It’s Hilarious How Quickly Yankees Players Grow Beards When They’re Allowed

In Thursday’s Hot Clicks: The Yankees make use of their facial hair freedom, Doc Emrick goes to get his car serviced and more.

Time to put away those razors

Opening Day used to be one of the only sure things in baseball. You could never guarantee anything about your team except that they’d be there in late March, playing their first game. 

Today would have been Opening Day across MLB, if not for the coronavirus outbreak. But there’s still one thing in baseball you can set your watch to: Yankees players' growing out their facial hair the exact second they’re permitted to. 

Every winter, players leave the Yankees via trades or free agency and emerge in the spring with their new clubs sporting beards. Look at the big, bushy one new Tiger Austin Romine has. 

Austin Romine is fitting in just fine here.#TigersST pic.twitter.com/quly5x3ESY

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) February 15, 2020

Ronald Torreyes has a goatee. Tyler Clippard grew out an ugly chin patch. Michael Pineda started keeping a well-trimmed chinstrap beard. Andrew Miller let his hair and beard go crazy. The list goes on and on. 

But the ongoing MLB hiatus means that current Yankees players are also free to put their razors away, and they’re really taking advantage of it. 

The team released a video on Wednesday of players wishing fans well during the crisis. Of the 12 players featured, at least seven were sporting enough facial hair to earn them a fine if they were at work.  

A message from our family to yours: Stay Strong pic.twitter.com/7wWzsB7P2L

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 25, 2020

It’s been only about a week since many Yankees players decided to leave the team’s spring training complex in Tampa. And a lot of the guys in that video are sporting more than three or four days of beard growth. That means that they likely stopped shaving the minute they knew their bosses couldn’t do anything about it. The Yankees are the only team in baseball with a strict rule like this. A similar policy instituted by the Marlins a few years ago caused all kinds of headaches. It’s well past time for the Yankees to start treating their players like adults and let them control how they look. 

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The “Bang!” here from Mike Breen is exquisite

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Doc Emrick gets in on the trend

If you missed Doc Emrick calling play-by-play of his everyday life yesterday, turn up your sound and enjoy 😂pic.twitter.com/FRvuDwkliJ

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) March 24, 2020

I’ve never seen Ichiro so excited

1995

Ichiro Suzuki, nervous and wearing a Tom and Jerry sweater, goes to Chicago to meet Michael Jordan pic.twitter.com/jjJtUzP5H8

— Brendan Donley (@brendandonley_) March 23, 2020

You can still watch baseball on what was supposed to be Opening Day

More on “Opening Day” at home… pic.twitter.com/3RCfDv0FrP

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 25, 2020

College punters tend to have a similar vibe

Oh really? pic.twitter.com/Q00vfuM3So

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) March 25, 2020

Not sports

The factory that makes Peeps has been forced to close due to the coronavirus. ... Dr. Dre’s classic album The Chronic will be archived at the Library of Congress. ... The Washington National Cathedral discovered 5,000 protective masks in its crypt. 

“About the length of a hockey stick.” Every Canadian stereotype is true.

Celebs are losing their minds like the rest of us

I’m eating mayonnaise on everything. Turkey, sure. Mexican rice, why not? Chocolate, you better believe it. #comfortfood

— Elizabeth Banks ❄️ (@ElizabethBanks) March 25, 2020

Pittsburgh is a hell of a town

Pittsburgh City Paper is completely tipping the Yinzer scale this morning pic.twitter.com/b1Uf0BgAnB

— Jessica Smetana (@jessica_smetana) March 25, 2020

“Oh no, I ain’t messing with you”

There was a herd of bison walking right toward me at @YellowstoneNPS today! pic.twitter.com/sdrBvojpwF

— Deion Broxton (@DeionBroxton) March 25, 2020

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.