Another year, another miserable first round playoff exit for the Boston Red Sox.
Gone are the days of 2004 (and 2007, 2013 and 2018). After owning the New York Yankees — and baseball — for the better part of 15 years, the Red Sox have lost their grip on their rival, and the league.
Speaking of grip …
Fans spent the night digging into Boston’s Game 2 starter, Sonny Gray, after images of the Red Sox pitcher’s neck went viral on social media after … something … appeared to caked onto the back of it during the latter stages of last night’s start.
RED SOX TROUNCED IN WILD CARD SERIES GAME 1 VS YANKEES
Sonny Gray of the Boston Red Sox reacts after giving up a solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 30, 2026, in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Getty Images)
That’s right. As if the Red Sox didn’t just embarrass themselves enough on national TV for two straight nights, we now have cheating allegations flying as the organization limps into the offseason on quite possibly the most sour note of all time.
Take a look, and judge for yourselves:
Sonny Gray’s neck sends social media into a frenzy
Thoughts? First impressions?
Look, I’ve watched Sonny Gray all season. The guy has been touching his neck like that since the first pitch in Cincinnati back in March. That alone means nothing to me, because it’s just what he does.
It’s also important to note that this stuff on Gray’s neck didn’t appear at all until the fifth inning, best I can tell. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t there, but it just wasn’t at all an “issue” until the final few batters of Gray’s outing.
YANKEES BULLPEN CATCHER HEAD BUTTS BEN RICE’S GRAND SLAM VS RED SOX
Sonny Gray #54 of the Boston Red Sox walks off the mound against the New York Yankees during the third inning in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 30, 2026, in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Getty Images)
Obviously, fans are convinced it was pine tar. Even Jomboy — the media company MLB bought a stake in last summer — put out that long video accusing Gray of using “sticky stuff.”
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By the way, that’s pretty rich coming from a VERY FAIR AND BALANCED outlet like Jomboy, which is made up of 90% Yankees fans.
Glad MLB partnered with them! But that’s neither here nor there.
I’m not telling you Gray had pine tar on the back of his neck or not. He’s a 36-year-old veteran who is probably going to retire here in a few days. At least that’s what he’s hinted at this season. He’s most likely done.
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Why would he risk this in what could be his final big league start? No idea. Doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.
Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy removes Sonny Gray from the game against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning of Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City, on Sept. 30, 2026. (Getty Images)
These pitchers nowadays are also patted down like they’re going through a TSA line after every single inning. It’s not exactly as simple to pull off as it was a decade ago when this stuff was all over the sport. That’s sort of the point.
Not saying it wasn’t something on his neck, just saying it probably deserves a little more context. Gray never addressed what was on his neck in the postgame press conference with reporters and umpires never raised eyebrows about what was there.
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And if it was pine tar, perhaps Red Sox manager Chad Tracy should’ve just left Gray in there instead of yanking him at 70 pitches and turning it over to a bullpen that promptly got shelled?
He seemed to be doing just fine, skip!