Max Scherzer

Maxwell Martin Scherzer
(Mad Max, Blue Eye or Brown Eye)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
School University of Missouri
High School Parkway Central High School
Debut April 29, 2008

Born July 27, 1984 in St. Louis, MO USA

Biographical Information=[edit]

Pitcher Max Scherzer has over 200 wins and 3,000 strikeouts in the major leagues. He won three Cy Young Awards and led his league in wins four times and strikeouts three times. An eight-time All-Star, he is a two-time World Series champion. He was the sixth pitcher to win Cy Young Awards in each league. By fashioning a no-hitter and one-hitter in consecutive starts, he had the best back-to-back series of starts since Johnny Vander Meer's famed consecutive no-hitters. Barring controversy on or off the field, he would seem to be a shoo-in Hall-of-Famer.

Amateur Career[edit]

He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 43rd round of the 2003 amateur draft out of high school but opted for college. He was 0-1 with two saves and a 5.85 ERA as a college freshman, not hinting at his future MLB dominance. His sophomore season, he improved big-time, going 9-4 with a 1.86 ERA. He led the Big 12 Conference with 131 strikeouts, one ahead of Joba Chamberlain, and was second to J. Brent Cox in ERA. He beat them both out for conference Pitcher of the Year. He was 11th in NCAA Division I in ERA, between Brad Kilby and Jeff Mandel and tied Tim Lincecum for 11th in strikeouts.

Scherzer slipped to 7-3, 2.25 as a junior. While he was second to Austin Creps' 2.20 for the Big 12 lead in ERA, he did not make the All-Conference team as Tony Watson, Kyle McCulloch and Nathan Culp beat him out. He was 30th in Division I in ERA, between Danny Herrera and Justin Segal.

Diamondbacks[edit]

He was then selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft, 11th overall, between Lincecum and Kasey Kiker. He was signed by scout Joe Robinson and made his pro debut in 2007 with the Visalia Oaks, where he went 2-0 with an 0.53 ERA before being promoted to the Mobile BayBears. With Mobile, he was 4-4 with a 3.91 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 14 starts. He began 2008 with the Tucson Sidewinders and notched a 1.17 ERA in 4 starts and struck out 38 batters in 23 innings. He was then called up by the Diamondbacks in late April and made his debut on April 29th against the Houston Astros, coming out of the bullpen to pitch 4 1/3 innings of perfect ball and strike out 7. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Scherzer's debut was the longest debut outing in "modern major-league history" by a pitcher who retired every batter he faced (13 batters). In the previous 50 years, Jimmy Key had the most with 10 batters. He was 0-4 but with a good 3.05 ERA in 16 games for the Diamondbacks as a rookie. In 2009, he spent the entire season in the starting rotation with correct results, going 9-11, 4.12 in 30 starts, and striking 174 batters in 170 1/3 innings.

Tigers[edit]

Before the 2010 season, Max was sent to the Detroit Tigers in a three-team trade that also involved the New York Yankees and such current and future stars as Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson and Austin Jackson. He made 31 starts for the Tigers that season, improving to 12-11, 3.50, with 184 strikeouts. He had a better record with a worse ERA in 2011, finishing at 15-9 in spite of seeing his ERA increase to 4.43 in 33 starts. He was second on the team in wins behind ace Justin Verlander, although late-season acquisition Doug Fister, who pitched brilliantly after joining the team, was the number 2 starter when the postseason began after the Tigers claimed the first AL Central title in team history. He won Game 2 of the ALDS by shutting out the Yankees on two hits over 6 innings, his start having been moved forward when Game 1 was suspended by rain after only one inning, forcing both teams to use their number 2 starters when the game was resumed the next day. He pitched in relief in the deciding Game 5, relieving Fister at the start of the 6th inning with a 3-1 lead, and recording a scoreless inning, before giving up a run on a pair of hits on the 7th and turning the ball over to Joaquin Benoit. He started a pair of games in the ALCS against the Texas Rangers, but the Tigers lost both times, with Scherzer being charged with the loss in Game 6 after giving up 6 runs in 2 1/3 innings.

