David Robertson On Yankees' Facial Hair Rule: 'It's Kind Of Ridiculous'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- David Robertson is a happy man these days.
And why shouldn't he be in good spirits?
The former Yankee signed a four-year, $46 million deal in the offseason, he's on an improved White Sox team and now he gets to grow some facial hair.
The 29-year-old closer, who pitched in the Bronx from 2008-14, was prohibited from growing a beard under Yankees rules.
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Now with Chicago, the right-hander is putting the razor away.
"This is nice, not to have to shave every three days," Robertson recently said from spring training in Arizona, according to ESPN.com. "I think it's kind of ridiculous, but that was the Yankees' rule. They wanted to have you clean-shaven. Here you can just let it grow. Obviously, they don't want me to get it to that point. But I won't let it get out of control."
Robertson, who was an All-Star in 2011, was rock solid for the Yankees during his tenure in New York. He went from being a seventh- and eighth-inning pitcher to a closer last season following the retirement of all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera.
Robertson converted 39 of 44 save attempts for the Bombers last season. He pitched to a 3.08 ERA and recorded 96 strikeouts to 23 walks.
With Robertson no longer in the fold, 26-year-old Dellin Betances and hard-throwing lefty Andrew Miller are competing to replace him.