Jon Heyman Sonny Gray irked Yankees brass after admitting he never wanted to be in New York By Jon Heyman Published Sep. 30, 2026, 9:30 p.m. ET Sonny Gray reacts on the mound during the first inning of the Yankees-Red Sox Game 2 AL wild-card game on Sept. 30 2026 at the Stadium. Robert Sabo for New York Post Red Sox Game 2 starter Sonny Gray earned the wrath of Yankees higher-ups by announcing that he hated his time in New York and adding that he never wanted to be a Yankee upon agreeing to join the rival Red Sox via trade. (Yankees people believe he told confidants to get him here before they traded for him.)
He shouldn’t expect a warm reception from Yankee Stadium fans, either.
And maybe there’s a Yankees player or two who took it all personally, too. The word out of the Yankees clubhouse was that Game 1 loser Payton Tolle was the toughest Red Sox starter.
Gray (an MLB-best 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA) actually has been very good everywhere but New York. And this year he led the AL in quality start percentage, posting 20 quality starts out of 29 (69 percent).
