As Luis Severino prepares to face the New York Yankees for the first time since leaving, the right-hander admitted he was a little mad at the organization that raised him.
“I was pissed. I was mad,” Severino told the New York Post with a laugh when discussing the Yankees’ decision to lift their long-standing facial hair ban. “I was there, and I couldn’t do that. But I’m happy for the guys.”
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Severino, who debuted with the Yankees in 2015 and was a key part of their rotation, usually grew a beard in the offseason and then shaved it off for spring training when he was with the Yankees. The policy, implemented by owner George Steinbrenner in 1973, had been a hallmark of the franchise’s image for decades.
Former New York Yankees teammates Aaron Judge and Luis Severino at the 2018 All-Star Game at Nationals Park. © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
After leaving the Yankees following the 2023 season, Severino signed with the New York Mets, where he immediately grew the seemingly mandatory post-Yankee beard. Most players freed from the Yankees’ strict grooming policy immediately sport facial hair.
Severino has stuck to it.
So when he takes to the mound on Sunday for the first time to face former teammates like Aaron Judge, Severino will have a beard and maybe a little grudge about having to leave to grow it.
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But there will be no hard feelings.
Reflecting on his time with the Yankees, Severino expressed no hard feelings, stating, “I love it there. Even growing up, I was a Yankees fan. I’m still a Yankees fan. I love those guys. They made me the pitcher I am, … .”
Judge and Severino came up through the Yankees’ minor league system together. In fact, there are several former Yankees on this Athletics team, including Miguel Andujar, Gio Urshela, and Saturday’s starter J.P. Sears.
Related: Yankees Changing Beard Policy Triggers Rant from Stephen A. Smith
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