Hunter Dobbins made false claims about dad’s career with Yankees, Andy Pettitte friendship

In explaining why he would never play for the Yankees, Red Sox pitcher Hunter Dobbins was quoted as saying that his father was twice drafted by the team, signed after the second selection and was traded to the Diamondbacks. But there appears no verification that any of that happened. 

In a Boston Herald story posted on Sunday before Dobbins made his first start ever against the Yankees, the 25-year-old right-hander was quoted as saying, “If the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract, I’d retire.” 

He said that began with his father being a “diehard Red Sox fan.” But also within that story, The Herald quoted Hunter Dobbins as saying, “He was actually drafted twice by the Yankees. Signed with them his last year and then he got traded over to the Diamondbacks.” 

Dobbins’ father, Lance, does not come up as a Yankees draft pick in any search of the team’s selections on Baseball Reference from any single season. Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who has been with the organization since 1986, has no recollection of the Yankees drafting Lance Dobbins and said a check with the Yankees amateur department revealed no drafting of a Lance Dobbins.