A native of Santa Monica, Calif., Max Fried dominated in high school. He wore No. 32 in honor of Sandy Koufax. He was named the 2011 Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Male High School Athlete of the Year.

Fried was selected by San Diego as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. By 2014, he was ranked as the Padres’ top pitching prospect. However, he was injured most of the year and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery.

After the season, he was part of trade that sent him to Atlanta. He spent all of 2015 on the sidelines recovering from surgery. He made his major-league debut with the Braves on Aug. 8, 2017. By 2020 he became the Braves’ pitching ace, going 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA while winning a Gold Glove Award for fielding.

In eight total seasons with Atlanta he had a 73-36 record , a 3.07 ERA and tossed four shutouts. He was named an All-Star in 2022 and 2024 and won three Gold Gloves. He signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees in 2025.

Fried returned in 2016. He was called up to the Braves on Aug. 5, 2017. He debuted on Aug. 8, throwing two scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

In 2020, he won a Gold Glove Award as the top-fielding National League pitcher. He won the award again in 2021 as well as a Silver Slugger Award as the NL’s best-hitting pitcher.

He was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 2021 World Series, in which the Braves clinched the title with a 7-0 victory over Houston. Fried pitched four-hit ball over the first six innings, striking out six and walking none.

Following the 2024 season, he became a free agent and signed with the New York Yankees on an eight-year contract worth $218 million