Cam Schlittler grew up as a Boston Red Sox fan, but his New York Yankees loyalty comes first. The Yankees ace delivered a memorable performance in Game 3 of the 2025 AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, throwing eight scoreless innings, walking none and striking out 12. Ever since, Schlittler and Red Sox fans have been against each other.
The rivalry was reignited following Schlittler’s poor outing against the Detroit Tigers, where he allowed six earned runs in just four innings. Ahead of his next start against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees showed the right-hander a video of Boston Red Sox fan Jared Carrabis’ popular podcast “Baseball is Dead,” where the podcaster said, “the regression is happening before our very eyes.” Carrabis’ take also had to do with Schlittler giving up four earned runs to the Red Sox in the June 25 loss.
Among all teams, Schlittler takes no pressure from the Red Sox, as they are in third place in the division with a 46-48 record. The Yankees ace criticized Red Sox fans:
“They can say whatever they want, but they’re not really in a position to be talking, considering how the standings are. Whatever they want to say, it’s just kind of useless. It just goes in one ear and out the other.”
Schlittler also added that the only fans that he would accept criticism from are the Toronto Blue Jays because they eliminated the Yankees in the 2025 postseason.
“I think there’s people involved in the sport that have a voice who probably shouldn’t,” Schlittler said. “There’s nothing I can do about that, so if they want to keep talking, great. It’s the regular season. At the end of the day, what matters is what happens in the playoffs. Certain fans can’t say anything. And then there’s certain fans that can say stuff to us, because we got our asses kicked at the end of the season last year.”
The right-hander pitched once against the Blue Jays in the 2025 postseason. Starting Game 4 of the ALDS, Schlittler allowed two runs on eight hits with two strikeouts across 6.1 innings. The Yankees went on to lose that game 5-2.
Criticism From Red Sox Fans Only Fueled Cam Schlittler
After Yankees director of organizational performance Chad Bohling showed the clip of Jared Carrabis to Schlittler, he pitched well in his start against the Rays, tossing eight innings for just one earned run.
In his conversation with The Athletic, Schlittler admitted that the clip was one of the reasons why he was able to do well against the Rays.
“It definitely pissed me off,” Schlittler told The Athletic. “It was pretty easy to go out there and perform just based on the last outing, how we’ve been playing, and then the cherry on top there.”
It seems Schlittler doesn’t take criticism coming out of Boston any seriously and rather uses it as fuel to boost his performance. His 2.05 ERA is a testament to his stellar season this year.
Read More News:
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in baseball, tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball
