Yoshinobu Yamamoto a 'special dude,' says Yankees manager - ESPN

NEW YORK — Yoshinobu Yamamoto already has New York Yankees pinstripes with No. 18, the numeral prized by many Japanese pitchers.

«I gave him that jersey. It's his if he wants to keep it,» Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday.

Some Japanese pitchers covet No. 18 because the Central League's Tokyo Yomiuri Giants assigned it to their ace in the 1960s. Daisuke Matsuzaka wore it with Boston, and Hiroki Kuroda was the last Yankees pitcher with the number from 2012-14. Kenta Maeda included having the number in his Los Angeles Dodgers contract, and eight-time All-Star Tomoyuki Sugano wears it on the Yomiuri Giants.

A 25-year-old right-hander pursued by top teams on the free agent market, Yamamoto has until Jan. 4 to sign with a Major League Baseball team based on when he was posted by the Orix Buffaloes. Boone and Yankees officials met with Yamamoto in Los Angeles and again in Manhattan, and the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco are among the other teams in pursuit.

«All the teams are now putting their best foot forward and negotiating. That's above my pay grade. So we'll see where it lands,» Boone said. «Special dude. Really some presence to him. Comfortable in his skin. Confident, but a humility to him. So it's just been nice to get to know him.»

New York's presentation included a video from former Yankees star Hideki Matsui, the 2009 World Series MVP.

«I think he wants to be great,» Boone said. «There's some similarities there between him and Gerrit (Cole) in how dedicated and disciplined and all-in they are on pitching and baseball and their body how to be successful.»

Boone spoke just north of Yankee Stadium before assisting for the second straight year in food and toy distribution with the New York