{"id":34931,"date":"2025-02-17T13:44:43","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=34931"},"modified":"2025-02-17T13:44:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:44:43","slug":"yankees-legend-taking-max-fried-under-his-wing-full-circle-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=34931","title":{"rendered":"Yankees legend taking Max Fried under his wing: \u2018Full-circle moment\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Max Fried couldn\u2019t help but smile.<\/p>\n

For years, Atlanta Braves pitching coach Rick Kranitz \u2014 one of the people closest to Fried in baseball \u2014 had told him the pitcher he reminded him the most of was New York Yankees legend Ron Guidry, a borderline Hall of Famer and fellow lefty. Now, inside the clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the 74-year-old Guidry was introducing himself to Fried.<\/p>\n

It was Fried\u2019s first day at spring training as a member of the New York Yankees. Guidry had just reported for another stint as a special instructor. How could it get any better?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a little bit of a full-circle moment,\u201d he said Sunday.<\/p>\n

In December, the Yankees gave Fried, 31, an eight-year, $218 million deal, the largest ever for a southpaw. It was because he\u2019s been one of the game\u2019s best pitchers for years. After Juan Soto\u2019s departure to the New York Mets, the Yankees dreamed of a rotation fronted by ace Gerrit Cole and Fried.<\/p>\n

Over eight seasons in Atlanta, Fried had a 3.07 ERA. He earned two top-five National League Cy Young Award finishes and made two All-Star Games. He likely doesn\u2019t need much help.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to hearing from Guidry, Fried plans to be all ears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to all types of conversations,\u201d he said, \u201cwhether it\u2019s about pitching in New York or pitching in general. Every amount of knowledge that\u2019s useful and he\u2019s willing to give me, I\u2019m open to hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The Maximum amount of Fried. pic.twitter.com\/rSB92vEr8H<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brendan Kuty \ud83e\udddf\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@BrendanKutyNJ) February 15, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Guidry has been a Yankees spring instructor for nearly 20 years. He said he has encountered his share of pitchers who didn\u2019t know his history or weren\u2019t particularly interested in what he had to say.<\/p>\n

When Guidry met Fried, he didn\u2019t know if Fried had any idea he even existed. Guidry was almost taken aback by how engaged Fried was in their conversation and how excited he seemed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to preach pitching to him,\u201d Guidry said. \u201cI just told him the first time I met him: \u2018I\u2019m here for six weeks. If you have questions and if you want to talk about something, don\u2019t hesitate to come find me if you want to talk.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On the contrary. When Kranitz brought up Guidry to Fried, the starting pitcher immediately did a deep dive. Baseball history has always been important to Fried. He wanted to know more about the man they called \u201cLouisiana Lightning\u201d and \u201cGator\u201d in the 1970s and \u201980s.<\/p>\n

\u201cLegendary Yankee,\u201d Fried said. \u201cCy Young Award winner. Obviously had the season where he went, like, 25-3.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fried was talking about 1978, when Guidry also had a 1.74 ERA in 35 starts, including 16 complete games and nine shutouts. He also served as a Yankees captain from 1986 until he retired in 1989. The team retired his No. 49 and dedicated a plaque to him in Monument Park. He was the Yankees\u2019 pitching coach in 2006 and 2007 under manager Joe Torre.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Guidry) threw a lot of really meaningful games and did it with two pitches (fastball and slider),\u201d Fried said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re as successful as he was with two pitches, you learn how to navigate and pitch, and it\u2019s not a coincidence that he had the career that he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fried believes Kranitz likened him to Guidry for a few reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a little bit more of the mentality of being on the attack and also just the ability to go after guys and have a good breaking ball, which was the primary focus, where Gator was more fastball-slider, and that was his game,\u201d Fried said. \u201cMine was more curveball, and I developed the slider. I think it was more like the mentality of the lefty, that kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"Yankees<\/p>\n

\n

Ron Guidry took part in the 75th Yankees Old-Timers\u2019 Day on Sept. 9, 2023. (Rich Graessle \/ USA Today)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Saturday, Fried pitched against hitters for the first time this spring, facing a crew of catchers including starter Austin Wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked great,\u201d Wells said of Fried\u2019s trademark curveball. \u201cAnd I think one of his more underrated pitches is his sweeper. It was good to see from the batter\u2019s box.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Fried pitched, Guidry watched from behind a screen near the dugout. He was studying Fried, the way Fried had studied him.<\/p>\n

Guidry said he wanted to \u201cget a mental idea of what he looks like when he\u2019s throwing\u201d so he can tell when Fried\u2019s mechanics are off and possibly relay it to him during the season.<\/p>\n

He added that he\u2019s looking forward to talking to Fried about how to handle Yankee Stadium. Guidry said that as he walked out to center field to warm up, he would look at the flags flying above the stadium, and if they were blowing to the right, the ball would carry to left field because of how the wind swirls within the stadium. Though the old stadium was closed in 2008, the new stadium was built across the street, and the wind behaves similarly there.<\/p>\n

Fried can\u2019t wait to hear all of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime that I can get that opportunity to talk to someone, especially someone who has an impressive resume as Gator, I\u2019m going to take the time,\u201d he said. \u201cVery humble guy. Someone you can tell has a lot of information. Someone who\u2019s also very respectful, and he doesn\u2019t want to overstep in any way.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants to be here. He wants to help. He\u2019s extremely helpful and engaging. I\u2019m looking forward to progressing the relationship and getting to know him more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guidry will be ready for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t bite anymore,\u201d Gator said.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck \/ Imagn Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Brendan Kuty<\/strong> is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees and MLB. He has covered the Yankees since 2014, most recently as a beat reporter for NJ Advance Media. Brendan was honored to receive the 2022 New Jersey Sportswriter of the Year award from the National Sports Media Association. He attended William Paterson University and the County College of Morris, and he is from Hopatcong, N.J.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fried met Ron Guidry, a Yankees spring instructor, for the first time and is taking advantage of the 74-year-old’s experience and wisdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":34932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-34931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees"],"yoast_head":"\nYankees legend taking Max Fried under his wing: \u2018Full-circle moment\u2019 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=34931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yankees legend taking Max Fried under his wing: \u2018Full-circle moment\u2019 - 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