The 30-year-old’s future in the MLB seems uncertain following the end of the 2024 season.
Key Takeaways
- Max Fried seems ready to say his goodbyes to the Atlanta Braves, a team he has played for over a decade.
- He was born in Santa Monica, California, to a family with a deep Jewish heritage.
- He started playing baseball very young and has represented the US internationally.
Max Fried, the American baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves in the MLB, had to retire from the Padres vs. Braves match following a Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. accidentally hit a line drive right into Fried’s backside.
The 30-year-old left-hander said,
It’s deflating and frustrating, knowing that we played a good enough game to ultimately win that. But I put us in too big of a hole and lost it. So, it’s definitely a tough one to swallow.
www.nytimes.com
Fried’s future with the Braves is uncertain. He will become a free agent after the 2024 season, and there have been no confirmed reports of a contract extension yet.
As the 2024 season concludes, many Braves and Fried fans are curious to know more about the pitcher, especially his personal life, background, and ethnicity.
Max Fried tips his cap to the home crowd as he walks off the Truist Park mound to a standing ovation. pic.twitter.com/A1kIjo0DtA
— MLB (@MLB) September 28, 2024
Max Fried was born Max Dorian Fried on January 18, 1994, in Santa Monica, California, to his parents, Carrie and Jonathan Fried.
Max and his parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish ethnicity.
His paternal grandfather, Amos Fried, was born in Tel Aviv, Israel.
His paternal grandmother is Doreen Rae Rosner, a California-born daughter of Polish Jewish parents.
Max’s maternal grandparents and great-grandparents also have Jewish roots in Poland and Ukraine.
Max has a younger brother, Jake Fried, who is also a baseball player. He played collegiate baseball for the University of Arizona.
He also has an older brother, but little information about him is available.
At just 7 years old, Max started attending the Reggie Smith Baseball Academy in Encino, California.
He pitched for the Team USA Juniors baseball team, which secured a gold at the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Fried initially went to Montclair College Preparatory School in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, participating in baseball, football, and basketball.
In 2011, he was honored as the Male High School Athlete of the Year by the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
After Montclair Prep cut its baseball team following his junior year, Fried transferred to Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles.
There, he wore the number 32 jersey in tribute to Sandy Koufax and played alongside future MLB pitchers like Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty.
The San Diego Padres chose Fried as the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.
Fried signed with the Padres for $3 million despite his commitment to the UCLA Bruins baseball team.
Max Fried began his professional career with the Arizona League Padres, the San Diego Padres’ rookie-level affiliate, in 2012, where he played for the entire season.
In 2014, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves.
A 23-year-old Max Fried debuted in the MLB for the Braves in August 2017.
I’ve never seen Braves pitcher Max Fried this emotional.. just sat at his locker.. taking it all in before and after visiting with the media.
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) October 3, 2024
I asked what it means to wear the Braves uniform….
“To me….It means everything” pic.twitter.com/m9zJXyHykI
After nearly a decade of dedication to the Braves, Fried’s future is uncertain as he is set to become a free agent following the end of the 2024 season.
While it seems he has made peace with the parting after today’s match, many fans hope to continue seeing him play for the Braves. Others wished him luck for whatever lies ahead.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Fried played a crucial role in the Atlanta Braves’ 2021 World Series victory. He pitched six shutout innings in the decisive Game 6 against the Astros, helping the Braves secure their first World Series title in 26 years.
- In 2024, Max set a record by holding hitters to a .075 batting average over four consecutive road starts. This is the lowest batting average allowed by any MLB pitcher over such a span in the modern era.
