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Yankees respond to Hunter Dobbins’ comments
"It's an interesting comment as a player to make that."
Yankees respond to Hunter Dobbins: The Red Sox rivalry with the Yankees might be at a comparatively lower ebb in recent years, but a Boston rookie recently injected some new life into the age-old feud.
Red Sox rookie starter Hunter Dobbins made some pregame waves when he told Boston Herald reporter Gabrielle Starr how he felt about the rival Yankees.
“My dad was a diehard Red Sox fan,” Dobbins told Starr. “And I’ve said it before, that if the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract, I’d retire.”
It was a strong statement for any player to make, let alone a rookie who was entering his first ever MLB start at Yankee Stadium.
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Predictably, Dobbins’s comments drew the response of his counterparts in pinstripes. Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was more taken aback than anything else.
“I’ve only heard Ken Griffey say that, so I was a little surprised,” Judge told ESPN’s Eduardo Pérez. The 33-year-old towering slugger smashed a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw from Dobbins on Sunday. Asked afterward if he was thinking about the pitcher’s remarks when he stepped in for the at-bat, Judge was candid.
“Well, once somebody tells you, yeah,” he admitted.
New York outfielder Jazz Chisholm acknowledged that he respected Dobbins’s passion, but still thought it was “crazy” during an in-game interview.
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“I love competitiveness,” Chisholm told ESPN, “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.”
New York manager Aaron Boone chose to interpret it as more of an abstract point than a direct line against his team.
“He’s young,” Boone said.
“I don’t know, I don’t think it’s a dig at our players,” he added. “It’s an interesting comment as a player to make that. I think it’s just a comment of his love of his team is all. A little funny.”
Despite the Judge home run, Dobbins finished his night with a win, allowing three earned runs in five innings.
Scores and schedules:
The Red Sox powered past the Yankees 11-7 on Sunday to take two of three from the weekend series.
Tonight, Boston begins a new three-game set, hosting the Rays at Fenway Park at 7:10 p.m.
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- Hunter Dobbins takes Red Sox-Yankees rivalry to next level, vows he’d retire over pitching for New York
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- Red Sox’ top prospect Roman Anthony hits 497-foot home run, futher sparking calls for promotion
- Boston Legacy FC unveils team crest featuring an eight-feathered swan
A fitting final: Carlos Alcaraz won a dramatic, back-and-forth French Open Final against Jannik Sinner on Sunday. While the highlights are worth a watch (more on this below), the Spanish champion also marked his win by sharing the trophy with the ball kids in a delightful celebratory moment.
On this day: In 1946, Ted Williams hit a tremendous home run at Fenway Park, reaching a reported distance of 502 feet (a record). The blast, which came in an 11-6 Red Sox win over the Tigers (as part of a Boston doubleheader sweep), landed on the hat of Joseph Boucher in the right field bleachers. Eventually the seat was painted red as a striking visual reminder of Williams’s feat.
Daily highlight: Among the many standout moments from Sunday’s epic French Open Final was Alcaraz’s beautifully deployed drop shot.
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