George Rose, the Yankees’ Executive Advisor for Pacific Rim Operations and a former Japanese translator for the team, died Sunday at his Pennsylvania home, the team announced in a statement.
He was 57 years old.
A cause of death wasn’t revealed in the Yankees’ statement.
Rose, who lived in Yardley, Pa., started working with the Yankees in 1998 as the translator for pitcher Hideki Irabu, and he remained in that role through both of the franchise’s World Series titles in 1998 and 1999 until Irabu was traded to the Expos, according to the team.
He then returned to the franchise in 2007 — after getting his MBA from Columbia and continuing to assist the Yankees, including at Hideki Matsui’s 2003 press conference — as the Director of Pacific Rim Operations, which involved business and scouting operations based in Japan.
“Kind, warm and humble, George Rose was unfailingly gracious and always a welcome presence to those around him,” the Yankees organization wrote in a statement. “He jumped into his baseball career with no prior experience, and quickly became a key staff member on our 1998 and 1999 championship teams. In subsequent years, he was the driving force in building out our operations in Japan, utilizing an incredible ability to facilitate cross-cultural understanding.
“George was also a man of great faith, and the rare person about whom no one could say a bad word. He will be deeply missed by his friends and colleagues at both the Yankees and Yomiuri and by all who had the privilege of spending time with him. The Yankees offer their heartfelt condolences to his wife, Carrie; son, Sean; and George’s entire extended family.”
Rose also played an integral role in Masahiro Tanaka’s decision to sign with the Yankees in 2014, and in an interview with NJ.com at the time Rose said he spotted the pitching talent and character which reflected “what we want on the Yankees.”
YES Network and Bob Lorenz also released a tribute to Rose — who moved back to the United States in 2010, beginning his tenure as an advisor — on Sunday, adding how the office that Rose opened in Japan helped “securing sponsorships for the team and its new stadium.”
After receiving his undergraduate degree from Holy Cross in 1988, Rose was accepted into the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program — even though he didn’t know any Japanese, according to the Yankees — and spent two years living in Soma before returning to New York City.
Around five years later Rose earned his first role with the Yankees, which involved taking a leave of absence from his graduate program at Columbia to become Irabu’s translator, he said in an interview with the JET alumni website in 2008.