Nate Rosenhaus lives a double life. By day, he masquerades as an unassuming Guardians employee, fulfilling a number of strange requests. At night, though, you can find him at dimly lit venues, ripping things up as lead drummer for his band, The Open Doors.
One career path can be at odds with the other, as was the case during Cleveland's three-game tilt against the Yankees earlier this week. Rosenhaus was assigned as New York's bat boy, a seemingly cool development. The problem? His luscious locks stuck out like a sore thumb.
Rosenhaus, like many rock stars, sports a woolly mane. New York doesn't play like that, the result of a decades-old (and likely obsolete) rules on players hairstyles and facial hair.
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In a crowd of clean-shaven countenances and chopped sideburns, Rosenhaus' floppy coiffure caught a lot of unwanted attention. Lead Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay even shined a light on the kid's lengthy hairdo, going on a bizarre tirade against the person tasked with cleaning up New York's litter out of the batter's box.
You're talking to my guy all wrong. It's the wrong tone. pic.twitter.com/0MLOJzGDag
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 11, 2023
"Strange to see a Yankee uniform, somebody wearing that uniform with that sort of hair," Kay said during the broadcast as cameras focused on the bat boy. "Rules are rules. He's disobeying two of them. I think there's facial hair and ... obviously, the hair is below the collar."
Kay's comments brought the cavalry...and the clippers, with the youngster being forced to hide his fur the very next day.
On Monday, the Yankees’ bat boy was the topic of conversation because Yankees players aren’t allowed to have long hair or red colored cleats.
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) April 11, 2023
On Tuesday, looks like he got a haircut and a navy blue pair of cleats 👀 pic.twitter.com/HonAGDsKdm
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Alas, all publicity is good publicity. And once the series ended, it was all copacetic between the Bronx Bombers and Rosenhaus, with star slugger Anthony Rizzo even donning an Open Doors' tee, a sign of good will from the good guys from the Bronx.
All's well that ends well.
One thing remains clear, though: Cleveland rocks!
