Jewish Pitcher Picked No. 7 in Baseball Draft

By JTA June 5, 2012

Max Fried, an 18-year-old high school graduate from Los Angeles, was selected by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.

Fried, a left-handed pitcher, was chosen seventh overall in Monday’s draft.

The teen, who wore the number 32 at Harvard-Westlake High School in honor of Jewish Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, told the Los Angeles Times that Koufax is his baseball hero. His curveball is also similar to Koufax’s.

Fried was a member of the 2009 gold medal-winning USA 18th World Maccabiah Juniors baseball team.

The newspaper predicts that it will take about $3 million to sign Fried, who had already committed in November to play for UCLA.

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