MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

October 26, 2021

Max Fried

Minute Maid Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. How will you be able to handle your emotions heading into your first World Series start?

MAX FRIED: Obviously, this is what you dream about as a kid. From the time that I started playing, you dream about playing in the World Series. But at the end of the day, you have to know what got you here. I've got a lot of really good guys that are going to be able to be there and support me and got my back.

So just focus on executing pitches and really just trying to tap into what got us here, just playing our game.

Q. I'm wondering what kind of influence Charlie Morton has been on you this year and what influence he might be even going forward in this series?

MAX FRIED: Absolutely. Charlie's been just a very calming influence. He's someone that's obviously had a lot of experience, and he never really gets too high or too low. He's pretty even keeled.

To have someone day in and day out to kind of look to and have as that anchor, it really helps you because obviously you have a lot of emotions that go throughout the year, and the more even keeled you can be, you're able to stay level headed and make the best logical decisions in the moment.

Especially when you go into really emotional games, especially when it comes to playoff games, to be able to look to him in these circumstances is really, really helpful.

Q. As you sit there and talk about emotions and staying even keel, I think people that just see your interviews would think you're the most unemotional person alive. What goes on inside you, though? Because people say on the mound you're as competitive and fiery as anybody they know. How do you turn that on and off when you're in a game?

MAX FRIED: It's been a lot of hard work. It's just more of you have to really trust the work and the preparation that you've put up until this point. You do a lot of work in the off-season, all the years in the Minor Leagues, even the time between starts and even the starts you make throughout this year to really just trust your process and really just kind of give it your all.

There's a lot of at times self-doubt and some anxiety that goes along, but to be able to sit there and know that I'm going to give it everything that I have every single time that I go out there and I'm going to leave it all out on the field, it kind of just calms you down and allows you to see things a little bit more clearly.

Q. When you look at those two games against the Dodgers, I think you would say it might not have gone as well as you would have wanted. What do you think you learned from that series?

MAX FRIED: Really just not trying to do too much. I think that's any time that I kind of get outside of that and maybe trying to make -- you know, throw a little bit harder or throw a ball by a guy, you know, just things that really just allow myself to get too big in the moment rather than just looking at the glove and focusing on the glove and executing that pitch right then and there.

When I have more of a pitch-by-pitch mentality instead of an at-bat to an at-bat mentality, things can speed up on you a little bit. To be able to take a deep breath and know that, if I make this pitch right here, that's all I really can control in the moment and be able to just kind of go from there.

Q. Kind of piggy-backing on that, what were your main take-aways from your last outing? In general, what are your thoughts on this Astros lineup you're about to face?

MAX FRIED: Last outing, played a good team that's seen me a little bit, and they were aggressive in the zone. When I made mistakes, they hit them. Some balls that I thought might have gotten to the corner were hanging out over the plate, and they were taking really good swings.

And about the Astros lineup, it's a really good team. They take really good at-bats. They're going to make you throw strikes. They're not going to chase a ton. They've obviously been here. They've been in the moment. They've played a lot of playoff games.

So you know that this moment and the crowd and everything isn't going to be too big for them. They're going to be ready to come out here and win baseball games.

So to really just bear down, and at the end of the day, if we play our game, we know that we're a really good team and we have a chance to win.

Q. Max, this actually plays off that answer a little bit. Has Charlie given you any advice about pitching in this park against this team? He's pitched against them this time of year. He's pitched for them this time of year. He's really seen them at their best. I wonder if he has any insight that can help you in your situation.

MAX FRIED: I think the biggest thing that he's really conveyed is just having the trust in yourself. We got here for a reason, and what we've done up until this point has been plenty good enough. So just trust what you can do and trust that you're good enough and the stuff that you've been doing is going to be able to get them out at this level.

At the end of the day, it's still baseball. So you've got to be able to throw the ball where you want and keep hitters off balance. If you really just trust what you do and stay within yourself, that's going to be plenty good enough.

Q. Max, I know you guys are really good about staying within the clubhouse and not necessarily listening to outside noise or stuff, but how would you respond to those that might think this team is just happy to be here? What is the mindset right now of you guys on this stage?

MAX FRIED: If you asked us at the beginning of the year what our goal was, it was to win the World Series. It's kind of been the goal the whole entire year. Obviously, we're excited about having this opportunity to kind of have that goal come to fruition, but we know that we've got four more games to win.

We're here. We're ready to go. We're going to play some good baseball. We're going to leave it all out there. I think that's -- I think we're just ready to get going.

Q. Any messages or phone calls the last few days from Jack or Lucas or Matt or Ethan?

MAX FRIED: Yeah, just messages of encouragement, congratulations, great job, go take it home. Just little tidbits.

Q. All of them or any particular?

MAX FRIED: Yeah, everyone's kind of reached out and given their best.

Q. Max, talking about these big moments, what strikes you about how Ian Anderson has been able to perform with very little experience in the Major Leagues in lots of big moments over the last couple of years?

MAX FRIED: It doesn't surprise me. I don't think it surprises a lot of guys. For a guy as young as he is, he's extremely confident in who he is as a person. And he knows what he brings, and he knows what his ability is. And he knows that, if he goes out there and executes his game plan, that he's going to do a pretty good job.

To have that at a young age and not a lot of experience is really awesome, and it's really admirable. He's as confident as they come. He's cool. He's calm. You see him before a start, and it's just like it's any other day.

He uses it to his advantage, and he goes out there and just has fun and plays baseball.