Yankees Star Reveals Surprising Role Model

New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried is having an excellent year. Fried is the first pitcher in the MLB this season to reach 10 wins and is making history of his own in New York, but as a kid in Los Angeles, he looked up to one iconic pitcher in particular.

In a deep dive on Fried for the New York Post, Howie Kussoy described Fried's upbringing and longtime adoration for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax. He quoted the ace on Koufax's influence.

“Outside of being arguably the greatest Jewish athlete, he was one of the greatest pitchers in major league history,” Fried shared. “But the kind of person that he is, and was as a player, is someone that you definitely want to idolize and look up to.”

Fried, 31, was born long after Koufax retired in 1966, but adored "the Left Arm of God" from a very young age. He met the Dodgers legend at the 2018 National League Division Series, where he enjoyed a private moment to thank his hero. The starter modeled his curveball after Koufax's, sharing at 16 that he studied old World Series games and photos, and had even written a report on the legendary pitcher in elementary school.

The lefty made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Atlanta Braves, where he played for eight seasons. During his time there, he played in two All-Star games (2022 and 2024), won three Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger Award.

This season, he has a 1.92 ERA with a 10-2 record in 17 starts with the Yankees, and has been floated as a pitcher for the AL All-Star game. Yankees manager Aaron Boone is not ruling it out.

“That’s down the road, we’ll see,” Boone said. “Making a case though.”

When asked about his 10th win of the season, Fried responded nonchalantly, pointing out the contributions of the whole team.

“I guess it’s cool but we’re all here just trying to win games," Fried said. "A lot of it is credit to my teammates. It’s nice, but that’s more of a team stat than an individual one."

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