'They just pissed off the wrong guy': Cam Schlittler has the fire (and the fastball) to save Yankees' season

NEW YORK -- The archetypal clip Cam Schlittler pitched aggravated successful a heated rivalry crippled helium was an 18-year-old precocious schoolhouse senior. He was the ace Walpole High deployed for its biggest games successful 2019. Matchups against Braintree High, different Massachusetts nationalist schoolhouse powerfulness successful the area, fell into that category.

Schlittler bushed Braintree 3 times that spring. Before 1 meeting, portion the 2 teams stretched, helium heard Braintree players chirping.

"They were talking astir my woman astatine the time," Schlittler said. "So I astir smoked 1 of the batters. The manager successful Braintree is from Walpole truthful I knew him. I told him portion I was walking by successful the archetypal inning, 'If they speech astir my woman again, I'm going to deed the adjacent 3 guys.'

"So helium went implicit [and] told their guys to unopen up and they stopped talking. I was beauteous locked successful aft that. I destroyed them."

The 2nd clip Schlittler pitched aggravated successful a rivalry crippled was past week.

The mounting was antithetic -- pitching for the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox, his favourite squad increasing up, astatine Yankee Stadium. The stakes were elevated -- a do-or-die Game 3 of the wild-card bid with a travel to Toronto for the American League Division Series connected the enactment successful conscionable his 15th large league start. But a akin rage simmered aft Red Sox fans, successful his view, crossed the enactment attacking his household members connected societal media.

"I texted my household 20 minutes earlier the game," Schlittler said. "I said, like, 'Hey, this is postseason baseball. It doesn't substance that we're from Boston. They're going to get nether your skin. Just don't answer. Stay distant from it. Don't springiness them an edge. We'll grip it aft the game, whatever. And I'll spell footwear their ass.'"

The 24-year-old rookie backed his pledge, becoming the archetypal pitcher to propulsion astatine slightest 8 scoreless innings with astatine slightest 12 strikeouts and nary walks successful a postseason game. The 12 strikeouts were the astir ever successful a winner-take-all game. He overpowered the Red Sox with a dependable dose of 100 mph fastballs. He dismantled his hometown club.

On Wednesday, six days aft helping prevention the Yankees' season, they volition inquire him to bash it again with the squad trailing 2-1 successful the ALDS.

"I deliberation he's evidently assured successful his ability, and helium walks retired determination with immoderate beauteous bully equipment," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "But he's ace matter-of-fact and expects to bash well, [and] besides is benignant of accountable and implicit himself too. [It's like], 'Man, however tin I propulsion thing from that outing that needs to beryllium a small spot amended oregon physique connected thing that was truly bully successful that outing?'"

SCHLITTLER FIRST TOUCHED 80 mph arsenic a 5-foot-6 mediate schooler. He archetypal touched 90 mph, aft a six-inch maturation spurt, arsenic a sophomore successful his archetypal twelvemonth connected the Walpole varsity team. And helium archetypal touched 100 mph, agelong aft increasing to 6-6, successful his MLB debut astatine Yankee Stadium successful July.

"I emotion erstwhile I look up and I spot the 100 with the flame." Schlittler said. "It's a bully feeling. But I'm not excessively disquieted astir the 100. I attraction much astir my mean than the highest velo. For me, it's like, 'Man, if I tin mean 97, 98, that's elite.' Yeah, it's bully to beryllium 100 but, astatine the extremity of the day, if my fastball's inactive 98, 99 successful the seventh inning, that's the main goal."

The uptick was the culmination of a dependable improvement trajectory. Schlittler ne'er was considered a apical imaginable nationally astatine immoderate level. He went to Northeastern, a mid-major program, earlier helium was drafted successful the seventh round. But the radical astir him swore connected his untapped potential.

"He was a precocious bloomer, but helium was dominant," Walpole shot caput manager Chris Costello said. "The communal taxable was ever upside, upside, upside. To his credit, there's a batch of guys who person upside. Most guys don't scope it. He's reached it astatine each level."

To scope it astatine the highest level, Schlittler focused connected putting connected value implicit the past 2 winters. A tummy bug during outpouring training...