On May 20, 2012, Max set a personal record by striking out 15 members of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 7 innings in a 4 - 3 win. He was one shy of the Tigers team record, set by Mickey Lolich in 1969. He continued to rack up big strikeout numbers on the year, and on August 21st took over the major league lead for Ks, striking out 8 in a winning start over the Toronto Blue Jays to reach 186, 6 more than his teammate Verlander for the American League lead, and five more than R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets for the major league lead. He also had the highest K/9 rate by a starter in 10 years at that point of the season. On September 18th, however, he had to leave a start against the Oakland A's after only two innings, complaining of shoulder fatigue. He recovered in time for the postseason, ending the year at 16-7, 3.74, with 231 strikeouts in 187 2/3 innings. He finished second to Verlander for the AL strikeout crown, but had a better K/9 ratio than his teammate. He started Game 4 of the ALDS against the Oakland Athletics, getting a no-decision as he gave up an unearned run in 5 1/3 innings, striking out 8 while walking one. He then started and won Game 4 of the ALCS on October 18th, giving up one run in 5 2/3 innings while striking out 10 and giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks to the New York Yankees. The win completed a four-game sweep of the Yankees and sent Detroit to the 2012 World Series. He started Game 4 of the World Series against the San Francisco Giants on October 28th, and allowed 3 runs in 6 1/3 innings before departing with the score tied, 3-3. The Tigers went on to lose, 4-3, in the 10th, completing a four-game sweep at the hands of the Giants.

Scherzer was outstanding at the start of the 2013 season. He was 3-0, 4.02 in April, with 46 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings, then won his first four decisions in May to stand at 7-0, 3.42 after 10 starts on May 26th. While his strikeout rate had gone down slightly in May, he was still at well over one per inning, with 81 in 68 1/3 innings, against only 18 walks. He was tied with Felix Hernandez for second in the AL in strikeouts, 10 behind Yu Darvish. On June 17th, he pitched 6 innings of one-hit ball to defeat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1, running his record on the year to 10-0. He was the first major league starter to start off with 10 wins since Roger Clemens had done so for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997, recording 11 straight to start the season, and the second in Tigers history after George Mullin had started the 1909 season with 11 straight wins (one in relief). He struck out 10 batters in that game, giving him at least 6 K's in each of his first 14 starts, something not seen in the American League since Pedro Martinez in 2001. He matched his two illustrious predecessors on June 22nd, when he defeated the Boston Red Sox, 10-3, to move to 11-0. He made it 12 straight with a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on June 28th and 13 when he beat the Blue Jays in his next start, on July 3rd. He once again was chasing Clemens, as Roger had also been the last to start a season with that many wins, when he began 1986 14-0. It was absolutely no surprise that he was named to the All-Star team for the first time, and indeed got to start the game for the AL, pitching a perfect 1st inning. He suffered his first loss in his last start before the Midsummer Classic, bowing to the Texas Rangers, 7-1, on July 13th. On July 27th, he became the first major league pitcher to reach 15 wins with a 10-0 blanking of the Philadelphia Phillies. When he defeated the Cleveland Indians, 10-3, on August 8th - the Tigers' 12th straight win - he became the first pitcher to start a season 17-1 since, once again, Roger Clemens, who had done so in 2001. By going to 18-1 with a 6-3 win over Kansas City on August 18th, he matched Don Newcombe (1955 Brooklyn Dodgers) and Elroy Face (1959 Pittsburgh Pirates) for the second-best record after 19 decisions; Hall of Famer Rube Marquard had started the year 19-0 for the 1912 New York Giants, for the only better mark ever. After winning his 19th game, Max was roughed up by the A's in his first attempt to become a 20-game winner on August 29th, allowing 6 runs in 5 innings, but was bailed out of a loss by a dramatic 9th-inning comeback by his teammates; in his second attempt on September 3rd, he pitched well but gave up a pair of 5th-inning runs to the Boston Red Sox while his opponent, Jon Lester was brilliant, and he ended up with a 2-1 loss, falling to 19-2 on the year. He lost his next start as well, 5-1 to Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox on September 9th. He finally won his 20th on his fifth try, on September 20th, defeating the White Sox, 12-5. He was the only pitcher in the major leagues that season to win 20 games, finishing at 20-6, 2.90 and was voted the winner of the the 2013 American League Cy Young Award. In the postseason, he won two games over the Oakland A's in the ALDS - one as a starter and one in relief, then was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 13 1/3 innings in the ALCS, when Detroit bowed to the Boston Red Sox, who went on to win the 2013 World Series.

