Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins says he would retire before signing with Yankees ahead of rivalry start

Hunter Dobbins will toe the slab for the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx on Sunday night as the team faces their AL East rival New York Yankees.

The only time Dobbins ever wants to pitch at Yankee Stadium is for the road team. 

"My dad was a die-hard Red Sox fan," the 25-year-old right-hander told the Boston Herald. "And I’ve said it before, that if the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract, I’d retire."

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Its only right Dobbins was drafted by Boston in the eighth round of the 2021 Amateur Draft out of Texas Tech given his loyalty to the franchise. 

He even said he wasn’t as attached to the Red Sox as his father was, but "I think out of disdain for the Yankees, I watched anybody but them."

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There have been plenty of times in professional sports where players, and subsequently their relatives, change alliances they’ve had throughout their lives because they now play for a specific team.

Dobbins hopes that he can have a long career with the Red Sox and not have to worry about a potential Yankees contract. But no one truly knows how their career will shake out. 

There was one Yankees player, though, that Dobbins tipped his cap to even today. 

"Can I say all of them but Andy Pettitte?" he responded when asked who his least favorite Yankee was. "Andy Pettitte and my dad were really good friends."

This is Dobbins’ first season with the Red Sox, where he’s had seven starts out of his nine appearances. 

In 44.1 innings, Dobbins has given up 20 earned runs for a 4.06 ERA with 37 strikeouts to 10 walks. He also has a 1.331 WHIP. 

Dobbins finds himself in position to help his Red Sox beat the Yankees in their first series of the year. Boston took down New York, 10-7, on Saturday night after getting to New York starter Ryan Yarbrough early. 

The Yankees are in first place in the AL East at 39-24, while the Red Sox’s victory brought them to 31-35.

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