NEW YORK — Cam Schlittler walked to the mound at Tropicana Field last week carrying more than just a scouting report for the Tampa Bay Rays’ lineup.Hours before first pitch, New York Yankees director of organizational performance, Chad Bohling, showed Schlittler a clip from “Baseball is Dead,” a popular podcast cohosted by Boston Red Sox fan Jared Carrabis. In it, Carrabis declared that “the regression is happening before our very eyes” after Schlittler’s poor start against the Detroit Tigers.Bohling plays videos for Schlittler before every start, although they don’t always contain criticism. Schlittler didn’t ask to see the Carrabis clip. The Yankees showed it to him because they knew how he’d respond.“It definitely pissed me off,” Schlittler told The Athletic. “It was pretty easy to go out there and perform just based on the last outing, how we’ve been playing, and then the cherry on top there.”Schlittler allowed just one run in eight innings against Tampa Bay in arguably his most important outing this season as he rebounded from a rare bad start.Pitching dominates MLB's All-Star GameJohnny Flores Jr. and Jayne OrensteinThrough the first half, Schlittler has established himself as a Cy Young Award contender. His 2.05 ERA leads the American League, but the defining trait behind his breakout may be less measurable:He pitches angry.Every slight, every doubter and every challenge becomes fuel. That isn’t new.In one of the most memorable starts of his collegiate career — and with Yankees scouts in attendance — he shut down an NC State team that had Tommy White, the ACC Rookie of the Year. Schlittler was an under-the-radar prospect at Northeastern at the time, and he made it a point to consume media coverage that didn’t mention him. Schlittler threw eight scoreless innings against the Wolfpack that day in 2022.Years later, the Yankees have learned to lean into Schlittler’s competitiveness and mindset.Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the coaching staff knows Schlittler embraces personal challenges. Friends send him memes and unflattering comments. Even his teammates know the criticism sharpens his edge.“People probably get on you because they wish they could have been in your shoes, but they’re not,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said about outside criticism in general. “You’ve got to hold it and find a way to make that your fire.”Cam Schlittler’s competitiveness emerges on the mound when he curses into his glove after walking batters. (Elsa / Getty Images)Being a New York athlete comes with as much pressure as any role in sports. Countless players have crumbled in this market because they can’t handle criticism. Schlittler, 25, is unafraid of it.“We’ve seen a lot of guys come here and try to play, and they can’t do it,” Schlittler said. “That’s why they leave. They may have had successful careers. It’s my first full year, though. I could be saying all this, and in a few years, it might not work out. I’m confident it will. I feel like I handle that stuff well. There’s added pressure, but I welcome that. I think we need to be held to a high standard.”Yankees fans have long wanted to see the players show more urgency after losses. Schlittler does. He strives for perfection. He’ll curse into his glove after issuing walks, and he spent the offseason overhauling his command because of how bothered he was by his walk rate last season. He now ranks among MLB’s best in limiting free passes.Schlittler is near the top of the pitching leaderboard in every major stat this season, but he’s had a few clunkers. Last month, he allowed four unearned runs at Fenway Park. Going back to Boston is always an experience for him because he grew up as a Red Sox fan. Now, however, he’s become one of the fanbase’s favorite villains, after growing up in Walpole, Mass., a suburb about 35 minutes southwest of Fenway.He has brought some of that heat on himself, regularly trolling Boston and its fans — in interviews and on social media — when he gets the chance.“They can say whatever they want,” Schlittler said of that June 25 start in Boston, “but they’re not really in a position to be talking, considering how the standings are. Whatever they want to say, it’s just kind of useless. It just goes in one ear and out the other.”The rivalry between Schlittler and Boston’s fans began in the postseason. After his 12-strikeout, scoreless outing against the Red Sox in last year’s playoffs, one of the most dominant starts in Yankees postseason history, Schlittler revealed that his family had received personal attacks online. So, he made it his mission to end Boston’s season.He believes that only Toronto Blue Jays fans have the right to attack the Yankees this season, because they eliminated New York last season.He can’t understand why Carrabis and other Red Sox fans feel like they can talk trash about the Yankees, based on recent history, at least since he joined the team.“I think there’s people involved in the sport that have a voice who probably shouldn’t,” Schlittler said. “There’s nothing I can do about that, so if they want to keep talking, great. It’s the regular season. At the end of the day, what matters is what happens in the playoffs. Certain fans can’t say anything. And then there’s certain fans that can say stuff to us, because we got our asses kicked at the end of the season last year.”But Carrabis thinks Schlittler’s hostility toward Boston is performative, and even takes issue with the pitcher linking himself to Boston, since he grew up about 25 miles outside the city.“I find you annoying because you’re like, ‘I’m from Boston,”‘ Carrabis said. “People from Boston hate when you say that you’re from Boston and you’re from an hour away. That’s Cam. He’s from Walpole. You can’t say you’re from Boston when you’re from Walpole. It’s not even close to the same thing.”Schlittler may feel like the fanbase he grew up supporting has turned on him, Carrabis argues, but it’s insincere.“It feels inauthentic,” he said of Schlittler’s beef with Boston. “You don’t mean that. You’re hurt because you feel rejected by your hometown people. You should understand, though, that you’re a Yankee. Of course, we’re not going to like you. He feels rejected by the fanbase that he grew up a part of, and now he’s trying to go all in with the Yankee thing.”Maybe there’s some truth to that.Or maybe Carrabis just gave one of baseball’s best pitchers exactly what he wanted — another reason to prove someone wrong.“This year, I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of ignoring people online, but I’ve also been able to back it up, too,” Schlittler said. “If I want to say something, I can, because I’ve backed it up.”