Red Sox Hurt Hunter Dobbins' Development? Cardinals Hurler's Dad Fires Shots

Hunter Dobbins was the source of a surprising amount of controversy during his time with the Boston Red Sox. Evidently, that trend wasn't meant to end when he left town.

Dobbins was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in December alongside two other prospects for first baseman Willson Contreras, who has been great in a Sox uniform thus far. Last summer, he had an impressive, brief stint on the Red Sox's big-league club before tearing his ACL in a July start against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Dobbins also quickly made it clear that he hated the New York Yankees, and his father's baseball career even became a source of contention when he falsely claimed that New York traded Lance Dobbins to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The elder Dobbins, as it turned out, had never thrown a pitch in affiliated pro ball.

Lance Dobbins not complimentary of Red Sox

Jun 20, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins (73) gives a thumbs up before pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

On Sunday, after Hunter threw 3 2/3 solid relief innings in the Cardinals' prime time game against the Chicago Cubs, Lance entered the fray on social media to take a shot at the Red Sox for supposedly curtailing his son's development.

"One organization says, 'No sinkers because it’s not what we want you to do,' but the new org that traded for him says, '98 mph sinkers, absolutely!!! You go be you and we trust you!'" Dobbins wrote.

One organization says, “No sinkers because it’s not what we want you to do”, but the new org that traded for him says “98 mph sinkers, absolutely!!!” “You go be you and we trust you!”@HunterD_20 @EdHand89
— Lance Dobbins (@lpdobbins) June 1, 2026

Sure enough, Dobbins threw just 13 sinkers in the majors for the Red Sox last year, a 1.4% share of his pitch mix. The Cardinals have had him throw the pitch 12.9% of the time so far, while dropping his four-seam usage by 10%.

Dobbins was drafted by the Red Sox when current Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was doing the same job in Boston. But when Dobbins pitched for the Red Sox in the majors, Craig Breslow was in his current post as chief baseball officer, and it was a known bit of philosophy in Boston for a while that the Red Sox didn't love sinkers.

The beauty of pitching is that different mixes and philosophies tend to work for different guys, and yet, organizations can generate competitive advantages if they find something that works for most. If Dobbins is indeed better in St. Louis (way too early to tell), then it's not the ultimate black mark on Boston's ledger.

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