Yankees Star Cam Schlittler Receives Death Threats Before Fenway Park Debut
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have one of the most storied rivalries in all of sports, and one player who's set to make his Boston debut is caught in the middle this week.
Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler is scheduled to make his first career start in Boston's historic Fenway Park on Thursday. The game is something of a homecoming for Schlittler, who grew up in Walpole, MA and played college baseball at Northeastern in Brookline.
As a rival player, Schlittler was never going to receive a warm welcome in his home state, but he says that some fans have taken things too far by threatening him and his family ahead of his Boston debut.
Yankees Pitcher Calls Out Home State Fans
Schlittler told the New York Post that he and some of his family members have received death threats before this week's scheduled start. The pitcher said that he didn't feel the need to get police involved yet, but noted that he was aware of the severity.
"Most normal fans could care less, right?," the pitcher said. "It's just those diehards that just have nothing else in their lives other than baseball...and the fact that I play for the Yankees makes it worse for them."
Schlittler said that he expects Thursday to be "bad" and "loud" on the mound in terms of fan reception, but added that he wasn't nervous about making his start.
"They're gonna probably have dudes that are my age or a little bit younger, sitting right outside the bullpen, yelling whatever, probably throwing stuff at me, trying to grab me," the 25-year-old starter told the Post.
"That's kind of what I expect. So I know the guys are excited for it and I'm excited for it."
Schlittler's Role in the Long-Standing Rivalry
Schlittler may have received death threats for the first time, but he's no stranger to tension in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.
He pitched eight scoreless innings to eliminate the Red Sox from the playoffs in last year's Wild Card series, and said that Boston fans "crossed the line" by involving his family in their negative social media messages during and after the game.
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS FOR CAM SCHLITTLER!
— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2025
The most EVER by a @Yankees pitcher in his #Postseason debut! pic.twitter.com/Xlf6y5QdWL
"I think if it was a different fan base coming at them, I'd probably be a little bit more OK with it," Schlittler said, expecting more local hospitality from fans in his home state. "I think it just being Boston was a little bit more disappointing."
Schlittler, who struck out 12 Red Sox batters in that game last October, said that he was prepared to let his play do the talking when it comes to dealing with fans as part of this rivalry.
"I'm a competitive player," he said during the playoffs.
"All they're doing is feeding the fire. Just making sure I'm staying off my phone. I see it. I noticed it the other day. But at the end of the day, I'm going to go out there and just lock in even more. So honestly, I can thank them as well for putting me in that position."
Schlittler is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA over his first five starts of the 2026 MLB season. He started the season with an impressive outing against the San Francisco Giants, striking out eight batters in 5.1 innings of work.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 1:45 PM.