Max Fried Credits Braves For Smooth Transition To Yankees

Former Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried showed the team and its fans some love during a talk about his move to the New York Yankees.

In an interview with Chris Rose Sports, Fried credited his experience with the Braves and their fanbase for getting him conditioned for the spotlight of New York. He wouldn't discredit the size of Braves Country, as big as New York may be.

“New York is New York but Atlanta has a huge fanbase," Fried said. "They've basically got the entire South. Anywhere you go in the South, you travel on the road, Braves fans would show up all the time. So, I feel like there's a lot of similarities that, in this scenario, it doesn't feel all that different."

He's found some career-best success in the early part of his first season in pinstripes. Given their high expectations for success, it's made the arrival a pleasure. New York can be an area that, as Chris Rose descibe, can "chew you up and spit you out." That hasn't been an issue for him.

The winning mindset of the Braves organization helped make him a good fit in the Bronx as well.

"There's just a no nonsense, like we're here to win mentality, and that's a lot of similarities to what I experienced in Atlanta," he said, "and at the end of the day, it's just going out there and competing against the guys on the other team and trying to win."

In 12 starts, Fried has a 1.92 ERA, a 0.973 WHIP and 70 strikeouts on 75 pitches. He started off 7-0 before taking his first loss in the Yankees 8-5 loss to the Dodgers.

Right now, he's looking he could be the man to take the ball for the American League to start the All-Star Game in front of his old home crowd. Braves fans will be overjoyed to see his return alongside other former Braves, such as Freddie Freeman, who is a heavy favorite to start for the National League at first base.

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