Yankees' Cam Schlittler Reveals He's Gotten Death Threats from Red Sox Fans Before Fenway Park Debut

Cam Schlittler, who grew up as a fan of the Boston Red Sox, revealed to Joel Sherman of the New York Post that he and his family have received death threats from some of the team's fans.

The New York Yankees pitcher said some of the messages "are pretty unreal" ever since he took a jab at the rival Red Sox on social media after a dominant playoff appearance last year.

"Most normal fans could care less, right?," Schlittler said. "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 also said he doesn't think any of the messages have raised to the level that they required attention from police.

Schlittler is scheduled to face the Red Sox on Thursday in his first start against them since the playoffs and expects a hostile welcome from the Fenway Park crowd.

"I don't really care going in there that they kind of hate me," Schlittler said Sunday. "I don't have an issue with that. It really just gets me going a little bit.

"It's gonna be bad. It's gonna be bad. I'm not nervous about it. But it's gonna be loud. They're gonna probably 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. So I know the guys are excited for it and I'm excited for it."

As Lauren Campbell of Mass Live explained, Schlittler grew up in Massachusetts as a Red Sox fan but was drafted to the archrival Yankees in 2022.

He dominated his former favorite team during Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series last season and then took to social media and posted "drinking dat dirty water" in a jab at the Red Sox.

Schlittler earned the right to talk a little trash by striking out 12 and allowing five hits in eight innings of shutout work. The Yankees advanced past Boston by winning two of three in the series thanks in large part to that performance, although they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ensuing American League Division Series.

Ideally for Schlittler, he can once again shut down Boston and help the Yankees advance even further in October.