Boston Red Sox rookie pitcher Hunter Dobbins caused a stir when he expressed his dislike for the New York Yankees before pitching against them Sunday in the Bronx.

Now he’s having to explain his claim that his father had once played for New York and was friends with former Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte.

Advertisement

A story in the Boston Herald on June 7 quoted Dobbins as saying his father, Lance Dobbins, had been drafted twice by the Yankees before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But the New York Post reported Wednesday that it found no evidence that Lance Dobbins had ever played for the Yankees organization.

Lance Dobbins does not appear as a Yankees draft pick for any season on Baseball Reference and according to the Post, longtime Yankees GM Brian Cashman has no recollection of the team ever drafting a Lance Dobbins.

Lance Dobbins’ Baseball Reference page only has stats from independent ball in 1996-97. Joe Garagiola Jr. and Buck Showalter, who were with the D’backs organization in 1996-97, told the Post they had no recollection of a Lance Dobbins in the system.

Advertisement

And The Post reported that neither Pettitte nor his family remembers a Lance Dobbins.

Hunter Dobbins addressed the Post’s story on June 11.

“The whole backstory is stuff I heard growing up and seen pictures of from my dad,” Hunter Dobbins told reporters Wednesday. “At the end of my day, it’s just from my dad and how I kind of grew my love for the game. But at the end of the day I don’t go and fact-check my dad or anything like that.”

Before his start against the Yankees , Hunter Dobbins had told the Boston Herald that he would retire before playing for the Yankees.

Advertisement

Aaron Judge, made aware of Dobbins’ comments prior to the game during a pregame ESPN interview, crushed the first pitched he saw from Dobbins for a two-run home run, although the Red Sox went on to win 11-7 with Dobbins picking up the victory.

The Yankees and Red Sox begin a three-game weekend series on June 13 at Fenway Park, with Dobbins scheduled to pitch the middle game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Dobbins: Red Sox rookie made false claims about father’s career