Aaron Judge drops the mic on players who wouldn't sign with Yankees over beard policy

The New York Yankees stunned the baseball world on Friday, when they announced they were bringing an end to their facial hair policy. Dating back to when George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, no player was allowed to have a beard or stubble. All that was allowed were mustaches and sideburns, at most. But on Friday, nearly 50 years later, Hal Steinbrenner, George's son, said that after discussions with players on the team and those around the league, decided to change the rule and that players can have "well-groomed beards."

One of the other reasons why Steinbrenner said he changed the rule is because they didn't want to lose out on a potential free agent over the policy. In the past, the Yankees notably lost out on starting pitcher David Price and relief pitcher Brian Wilson over the facial hair policy.

On Saturday, Yankees superstar and captain Aaron Judge commented on the new facial hair policy. When asked about the team not allowing the players to grow beards would deter a player from considering the Yankees, Judge said that if that's the case, then they don't belong on the team.

"If a little rule like that’s going to stop you from doing your job, then — I don’t know. I haven’t heard too much about it stopping guys from coming here, but [Hal] dug in a little more than I did on that," said Judge, h/t Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.

Aaron Judge calls out players who wouldn't consider Yankees over facial hair policy

Judge said that while he doesn't know if that really played a factor in a free agent's decision, he doen't think it should be.

Over the years, the Yankees have seen various players who sported beards shave them off to join the team. Whether that's Gerritt Cole, Carlos Rodon, or Johnny Damon, they eventually shaved off the beard.

This offseason, the Yankees acquired closer Devin Williams in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. Upon arriving to spring training, Williams let it be known that he wasn't too crazy about having to shave off his beard. In fact, according to Greg Joyce of the New York Post, Williams met with Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman to express his preference to keep his beard a week before the eventual policy change. That,and Williams let it be known that if the facial hair policy hadn't been changed, that would have been at least part of a factor in signing a deal with the team in free agency.

While some fans have embraced the policy as "Yankee tradition," others wanted the team to get with the times. While there is no set guidelines for what is determined to be a "well-groomed beard," Cashman did say he didn't want the players to grow "Duck Dynasty" beards.

If the policy had played a factor in the past, it won't any longer with the change.