More than just bragging rights are on the line for the upcoming Red Sox-Yankees series, as chilling off-field threats have sparked a war of words.

“Only insecure keyboard warriors and mom’s basement dwellers attack the family. Come at the player all you want, but family is off limits,” Jonathan Lucroy shared on X.

Cam Schlittler, one of the Yankees’ young pitchers, stated earlier that a subset of diehard Red Sox fans has harassed him and his family on social media. The starter even received death threats. Several analysts and former players have condemned the incident already. 

“It should not be like this at all. You should not. If you go after somebody on social media, I’m sorry, you su-k,” A.J. Pierzynski said in a Foul Territory interview. 

Schlittler, 25, made his major league debut in July 2025 for the Yankees. He had a stellar season, recording a 2.96 ERA and 84Ks over 14 starts during the regular season. Cam was phenomenal against the Red Sox in the playoffs. The Yankees ace pitched 8.0 scoreless innings, allowing 0 walks and securing 12 strikeouts.

This is probably what drew ire from a few Red Sox fans.

The harassment was a bit of a shock to Schlittler, especially because he is from Walpole, Massachusetts, a town about 15 miles from Boston. However, he tried to come up with a justification of his own.

“It’s just those diehards that just have nothing else in their lives other than baseball or sports that really care about this, and the fact that I play for the Yankees makes it worse for them,” he said.

But Red Sox veteran Lucroy couldn’t take it so lightly. He firmly stated that the MLB security will handle such abuse from the fans. But he also pointed out a darker reason behind the trolling.

“Unfortunately, it’s most likely because they are betting money and are trying to rattle him,” Jonathan stated.

Yes, betting is both common and legal in baseball games. But trying to get into the head of a player by attacking his family online to influence his performance against your favored team is pushing the ethical boundaries of sports.

Lucroy was part of the Red Sox for a single season, and he played one game before getting DFA’d. But he understands the fan culture and knows better than to mind the social media bullying. That’s why he suggested Cam Schlittler should “Ignore and continue.”

The hardening stance from these individuals stems from a growing pattern in MLB.

Online abuse isn’t new, and it’s being called out

“Every player deals with some of this stuff. Everybody deals with something. Everybody, I mean, announcers deal with it,” Pierzynski was heard saying in the interview shared by Lucroy.

But he isn’t normalizing it. Rather, he is pointing out a pattern that has long been there and mostly been ignored. 

Liam Hendriks, one of the Red Sox’s own, received death threats for himself and his wife in 2025. The Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. suffered the same after a poor performance last year. His family went through a difficult phase. McCullers’ 5-year-old daughter was petrified by the threats and asked him why people wanted to hurt them. The situation was so severe that Jim Crane, the Astros owner, hired 24-hour security for the family.

Curt Schilling was another example of online bullying in 2015. His congratulatory tweet for his daughter attracted a barrage of sexually explicit and violent threats targeting her. Even Trey Yesavage and his family received some unprompted hate from some Yankees fans after the Blue Jays pitcher helped eliminate New York in the 2025 ALDS.

There isn’t really a specific reason for a group of fans to turn on a player’s family. And there have been too many instances to ignore. Luckily, the veterans are calling the bullies out, and the authorities will surely do their part.

Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler will respond to the threats through his pitches when the Yankees visit Fenway Park.