The matchup is looking increasingly less likely, with the Red Sox losing seven of their last 11 games heading into Wednesday’s MLB slate, but there is still a good chance that Boston may face arch-rivals the New York Yankees in the Wild Card round of the MLB playoffs.
And if that happens, one of the Yankees top relief pitchers just gave Red Sox fans more fuel for their well-documented Yankee-hating fire.
Luke Weaver, a 10-year veteran who has pitched 59 innings over 58 appearances for New York in this, his third season on pinstripes, went on a Boston-area podcast over the weekend and appeared to complain about conditions in the visiting bullpen at Fenway Park.
Given his numbers as a Yankee at the Red Sox’ home ballpark — four runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings — Weaver’s gripes certainly risk sounding like excuses.
“They’re ruthless, it’s crazy,” Weaver told WEEI.com writer Rob Bradford on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, speaking about the Boston fans who gather behind the visitor’s bullpen.
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Bleacher seats at Fenway are positioned flush against the back of the bullpen, allowing fans to come within feet of the opposing relief pitchers during games, looking down on the players from an elevated angle.
“You always say it’s like you’re like zoo animals,” Weaver said on the podcast. “You’re in an enclosure, and people are, you know, wanting balls and they’re wanting to yell at you and tell you stink and get you unmotivated.”
But Weaver, who appeared to be approaching the subject with a sense of humor, also added about the Fenway fans that “you got some good ones in there.”
The last time the Red Sox and Yankees squared off in the postseason came in 2021, the final season in which the Wild Card round consisted of a a single game, and there were two Wild Card teams per league rather than three.
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The following year, MLB added a third Wild Card team in each league and expanded the Wild Card playoff round to a pair of two-out-of-three series.
But with the Red Sox now two games behind the Yankees, in the third Wild Card spot with 11 games to play, the likelihood is that the Red Sox would be the visiting team if they were to face the Yankees in the Wild Card series — in which all three games would be played at one park with no travel.
That means, Weaver will not have to face the Red Sox at Fenway Park again until 2026 — and with free agency looming for the 32-year-old after this season, he may not even be in a Yankee uniform if he returns.
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