Some sports rivalries are never going to die, no matter how good one team is. The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees is so heated that one rising Red Sox rookie pitcher wasn’t going to let himself find his way to the Bronx to start his career. 25-year-old Hunter Dobbins was clear to Boston Herald’s Gabrielle Starr that he wanted Sunday to be his best performance to this date against the Yankees.
Dobbins Might Have More Hatred For Yankees Than Love For His Team
Dobbins mentioned that he grew up a big Red Sox and idolized the team. He previously said he didn’t get attached to a team, but he watched the Red Sox and had a hatred for the Yankees.
“I grew up watching the Red Sox a lot, but I knew I wanted to do this as a career,” he said. “I didn’t get attached to a team, but I grew up watching (the Red Sox), and just, I think out of disdain for the Yankees, I watched anybody but them.”
His hatred for the organization is so far that he enjoyed hearing rookie Marcelo Mayer booed by the Red Sox crowd on Friday. He even said no matter what team he’d be drafted by, he would still hate the Yankees.
“I’ve said it before, that if the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract, I’d retire…I think whoever I was playing with or whoever I would have been drafted by, I’d still hate the Yankees.”
His play style on Sunday against his team’s rival almost feels more like he has more allegiance by hatred to the other team than appreciation and support for his actual team. Sunday would be the first time that Dobbins would get his chance to show out against the AL East Divisional rival.
In his eighth professional start on Sunday, Dobbins allowed four hits and three runs (including two home runs) with no strikeouts in five innings. Those home runs were from Aaron Judge in the first inning and D.J. LeMahieu in the fifth inning. There were some good moments for Dobbins at the mound as he got his third win of the season. There were also some forgetful moments as he allowed some big scoring situations, including one from Judge.
Dobbins showed he can handle the intense rivalry of the Red Sox and Yankees against New York’s elite batters. His pettiness inspired him to play at a high level against the divisional and conference favorites. His words of not wanting to play for the Yankees even as a potential desperate minor league raised some eyebrows with the Yankees players, including outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. He spoke about Dobbins’ anti-Yankee comments during an in-game interview with ESPN.
“I love competitiveness, but to say that being a rookie, is kind of crazy to me, to say that you’re going to rule out one out of 30 teams to be a professional athlete.”
The Red Sox would go on to win Sunday’s game with an 11-7 score despite some good scoring positions from the Yankees. Boston would win the three-game home series with two games won but they still have a long way to go. The Red Sox do feel comfortable with the young pitcher starting at the mound.
The Red Sox have a long way to go to make themselves legitimate playoff contenders while the Yankees are the team most likely to get back to the World Series. Dobbins has an opportunity to be a great star pitcher for the Red Sox. He has shown he can thrive off pettiness and hate for one team, but there are 28 other teams he has to play great against, especially if the Red Sox want to above .500%.
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