NEW YORK — Josh Hart spent Thursday riding through the Canyon of Heroes with the Larry O’Brien Trophy. By Friday night, he was tweeting about Yankees ace Cam Schlittler instead.
A Knicks champion sounds off
The Knicks guard, fresh off New York’s first NBA championship since 1973, watched Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler strike out a career-high 13 batters across six scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds. It also rewrote eight milestones in one night. Hart did not hold back his reaction.
“Schlitty is the Cy Young winner hands down,” Hart wrote on social media.
The endorsement came from someone who knows a thing or two about big moments. Josh Hart averaged 10.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game during the Knicks’ postseason run, which ended with a Finals win over San Antonio. He and Finals MVP Jalen Brunson had thrown out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium just days earlier, drawing a loud ovation from a Yankees fan base still buzzing over the Knicks’ title.
Schlittler’s outing gave Hart plenty to cheer about. The Yankees right-hander allowed four hits and a hit-by-pitch, walked nobody and needed only 96 pitches to get through six innings. His three fastballs combined for 18 whiffs on 49 swings, and the Yankees cruised to a 5-0 win.
Two New York athletes, one shared mindset
When reporters told Schlittler about Hart’s tweet, he smiled. The two had already crossed paths earlier this year, when Schlittler spoke with Hart following one of the Knicks’ early playoff games, a brief exchange between two New York athletes chasing championships in different sports.
“I have a lot of respect for Josh for them being able to do that,” Schlittler said of the Knicks’ title run. “The city hasn’t seen a championship in a long time, so I’m pumped for those guys, and now it’s our turn.”
Why a Cy Young isn’t the priority
That last line carried more weight than it first appeared. Asked directly whether a Cy Young Award would mean something to him, Schlittler did not dodge the question, but he made clear where his priorities sit as a Yankee.
“Would that be cool to get? For sure,” Schlittler said. “I’d rather have a championship over that, but all I can do is piece together good starts, good months, and put this team in a position to win the division.”
He kept going, pointing to the Yankees veterans who have yet to win it all.
“There’s a lot of guys in here that have a [expletive]-ton of accolades,” Schlittler said. “Some guys are missing that World Series, and that’s the biggest priority. So when I look at what my goals are, it’s winning a championship.”
It was the same message Schlittler delivered to the YES Network after Friday’s win, when he downplayed the individual numbers piling up around him.
“It’s good, you don’t notice those things,” Schlittler said. “The goal is to win the championship, so those small statistics don’t really matter.”
The numbers behind the humility
Those Yankees statistics are hard to ignore regardless. Schlittler took a league-best 1.82 ERA into Friday’s start, and it dropped further to 1.71 afterward, the lowest mark by a Yankees pitcher through his first 16 starts of a season since Whitey Ford posted a 1.47 ERA in 1964. He also carried a league-leading 3.8 WAR into the outing, numbers that have made him the centerpiece of the Yankees rotation.
Through 16 starts, Schlittler has racked up 109 strikeouts across 95 innings for the Yankees, walking just 18 batters. His 8-3 record puts him behind only two American League starters in wins, and nobody in the league owns a lower ERA.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has watched the growth up close all season and did not hesitate when asked where Schlittler ranks among his peers.
“I think we can all say he’s probably been the best or one of the best pitchers in the league and in the sport,” Boone said. “You can make the case that he’s been the best pitcher in the American League right now, so I’m sure he’ll be in that conversation.”
All-Star buzz keeps building
That conversation extends beyond the Cy Young race and into the All-Star Game itself, with Philadelphia hosting the Midsummer Classic on July 14. Yankees teammates have already started lobbying on Schlittler’s behalf, including Jazz Chisholm Jr., who said following Friday’s win that Schlittler should start the game outright.
Schlittler has heard the chatter and even admitted he has made a credible case for himself. Still, he insists the larger picture matters more than any individual honor, all-star nod included.
“It’s not really a concern right now,” Schlittler said. “My concern’s really just staying healthy and making consistent starts, and if that’s something that I get the opportunity to do, then great.”
The 25-year-old, a seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft, has become one of the sport’s biggest breakout stories since debuting with the Yankees last July. He posted a 2.96 ERA across 14 starts as a rookie, then arrived this season with the Yankees and immediately built on that foundation.
For now, the Yankees sit at 46-28, three games clear of the Tampa Bay Rays atop the American League East, with their sights set on a 28th World Series title. They have climbed the ranks despite missing key offensive pieces like Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Giancarlo Stanton for stretches this season. Schlittler made clear Friday that whatever individual hardware comes his way this season will always rank behind that larger goal.
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