TOKYO — I learned with sadness of the passing of George Rose, a longtime New York Yankees executive and Far East representative, and interpreter for Hideki Irabu during the pitcher’s stormy years with the Yankees. Rose passed away on Aug. 27 at his home in Yardley, Pennsylvania, at age of 57. He had been suffering from inoperable lung cancer and was survived by wife, Carrie; son, Sean; brother, Mike; sister, Kathleen; and their respective families.
“Kind, warm and humble, George Rose was unfailingly gracious and always a welcome presence to those around him,” said the New York Yankees in a statement released to the media.
“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.”
A native of Garden City, N.Y., and graduate of Holy Cross with an English degree in 1988, Rose applied to and was accepted by the Japanese government-sponsored JET Program (Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program), which brings university graduates to Japan as Assistant Language Teachers. With no prior knowledge of Japan, he went to live in Soma, a small city on the Pacific Ocean in Fukushima Prefecture, where he spent two years there as only American living there.
Five years later, in the midst of studies for an MBA at Columbia University in New York City, he received a call from Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. They had a mutual acquaintance who informed Cashman of Rose’s fluency in Japanese. Cashman offered Rose the role of interpreting for pitcher Hideki Irabu, who had joined the team in mid-1997 but needed a translator for the 1998 season. In less than a week, Rose dropped out of Columbia and joined the club.
Rose and Irabu established a great relationship through the ups and downs of the Irabu’s career. He stood on the mound after many a postgame Irabu win and translated the Japanese pitcher’s comments for millions of TV viewers in the U.S. and Japan.
He also had to deal with Irabu’s feuds with reporters and explain to him remarks by angry Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was once so angry over a listless spring camp performance by his imported pitcher that he called him a “fat, pussy toad.” The insult was headlined in NYC tabloids and nearly caused Irabu to quit.
Through Irabu’s turbulent career, the two more formed such a bond that an appreciative Irabu paid off Rose’s remaining college loans.
After Irabu was traded to the Montreal Expos in December of 1999, Rose finished his MBA at Columbia and worked on Wall Street. Despite having another full-time job, he remained informally involved with the club, including translating for Hideki Matsui at his introductory press conference in 2003. In 2007, Rose was asked to become the Yankees Director of Pacific Rim Operations, opening a business office in Japan to engage companies in sponsorships for the team and the new Yankee Stadium, while also coordinating baseball scouting operations in Japan.
After spending approximately three years in Japan, Rose moved back to the United States and entered into an advisory role with both the Yankees and Yomiuri, which operates the Giants baseball team and the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. During that time, Rose was at the forefront of the Yankees’ relationships with Japanese business and sponsorship partners and was deeply involved in the process that led to the acquisition of Masahiro Tanaka in 2014. Rose maintained his advisory roles with the Yankees and Yomiuri until his passing.
Said Peter Daniel Miller, a renowned Kamakura-based artist who worked with the MLBPA in Japan (and is the son of famed MLB union boss Marvin Miller), “George Rose was a gentleman and a scholar. In an industry with no shortage of oversize egos, he worked quietly and diligently, and had enough self-confidence
to be modest about his real accomplishments, which were many. I recall his
telling me about how he came to work for the Yankees, relating his storied
career with no fanfare. I was in awe of his linguistic ability in both English
and Japanese, speaking and reading both like a native. He recommended some books of kanji exercises he’d found helpful. I bought them and still have them. I wish I could say I studied them as rigorously as he had done. I think George would
have preferred to stay in Japan, but other considerations prompted his return to
the U.S.
”Fifty-seven is way too young to die,” Miller said. “There are people in your life whom you think will always be there, regardless how far away, because of their steadiness
and kindness. George was one of those people. I’m sure everyone whose life he
touched will miss him. Heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Added Edward Mears, who worked with George as a young employee of Dentsu Advertising in NYC starting in 2009 on a number of sponsorship and broadcast matters involving the Yankees, and managing the broadcast rights for MLB in the Japanese market. “At the time Hideki Matsui was putting a capstone on his Yankee career with his World Series MVP campaign and billboards for Japanese sponsors littered the Yankee Stadium outfield. With the intense Japanese media focus on Matsui and the Yankees during my tenure at Dentsu, I worked with George. Although I was a baseball business neophyte, George could not have been more gracious and patient in our interactions and was a great mentor to me as I got my footing in the cutthroat world of sports business. We also had common background as alumni of the JET Program, and I enjoyed sharing JET war stories with him and hearing about his time on the program in Fukushima, where he was part of one of the program’s first cohorts in 1989, even being so lucky to fly business class to Tokyo on the Japanese government’s dime.
“It was always his whirlwind tale of getting a call from Brian Cashman to interpret for Hideki Irabu and the Yankees in 1998, however, that riveted me the most and cemented my passion for all things Japan and baseball,” Mears stated. “Never shy to show off his 1998 World Series championship ring, George’s zeal for U.S.-Japan relations through the lens of baseball stands as a testament to international development of the game today. Sadly my interactions with George fizzled as I transitioned to a career in law, though last year I had the fortune of working on a project that involved the Yankees that had me once again interacting with George. Needless to say, I was shocked and saddened to hear of his passing and he will be missed by many. My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family during this difficult time.”
Me, I interviewed George twice during his tenure in Tokyo running the Yankees office, and ran into him on several other occasions socially. I was impressed by how courteous and polished he always was. He was a class act — a credit to his country — and he left us way too early. My deepest condolences go out to his wife and family.
END
Mitch Murata sent this:
The last time George Rose and I met was August 6th 2019 when he was in town for business. We attended Mass at Franciscan Chapel in Roppongi, and then a long talk over coffee. When he was here in Tokyo several years earlier, this was a regular early morning ritual where we'd attend the weekday Mass. Sometimes we'd get up extra early to do the volunteer rice ball distribution in Shibuya.
It was a time when I was probably at my worst and George was, as always, on his best. George was full of Faith and his biggest gift was sharing it with others. George got me through Confirmation and I was so very lucky to have him as my Godfather.
George was a good good person. A sincerely good person and friend. And, I am going to miss him.
Mitch
when you get back to Japan, let us get together and raise multiple glasses to George and to baseball and to friendship..........you might need to escort me home !!!