Cam Schlittler Fuels Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry With Another Shot at Boston

Boston Red Sox fans and New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler certainly don't like one another.

Jun 30, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees got some life injected into it in 2025.

Yankees ace Cam Schlittler, a Walpole, MA native who played his college ball at Northeastern, made his big league debut in 2025 and impressed down the stretch. The Red Sox made it back to the playoffs and faced off against the Yankees in the three-game Wild Card series. In the deciding Game 3, Schlittler took the mound vs. Connelly Early and got the win while pitching eight shutout innings to end Boston's season.

Since then, Schlittler and the Red Sox fanbase have certainly not had the best relationship, to say the least. Schlittler has taken shots at Boston fans and the Red Sox fans have done the same. So far in 2026, Schlittler has already taken the mound against Boston three times and has been dominant twice and put up one dud on June 25. There's certainly no love lost between the two sides. The Red Sox and Yankees won't see each other on the field again until the end of August, but there will certainly be more fuel to the fire. On Thursday, The Athletic's Chris Kirschner dropped a column about Schlittler's season to this point and in it, the Yankees ace fired another shot at Red Sox fans.

Red Sox Fans Won't Like This One

Jul 10, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) throws to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"They can say whatever they want,” Schlittler said to Kirschner about his rough outing against Boston on June 25, “But they’re not really in a position to be talking, considering how the standings are. Whatever they want to say, it’s just kind of useless. It just goes in one ear and out the other.”

It's a bit surprising how many comments have been made, but at the end of the day it's good for the rivalry. Baseball is better when both the Red Sox and Yankees are good. New York is among the top contenders in the American League. The Red Sox struggled for the first few months, but seemingly righted the ship before the All-Star break and are in playoff contention right now as well.

Imagine if both these clubs could face off again in the playoffs with Schlittler on the mound vs. Garrett Crochet or maybe even a rematch vs. Early? There would be eyes on a game like that, regardless of which team you root for.

The Red Sox and Yankees' rivalry has a long history, to say the least. Schlittler arguably is the villain it needs right now. Boston had three straight tough seasons before getting back to the playoffs last year. New life was injected into the rivalry and now it's something that is being talked about again, despite the fact that Boston is two games under .500. It's good for the game, even if the comments are a bit odd.

Red Sox fans don't like Schlittler and he clearly doesn't like them right back. He's just 25 years old. This is just the beginning of the rivalry between these two sides.