When Cam Schlittler takes the mound on Thursday night, he’ll create quite the conundrum for people in his hometown.
Residents of Walpole, a Southeastern Massachusetts town with Red Sox allegiances and great baseball history, will have to decide whether to root for the team from their state or the kid from their town. Schlittler will start for the Yankees against Boston in the winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday.
“I’ve been super impressed with, first and foremost, his stuff,” Yankee manager Aaron Boone said before Game 2 when explaining his decision to go with the rookie. “He’s got big stuff. It is a big fastball. The cutter and this curveball are really good pitches for him. Really good competitor.
“I like how he has handled every situation he has found himself in this year,” Boone continued. “Starting with coming over and pitching a spring training game for us late in spring, and I thought he handled it and navigated it.”
Schlittler has only made 14 career major league appearances, but he’s been good since being called up in July. The Northeastern product, who the Yankees picked in the 7th round of the 2022 draft, was 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP and 84 strikeouts and 31 walks in 73 innings.
After beginning the year in Double A, he rose quickly this season and gave the Yankees a boost for the stretch run.
“You saw the right competitive edge to him. Super coachable, accountable. I feel like he has done a really good job developing,” Boone said. “He gave us a shot in the arm when he became another stabilizing force in our rotation. He will handle it well regardless of result or whatever, like I don’t think it will be too big for him, and he will be ready to roll.”
Unlike New York first baseman Ben Rice, who grew up in Cohasset but cheered for the Yankees, Schlittler was from a Red Sox family, a fan of Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz when he was younger and Chris Sale as he got older.
Schlittler, Walpole’s most famous baseball man since Joe Morgan, actually pitched against the Red Sox in 2020 as a freshman in the annual spring training exhibition between the Huskies and Red Sox, right before COVID shut things down.
“Obviously, I am a lot different player than I was then,” he said before Game 2. “So I didn’t really expect to be in this situation back then, but now I am definitely happy I am.”
He said he’s trying to reward Boone’s trust.
“For him to put faith in me and we get to Game 3, that means a lot,” he said. “So just making sure I am taking it as another game and going to do my job.”
Schlittler said he’s converted his family and most of his friends to Pinstripes.
“I take pride in being from Boston. (But) When it came to my career and where I want to be, this is where I want to be,” Schlittler said. “They are full Yankee guys now. They don’t wear it around as much in Boston, just because. When they are here, they are very prideful about it.”
He wasn’t sure how many from his hometown would be making the trip to the Bronx. To prevent Red Sox fans from buying tickets, the Yankees blocked anyone with a Massachusetts address from buying seats through Ticketmaster. The unintended consequence was blocking any Schlittler fans, too.
While he might not have many locals in the stands, he’ll be carrying his roots with him to the mound.
“Being from New England, it is different from being down south. You don’t get the full year of baseball. The way my college coach would describe it as more of a blue-collar, hard-nosed team,” he said. “That’s how I take myself as a player. The steps I have taken to get here are definitely going to define how I go out there and pitch tomorrow.”
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