Brian Cashman used a Jeremy Lin reference to motivate Yankees at camp

Jeremy Lin has already become more than just a basketball superstar. He’s a global icon. In Taiwain, his 85-year-old grandmother has to avoid the paparazzi when she goes out to watch Lin’s games. At the Shake Shack in New York City, Lin has a milkshake named after him. At Yankees training camp, the Harvard graduate is used as a motivation tool.

“I invoked (Lin’s) name today in front of everyone when we had our team meeting with our pitchers and catchers,” Brian Cashman said Monday during an interview with the Michael Kay Show. “You always try to point to, ‘Why can’t this be you?’ You say, ‘Hey, look what’s going on in New York with Linsanity.’ We have a number of players in camp that want to be something. They believe they can impact this club.

“We have 34 pitchers and eight catchers currently in camp. And part of my speech to the whole team was (about) Nova last year. Did anybody think he was going to be a 16-game winner, pitch in the front of our rotation and in one of our playoff games? (Lin is) an example of hope for a lot of people. For different forms and fashions.”

And there you have it. If Lin somehow was not convinced that he has made it, he should be now. When the general manager of an organization that has won 27 championships believes you might be able to inspire his players at spring training, you know you’re something special. If Lin didn’t discover that when his jersey sold for $40,000 on eBay, it should be clear to him after hearing Cashman’s interview.

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