Did Devin Williams leak the Yankees facial hair policy change with 1 photo?

The New York Yankees finally changed their archaic facial hair policy and fans are immediately thinking about one player: Devin Williams.

After several decades of strict implementation, the Yankees are now allowing “well-groomed beards” for players in their organization. This comes shortly after the addition of relief pitcher Devin Williams, who previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers.

While on the Brewers, the reliever notably sported a beard that was longer than anything that the Yankees would have previously allowed. But in his team photo earlier this week, Williams may have leaked the decision a bit early.

Devin Williams can grow his beard back now! pic.twitter.com/TdzicCLIdV

— MLB (@MLB) February 21, 2025

Even though his beard is not quite as long as it was when he played for Milwaukee, it was noticeably more than what fans typically saw from a typical Yankees pitcher.

According to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, this decision came after conversation with former and current players from the organization and it dates back several years. Some fans noticed Williams liked the post on social media.

So though this decision does not come directly from a reaction to Williams, it significantly impacted the pitcher (who was also coincidentally one of the most impacted players by the MLB’s pitch tempo rule change).

Perhaps some fans could have even predicted the outcome based on the way he presented in his team photo, growing back a bit of a beard after shaving down to only a mustache upon joining the organization.