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Yankees ace Max Fried impressed against the Rockies in Saturday's start, giving up just a single run on six hits in 7.1 innings. Notably, Fried also picked two runners at first base, earning huge praise from his teammates.
Jordan Beck and Aaron Schunk were the lefty's victims, and it all happened in three innings. Anthony Volpe tagged Beck at second base while Goldschmidt did the same to Schunk at first.
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Speaking to the media, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt gave their take on Max Fried's pickoff.
"Just from the times I faced him and been on first base, I don't think I moved," Judge said [1:45]. "I just stared at him, and I waited till I saw that ball probably in the catcher's glove before I took my lead. It's just, it's impressive."
The Yankees captain called Fried's pickoff the best in the game and admitted it was cool to see it happen every five days. Bellinger, another offseason addition to the Yankees like Fried, shared the same sentiment.
"Yeah, it's disgusting. I mean, I would use, that's probably the word," Bellinger said [0:39].
The 2019 NL MVP hailed the lefty ace, citing his versatility to get outs.
"I mean, it's the best move I've seen," Goldschmidt said [0:11]. "Definitely remember being on first base as an opposing base runner and just trying to stay as close to the base as possible."
The 2022 NL MVP particularly praised Fried's concentration in holding runners on base while also executing great pitches.
Max Fried shares how he became good at his pickoff move
Max Fried's ERA of 1.29 after 11 starts is the lowest for any Yankees pitcher in history, since the stats were officially noted in 1913. The most intriguing part of Fried is his deceptive pickoff.
The move closely resembles his pitching motion, particularly in the early stages, making it extremely difficult for the runners on base to distinguish.
Following his latest start against the Rockies, Fried shared how he perfected the deceptive move.
"High school," Fried said of where he learned the move [0:05]. "So, you know, just being able to read runners, and there's just more of trying a lot in high school and a lot of trial and error. And been able to kind of you know, fine-tune it and make it a lot better in pro ball."
Max Fried joined the Yakees as a free agent on December 17, 2024, for an eight-year, $218M contract, the highest for a lefty ace. With the Bronx Bombers losing Gerrit Cole to injury, Fried has stepped up and has been the best offseason acquisition for the team.
