Saying goodbye to a star player is never easy, which is a feeling that Atlanta Braves fans experienced this past winter. After spending eight seasons in Atlanta and winning the 2021 World Series with the Braves, former ace Max Fried left town to join the New York Yankees on a massive eight-year, $218 million contract.
Since leaving town, Fried has continued to pitch like one of baseball's best hurlers, firmly putting him in the American League Cy Young race. Although it's been tough for Atlanta fans to see their former ace thriving in the Big Apple, the fanbase can relax knowing that Fried's latest actions prove that he'll always be a Brave at heart.
Braves Fans Will Love How Yankees LHP Max Fried Snubbed Mets Hat
Over the weekend, Fried participated in an autograph signing with sports clothing brand Fanatics. When given a New York Mets hat to sign, the former Braves star simply glared at whoever handed him the hat before tossing it aside without a second thought.
Fried followed up the toss with a nonchalant nod before going back to signing baseballs as if nothing ever happened.
Without a doubt, Braves fans will love Fried's gesture that happened almost five months to the day that he signed with the Yankees. The Mets are one of the Braves' NL East rivals, so any time a former player sticks it to them is a win in the Atlanta fanbase's books.
Fried has been one of the MLB's top pitchers of the last decade, and a lot of that success came when facing the Mets. In 24 career outings (19 starts) against the Mets, the Santa Monica, CA native owns a 2.50 ERA with 121 strikeouts across 115 innings. In fact, his nine wins against New York are his most against any franchise.
Although he didn't get a win in his start against the Mets on Sunday, Fried still only allowed two earned runs with eight strikeouts across six innings. He now boasts an MLB-best 6-0 record with a 1.29 ERA and 60 Ks in his first 10 starts with the Yankees, playing a huge role in his owning the third-best AL Cy Young odds (+480) on FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Braves and Yankees don't face off until a three-game series at Truist Park in July, meaning fans still have to wait a few more months for Fried to make his A-Town return. Whether or not he's still playing at a Cy Young level by then remains to be seen, but until then, Atlanta fans will continue cheering him on as long as he continues acting like a Brave after his exit.
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