Perhaps more so than any other sport, Atlanta Braves fans know that whenever a big-name free agent comes available, we'll hear the same teams leading the pursuit.
It gets tiring, but the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers are spending money at an unheard-of rate in recent years. Those markets always receive the white glove treatment from the media, thanks to the big pockets their respective owners have and the markets they call home.
Fortunately, former Braves ace Max Fried was not going to take the bait during a recent interview with Chris Rose. As you can see from the clip below, Rose tried to get Fried to tackle the age-old conversation of just how difficult it is to be a star player in New York City.
Yes, we are still having that debate in 2025, which is mind-boggling considering how connected everyone is to everything in this day and age. Thankfully, Fried provided Rose with a logical response when explaining why it is no different than the pressure he felt pitching for Atlanta during his tenure with the Braves.
There is no doubt that the New York media market in particular is different than most within MLB. Fried is right with his response to this question, though. The Braves are quite literally the MLB team of choice for the majority of the Southeast.
If Fried had a stretch of bad starts for Atlanta, he wasn't just hearing it from fans in Georgia but an entire region of the country. If you want to question the pressure Braves players face year in and year out, check out any SEC message board during football season and see just how serious these fans are when it comes to their sports.
Seeing Fried leave Atlanta for New York was a tough pill to swallow for Braves fans everywhere. It is hard to fault the ace for accepting an eight-year, $217 million contract offer, though. If Fried had to leave the franchise, at least he went to the American League as opposed to joining one of the Braves' National League rivals.