Philip Hughes is the number-one prospect in the New York Yankees organization and one of the top prospects in all of baseball. A 20-year-old right-handed-pitcher, he also grew up a Red Sox fan. We talked to Hughes, a native of Santa Ana, California who has family roots in Rhode Island, during the Eastern League playoff series between the Trenton Thunder and the Portland Sea Dogs.



RSN: You pitched against Portland several times this year. Are there any Sea Dog hitters in particular that have impressed you?

PH: I think I've pitched against them five times, and there are definitely some good hitters here. I know that I've struggled in this park (Hadlock Field), although I've also improved over the course of my own season. Early on, I think Luis Jimenez hit me pretty well. Later it was Jeremy West. Those are two who come to mind.

RSN: Do you consider Portland versus Trenton a rivalry?

PH: To an extent. I think the fans probably enjoy it more than the players, though. It's been a long season, and we're less interested in who we're playing than the fact that we're in the playoffs. Still, this is New England, and it's Red Sox/Yankees, so it's fun.

RSN: You pitched against Greenville last year. Was that similar?

PH: It was kind of the same in that it was probably bigger for the fans. It was the first pro season for many of us, so we didn't have any history with it as a rivalry. I think it's safe to say that it means a lot more in the big leagues, in part because guys like Jason Varitek and Derek Jeter see each other so much. The rivalry gets to them, as they're battling each other year after year.

RSN: Having grown up a Red Sox fan, what is like following the rivalry while playing in the Yankees organization?

PH: When I was a Red Sox fan….it was more of a childhood thing. I think the teams are different now. The players are different, and up until a few years ago there hadn't been the big brawls. Of course, the teams are always one-two in the American League East, so it's always going to be exciting. I followed it a lot more when I was younger and had more free time.

RSN: How is your family approaching you playing with the Yankees?

PH: My dad has been a Red Sox fan since he was a kid, but as I'm moving up the levels it's getting tougher for him. It's easier for my mom, because she mostly just roots for me.

RSN: Do you remember your first time in Fenway Park?

PH: I believe that I was 9 or 10, and we had been visiting my grandma in Rhode Island when we went. My parents brought me, and I remember that Mo Vaughn and Nomar (Garciaparra) homered. They were my favorite players at the time.

RSN: Did you go to any games in Pawtucket when you visited Rhode Island?

PH: I did, and it was fun going to McCoy Stadium. You know how kids lower the cups down from the stands, with strings, trying to get autographs? I used to do that. I know I got one guy to sign something for me, although I can't remember who it was.

RSN: What do you remember about the 2003 ALCS?

PH: I remember that clearly, especially Game 7. I had a high school job at Baskin Robbins, and had to work that night. I kept calling my mom to check the score, and the last time she said some guy named Boone had homered in extra innings and the game was over. I was like, "Oh, no!"

RSN: What is your opinion of Grady Little having left Pedro Martinez in the game that night?

PH: I don't blame him, because you have to go with a guy like that. If you have someone like Pedro, you have to keep him in the game because he's the best pitcher in baseball. It's just one of those things where it didn't work out.

RSN: What are your memories of the 2004 postseason?

PH: I had just got home while the ALCS was going on. It seems like the Series against the Cardinals went by really quickly after the ALCS. I hadn't made a splash in pro ball at that point, and I can say that I rooted for the Red Sox against the Cardinals. It was definitely memorable.

Great job, David! What a likeable kid. It'll be tough to start hating him with the intensity of a thousand white-hot suns when he slips on the major-league pinstripes.

I think a great interview would be his father. While certainly his love for his son trumps all, it's got to be a bit gut-wrenching every time he sees him in an Evil Empire-affiliated uniform.

I like the interview, but this guy already has the "Yankee Interview Style" (aka the Belichick Interview Style- offend nobody) down pat.

Too bad he lost his Jedi roots. He could have been a great warrior for The Force.

If the recent Ortiz MVP comments are indicative of the non-Yankee interview style, I am thrilled (as a Yankee fan) that Hughes has the "Yankee interview style" down pat.

I really enjoyed this interview, albeit short. C'mon, Yankees, start his clock so we can get him in FA

Or trade Yankee fan Hansen for Red Sox fan Hughes? Heck, make it a three-way with Tampa Bay and bring Baldelli back to his rightful place.

I don't care if my sons, grandsons, brothers, daughters, granddaughters, mother, father, grandmothers, and grandfathers were all signed by the Yankees. I'd root for relatives individually, sure. But you never, ever, ever, ever root for the Yankees as a whole. Not if you were raised a Red Sox fan. Not even Hughes himself can root for the Yankees, those carefully worded answers don't fool me.



Seriously, though...He seems like a good and smart kid, it'll be painful when he's mowing the Sox down for the next five years. Don't be Anakin! Demand a trade, Phil!