Max Fried Reveals Which Yankees Star Made Him Nervous

The comment wasn’t made in a postgame scrum or on a podcast—it came during a special moment with Carmine and Vincent Gagliano, two young Yankees fans from Brooklyn battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 

The brothers, both sports superfans, are being honored this week as part of the Yankees’ annual HOPE Week celebration spotlighting inspiring community stories.

Fried, alongside Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, took part in hosting the brothers Thursday for a behind-the-scenes tour of Yankee Stadium. The kids joined the team on the field, met players, and even helped with in-game announcements. They served as the public address announcers for the first inning and made appearances on the YES Network and WFAN during the third and fourth innings, respectively.

The best moment, though, may have come during the interview segment with Fried.

When asked about the toughest hitters he’s ever faced, Fried gave Aaron Judge his due—“he’s definitely up there”—but circled back quickly to Stanton.

 Fried has good reason to be afraid of his teammate. 

Stanton remains one of the hardest hitters in the game, boasting a 95 mph average exit velocity, which puts him among baseball’s elite when it comes to pure contact power. 

And, it was a good question from the young reporters.