Yankees pitcher Max Fried is speaking his truth about the origin story of his dog’s name, Apollo Fried. If you thought the name sounded familiar, you are most likely a fan of Rocky, the classic boxing film franchise starring Oscar-nominated actor Sylvester Stallone. However, Fried revealed to the New York Times that it was not his intention to name his dog after Rocky’s rival, Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers.

Fried, who just signed to the Yankees in December 2024 to an eight-year, $218 million contract, told the publication that he was obsessed with “staring into the nighttime stars.” Having such an interest in astronomy, upon learning about the Apollo program which was successful in getting the first humans to the moon in 1969, Fried thought that Apollo was a  “really cool, strong name that you don’t see very often.”

He hadn’t figured out the coincidence until he took Apollo Fried to his first medical exam.

“I took him to the vet for the first time and it was like, ‘Oh, Apollo Fried. That’s ironic,’” he said. “It was more like a happy accident.”

Apollo’s name orgin wasn’t the only story he clarified about his dog, Fried also revealed that while his dog resembles a boxer he is in fact a mutt according to the athlete.

Max Fried Reveals Why He Chose The New York Yankees Over The Boston Red Sox

New York is now Fried’s home but the pitcher had his options with competing clubs such as the Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Red Sox once he entered free angency. Boston, who has had over a century-long sports rivalry with New York, were one of the teams that were very interested in the 31-year-old left-handed pitcher.

“They were interested. I met with their coaching staff and front office. Really nice great people. Definitely considered them,” Fried told Max Goodman of NJ.com. “Everyone that I talked to was really great. At the end of the day, I don’t know if I could really put my finger on it. It was just more of a gut feeling. I felt like this was the right place for me.”