It took Max a few starts to get going in 2014, as he was 0-1, 2.70 after three outing, but he then turned on the gas, winning his next 6 starts, including three in which he did not give up any runs. He did become the first pitcher in Tigers history to record 7 or more strikeouts in each of his first 6 starts of a season, and his 1.83 ERA on May 16th was the best in the American League. On June 12th, he tossed the first complete game of his career when he defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-0, with a three-hit shutout. This broke a record string of having made 178 starts from the start of his career without recording a complete game. He was the winner of the 2014 All-Star Game, after pitching a scoreless 5th inning with the score tied at 3-3, and then benefiting from the AL's two-run outburst in the bottom of the inning as they won, 5-3. On August 14th, he compiled a season-high 14 strikeouts in a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, improving to 14-4 in the process, then became the first 15-game winner in the AL when he defeated the Minnesota Twins, 13-4, on August 24th. He finished the year with a record of 18-5, 3.15, with 252 strikeouts in 220 1/3 innings. He led the AL in wins for the second straight season and finished 5th in the voting for the Cy Young Award. However, he lost his only start of the postseason, Game 1 of the ALDS, when he was defeated 12-3 by the Baltimore Orioles. Most of the O's runs scored after he was removed from the game, but he still gave up 5 runs in 7 1/3 innings, setting the tone for the Tigers being swept.

Nationals[edit]

Scherzer became a free agent after the 2014 season and was considered the prize catch of the off-season. Suited by a number of teams, he finally settled on the Washington Nationals on January 18, 2015. He signed a seven-year deal. At $210 million, the deal was the second largest ever for a pitcher - just behind the one signed by Clayton Kershaw in 2014 - but his signing bonus of $50 million set a new record. He quickly went about showing his domination over his new league, as he was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for May, when he went 5-1, 1.67, with 56 strikeouts in 43 innings. On June 14th, he recorded his second career complete game and shutout in a 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. It was truly a dominant performance, as he did not allow a baserunner until a bloop single by Carlos Gomez in the 7th. A walk to Scooter Gennett in the 8th was the only other blemish, as he finished with a one-hitter and set a nationals record with 16 strikeouts (it was still two shy of the franchise record of 18, set by Bill Gullickson when the team was still the Montreal Expos). On June 20th, he pitched a no-hitter, 6-0, over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He came agonizingly close to a perfect game, as he retired the first 26 batters before hitting pinch-hitter Jose Tabata with a pitch, as with two strikes, Tabata appeared to lean into the pitch and ended up as the only baserunner. He then retired Josh Harrison on a fly ball to left to complete the gem. The back-to-back one-hitter and no-hitter made up the best two-start stretch by a major league pitcher since Johnny Vander Meer's consecutive no-hitters in 1938, although a case can be made that Max was even better, given Vander Meer had walked 8 batters in his second no-hitter (and 3 in the first). In his next start, on June 26th, he started off the game with with five perfect innings, then gave up a one-out double to Freddy Galvis in the 6th. In the process, he extended Washington's streak of consecutive scoreless innings by its starters to 48 1/3. Philadelphia scored a pair of runs in the 7th and 8th innings, but Scherzer came out on top with a 5-2 win. He was named the Pitcher of the Month again in June, in recognition of his record of 3-2, 2.33 and 45 strikeouts. He finished the season with a flourish by becoming the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1973 and only the fifth in history to throw two no-hitters in a season when he no-hit the New York Mets, 2-0, on October 3rd. He struck out 17 batters to increase his own Nationals teams record, including 9 in a row at one point; that also matched Ryan's record for most strikeouts in a no-hitter. Only an error by SS Yunel Escobar kept him from a perfect game and his game score of 104 was the highest since Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game in 1998.

