NORTH PORT, Fla. — Alex Anthopoulos walked past Max Fried the other day when the Braves’ starting pitcher mentioned the countdown.
“He said something like, ‘I’m only 40 or whatever days from five years of service. Then I can’t be optioned,'” the team’s general manager said, laughing. “I said, ‘You can’t be serious. Are you crazy?’ But he said he always has that mentality, that it can end tomorrow. What I’m amazed about him is he still has that humility, that drive, where he will never take anything for granted.
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“I mean, he might have said that a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but the fact that he knew the number says everything.”
Fried has been the ace of the Braves’ pitching rotation for three seasons. During that period he has finished the season with a sub-three ERA twice, placed fifth and second in Cy Young voting, won three Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger and been named an All-Star. He pitched a gem in the World Series clincher over the Astros in 2021 and had a strong 2022 season until having a miserable start in the NLDS opener against the Phillies — six runs, four earned, eight hits in 3 1/3 innings in a 7-6 loss — after being significantly weakened by illness.
I sat with Fried for 40 minutes to chat on a number of subjects, including how sick he really was, why he pitched that day, the genesis of his mental toughness, his days as “an anxiety-ridden mess,” meditation and, of course, his contract. The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
I want to start with how it ended for you last season — the playoff start against the Phillies. You had been battling a stomach bug. How bad was it?
“It was frustrating not being at my physical peak when you needed it the most. You go through a full season, and obviously, we didn’t start the way we wanted but we made a charge and clinched the division, then not being at my physical best was tough. I wanted to make sure coming into this season I did everything I possibly could so that wouldn’t happen again — diet, taking care of myself better, working out, cardio, things like that.”
But that was so random — you can’t prevent that from happening again.
“Of course. But towards the end of a season sometimes your body wears down and you’re a little more susceptible. Me not being the biggest of human beings, I didn’t have much to lose so the effect is a little more pronounced. It was like a viral infection that turned into a bacterial infection, so I got sick twice and the next thing you know it was 10 days into this thing and I wasn’t getting a whole lot better and they didn’t have a lot of answers. I lost like 15 pounds in a week. I don’t have 15 pounds to lose. (Fried is listed at 6-4, 190.)
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How did you feel the morning of the game?
“I remember I didn’t feel great but it’s one of those things I try not to think about. Honestly, the thought of letting my teammates down was just like, whatever I could do. I’ve always felt whether I’m at 100 percent or 60 percent I was going to give 100 percent of what I had and hope it would be enough.”
Atlanta starter Max Fried sits in the dugout after being pulled in the fourth inning against the Phillies last season in Game 1 of the NLDS. (Brett Davis / USA Today)Everybody talks about your mental toughness. We’ve spoken about you being born during an earthquake in Los Angeles, so I guess that kinda makes sense. (See story from 2019 here.)
“I got that from my mom. She’s a trooper. She showed her true colors in a moment like that.
But seriously, you’ve come back from Tommy John, had some early career struggles and you had a couple of tough postseason starts in 2021 before the great Game 6 in the World Series clincher. What have you learned about mental toughness?
“The mental part is the toughest part about pitching. Whether you have a really good outing or a bad outing, you have four or five days to think about it and to let it negatively or positively impact you. So I try to keep myself on an even keel as much as possible and try to take a subjective look at it. How can I get better? Even if I throw seven shutout innings I’ll still pick out certain things to try to get better. I’m never completely satisfied.”
Was that something you had to develop?
“Absolutely. I was not always like this. I was an anxiety-ridden mess in the minors. You have a lot of self-doubts and uncertainties. You’re not in the best environments. You’re on your own. From 18-22, I was just trying to figure out my life. There’s a lot of trial and error. I’ve always adjusted my thought processes and tried to self-improve.”
Any specific things you can share?
