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NEW YORK -- Yoshinobu Yamamoto already has New York Yankees pinstripes with No. 18, a 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 to 2014. 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.