Apr 17, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Cam Schlittler will not be getting the red carpet treatment when he returns to his hometown.
The Yankees’ starting pitcher, who grew up a Red Sox fan in Walpole, MA, told the New York Post that he and his family have received death threats ahead of his Fenway Park debut on Thursday.
“Most normal fans could care less, right?” Schlittler told the New York Post, adding that he isn’t involving the police. “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.”
The 25-year-old knocked the Red Sox out of the postseason last year with a gem in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium, going eight shutout innings while allowing just five hits with 12 strikeouts in a 4-0 victory.
He has carried that momentum into the 2026 season, posting a 1.95 ERA with 36 strikeouts across his first 27.2 innings of work.
Perhaps Red Sox fans should not poke the bear, because they harassed Schlittler and his family on social media ahead of Game 3 last season.
“[You’d] think after last time, how much they were talking before, that they might be trying to quiet it down a little bit,” he told The Athletic.
Of course, Schlittler will not have the security of playing in the Bronx to protect him. Thursday night offers Bostonians a first chance to release some pent-up vitriol toward someone who was once their own.
“It’s gonna be bad, it’s gonna be bad,” he told the Post. “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 bullpen, yelling whatever, probably throwing stuff at me, trying to grab me. That’s kind of what I expect.”
For more on Cam Schlittler and the Yankees, visit AMNY.com
