Sonny Gray's new Red Sox teammates approve of his anti-Yankees commentary

""I'll tell you what did factor into my decision to come to Boston," Gray said in his first Zoom conference with Boston. "It feels good to me to go to a place now where, you know what, it's easy to hate the Yankees." "It's easy to go out and have that rivalry and go in it with full force, full steam ahead. I like the challenge. I appreciate the challenge. I accept the challenge.""

""Obviously you love that," catcher Connor Wong told MassLive's Chris Smith of Gray's putdown of the Yankees. "I think growing up for me personally I wasn't a huge fan of theirs, so I love that out of him and very excited to have him.""

""It's good to have somebody that's like-minded," Red Sox rookie southpaw Payton Tolle added when asked by Smith of Gray's allegiances."

Sonny Gray joined the Boston Red Sox and expressed enthusiasm about embracing the club's rivalry with the New York Yankees. Teammates Connor Wong and Payton Tolle reacted positively to Gray's openly hostile stance toward New York and welcomed his presence on the roster. Gray endured a difficult two-season stretch with the Yankees, posting a 15-16 record and a 4.51 ERA, including a 4.90 ERA in 2018 that led to a rotation demotion. After being traded, Gray rebounded with strong seasons in Cincinnati and Minnesota, finishing high in Cy Young voting, and now returns to the AL East with Boston.

Read at Boston.com