Cam Schlittler didn’t just pitch well against the Red Sox. He took their bats and shoved them firmly in places that they’re not supposed to go.
And it sounds like this was personal.
Schlittler, a native of Walpole, Massachusetts who played college ball at Northeastern, was looking forward to a unique atmosphere, as he donned the pinstripes to face his childhood team in a do-or-die playoff situation. But Red Sox fans apparently got carried away and made it worse for themselves in the end, because Schlittler admitted he heard some chirping and took it personally.
“I’m not gonna get into it, but there’s a line and I think they crossed it a little bit,” Schlittler said (via Gary Phillips). I’m a competitor, and I’m gonna go out there and make sure I shut ‘em down.
“You know Boston fans, that’s just how it is. We’re aggressive back home and we’re gonna try to get under people’s skin. They just picked the wrong guy to do it to and the wrong team to do it to.”
Al Bello/Getty Images
Indications are that Red Sox crossed the line by harassing Schlittler’s mom on social media. She protected her tweets, a sure sign that the chirping had grown too large. There’s not much that needs to be said about that kind of behavior from Boston fans. Childish and unnecessary. Don’t mess with another man’s mom, leave families out of it. Pretty standard stuff. Obviously, a lot of Red Sox fans didn’t get that memo, and a memo shouldn’t even be necessary, that’s just called being a decent human.
The trolls ruined it for the entire city of Boston, as Schlittler became the first pitcher ever to hurl eight shutout innings with at least 12 strikeouts and zero walks in a postseason game. A historic shove and a deserved smackdown for those that brought his mom into it. Not to mention, business has been lost in the Fenway area due to a premature end to the season. Losing is bad for business, period.
Something tells me the fans that chirped Schlittler’s mom didn’t learn their lesson, and will go right back to chirping opposing players’ families at the first opportunity. Social media can go fuck itself.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of solely the writer and do not represent the views of 98.5 the Sports Hub or the Beasley Media Group.
Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.