Cam Schlittler Just Stirred Pot Ahead of Red Sox-Yankees Game 1

The Boston Red Sox will have to face off against their biggest rival on Tuesday in Cam Schlittler.

Sep 24, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are just one day away from kicking off a playoff series at Yankee Stadium. That, in itself, is plenty dramatic. When you have the two biggest rivals in baseball come together in the postseason, there's going to be fireworks.

Yankees ace Cam Schlittler added even more fuel to the fire on Monday and continued his back-and-forth with Red Sox fans, as shared by Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.

“[You’d] think after last time, how much they were talking before, that they might be trying to quiet it down a little bit,” Schlittler said to Kuty. " ... I leave my comments on. I let people say whatever they want to say in there. I don’t hide any of that.”

Schlittler was asked more about Red Sox fans on Monday afternoon in his press conference ahead of his Game 1 start vs. Boston.

"I wouldn't say I'm always on my phone looking for that stuff," Schlittler said when asked how he feeds off the online comments from Red Sox fans. "At the same time, I don't really live under a rock, as well. I've found ways to use that to my advantage. I think I'm good at keeping receipts. At the end of the day, I'm locked in to go in there tomorrow and do my job. I feel like I'm a competitor ... it's not something that bothers me."

"I wouldn't say I'm always on my phone looking for that stuff. At the same time, I don't really live under a rock, as well. I've found ways to use that to my advantage. I think I'm good at keeping receipts."

Cam Schlittler talks about feeding off online trolls: pic.twitter.com/4peWOH1Etn

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 28, 2026

Schlittler doesn't like Red Sox fans. Red Sox fans don't like Schlittler. That has been very clear over the last year since he took the hill in Game 3 of the 2025 American League wild-card series and knocked Boston out. Both sides have trolled each other left and right and it has been a talking point every time Boston and New York have faced off since.

This isn't a one-sided hate fest, to say the least. In the lead-up to the playoff series, Red Sox fans have been posting about Schlittler for days at this point on social media. Arguably, this adds an intriguing element to a series that already would've been electric. Schlittler is the villain — for Red Sox fans, at least — that this rivalry has needed for a long time.

Boston has been in the playoffs for two straight seasons. Before that, it struggled in three straight seasons and the rivalry certainly wasn't even. Now, both the Red Sox and Yankees are good — which is good for baseball in general — and Schlittler has joined a long list of guys who have been villains in the past.

On Tuesday, the Yankees are going to send their ace to the hill in Schlittler. He's likely going to win the 2026 American League Cy Young Award. Love him, or hate him, he's among the elite of the elite. Plus, he's just 25 years old. Boston is going to turn its budding young ace in Payton Tolle. The big lefty is 23 years old and has broken out this season. Schlittler vs. Tolle. That sounds like a matchup we're going to be talking about for years to come. The perception of the hurlers couldn't be more different. Schlittler looks like a villain and Tolle is beloved across the league for his quirky personality. While these guys do things differently, they both get it done on the hill.

The trash-talking has already begun between Red Sox fans and the Yankees ace. On Tuesday, we'll see the next chapter in this storied rivalry begin.