New Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray has good reason to lean into Yankees hatred originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
If Sonny Gray is trying to win over Boston Red Sox fans, he certainly played the right card Tuesday.
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Gray spoke with reporters for the first time since the Red Sox acquired him in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals last week. And right off the bat, the veteran right-hander reminded everyone he needs no introduction to Boston’s fiercest rivalry.
“It feels good to me to go to a place now where, you know what, it’s easy to hate the Yankees, right?” Gray said. “It’s easy to go out and have that rivalry and go in it with full force, full steam ahead.”
As you might expect, there’s context here. The Oakland Athletics dealt Gray to New York at the 2017 MLB trade deadline, and he never really adjusted to the move. While Gray posted a respectable 3.72 ERA (albeit with a 1.255 WHIP) in 11 starts down the stretch of the 2017 season with the Yankees, he regressed significantly in 2018 to the tune of a 4.90 ERA and 1.496 ERA in 30 appearances.
In fact, Gray struggled so much in pinstripes that New York demoted him to the bullpen in August of 2018 while giving his rotation spot to Lance Lynn. Five months later, the Yankees traded Gray to Cincinnati, where he immediately rebounded and became an All-Star for the Reds in 2019.
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“It just wasn’t a good situation for me,” Gray said of playing for the Yankees. “It wasn’t a great setup for me and my family. I never wanted to go there in the first place.
“When that was happening, and we were in Oakland and getting traded — that was a long time ago — I never wanted to go there. So then I was there, and it just didn’t really work for who I am.
” … I just wasn’t myself. I just didn’t feel like I was allowed to go out there and be Sonny.”
Now, Gray finds himself on the other side of the rivalry, where he’ll face New York 13 times this upcoming season as a member of the rival Red Sox. And considering Gray’s rough stats at Yankee Stadium — he owns a 6.06 ERA and 1.644 WHIP over 101 career innings in New York — it’s fair to wonder how he’ll fare in the pressure cooker that is the Bronx.
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But Gray says he’s stronger now after that rough stint in New York.
“I do appreciate my time there, because … I do feel like the last seven years of my career, my life and everything has been better,” Gray said. “I’ve been a better baseball player, husband, everything from having that experience and going through that.
” … I like the challenge, I appreciate the challenge, I accept the challenge. But this time around, it’s just go out and be yourself.”
The Red Sox’ first series against the Yankees in 2026 begins on April 21, and here’s hoping Gray takes the hill so he can play the villain role vs. New York.
