The American League Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees kicks off on Friday, and tensions are predictably high.
Red Sox utility player Steve Pearce has played for every American League East team throughout his 12-year major-league career. If there's one he might want to remove from his resume, it's the Yankees, Boston's ALDS opponent and top rival.
"I hated the Yankees. I HATED the Yankees growing up," Pearce told Rob Bradford of WEEI. "They were the enemy."
Though he grew up in Florida, Pearce's family has Massachusetts roots. That made his abbreviated, 12-game tenure with the Yankees in 2012 all the more painful, though it didn't impact his effort on the field.
"It was in the back of my mind, thinking, 'I wish this was a Red Sox uniform.' But when I was in the Yankee uniform I was a Yankee," he said. "I wasn’t trying to throw games. My goal was to beat the Sox."
His goal, starting on Friday, will be to beat the Yankees, which is an area where he's found success in 2018. In 14 games with the Red Sox, Pearce has hit .297/.395/.757 with five home runs (he's hit 11 all year) against New York. Three of those came in a single game on Aug. 2.
Game 1 is scheduled for Friday at 7:32 p.m. ET at Fenway Park.
