Yankees' Cam Schlittler on Boston trolls' attacks: Didn't they learn their lesson?

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Didn’t Boston’s trolls learn from the lesson Schlittler taught them in the postseason last year? “(You’d) think after last time,” he told The Athletic, “how much they were talking before, that they might be trying to quiet it down a little bit.” Boston fans were even going after him when he posted Saturday on X about how “electric” he expected the atmosphere to be inside Madison Square Garden before the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. “I like u bro but ur a (expletive),” wrote @RedSoxEnjoyer42. Such is life for Schlittler, who can’t wait to stick it to his haters when he makes his first major-league start at Fenway Park on Thursday — the same way he dominated the Red Sox in the deciding Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last October. “I don’t expect to get a friendly welcome, which I’m planning on,” he said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere.” Schlittler said he still has Red Sox fans coming after him all the time. “For sure,” he said. “It’s every week. It’s every day.” He plans to shove it back in their faces again, too. “I don’t really expect a different result on my end or on our teams’ end,” he said. EIGHT SCORELESS FOR CAM SCHLITTLER! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/Y62iIFJSBo Schlittler grew up in Walpole, Mass. — about a 40-minute drive from Fenway Park. He loved the Red Sox as a kid and when he pitched at Northeastern University. It wasn’t his fault the Yankees selected him in the seventh round in 2022. But Schlittler really got on the radar of Red Sox fans when he made his big-league debut last July and started to dominate, going 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA over 14 starts. That earned him the start in that pivotal Game 3 at Yankee Stadium. Leading up to it, he was stunned by how many Boston fans “crossed the line” in attacking him and members of his family on social media. It fueled him to pitch eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 in a 4-0 win that sent the Red Sox packing for the offseason. The memory is still a sore spot for him. He said he “kind of underestimated” how bad the attacks would get from a fan base he grew up around. He thought there would be some “mutual respect, just because I was from there.” “And it just shocked me so much that I was like, ‘OK, I’m trying to dominate,’” he said. “I’m going to make sure they hear it back. So, it was really just a shock, and it kind of lit the fire a little bit. My personality kind of got dragged out of me.” When Giancarlo Stanton was asked last week about Schlittler making his first start back home, he responded playfully and knowingly: “What? Is there a significance to that?” Stanton said he expects the atmosphere and the moment to get Schlittler going. “Every day,” Stanton said, “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.” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he remembered hearing rumblings in the clubhouse about the online harassment Schlittler dealt with before his Game 3 start. Media relations director Jason Zillo then briefed him on it all just before his postgame news conference. Boone said he believes it’ll create an added “buzz” this week for Schilttler, who is off to a hot start, going 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA in his first five outings. “He handles that stuff well,” Boone said. “He’s pretty good at dealing with the noise.” The funny part of it all to Schlittler is that he has no ill will toward any of the Red Sox players or organization as a whole. He has fond memories of pitching at Fenway Park in an area prospects showcase jointly organized by the Yankees and Red Sox. (Yankees scout Matt Hyde, who helped run the event, eventually convinced the Yankees to draft him.) Schlittler also liked pitching at JetBlue Park — Boston’s spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla. — when he was a college freshman. The playing field is nearly a replica of Fenway, complete with its own Green Monster. Schlittler said there are other things to worry about that come with returning to Boston. He’s had a lot of ticket requests from friends and family, though he’s looking forward to pitching in front of them — and to have them rooting for him, not the Red Sox. He’s started to think about how hostile the atmosphere might get in the bullpen when he warms up before the game. At Fenway, fans can stand around the bullpen, just feet away from visiting pitchers, and hurl insults at them. Boston fans went after Gerrit Cole hard before his 2021 Wild Card Game start, taunting him with a Kermit the Frog puppet, a container of Spider Tack and plenty of insults. “I expect it to get real loud the day or two leading up to it and especially pregame,” Schlittler said. Still, he is ready. Actually, he can’t wait to give Boston haters more to whine about. “If you’re going to dish it out, you’re going to have to take it.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Brendan Kuty is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees and MLB. He has covered the Yankees since 2014, most recently as a beat reporter for NJ Advance Media. Brendan was honored to receive the 2022 New Jersey Sportswriter of the Year award from the National Sports Media Association. He attended William Paterson University and the County College of Morris, and he is from Hopatcong, N.J.