Dobbins defends claim father played for Yankees

BOSTON -- Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins made immoderate headlines anterior to his archetypal vocation commencement against the Yankees past week erstwhile helium said he'd discontinue earlier pitching for New York.

Now he's explaining wherefore the claims helium made astir his begetter erstwhile playing for Boston's longtime rivals aren't the intentional fabrication that a New York Post report says they were.

Hunter Dobbins said Wednesday helium was made alert of the Post story, but said determination is thing nefarious astir the connections helium said his begetter had to the Yankees.

"My feelings and each that are based connected my idiosyncratic experiences and thing to bash with increasing up oregon family," Dobbins said. "The full backstory is worldly I heard increasing up and seen pictures of from my dad. At the extremity of my time it's conscionable from my dada and however I benignant of grew my emotion for the game. But astatine the extremity of the time I don't spell and fact-check my dada oregon thing similar that."

In a June 7 Boston Herald diagnostic connected Dobbins that ran the time earlier helium allowed 3 runs and 4 hits successful 5 innings successful an 11-7 triumph implicit the Yankees, helium said that his father, Lance Dobbins, had been drafted doubly by the Yankees earlier being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The communicative besides makes notation to Dobbins saying his begetter was friends with Andy Pettitte, who played 15 large league seasons with New York.

But the Post study recovered nary grounds of immoderate of that, citing aggregate authoritative databases and the Yankees' ain records that couldn't substantiate Lance Dobbins having played with the organizations. Lance Dobbins' ain illustration connected the Baseball-Reference.com doesn't database immoderate Yankees affiliation. The 2025 Red Sox Media Guide does notation him connected Hunter Dobbins' biography page, but says lone that Lance "pitched for 2 seasons (1996-97) successful the Diamondbacks organization."

Dobbins, who is scheduled to transportation again against the Yankees connected Saturday astatine Fenway Park said helium has since spoken to his begetter "a little, but not really" astir the Post communicative that archetypal noted the discrepancies.

"My full absorption is connected Saturday and getting acceptable to look the Yankees," Dobbins said. "This is my archetypal clip successful the large leagues facing a squad for a 2nd time, fto unsocial back-to-back. So that's wherever my absorption is 100%. I ideate we'll speech successful the aboriginal oregon thing similar that. But it's been a bigger woody than it ever truly needed to be. But astatine the extremity of the time I truly conscionable request to get acceptable to spell for Saturday"

The 25-year-old is 3-1 with a 4.20 ERA this season.

He said helium isn't amazed that this communicative has gotten the attraction it has successful caller days.

"This is simply a large rivalry," Dobbins said. "Two cities that person a agelong past together. Anything that's benignant of successful the quality that goes with some of them that's going to crook into a story. It adds to the crippled and we conscionable person to clasp it and support rolling."