On May 11, 2016, Max put his name in the record books again when he struck out 20 batters in a complete game 3-2 win over his former team, the Tigers. This tied the mark for a nine-inning game shared by Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson. He did not issue a single walk in the game and had a chance to break the record, but the last batter of the game, James McCann, grounded out. On June 13th, facing the major-league leading Chicago Cubs, he opened the game by striking out 9 of the first 10 batters he faced and had a perfect game into the 6th inning, ending up a 4-1 winner after giving up one run on two hits and striking out 11 in 7 innings. On October 2nd, the final day of the season, he won his 20th game of the year, 10-7 over the Miami Marlins, driving in a career-high four runs in the process. He finished at 20-7, 2.96, with a major-league leading 284 strikeouts in 228 1/3 innings, a record that led to his winning the NL Cy Young Award, making him the 6th pitcher to win the award in both leagues. Before that, though, his fine pitching had helped lead the Nationals to a division title, and he was scheduled to pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series. After the season, he revealed that beginning in late August, he felt discomfort because of a stress fracture in the knuckle of his right ring finger, an injury that diminished his effectiveness and convinced to pass up an opportunity to pitch for Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He developed a new fastball grip to overcome the problem, using only three fingers instead of the usual four, with the ring finger on top of the ball and straight, thus alleviating any pressure on its knuckle.

Scherzer was back doing his usual thing with Washington in 2017: allowing a lot of homers, but overcoming this with a ton of strikeouts and a propensity to end up in the "W" column. On June 6th, he struck out 14 batters in a 2-1 win over the Dodgers to improve to 7-3 on the year, as the Nats built a huge early lead on their pursuers in the NL East. On June 11th, he recorded the 2,000th strikeout of his career, the victim being Nomar Mazara of the Texas Rangers. That made him the third fastest pitcher to reach the mark in terms of innings pitched, behind just Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson, and just ahead of Clayton Kershaw, who had recorded number 2,000 less than week earlier. It was another good start for Max, as he struck out 10 and left after 7 1/3 innings with the score tied at 1; unfortunately, his bullpen allowed the two inherited runners he left behind to score, and then let in two more runs after that, and he ended up with a 5-1 loss to show for his effort. On June 21st, he had another frustrating game, as he took a no-hit bid into the 8th inning against the Marlins until A.J. Ellis managed to turn a chopper to the mound into a hit, and the Marlins then scored a pair of unearned runs after 1B Adam Lind dropped a throw and a hit batsman loaded the bases. The runs came on a wild pitch and a single by Giancarlo Stanton and gave Miami a 2-1 win. He was named the NL's Pitcher of the Month for June on the strength of an ERA of 0.99 in 5 starts along with 51 strikeouts against only 6 walks in 36 1/3 innings. In spite of his dominance though, his record was only 3-2 during the month because of the two tough losses, but he did receive the fifth All-Star nod of his career and was also selected to be the game's starting pitcher. On July 21st, his propensity to give up home runs reached a pinnacle when he started off a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks by giving up consecutive home runs to the first three batters he faced, David Peralta, A.J. Pollock and Jake Lamb. He was not involved in the decision however, as the D-Back won the game, 6-5, in the 9th. On August 1st, he hit his first career homer, a three-run shot against Chris O'Grady of the Marlins in the 2nd inning. Then, warming up to take the mound with a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the inning, he asked to be removed from the game because of neck spasms; these were not the result of his impromptu slugging prowess, though, as he had woken up with a stiff neck a couple of days earlier and the problem became more bothersome as he pitched that day. On September 19th, he became only the fourth pitcher to record four straight seasons of 250+ strikeouts, after Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. He gave his team a scare in his final tune-up start before the postseason, on September 30th, when he was taken out in the 4th inning with a hamstring cramp. He ended the season at 16-6, 2.51, with 268 strikeouts, and after the season became a repeat winner of the NL Cy Young Award, his third time receiving the trophy. In the postseason, he was brilliant in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs on October 9th, not giving up a hit until one out in the 7th, but the Cubs managed to tie the game after he left and went on to win, 2-1. Then, in the decisive Game 5 on October 12th, he came on in relief in the 5th inning with Washington leading 4-3, but after two quick outs went through an absolutely nightmarish sequence of batters, allowing 4 runs on 3 hits, a walk and a hit batsman in a bizarre frame that also featured a batter reaching on catcher's interference, a dropped third strike and a throwing error. The Cubs eventually ended up winning the game, 9-8, as Max was saddled with the loss.

