Sonny Gray is doing something few players have ever attempted: rewriting his own history in real time. The Boston Red Sox’s newest starter had no hesitation taking aim at the New York Yankees during his introductory press conference, saying he “never wanted to go there in the first place.” But Yankees fans didn’t need long to dig up the receipts—because Gray once said the exact opposite.
When the Oakland Athletics traded Gray to New York at the 2017 deadline, the right-hander stood in front of a Yankees backdrop wearing a fresh cap and delivered a message that felt sincere at the time. “I couldn’t be happier with how it all played out,” he said. “I was gonna be a Yankee. I just had a big smile on my face and was ready to get here.”
Eight years later, that smile has faded. And so has the consistency in his story.
From “I Couldn’t Be Happier” to “I Never Wanted to Go There”
Gray’s Yankees tenure undeniably cratered. His 4.51 ERA in pinstripes (5.56 as a starter in 2018) turned him from prized trade acquisition to rotation liability, eventually pushing him into a bullpen role by the end of his time in the Bronx. But struggling in New York and pretending you never wanted to be there are two very different things.
That’s where Gray’s latest comments—delivered while wearing a 2007 Red Sox World Series hat—hit a nerve.
“New York… I never wanted to go there in the first place,” he told Red Sox reporters. “It just wasn’t a good situation for me. It wasn’t a great setup for me and my family.”
Those words might land differently if not for the quote from 2017 still plastered all over the internet. The contradiction isn’t subtle. It’s whiplash.
And that’s exactly why Yankees fans—and former teammates—aren’t letting this one slide. Social media lit up immediately, resurfacing the video in which Gray spoke fondly about the trade to New York. Even those who once defended him are now calling the reversal “whiny,” “revisionist,” or simply “embarrassing.”
A Red Sox Heel Turn Ahead of a Rivalry That Needed Fuel
There’s no question Boston loves the fire Gray is bringing. After all, a veteran embracing the rivalry on Day 1 is a dream for a franchise trying to claw back into the AL East spotlight.
But the contradiction at the heart of his comments leaves an impression far beyond the Red Sox fan base. It suggests something deeper—either that Gray is reshaping his past to fit his present, or that he regretted his original words the moment things fell apart in the Bronx.
What’s more, Gray said the Yankees experience made him “a better player, husband… everything.” Not exactly the parting message you’d expect from someone who never wanted to be there.
Still, he made one thing clear: he’s embracing the rivalry now. “It’s easy to hate the Yankees,” he said. “I like the challenge.”
Boston will give him the stage to lean into that sentiment. But Yankee Stadium will give him something even more powerful when he returns in June: 47,000 fans who don’t forget quotes—and definitely don’t forget contradictions.
For a rivalry short on villains in recent years, Sonny Gray just volunteered for the role.
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