There were more Massachusetts fans than usual rooting for the Yankees last night when Walpole’s Cam Schlittler made his major league debut against the Seattle Mariners.
They included his dad, Needham Police Chief John Schlittler, who made the four-hour drive to New York to see his 24-year-old son take the mound at Yankee Stadium.
As of Tuesday, the chief wasn’t sure where he and his wife would be sitting. “We’re still working on that,” he said of the ticket situation. “It’s kinda been a whirlwind.”
“Our immediate family are all heading down,” he said. “And I know a lot of people from Walpole are heading down.”
In addition to those traveling to New York, Conrad’s restaurant planned a watch party at its Walpole location. The younger Schlittler is a Walpole High graduate who went on to star for three years at Northeastern University before being drafted by the Yankees in the tenth round of the 2022 major league draft.
“He’s been dominant in his minor league career. This call-up is well deserved,” said Mike Glavine, who coached Schlittler during his three years at Northeastern. While a Husky, Schlittler went 14-9 with a 2.62 ERA and 180 strikeouts across 182 innings in 31 appearances, 30 of them starts.
He rose fairly quickly through the Yankee system and was rated their top pitching prospect at the time of his call-up, which came after a string of injuries among the Yankee starting pitchers.
Glavine thinks Schlittler has the talent and mental toughness to make the call-up permanent, and not just as a short-term injury fill-in. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has an above-average fastball that tops out at 98 miles per hour, and scouting reports generally are positive about his secondary pitches.
“I think Cam has all the stuff — the toughness, the grit and all those things to keep getting better,” said Glavine prior to the game. “To me he has all the stuff and all the makings to be a dominant big-league starter.”
Schlittler met Glavine’s expectations. He pitched into the sixth inning, giving up a pair of solo homers before departing with the Yanks ahead, 6-2 in a game they would end up winning, 9-6. He gave up three hits and walked two. He also struck out seven Mariners and was lifted after fanning major-league home run leader Cal Raleigh on a 98-mph heater at the top of the zone.
If the call-up is indeed permanent, then Chief Schlitter’s summer travel itinerary will become less complicated. After starting his professional career at the Yankees Rookie class team in Tampa, Cam moved on to play at locations relatively close to Needham: Hudson Valley in New York for class A ball; Somerset, New Jersey for AA; and then to Scranton-Wilkes Barre in Pennsylvania for AAA.
“They’re all drivable,” said Schlittler, who said he and his wife have often been able to see their son pitch in person.
“We’ve been very fortunate with that. We either watch him or see him every game. There are streaming services through MLB that you can purchase.”
Rooting for the Yankees may not be second nature for the chief. “We’re Boston fans, always have been,” he said. “But blood is thicker than water, right?”
He said the Yankees in fact were Cam’s preferred landing spot prior to the 2022 draft.
“Coming out of college he was hoping to be drafted by the Yankees because of their reputation for developing pitching.”
Glavine, who had a brief tenure in the MLB in New York as a member of the Mets, said he will also be making the trip to New York. Unlike Schlittler, he knew where he’ll be sitting. He’ll be in the area directly behind home plate that is set aside for scouts and be sitting with Matt Hyde, the Yankee area scout who signed Schlittler back in 2022.
Major league teams are generally quite accommodating of the family of players making their debuts so the Schlittler party will likely be well taken care of.
“The Yankees have been great. They treat their players well. They have a great system, great facilities and great people,” the chief said.
“He’s worked his butt off. We’re proud of him.”
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