Max Fried has been proving he’s an elite pitcher, showing no need for any special adjustment in his first year with the New York Yankees. His performance has also put him on par with a World Series champion who won two rings with the Bombers.
Through his first 11 starts of the season, Fried owns a 1.29 ERA — a stretch so dominant that the Yankees haven’t seen anything like it since 1978. That year, Ron Guidry was the last to post a start like this, officially making Fried’s ERA the second-lowest in any 11-start span within a season in franchise history.
Even without Gerrit Cole, the Yankees have watched Fried quickly step in as the rotation’s most dominant arm, leading several internal stats, including the fewest innings pitched among starters with 62.2 — despite being the most effective.
Another brilliant start for Fried
This isn’t the first time Fried has delivered an exceptional 11-game stretch. Back in the 2020 MLB season, he recorded a 2.25 ERA across 56 innings in the only 11 games he pitched that year, finishing with a perfect 7-0 record.
As for Guidry, he had several elite seasons with the Yankees. In 1978, he not only opened the year with a low ERA but went on to finish the season with a 1.74 ERA and the best win-loss record of his career at 25-3.
Yankees thriving on the mound
Fried currently leads all of MLB with his 1.29 ERA, but it’s not just him — the Yankees, despite other issues on the roster, have the second-best team ERA in the league at 3.37. That’s just behind the Phillies (3.36) and ahead of the Astros (3.43).