He was back to his old dominant ways early in the 2018 season. On April 9th, he pitched a two-hitter in defeating the Atlanta Braves, 2-0 and also recorded his first career stolen base. He claimed that the last time he had swiped a base, he was still in high school. He finished April with 4 wins, 57 strikeouts and a 1.52 ERA and was named the NL Pitcher of the Month, his fourth time winning the award. On May 6th, he picked up 15 strikeouts, including 7 in succession, in just 6 1/3 innings, the shortest outing to rack up that many K's. He had needed 111 pitches to get there, hence his inability to pitch further into the game. He also at one point recorded 12 consecutive outs via strikeout, with some baserunners squeezed in between. He left with a 1-0 lead but eventually had to settle for a no-decision as Washington won, 5-4, thanks to a 9th inning comeback. On May 19th, he recorded his 100th strikeout of the season in a start against the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a 13 K effort in another no-decision. He had needed just 63 innings to reach the mark, the fewest ever, beating out Kerry Wood who had recorded #100 in 65 2/3 innings in 2001. He repeated as Pitcher of the Month in May when he went 4-0, 2.21 in 6 starts, striking out 63 batters in 40 2/3 innings. On June 2nd, he made his mark with the bat, as he was used as a pinch-hitter in the top of the 14th inning for fellow pitcher Justin Miller and hit a one-out single, before coming in to score the go-ahead run on a triple by Wilmer Difo as the Nationals defeated the Atlanta Braves, 5-3. The hit improved his average to .310 on the year, as he was having his best year not just on the mound but also at the plate. He started the All-Star Game for the second straight year, this time in front of hometown fans at Nationals Park and on his birthday, July 27th, he became the first pitcher in the league to reach both 14 wins and 200 strikeouts as he defeated the Miami Marlins, 9-1. On September 25th, he recorded his 300th strikeout as he fanned 10 batters in another win over the Marlins. It was his first time reaching the mark, as he led the majors in the category; his 18 wins were also the top total in the NL. He finished the year at 18-7, 2.53 with an even 300 strikeouts, leading the league in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts and batters faced and tied for the lead in complete games and shutouts. He finished second behind Jacob deGrom in the Cy Young Award vote.

He was off to another good start in 2019 as he was leading the NL in strikeouts after 15 starts and had an excellent ERA of 2.81 even if his record was only 5-5, which was more a reflection of the Nationals' poor play and their wretched bullpen than of his own work. On June 18h, he was the victim of a freak accident, as while practicing bunts before a game, he accidentally fouled a ball off his nose, breaking it. Undaunted, he took the mound the very next day, with the broken nose and a prominent black eye, for a start against the Philadelphia Phillies and pitched 7 scoreless innings in a 2-0 win. He had a tremendous month of June, capped off by a 14-strikeout performance in 8 innings in his return to Detroit on June 30th, when he led the Nats to a 2-1 win over the Tigers. For the month, he had an ERA of 1.00 and 68 Ks! Unsurprisingly he won Pitcher of the Month honors in the NL and was also secured his seventh straight All-Star team nomination. He recorded his 200th strikeout on August 28th, giving him 8 straight years with 200+, the second longest such streak in major league history, trailing only Tom Seaver who had done it 9 straight years. It was his second start after missing a month due to a back strain.

