Months earlier than Cam Schlittler made the most important begin of his life, the Yankees’ rookie right-hander discovered himself in his native New England with a night to kill.
The 24-year-old, pitching for the Double-A Somerset Patriots on Might 21, had simply wrapped up an early day of labor on the street, twirling six scoreless innings towards the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Blue Jays affiliate, after an 11:08 a.m. begin.
In want of one thing to do with Boston a little bit greater than an hour away, Schlittler known as in a favor: he requested for tickets to that evening’s sport between the Pink Sox and Mets at Fenway Park.
Matt Hyde, the Yankees’ Northeast space scout who discovered Schlittler at Walpole Excessive College in Massachusetts earlier than he starred at Northeastern, got here up clutch, securing some stubs for the pitcher and his mates.
However Hyde stated Schlittler’s request was about extra than simply having fun with an evening out together with his boys in his hometown. Fairly, Hyde believes that sport at Fenway served as a casual scouting report, an opportunity for Schlittler to see how he stacked up together with his MLB debut — unbeknownst to the pitcher — lower than two months away.
“He’s got this really great growth mindset of wanting to be better and not thinking that he’s arrived.”
Schlittler will let you know in any other case, however he did arrive on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, twirling eight scoreless innings in Sport 3 of the Wild Card Sequence towards none apart from the rival Pink Sox. The righty — who attended Boston’s 2004 championship parade together with his father, John, and later gravitated towards Clay Buchholz, Xander Bogaerts and Chris Sale — added 12 strikeouts in his postseason debut, probably the most ever by a Yankees rookie within the playoffs.
Schlittler, who grew up about half-hour from Boston and first confronted the Pink Sox in a 2020 spring coaching exhibition sport as a Northeastern freshman, didn’t stroll a batter, both. Nor did he permit a runner to achieve third because the Yankees cruised to a 4-0 victory, their reward for putting their religion and their season within the palms of a novice.
All 12 Cam Schlittler strikeouts! pic.twitter.com/Ggi5njqbCf
“We needed to be perfect tonight, because he was perfect,” Pink Sox skipper Alex Cora stated after Schlittler’s fifteenth main league begin.
“What a performance,” stated Aaron Boone, however there was no shock contained in the Yankees’ clubhouse. Not from the supervisor, nor coaches, nor teammates.
And definitely not from Schlittler, who has exuded confidence ever since he debuted on July 9.
“I woke up, and I was locked in,” Schlittler stated after incomes the Yankees’ Participant of the Sport belt and a champagne dousing from injured ace Gerrit Cole. “I knew exactly what I needed to do out there, especially against my hometown team. As I told Andy [Pettitte] yesterday, I wasn’t going to let them beat me. I was just overconfident in that fact.”
Different Yankees seen Schlittler’s laser focus and poise on Thursday and within the days main as much as his high-stakes begin.
“He wasn’t scared of the moment,” pitching coach Matt Blake stated. “He expected to go out there and have success, and he backed it up.”
“There are different paths to greatness up here, but this guy has come up and delivered right away,” Cole added. “He’s got it. I don’t know exactly what it is. It’s hard to define it. But he’s got it.”
In line with his father, Schlittler has had impenetrable composure since he was 14 or 15 years outdated.
“He was always pretty dialed in,” the proud dad, a police chief in Needham, Mass., stated after he and his spouse, Christine, watched their son change into the primary participant in main league historical past to toss a minimum of eight shutout innings and report a minimum of 12 strikeouts with out strolling a batter in a playoff sport.
What Schlittler didn’t all the time have was his heater, as his fastball averaged within the mid-90s throughout his first massive league camp this spring. However after bulking up over the winter — he placed on 15 kilos — and build up his arm within the spring, he began reaching the upper-90s with ease as he compelled his method from Double-A to Triple-A to the majors.
Having dominated the Yankees’ velocity leaderboards over his first 14 common season begins — he had a 2.96 ERA over that stretch — Schlittler reached 100 mph 11 occasions on Thursday.
His fastball topped out at 100.8 mph, and his 107th and closing pitch was a 98.4-mph sinker.
“It’s easy gas,” Cole stated. “Like he’s not stepping on 98. He’s just flicking it in there.”
It helps that Schlittler has the physique of an influence pitcher, as he stands 6-6 at 225 kilos.
“You see the height. You see the frame. You see what he can do with the baseball and you kind of dream about it,” stated Aaron Decide, who is aware of a factor or two about getting probably the most out of a big construct. “Cam’s one of one.”
With adrenaline absolutely fueling a few of Schlittler’s velocity, so too did some chirping from individuals again house.
Though Christine stated of us in Walpole largely cheer for her son when he pitches, Schlittler stated it was “personal for me” to finish the Pink Sox’ season Thursday, as “people from Boston had a lot to say before the game.”
“I’m not gonna get into it,” Schlittler continued, “but there’s a line, and I think they crossed it a little bit. I’m a competitor, and I’m gonna go out there and make sure I shut ‘em down.”
Schlittler then confirmed some understanding, as he is aware of Boston followers will be “aggressive” of their efforts to “get under people’s skin.” He was as soon as one among them, in any case, and he nonetheless clearly embodies their spirit after triumphantly posting “Drinking dat dirty water” hours after his stellar begin.
However the subsequent time some Massholes strive going after him, he recommends they decide a unique goal. With tantalizing stuff and a mindset that may face up to the postseason pressures of the Bronx, he doesn’t want additional motivation.
“You know, Boston fans, that’s just how it is,” Schlittler stated. “They just picked the wrong guy to do it to and the wrong team to do it to.”
Initially Revealed: October 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM EDT