“Personally, meditation. Especially when I’m nervous and feeling overwhelmed. Being able to take a step back and take 10 or 15 minutes just to breathe and re-center yourself and not allow all the emotional feelings and anxieties that rush over you when you make emotional decisions. Recognize what going on and be able to adjust.”
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Learning what’s in your control and what isn’t?
“That’s a hard one. People always tell it to you but until it resonates and you put it into practice — it actually does work. If you let the outside stuff affect you, it just adds more weight and expectations and you find yourself trying to please other people instead of yourself. It has to start with that.”
Who have you relied on for advice?
“As far as pitchers who I’ve been exposed to here, the two that jump out are Charlie (Morton) and Cole Hamels. Both are unbelievable pitchers but beyond that genuine and good people. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on off the field and when you have veteran guys who’ve been there and done it, it allows you to shorten that learning curve and ask them for advice.”
Pitching coach Rick Kranitz talked about your constant desire to get better and expand your repertoire — adding a slider, asking Hamels for advice on throwing a changeup, adding a two-seamer vs. lefties and righties. He said you’re a difficult pitcher for an opponent to game-plan for. It’s like Greg Maddux didn’t throw 100 but the hitter didn’t know what he was going to do.
“In this day and age of big fastballs, you have to self-evaluate. I’m not someone who has a big swing-and-miss fastball but I have an ability to spin the baseball and manipulate the ball. I’ve been fortunate to have a staff and someone like Kranny there to let me develop into the player that I am but also to develop in safe steps rather than all at once. It’s been a concerted effort to slowly implement things organically and not get overwhelmed.”
So this story about you telling Alex that you were only a certain number of days from the five-year mark. Is that legit?
“Yeah, I may have said that. I mean, it feels like a long time ago but it also feels like yesterday that I would get called up to the big leagues and make a start, and then after the start, I’d get a tap on my shoulder and they’d say, ‘We’re going to send you back down. We need the roster spot,’ and remembering how that felt. Just knowing the shuttle, there’s always a little bit of you that remembers where you were back in 2017 and 2018. It’s a motivator. It’s something to keep you on your toes. I’ve been a witness too many times from personal experience that this game can humble you real quick.”
So when do you hit five years?
“A full season is 172 days and I think I have 148. I need 24 days.”
Cool — then you can feel secure enough financially to open up a checking account.
“Hah, yeah.”
It took me this long but it’s a good segue for the contract question. The team has given out a number of long-term contracts, most recently to two rookies, Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider. You’re 29 and playing on one-year arbitration decisions, two years from free agency. Does that bother you?
“Obviously, when you see the flood of contracts coming in … look, I’m ecstatic for these guys. They’re getting a lot of guaranteed money and they’re young. They’re getting money and they’re going to get a second bite of the apple (with free agency) when they’re 30 or 31. It’s known I got up here a little later than them — I was 24, and five or six years after that you’re 30, so the timing is a little bit different. But knowing the way the business works, it’s easier to take a step back and understand why it’s happening. I didn’t think, ‘Why not me?’ Circling back to what we were talking about earlier, not having any expectations and having gratitude, I’m happy where I’m at.”
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You know how the business works. See guys leave here, does that bring home the reality of the business to you?
“If you told me three or four years ago that I’d have one of the longest tenures with the Braves, I’d tell you you’re crazy. But it is a business. You make lifelong friendships with these people. It’s hard not to get those wires crossed, but at the end of the day you just have to realize that people come and go.”
How do you feel about this team, and do you have a sense of whether guys have any extra motivation because of what happened in the playoffs last year?
“I definitely think coming off a year, when you don’t finish the way you’d like, a lot of guys came to spring a little hungrier. We have a lot of guys who’ve gone through a season and got to the playoffs and now they know what that entails — the focus, the intensity, that you need to bring every day. You can tell a lot of guys have that little switch now, ‘OK, I know what I’m in for.’ We have a lot of new guys and young guys, too, and we’re bringing them along. We have a really good team. We mesh really well. If you have that you’re more likely to see success off the field.”
(Photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)
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