TAMPA, Fla. — The angry Yankees fans out there, and there are many, probably are cursing Hal Steinbrenner for allowing players to grow beards.
This wasn’t allowed for 50 years. The late, great George Steinbrenner started the policy in 1976 before his fourth baseball season owing the Yanks and no player since had facial hair until this spring.
Hal relaxed his dad’s appearance policy after hearing from players that it could prevent free agents from signing with the Yankees.
Or re-signing.
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On Feb. 11, spring training report day for Yankees pitchers and catchers, their new closer showed up with a beard. When Devin Williams was asked about shaving before the next day’s first official workout, he made it clear that he was not a fan of the appearance policy
Reluctantly, Williams shaved.
And then nine days later, after Steinbrenner’s stunning announcement on Feb. 21, Williams started growing another beard.
Steinbrenner didn’t just do this for Williams. He talked to several players and relied on a lot of what Aaron Judge to say. But the Yankees traded for Williams over the winter because they wanted a great closer and he’ll be a free agent after the 2025 season.
Williams was thrilled hearing he could grow back his beard. He said that he feels more comfortable pitching with hair covering his chin and cheeks. He thinks being comfortable helped make him one of the best relievers in the game since his rookie season in 2019, one of MLB’s best closers the last two years.
Well, here we are two months later and the Yankees are dealing with another closer ordeal.
Williams entered Saturday’s game to pitch the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees leading the Rays 8-4.
Six batters later, the game was tied 8-8.
The Yankees ended up losing 10-8 in 10 innings when Jonathan Aranda hit a walk-off homer off Yoendrys Gomes.
Williams was victimized by some soft contact, but he walked a No. 9 hitter who was batting .095 and gave up, allowed a first major-league hit and failed to strike anyone out with this famed Airbender changeup.
With opposing hitters not chasing Williams’ changeups like they did when he was with the Brewers, he has a 9.00 ERA after nine outings with nine strikeouts and eight walks in eight innings.
Worse yet — way worse, actually — is this:
Williams doesn’t seem to be embracing the sideshows that come with being a Yankee. With the media within earshot, he’s gripped about how many reporters have been in the Yankees clubhouse before and after games.
Williams doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy that will be able to handle a lot of boos if Yankees fans turn on him, and there will a whole lot of Bronx cheers howled his way if he doesn’t start pitching like he can.
It’s too soon to suggest Williams will be the next Joey Gallo or Sonny Gray —they weren’t big stars like he’s been — but the pitching and everything else in February, March and April already is very concerning.
The Yankees thought they were through closer messes at least for a season after going through them with Aroldis Chapman in 2021 and 2022, then Clay Holmes the last two years.
Holmes saved 30 games and was an All-Star last year, but his 13 blown saves were the most by a Yankees reliever in 38 seasons.
Later in the year, the Yankees tried something new, and they got really lucky because Luke Weaver, in his first full season as a reliever, ended up being just as good at closing as he was pitching in a setup role.
So far this year, Weaver hasn’t allowed a run in 10 innings over nine outings. Opponents have two hits against him.
On Saturday, Weaver pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and struck out two with the Yankees ahead two runs. The night before, with Williams unavailable because he’s pitched three days in the previous four days, Weaver pitched a perfect ninth and struck out two for his second save of the year.
Like Williams, Weaver is in his walk season to free agency. He’s been the best bargain in the game the last two years making $2 million in 2024 and $2.5 million this year.
Because Williams was so good in Milwaukee, his leash will be long. He’ll probably get a lot more chances to close before there’s any real consideration to making Weaver the permanent closer.
What’s best for the Yankees is Weaver getting big outs in the seventh and eighth innings of games, then Williams mowing down hitters in the ninth.
Because Williams has been so good for entire career — excluding his poor small track record in the postseason — it would be hard betting that he won’t soon start dominating like he did in Milwaukee.
Aaron Boone predicted that after Saturday’s game.
So did Judge.
But some players just aren’t made for New York. Some players are bothered by the noise from fans and media when there’s adversity.
When Holmes was blowing all those saves last season, many while being hurt with a lot of soft contact, he was at his locker waiting to do post-game interviews every time. Never did he make an excuse that he was unlucky.
Williams made Yankees media wait to talk to him on April 9 in Detroit when he started the ninth inning and didn’t get through it. His three runs allowed over two-thirds of an inning that day didn’t do in the Yankees, who prevailed 4-3 thanks to Mark Leiter Jr., coming on to get the final out.
On Saturday in Tampa, after all of the Yankees players were showered, dressed and out of the clubhouse, Williams entered 38 minutes after the final out to do a post-game interview that lasted 92 seconds and included short comments with some sarcasm. He clearly did not want to be there talking to the media.
Unlike most Yankees players, Williams rarely engages with writers when he’s not being interviewed. That’s fine. It’s his prerogative. He might be a really good guy. For outsiders, it’s actually too soon to tell because he’s still new to the team and struggling.
But this isn’t Milwaukee. There are more than two beat writers in New York.
When Williams doesn’t do his job, he’s learning the Yankees media, usually a herd in New York and a small pack on the road, will wait him out for however long it takes.
His pitching on Saturday wasn’t terrible. He was luckless. But teams now are laying off chasing his changeups. They’re putting his strikes into play. They’re working walks and scoring runs.
It’s Easter Sunday. There’s a long, long way to go in the 2025 baseball season, 141 games for the Yankees.
It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if Williams starts a hot streak this week that lasts for months. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s in Atlanta come July for his third All-Star Game. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s showing everyone in October that he can rack up postseason saves.
But based on what we’ve seen so far in the first chapter of Williams’ Yankees career, it also wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s sporting a beard somewhere else next season because he wants out of New York … or because the Yankees decide they prefer Weaver to be their closer for 2026 and beyond.
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Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected].
