Years ago, as a kid in Encino, California, he learned the skill from one of the baseball greats—Reggie Smith! Reggie, a seven-time All-Star and a World Series winner, was more than just a mentor ...

Growing up in the Los Angeles area, Fried attended Reggie Smith’s baseball academy and learned from the ex-MLB outfielder “a bunch of different grips’’ to throw the curveball ...

That would be Reggie Smith, who spent 17 seasons in the majors ... “I’ve always kind of had a feel or a knack for spinning the baseball. It’s more or less been a natural pitch.” ...