Yankees’ broadcaster Michael Kay had some not-so-friendly words for the team’s batboy Monday night against the Guardians.
YES Network cameras zeroed in on Yankees manager Aaron Boone in the bottom of the seventh inning — and standing next to him was a long-haired bat boy.
It didn’t take long for Kay to pounce, rebuking him for breaking the “Neatness Count” policy created by former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in 1976, which is still implemented today.
“Strange to see a Yankee uniform, somebody wearing that uniform with that sort of hair. If the players aren’t allowed, I don’t know if the bat boy should be allowed,” Kay said as the cameras focused on the bat boy.
On Tuesday, Kay enlightened viewers with an update as cameras showed the same bat boy in the Yankees dugout with a different look.
“They had him tuck the hair under the helmet,” Kay said. “His name is Nate, he’s in a band, he’s a drummer — Open Doors is the name of the band — and he found all the uproar from social media kinda humorous yesterday.”
Kay lauded the bat boy — whose name is Nate — for cleaning things up on Tuesday. YES
Nate is a drummer for the band Open Doors. Instagram/theopendoorsbandSteinbrenner’s guidelines banned players from having long hair and certain facial hair.
While mustaches are allowed, beards are not and there appeared to be a tiny bit of scruff on Nate’s chin.
“There are rules. Rules are rules,” Kay said Monday night. “He’s disobeying two of them. I think there’s facial hair and obviously, the hair is below the collar.”
Kay has been commentating on the Yankees for three decades both on the radio and on television Getty Images
“He’s disobeying two of them. I think there’s facial hair and obviously, the hair is below the collar,” Kay said. Tiktok/theopendoorscleThe poor kid was also ridiculed for his red shoes as they matched the team colors of the Yankees’ opponent.
As it turns out, however, the bat boy works for the Guardians which makes sense since the game was in Cleveland and the team’s batboys usually do not travel with them on the road.
Kay, at that moment, may not have realized that or he was just pointing out how different the look was compared to how an actual Yankees bat boy or player would to obligated to look.
Steinbrenner’s guidelines banned players from having long hair and certain facial hair. Getty ImagesWhile Kay might have been messing around, judging by his stern tone of voice, it’s very possible the bat boy’s blonde locks really did tick off the seasoned commentator.