He was the first pitcher of the 2020 Major League season, after a long delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic, on July 23rd. Facing the New York Yankees at home, things did not go well though, as he allowed a single to Aaron Judge and then a long homer to Giancarlo Stanton in the 1st. He pitched a complete game as the contest ended after 5 1/3 innings but was charged with the 4-1 loss. He did a lot better in his next start on July 29th, holding the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless through the first seven innings before running into some trouble in the 8th and was relieved by Daniel Hudson, who bailed him out by inducing an inning-ending double play. Unfortunately for him, his teammates had failed to provide him with much support, as the game was still scoreless when he left. He went 5-4, 3.74 in 12 games, with 92 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings. On April 16, 2021, he passed Cy Young on the all-time strikeout list with K #2,806. He had quite a good first four months, going 8-4, 2.76 in 19 starts. He was selected for the All-Star team for the 8th time and given the starting assignment. However, trade rumors were already swirling around him by that point, and he was indeed on the move at the trading deadline as on August 30th, the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a blockbuster deal that landed both him and fellow All-Star, SS Trea Turner. The Nationals were unloading players right and left by that point, but they did receive an interesting package of prospects for their two stars, consisting of Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, Gerardo Carrillo and Donovan Casey. He had an excellent debut for his new team on August 4th, striking out 10 batters in 7 innings and picked up the win. Never a great hitter, he went through a stretch at that time when he failed to reach base in 50 consecutive plate appearances, a major league record. That however was not affecting his pitching as he went 4-0, 1.55 in his first 5 starts for L.A. On September 12th, he became the 19th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts in a start against the San Diego Padres. In that game, he pitched the third immaculate inning of his career in the 2nd, tying the record held by Sandy Koufax and Chris Sale, before recording #3,000 in the 5th. He was really in one of his better days as he was perfect through the first 7 1/3 innings before allowing a first hit, a double by Eric Hosmer. He finished the year a combined 15-4, 2.46 with 236 strikeouts in 179 1/3 innings. He finished third in the voting in a tight race for the 2021 National League Cy Young Award, just behind Corbin Burnes and Zach Wheeler, with all three pitchers receiving first-place votes. In the postseason, he started the Wild Card Game against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 6th but was given an early hook after allowing 1 run in 4 1/3 innings. He was charged with a loss in Game 3 of the Division Series against the San Francisco Giants in spite of allowing just 1 run in 7 innings, then came back to record the save in Game 5 that moved the Dodgers into the NLCS. The decision to use him in relief paid short-term dividends, but hurt the Dodgers in the longer term as he wasn't at his best in his only start against the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 on October 17th: he had to leave after 4 1/3 innings, complaining of a "dead arm" and was not ready to take the ball in Game 6, in which the Dodgers were eliminated.

Mets and Rangers[edit]

Max became a free agent following the 2021 season, an a a highly sought-after one given his record of success. On November 28th, news leaked out that he was on the verge of signing with the New York Mets, with figures of $120 million over three years being discussed. The deal was confirmed the following day, the final price tag being $130 million for three seasons of work. He won his first four decisions for the Mets, helping them to a great start to the 2022 season. When he lost 3-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader on May 8th, it ended a streak of 24 starts without a loss, dating back almost a full year, during which he had gone 15-0 for three different teams. On May 21st, he was placed on the injured list with a strained left oblique muscle, then on June 4th, in the sort of tempest in teapot that can only happen in New York, it was reported that he had been bitten on his pitching hand by a dog, leading to all sorts of cries of despair from the Met faithful. It turns out that the dog in question was his own pet, Rafi, and that the bite was minor and unlikely to have any impact on his rehab. He returned to the mound on July 5th and did not miss a beat as he did not allow a run and struck out 11 in 6 innings against the Cincinnati Reds - but still ended up with a no-decision as the Reds won, 1-0, with a 9th-inning run. He earned his 200th career win on September 19th when he defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-2, a win that also clinched a postseason slot for the Mets. He earned the win in typical dominant fashion, starting off with 6 perfect innings before giving way to Tylor Megill, who allowed a hit to the first batter he faced in the 7th. Scherzer was never going to pitch a complete game, as he was coming off a 15-day stint on the injured list. He finished the season at 11-5, 2.29 in 12 starts, with 173 strikeouts in 145 1/3 innings. In his only postseason start, in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres on October 7th, he was hit hard, allowing 7 runs on 7 hits in 4 2/3 innings to be charged with a 7-1 loss; 4 of the hits were home runs.

