Cam Schlittler forever etched his name in New York Yankees’ lore on Thursday night, pitching eight scoreless innings while striking out 12 en route to a 4-0 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card Round matchup.
It was Schlittler’s first career postseason appearance, and the fact that he eliminated the Yankees’ most hated rival in the process was peak cinema.
So, what do you need to know about the Big Apple’s newest hero?
You’ll Never Guess Where He’s From
Well close to Boston, at least. Schlittler grew up in Walpole, MA and went to college at Northeastern.
“Growing up in Boston, I take pride in being from Boston,” he told reporters ahead of Game 3. “When it comes to my career and where I wanted to be, this is where I wanted to be. [My family], they are full Yankee guys now. They don’t wear [Yankees gear] around as much in Boston just because. But when they are here, they are very prideful about it.”
So you know he has plenty of friends and family back home who were feeling just a touch bittersweet about Thursday’s performance.
Schlittler was 14-9 in 31 career appearances (30 starts) for Northeastern across three seasons, posting a 2.62 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 180 strikeouts in 182 innings.
The Yankees selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB draft and he moved his way through the minor leagues fairly quickly, earning the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year award in 2024 (High-A).
In total, he was 15-16 in 54 appearances (50 starts) at the minor league level, posting a 3.33 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 303 strikeouts in 243.1 innings. He did not rank in MLB.com’s top-30 prospects in the Yankees’ farm system in 2024, though he jumped to No. 12 in the 2025 preseason rankings.
He made his impact felt immediately when he was called up in July to replace the injured Clarke Schmidt in the rotation, however. Schlittler finished the regular season 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 84 strikeouts in 73 innings, and manager Aaron Boone trusted him enough to hand him the ball for a postseason elimination game. That proved a wise decision.
Everybody Knows Schlittler’s Name Now
Here was just some of the reaction to his performance:
And now you know a little bit more about him too.
