NL DIVISION SERIES: BREWERS VS BRAVES

October 8, 2021

Max Fried

American Family Field

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. What have these last few years postseason done for you, last year especially, just having that chance to (indiscernible)?

MAX FRIED: I'd say familiarity, experience. There's nothing replacing experience. A lot of times when you come into it you don't know what to expect or how different the game is, but over the last couple of years you just realize that it's just a little bit more intense regular season game.

You just go out there know if you execute your pitches do everything you did in the regular season it should translate. I'm not trying to put too much pressure on yourself and ideally just going out there trying to get a win.

Q. What has been the difference for you the second half of the season out there? Everything has been kind of working for you. What's changed?

MAX FRIED: I think you get to the part of the year where everything kind of lines up with the mental side. Physically, just kind of being in sync and just being on a really good page with game plans and the catcher, Travis.

And also we've just been playing real good team baseball. Feeding off one another. Obviously the acquisitions at the deadline helped us out gave us a nice boost. I think when you have that kind of chemistry and you get that, more of that energy boost of, hey, this is the time when you start winning games. Things just started rolling and just gotta keep your head down, just focus on that game that day.

Q. I'm wondering with fans in the stands, unlike last year, do you have to be a little more in tune with your emotions?

MAX FRIED: I think we've had a pretty good dose of that just this year, going from zero fans to a playoff atmosphere in Texas last year where they had limited number to expanding it to full capacity.

I just think that we've kind of gotten a taste. It's gotten pretty loud in some places down the stretch here. Obviously the playoffs is a different animal. But I think there's been enough time to kind of ease our way back into having fans. And I don't think it's going to be too big of an obstacle.

Q. Dansby said that -- he was talking about how close he is with you and he was saying how proud he is of you and he likes when somebody takes ownership of their career. What do you think in the last couple of years, what is he referring to? Have you been able to kind of -- once you got healthy, just concentrate on your career and what you needed to do to figure things out? What exactly has happened in the last couple of years, do you think?

MAX FRIED: First of all, just kind of -- be able to say the same thing about Dansby. I think at a certain point you get to the big leagues and you're really unsure what you need to take that next step or succeed. A lot of times, for me, I felt I was just trying to survive. Just trying to figure out if I was good enough, or if I was able to really just have my stuff play at the highest level.

So once you kind of get over that initial testing period, I think for me it was just more about what do I need to do in my preparation from one start to the next to make sure I'm going to be the best prepared to go out there and win a game.

When they hand me a ball, have I been able to make -- make sure I've checked off everything on my checklist, and just say now I'm ready to just go out there and compete and win. I think I've been able to find some things that worked for me.

And I think maybe that's what he was referring to. But at every point in your career you kind of have to just sit there say this is what works for me. Not everyone's alike and you have to stick to what you do best to go out there and perform.

Q. Has Charlie's arrival kind of come at a good time for you as far as that's concerned, to kind of finish maybe some things and help you out with a few more things?

MAX FRIED: Yeah, of course. Charlie's one of the nicest human beings I've come across. He's always been completely open from the first day in spring to even right now.

So he's obviously gone through a lot in this game. He's experienced a lot. And having someone that is as accomplished as he is and has gone through as much as he has, to be able to have someone like that in your corner that you can go to at any time is really, really valuable. So just being able to lean on him has been big, really big.

Q. Charlie talked yesterday about how well rounded the Brewers lineup is. Can you give us your assessment of this group of hitters?

MAX FRIED: They do a really good job of handing it off to the next guy. It's a veteran team that knows what their plan and approach are. And they're not going to give in, especially in this kind of atmosphere, this kind of game. They're going to make the right calls of moving a guy over, trying to drive someone in when they need to.

So you're going to have to be on top of your game, bring your A game. Every postseason game you have to do that. But this lineup, they've won a lot of games this year for a reason. They're able to put it together and play a really good team game.

Q. (Indiscernible) replacing experience, there's quite a few of you now in the clubhouse who have experience in the postseason. How has that changed, do you think, the demeanor in the clubhouse as you approached this postseason and maybe comparison to the past?

MAX FRIED: Just confidence, not going into it wondering what might happen. We've kind of been there before. Obviously nothing's going to be the exact same. But to be able to come in, have some familiarity of what the atmosphere is going to be like, what to expect late in the game, in a playoff game, in a deciding game.

It's no longer speeding up. At the end of the day, the person with the slower heartbeat normally has the advantage. So just being able to take it pitch by pitch. Not get too overwhelmed and just go out there and play our game.

Q. Dylan Lee, we don't know a ton about him. He's fairly new. What can you give us as far as having him around right now, what he adds to this roster?

MAX FRIED: I met him when he came up. Didn't know much about him here. But from the time that we got him, he's just very competitive. He's not afraid. He came in day one, was very focused. In the outings I saw, he was going after guys. A lot of times you get intimidated, or especially that late in the year, and to come up to make your debut to be able to go out there, attack, show your stuff like that, it was really awesome. So I know that when he gets the opportunity, I'm confident he'll be ready.