On April 19, 2023, in his fourth start of the season for the Mets, he became only the third pitcher to be ejected from a game for having a foreign substance on his hands since the rules were strengthened in 2021. The issue started after the 2nd inning when during a routine by home plate umpire Dan Bellino, his hand was fount it be too sticky and he was told he would need to wash it before coming out for the 3rd inning. In that inspection, it was his glove that was found to be smeared, and he was asked to change it, which he did, but before the 4th inning, as he was being examined again, the issue of the stickiness resurfaced, and after a long and tense exchange of words, Scherzer was tossed out by crew chief Phil Cuzzi, who incidentally had ejected the two previous pitchers to run afoul of the rules. Scherzer argued that the only substance he had used was rosin, which is legal, but he still received a ten-game suspension for the rule violation. He went 9-4, 4.01 in 19 starts for the Mets, with 121 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings, but as July advanced it was clear that the team would not make the postseason. On July 29th, the Mets traded him to the Texas Rangers, also putting a lot of money on the scale in order to receive a prospect of value in return, in this case IF Luisangel Acuna, the brother of Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna. In Texas's case, they were on their way to the postseason and wanted another top-level arm to make their run to the championship. Holding a no-trade clause, he had to approve the trade but did so willingly. He showed the Rangers some of his best stuff on August 14th when he struck out 11 opponents over seven scoreless frames while allowing just one hit to defeat the Los Angeles Angels, 12-0. On September 12th, he had to leave a start against the Toronto Blue Jays with one out in the 6th inning after experiencing pain in his triceps. He was in the middle of a dominant start, giving up just 3 hits and no runs, and received credit for a 6-3 win, but the situation was a preoccupying one for the Rangers who had him undergo an MRI. He missed the remainder of the regular season, finishing at 4-2, 3.20 in 8 starts for the Rangers, for a combined record of 13-6, 3.77 and 174 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings. He was able to return for Game 3 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros, thanks to an unexpectedly deep postseason run by Texas. He lost that start on October 18, giving up 5 runs in 4 innings, and also started Game 7, pitching just 2 2/3 innings as the Rangers clinched a World Series slot with an 11-4 win. His next appearance was a start in Game 3 of the Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 30th, marking a third trip to the Fall Classic with three different teams. He had to leave that game early with back tightness after pitching three scoreless innings and did not appear again in the series, which the Rangers won in five games.

After the 2023 postseason, it was announced that Scherzer would need to undergo surgery on a herniated disk in his back and would miss the first half of the 2024 season as a result. He made his return earlier than anticipated, taking the mound for a start against the Kansas City Royals on June 23rd. He was as good as ever, pitching five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit to earn a 4-0 victory. In 9 starts, he went 2-4, 3.95 with 40 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings.

Characteristics[edit]

Max Scherzer has a very distinctive follow-through when pitching; he will end his pitching motion with his head pointing directly at the ground, and his right foot high in the air. It is a very awkward position for fielding any grounders or line drives hit back at him, but it seems to give him additional velocity on his pitches. He worked on making his delivery less extreme during the 2012 season, to at least have his head facing the batter when he completes his follow-through. Another distinctive factor is that his eyes are of different colors: his right eye is blue and his left eye is brown (this is known as heterochromia).

Career Summary[edit]

By the end of the 2024 season, Scherzer had the second-most wins of any active pitcher with 216, trailing only Justin Verlander. Moreover, he had only 112 losses, giving him an outstanding career winning percentage of .659. Having already cleared the 3,000 strikeouts threshold and approaching 3,000 innings pitched (one more full season would place him over the mark), and with three Cy Young Awards, 8 All-Star Games and 2 World Series championships under his belt, he was frequently looked at not only as a future Hall of Famer, but one who was likely to breeze through the BBWAA vote. As he was about to turn 40, it was unlikely he would add much to his legacy in the future, but he had clearly done enough to secure his place among the game's greats.

Notable Achievements[edit]

8-time All-Star (2013-2019 & 2021)
3-time Cy Young Award Winner (2013/AL, 2016/NL & 2017/NL)
4-time League Wins Leader (2013/AL, 2014/AL, 2016/NL & 2018/NL)
AL Winning Percentage Leader (2013)
2-time NL Innings Pitched Leader (2016 & 2018)
3-time NL Strikeouts Leader (2016-2018)
3-time NL Complete Games Leader (2015, 2017 & 2018)
2-time NL Shutouts Leader (2015 & 2018)
15 Wins Seasons: 8 (2011-2014, 2016-2018 & 2021)
20 Wins Seasons: 2 (2013 & 2016)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 6 (2013-2018)
200 Strikeouts Seasons: 9 (2012-2019 & 2021)
300 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (2018)
Won two World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019 and the Texas Rangers in 2023

AL Cy Young Award
2012	2013	2014
David Price	Max Scherzer	Corey Kluber

NL Cy Young Award
2015	2016	2017
Jake Arrieta	Max Scherzer	Max Scherzer
2016	2017	2018
Max Scherzer	Max Scherzer	Jacob deGrom

Records Held[edit]

Strikeouts, game (9 innings), 20, May 11, 2016 (tied)

Related Sites[edit]

Max Scherzer on mlb.com

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