Cam Schlittler's Facing Boston Death Threats and He's Still Excited About It

The Yankees' Cam Schlittler is about to walk into Fenway Park for a start against the Red Sox, and he's already received death threats. Not intimidated. Actually pumped.

Schlittler grew up 40 miles from Fenway as a Red Sox fan in Walpole, Massachusetts, which makes this whole thing extra spicy. He told the New York Post he hasn't involved police over the threats, but the trolling from Boston fans? That's been relentless. "Every week ... every day," he said. He gets it, though. "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's Been Here Before and He Won

Last season, Schlittler threw eight scoreless innings in Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series to eliminate the Red Sox. He struck out 12 batters that night. After the game, he said the win was "personal" because of how Boston fans had gone after him and his family. "There's a line and I think they crossed it a little bit," he said then. "I'm a competitor, and I'm gonna go out there and make sure I shut them down."

His comments after that game? They lit a fire that's still burning. "If you're going to dish it out," Schlittler said this week, "you're going to have to take it."

He Knows What's Coming and Doesn't Care

So what does he expect Thursday at Fenway? Complete chaos. "It's gonna be bad, it's gonna be bad. I'm not nervous about it, but it's gonna be loud," Schlittler told the Post. "They're gonna probably have dudes that are my age or a little bit younger, sitting right outside the [visiting] bullpen, yelling whatever, probably throwing stuff at me, trying to grab me."

Here's the thing: he's cool with it. "That's kind of what I expect. So I know the guys are excited for it and I'm excited for it."

This season, Schlittler is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 27 and two-thirds innings. The guy throws heat and he doesn't back down. Boston fans picked the wrong pitcher to mess with.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.