Perhaps for the very first time, a person sporting lengthy hair was seen donning an authentic New York Yankees uniform while on the field.
Since the 1970s, when George Steinbrenner acquired the team, the Yankees have maintained a policy of prohibiting facial hair and hair that extends “below the collar.” This code was famously adhered to by players such as Randy Johnson and Johnny Damon, who both shed their magnificent manes upon joining the Bronx Bombers.
Michael Kay, the Yankees’ play-by-play commentator, made a quip about the team’s bat boy Nate Rosenhaus flouting the rules. However, many genuine Yankee supporters phoned into his radio program to voice their grievances about the matter.
“To see a Yankee uniform and somebody wearing that uniform with that sort of hair, the players aren’t allowed, I don’t know if the bat boy should be allowed,” Kay said during the Monday broadcast.
It is worth mentioning that Nate Rosenhaus is employed by the Cleveland Guardians, the team that the Yankees were visiting earlier in the week. In such cases, the home team provides bat boys to the visiting team.
Despite this, it was a rare sight to witness someone with long hair in a Yankee uniform. Rosenhaus, however, took the attention in good humor and even joined in the fun by tucking his hair in his helmet, reminiscent of the character Joe Dirt. It was not the Yankees who made him do it, but actually Anthony Rizzo, the team’s first baseman, who came up with the playful idea, as per Kay.
During the series, Rizzo and Rosenhaus struck up a friendship, and Rizzo discovered that Rosenhaus is the drummer of a Cleveland band called The Open Doors. The band even shared a photo of Rosenhaus and Rizzo in the Yankees’ clubhouse, both sporting The Open Doors shirts.
“We love meeting our fans!” the band shared in a post on Instagram.
According to Rosenhaus in an interview with the YES Network, the band saw an increase of more than 1,000 followers on social media due to the attention he received for his unconventional look. The buzz surrounding his appearance was so significant that The Open Doors even secured a gig in Brooklyn for next month.
On Wednesday, Rizzo expressed his wish that The Open Doors would gain more followers and praised Rosenhaus for his poise in handling the sudden surge in popularity.
Original Article: https://dailypatriotreport.com/yankees-bat-boy-goes-viral-for-breaking-one-of-teams-longstanding-rules/
