Fried locks up his first NL Gold Glove Award
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ATLANTA -- While proving he has the potential to be one of the game’s top starters, Max Fried flashed enough defense to add to the list of Braves pitchers who have won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
Fried was honored with his first Gold Glove Award when the results were announced on Tuesday night. The left-hander is the first Braves pitcher to win the honor since Mike Hampton halted Greg Maddux’s once-annual reign in 2003.
This honor adds to the significance of this season for Fried, who produced a 2.25 ERA over 11 regular-season starts and then saw the Braves win three of his first four career postseason starts.
Along with committing just one error in 17 chances this year, Fried continued to successfully limit the running game. His four pickoffs matched San Francisco’s Tyler Anderson for an MLB-high, and the nine pickoffs Fried has totaled since the start of 2019 also stand as the game’s highest total.
Fried joins Hampton, Maddux and Phil Niekro as the only Braves pitchers to ever win a Gold Glove Award. Maddux won this honor during each of his first 10 seasons (1993-2002) with Atlanta, and Niekro won five times from 1978-83.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson and center fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. were the only other Braves to be named a finalist for a Gold Glove Award this year. The Cubs’ Javier Báez won the award for shortstops and the Padres’ Trent Grisham was deemed the best defensive center fielder.