BOSTON — Cam Schlittler opens his phone and there is a Boston Red Sox fan waiting for him. There is always one. On Sunday it was a message about his appearance at Madison Square Garden, where he had posted about the New York Knicks playoff game. The comment read: “I like u bro but ur a (expletive).”
This is just a Tuesday for Schlittler. The Yankees pitcher says it happens every week. Every day, actually.
Thursday night brings something different. Schlittler is scheduled to make his first career start at Fenway Park when the Yankees open a three-game series against the Red Sox. The death threats began arriving shortly after the schedule was announced.
A local kid who became Boston’s most wanted villain
Schlittler, 25, grew up in Walpole, Massachusetts, about 40 minutes from Fenway. He loved the Red Sox as a child and kept rooting for them through his years pitching at Northeastern University in Boston. He was a seventh-round pick of the Yankees in the 2022 draft. His family converted. Boston has never forgiven him.
He has fond memories of the ballpark he is about to enter as an opponent. As a college pitcher, Schlittler participated in an area prospects showcase jointly run by the Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway. The Yankees star also pitched at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Boston’s spring training facility that is built as a near-replica of Fenway, complete with its own Green Monster.
None of that history softens the reception he will receive Thursday. Schlittler has been briefed on what to expect warming up in the Fenway bullpen, where fans can stand just feet away from visiting pitchers and have direct access to hurl abuse at them. It is the same setup Boston fans used to taunt Gerrit Cole with a Kermit the Frog puppet and a container of Spider-Tack before his Wild Card start in 2021.
“I expect it to get real loud the day or two leading up to it and especially pregame,” Schlittler said. “I don’t expect to get a friendly welcome, which I’m planning on. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
October 2025: When this rivalry was born
The origin of the current hostility traces to the 2025 AL Wild Card Series. Schlittler was handed the ball for Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees facing elimination. Before the first pitch, Red Sox fans on social media targeted his family. His mother, Christine, was harassed so aggressively she made her account on X private.
Schlittler admitted he was caught off guard. He said he had expected some degree of banter given his Massachusetts roots but had assumed there would be basic respect from a fan base he grew up among.
“It just shocked me so much that I was like, I’m going to make sure they hear it back,” Schlittler said. “My personality kind of got dragged out of me.”
What followed was historic. He threw eight shutout innings, struck out 12 and walked none. The combination had never been produced by any pitcher in postseason history. The Yankees advanced. After the game, Schlittler posted on X: “Drinking dat dirty water,” a direct reference to the Standells song that plays at Fenway after every Red Sox win.
The main news: Threats escalate before first Fenway start
The death threats Schlittler confirmed to New York Post reporter Joel Sherman this week are the latest escalation in a conflict that has not cooled since October. He said some of the messages are “pretty unreal” and attributed them to a specific subset of the fan base.
“Most normal fans could care less, right?,” Schlittler told Sherman. “It’s just those diehards that just have nothing else in their lives other than baseball or sports that really care about this and the fact that I play for the Yankees makes it worse for them.”
He added that the situation had not reached the point where Schlittler felt police involvement was needed. But when asked about the ongoing attacks and whether Boston might dial it back this time, he had a simple response.
“(You’d) think after last time, how much they were talking before, that they might be trying to quiet it down a little bit,” Schlittler told The Athletic.
His answer to those who continue: “If you’re going to dish it out, you’re going to have to take it.”
Stanton and Boone weigh in
Teammates and coaches inside the Yankees organization are watching the situation with interest rather than alarm. Giancarlo Stanton was asked last week about what Schlittler’s first Fenway start would mean and offered a response that captured exactly how the Yankees view their pitcher’s mindset.
“What? Is there a significance to that?” Stanton said, playing it cool before adding: “Every day you need some extra motivation. You need extra kicks. That’s definitely a good one and one that I don’t think will go away anytime soon, as long as it stays within itself and he directs that focus to the mound and keeps out the noise, which he’s very good at doing.”
Manager Aaron Boone said he had been aware of the online harassment Schlittler dealt with before his Game 3 start in October, having been briefed on the full scope of it by media relations director Jason Zillo after the game. He did not appear concerned about how Thursday will play out.
“He handles that stuff well,” Boone said. “He’s pretty good at dealing with the noise.”
Schlittler heads to Fenway 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings this season. The Red Sox sit at 8-12. The Yankees have swept the Royals and enter the series 13-9, tied for first in the AL East.
The Yankees ace has already started sorting through ticket requests from friends and family in the area. Most of them will be cheering for the visiting team. Schlittler is not expecting a quiet evening.
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