On April 21, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will meet for the first time since the former knocked the latter out of the postseason in October to reverse their playoff fortunes of the last two decades. That's one of many reasons "The Rivalry" feels like it's back.
Red Sox players haven't been shy about their feelings towards beating the Yankees, including Sonny Gray, who played for the Yankees himself in 2017-18. Willson Contreras got in on the fun after he signed with Boston, despite spending his entire career in the National League Central without any regular matchups with New York.
Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler has a unique perspective on the rivalry. He grew up a Red Sox fan in the suburbs of Massachusetts and played college baseball at Boston's Northeastern University before the Yankees selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft.
Schlittler started the third game of the Wild Card series for New York and held the Red Sox scoreless on five hits with 12 strikeouts over eight innings.Boston fans obviously didn't take kindly to this, especially since Schlittler grew up locally, and some bombarded him and his family with cruel messages on social media, including death threats.
​"You know Boston fans, that's just how it is. We're aggressive back home and we're gonna try to get under people's skin. They just picked the wrong guy to do it to and the wrong team to do it to," Schlittler said after the Wild Card game.
Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler to make Fenway Park debut amid social media drama with Red Sox fans
Six months later, Schlittler is lined up to make his Fenway Park debut. On April 23, he'll face the Red Sox for the first time since the postseason. Reporters have asked Schlittler how he feels about playing in Boston amid the hostility from fans, and part of his response was, well, ridiculous.
"It's gonna be bad, it's gonna be bad. I'm not nervous about it. But it's gonna be loud," Schlittler said, via Joel Sherman of the New York Post (subscription required). "They're probably gonna have dudes that are my age or a little bit younger, sitting right outside the (visiting) bullpen (that is mostly exposed in right field), yelling, whatever, probably throwing stuff at me, trying to grab me. That's kind of what I expect."
Yes, Boston fans are going to yell at opposing pitchers, as they do to every single one who comes to Fenway Park, which Schlittler very well knows, having been a Boston fan himself. Throwing things at people who are just trying to do their jobs is unacceptable. But the "trying to grab me" part? The phrase "every accusation is a confession" comes to mind, considering such activity has occurred at Yankee Stadium in the recent past.
This is not to excuse the behavior of fans who berate players on social media or otherwise. Players around MLB, and around all sports, have revealed that social media has emboldened some fans to say disrespectful things or threaten athletes or their families — Red Sox fans have seen Jarren Duran have a similar experience many times. Legalized sports betting has only increased the cruel treatment.
No one deserves death threats for doing their job, and his family members certainly didn't ask for this, but fans continue to say such things to Schlittler and Duran because they talk back. Schlittler gives fans everything they want out of him every time he reacts to the taunts, and after six months of jawing, he must know this.
Schlittler's second matchup against Boston comes as the Red Sox's offense struggles to find its identity in a new season. They strike out too much, make egregious swing decisions and don't hit for power. The Red Sox overperformed against the Yankees as recently as last season, and this rare April series between the rivals could present the perfect time for Boston to turn its ugly start to the season around. It'll be a tall task against a motivated Schlittler and his 1.95 ERA.
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