David Lennon: Yankees' Cam Schlittler may be forgiven some bonds to Beantown
Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
TAMPA, Fla. — When Cam Schlittler isn’t standing on the mound wearing pinstripes, he’s often straddling the border between two superpowers perpetually at war, regardless of the sport or season.
During the offseason, Schlittler — a Walpole (Massachusetts) native and Northeastern University product — spent nearly equal time behind enemy lines. Whether it was watching his beloved Bruins at Boston’s TD Garden or sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks, Schlittler’s world occasionally blurs when he steps outside the Bronx.
Even in Tampa, the Yankees’ Florida headquarters, Schlittler donned a Bruins jersey — along with fellow Massachusetts native Ben Rice (Cohasset) — when the Lightning hosted his favorite NHL team for an outdoor game at Raymond James Stadium, a long home run from Steinbrenner Field, just across Dale Mabry Highway.
You can imagine the social media ruckus such behavior stirs up. If new Met Luke Weaver can be pilloried for carrying a Yankees duffel bag into the Clover Park clubhouse, Schlittler showing love for Boston, in any fashion, fires up the worst elements of the World Wide Web.
On both sides, actually. As much as Schlittler’s loyalty to the Yankees trumps all, he still hears rumblings about his Boston-area roots from the New York crowd despite personally vanquishing the Red Sox last October with a dominant 12-strikeout performance in eight shutout innngs in his playoff debut. Only later did we discover that Schlittler was fueled, in part, by Beantown internet trolls who came after his family, and specifically his mom, leading up to that start.
Bad strategy. But once Schlittler shed his work clothes and headed home to train at Northeastern — which sits in the shadow of Fenway Park — the animosity apparently had subsided.
“Once the season was over and I went to Boston, everyone treated me really well, treated my family really well,” Schlittler said. “Had no issues in the offseason when I was out in public, and I was grateful for that. I think everyone’s good up there. They just had a little hiccup [with me] before that start.
“You’re always going to deal with people behind the screen saying whatever — they got nothing to lose. But that stuff doesn’t really bother us.”
Schlitter swats away the X tough guys in a fashion similar to the way he dispatches opposing hitters — head on with no mercy. When you’re 6-6 and pumping triple-digit fastballs, the lion doesn’t sweat the sheep’s opinions, and Schlittler’s confidence probably is his greatest tool.
Step up to the plate, or keyboard, at your own peril. And now that Schlittler has last year’s half-season under his belt, including a pair of playoff starts, the launching pad is primed for his sophomore year.
Schlitter, who turned 25 earlier this month, went 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 73 innings in his 14 starts, making him a savior of sorts for the Yankees’ dinged-up rotation.
Schlittler was called up in July to replace one of those casualties when Clarke Schmidt needed Tommy John surgery. Manager Aaron Boone once described Schmidt as “the most confident person in the world,” and if that’s the case, then Schlittler comes off as a close second. Or maybe 1-A.
“Confidence is everything, I think,” said Schmidt, who is on schedule to return after the All-Star break. “Any time you’re able to go into an outing feeling like, if I’m on today, nobody’s going to touch me or I have the upper hand, that’s a comforting feeling.”
And Schmidt saw that — saw himself — in Schlittler from the rookie’s first pitch.
“Either you have it or you don’t,” Schmidt said. “And he came in right off the bat having the body language that you need to have success. And I think it’s only going to get better for him.”
Now Schmidt and Schlittler are locker neighbors at Steinbrenner Field. A year ago, Schlittler was camped in the far reaches of the minor-league columns, near the entrance to the bathroom, where the spring training hopefuls typically are stationed.
This February, he got a major upgrade, a bump-up to rotation row, with Schmidt on his left and Gerrit Cole to his right.
That’s a coveted slice of real estate for a young pitcher. Among the other benefits, he’s far from the bathroom now. But that spot also signals that Schlittler belongs, and he’s being counted on to help anchor the rotation as everyone waits for the returns of Schmidt, Cole (Tommy John surgery) and Carlos Rodon (left elbow cleanup).
Schlittler had his own minor health concern this month as some back inflammation momentarily stalled his throwing program. But after Wednesday’s bullpen session, he proclaimed himself “all good” the following afternoon. Next up is another side session, followed by a live batting practice, likely next week.
As for second-year modifications, Schlittler doesn’t believe there’s much to tinker with when it comes to his attack plan even with teams having a better idea of what’s coming at them this time around, thanks to more intel at the major-league level.
“You can do whatever,’ he said. “But it’s a whole different game when you get in the box. Teams I’ve faced before, for the most part, I’ve had good success facing them again, so I’m not too worried about that.”
The Red Sox probably are salivating for a rematch after last October, along with all the accompanying trolls.
“I think the Boston fans on social media hate me,” Schlittler said. “But if you were to look at a normal fan from the area, no one really cares. Just people on the internet got nothing else to do.
“I know the New York fans probably want me a little more on their side, so I try to support the Knicks as much as I can.”
As long as Schlittler keeps doing what he’s doing for the Yankees, they’ll tolerate the occasional Bruins jersey.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
