A Yankees Pitcher Just Named His Favorite Red Sox. It Wasn’t Pedro or Ortiz.

Cam Schlittler walked into All-Star week with a 2.05 ERA, 137 strikeouts, and a problem. The problem was that he grew up in Massachusetts rooting for the wrong team, and now everyone wanted to talk about it.

MLB Network sat him down Wednesday and asked the obvious question: Who were your favorite Red Sox players growing up? Schlittler didn’t dodge it. He went with Clay Buchholz and Jonathan Papelbon.

Not Pedro Martinez. Not David Ortiz. Not Nomar Garciaparra. He said Buchholz had that fiery demeanor and competitive edge. Papelbon was Papelbon, the ninth-inning menace who stared down hitters like they personally insulted his dog.

That clip went up on X and the internet did its thing. Some Yankees fans cringed. Some laughed. Most probably remembered that Schlittler just threw eight scoreless innings against the Red Sox in last year’s Wild Card Series with 12 strikeouts and zero walks. So maybe he gets a pass.

The kid from Walpole who flipped the script

Schlittler went to high school at Walpole, about 30 minutes outside Boston. He pitched at Northeastern. He grew up on Red Sox baseball the way most Massachusetts kids do. Then the Yankees drafted him in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft and something clicked.

He made his MLB debut in July 2025 and finished that regular season with a 2.96 ERA across 14 starts. Then he faced Boston in October and basically turned Fenway Park into his personal bullpen session. Eight innings. Twelve strikeouts. No walks. The Red Sox didn’t score.

That kind of performance buys you some goodwill when you admit you used to hang a Papelbon poster in your bedroom.

All-Star without throwing a pitch

Schlittler chose not to pitch in the All-Star Game. He said he wanted to rest up for the second half, which sounds like the kind of boring adult decision that wins you a division title. He’s 9-5 with that 2.05 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 20 starts. The Yankees rotation is built around Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón at the top, but Schlittler is becoming the guy you don’t want to face in October.

The interview clip from MLB Network was really just a reminder that baseball is weird. The same kid who watched Buchholz deal from the stands is now the guy Boston has to deal with. And he’s only getting better.

Schlittler is 25. He’s under team control for years. The Yankees found him in the seventh round out of a local Boston college and turned him into an All-Star. That’s the kind of scouting win that keeps rivalries alive.