McCutchen did to me. This is how people noticed who he was, made me unique. I think, especially this year, 2020, I feel like these things are, or should be, things that people should take seriously and realize that we have a way of expressing ourselves in different ways. “
Specifically, McCutchen believes that the grooming standards required by the organization have a negative impact on what makes each player unique.
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“I definitely think it takes away our individualism as players and as people,” McCutchen said. “We express ourselves in different ways.”
The rule was implemented by the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and has been maintained under the administration of his son Hal. Recently, star pitcher Gerrit Cole had to cut his familiar long locks after signing a nine-year, $ 324 million contract with the Yankees this offseason.
Despite his tradition, McCutchen believes it is time for new regulations in New York.
“I feel like maybe there should be some change there in the future, who knows when, but it’s just one of the many things in this game that I feel like it just needs … it needs to be talked about and addressed,” McCutchen said.
McCutchen signed a three-year, $ 50 million contract with the Phillies after the 2018 season. The 33-year-old slashed .253 / .421 / .892 in 25 regular season games with the Yankees, adding two hits and one He walked in 19 plate appearances in the 2018 postseason.
Although he disagrees with New York policy, McCutchen was happy for his time with the Yankees, calling the franchise “cool,” adding that the stripes made him feel a little more powerful.
“It was an honor for me,” said McCutchen. “It was something I felt I would never have a chance to do.”
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