Max Scherzer

Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984), nicknamed "Mad Max", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. A right-handed starting pitcher, Scherzer is an eight-time MLB All-Star, has won three Cy Young Awards, has pitched two no-hitters, and is a two-time World Series champion, winning with the Nationals in 2019 and the Rangers in 2023. He is regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball history.

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Scherzer with the 11th overall pick of the 2006 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2008. In December 2009, Scherzer was traded to the Detroit Tigers. During his five-year tenure in Detroit, Scherzer made the American League All-Star Team twice and won the 2013 American League Cy Young Award. Scherzer also helped the Tigers win four consecutive American League Central titles from 2011 to 2014. In 2015, Scherzer became the fifth pitcher in Major League history to record multiple no-hitters in a single season. On May 11, 2016, in a game against the Tigers, he tied the major league nine-inning single-game strikeout record with 20, making him the second player to achieve both a no-hitter and 20 strikeouts over nine innings. In that same game, Scherzer became the youngest pitcher to beat all 30 MLB teams. Scherzer won the NL Cy Young Award in 2016 and 2017, and made the National League All-Star Team five times with the Nationals.

In the 2019 World Series, against the Houston Astros, Scherzer earned a win in Game 1, and started Game 7, which the Nationals also won (Scherzer received a no-decision) for their first World Series championship. Scherzer was traded to the Dodgers in 2021 where they reached the 2021 NLCS, and he finished 3rd in NL Cy Young voting. As a free agent, he signed with the Mets and was named to the All-MLB Team at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Midway into the 2023 season, Scherzer was traded to the Rangers, where he started Games 3 and 7 of the 2023 ALCS against the Astros, and Game 3 of 2023 World Series as the Rangers won their first championship.

Scherzer is the fifth pitcher to start an All-Star Game for both the American and National Leagues. He is a four-time wins leader and a winner of three strikeout titles. One of the most consistent hurlers of his era, he made at least 30 starts each season from 2009 to 2018 and struck out at least 230 batters in each season from 2012 to 2019. In 2017, he became the third-fastest player ever to record 2,000 career strikeouts and the fourth to strike out 250 or more in four consecutive seasons. Scherzer recorded more wins (161) and strikeouts (2,452) than any pitcher in the 2010s. He joined the 3,000 strikeout club on September 12, 2021, and has struck out the 11th most all-time. In 2023, he became only the fourth pitcher in Major League history to win multiple World Series championships, win multiple Cy Young Awards, throw multiple no-hitters, and earn multiple All-Star selections; the others are Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, Tim Lincecum and former teammate Justin Verlander. Scherzer is currently the second oldest active player in Major League Baseball, after Verlander.

Early life

Scherzer was born and raised in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri, the son of Jan (Shirck) and Brad Scherzer, and grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan. He played baseball, football, and basketball as a student at Parkway Central High School, which is in his hometown. What he lacked in raw talent, he made up for with the fiercely competitive nature that distinguished his athletic career. One of his high school coaching influences was basketball coach Rick Kirby, who stressed fundamentals and was defense-oriented. Marty Maier, then the Cardinals' scouting director, selected him in the 43rd round (1,291st overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. However, he did not sign and instead attended the University of Missouri in Columbia.

College career

Early in his time at Missouri, Scherzer exerted so much effort in his windup that his head whip constantly caused his cap to fall off. One of Scherzer's coaches at Missouri, Tony Vitello, had helped to recruit him, and eventually persuaded him to pitch with more balance and control and to stop leaping at hitters, which frequently caused him to miss up and in to right-handed batters. He did not pitch the final 50 days of his freshman season, choosing instead to focus on working out and doing long toss, while gaining velocity in the process. Vitello and head coach Tim Jamieson trained him in a drill to balance on his back leg with more coordination and not to fall over his front foot. Scherzer modified his delivery and worked constantly over the following winter, leading to a 1.86 earned run average (ERA) and 131 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched over 16 games during his sophomore season.

After his freshman year at the University of Missouri in 2004, Scherzer played with the La Crosse Loggers of the Northwoods League (NWL), a collegiate summer baseball league. He went 2–1 that summer with a 1.91 ERA with six saves. He also struck out 50 batters in only 33 innings pitched. He was named a mid-season All-Star.

As a sophomore with Missouri in 2005, Scherzer won the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Award.

On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Scherzer would be inducted into the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The Arizona Diamondbacks chose Scherzer in the first round with the 11th overall pick of the 2006 MLB draft, making him Missouri's first-ever MLB first-round draft pick.

Mike Rizzo, the Diamondbacks' scouting director, marveled that Scherzer attacked hitters with a relentlessness that he had never seen. Seven pitchers were selected ahead of him, including Luke Hochevar (first overall pick), Brandon Morrow, Clayton Kershaw, and Tim Lincecum. Scouting reports criticized Scherzer for too violent of delivery, but Rizzo and other Arizona scouts decided that "the combination of his arm action and his pitching IQ and his attack mode... we were calling him 'Mad Max' in the draft room. He came at you. He looked angry. He looked mad."

2007

Scherzer and agent Scott Boras had initial difficulty negotiating a contract with the Diamondbacks; as such, Scherzer did not sign the summer he was drafted. Instead, Scherzer began his professional baseball career with the Fort Worth Cats of the independent American Association. He stated that "It was my decision" and "I've never second guessed it.” He appeared in only three games for the Cats, in which he pitched a total of 16 innings, earning a 1–0 record with 25 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.56.

Scherzer later agreed to a four-year, $4.3 million contract with the Diamondbacks, reportedly signing with them just before midnight on the club's May 30 deadline.

Scherzer began playing in the Diamondbacks organization with the Class A Advanced Visalia Oaks. In his first start on June 7 with the team, he struck out 8 and allowed just one run on 2 hits over five innings. The following start, Scherzer pitched seven perfect innings and had 13 strikeouts. He did not finish the game due to a pitch limit, but told reporters he believed he “would have gotten the perfect game if I had stayed in.”

Scherzer pitched just one more start for the Oaks before being promoted to the Double-A Mobile BayBears at the end of June that year. With the BayBears, he posted a 3.91 ERA over 14 starts while striking out 76 in 73 2/3 innings.

During the 2007 offseason, Scherzer was named the fourth-best prospect in the Diamondbacks organization.

2008

After a good start to the 2008 season with the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders, Scherzer was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on April 27, 2008.

Arizona Diamondbacks (2008–2009)

2008

On April 29, 2008, Scherzer made his MLB debut against the Houston Astros when he came on in relief and struck out the first batter he faced, Jack Cassel. He threw 41⁄3 perfect innings while striking out seven. In the process he set the record for the number of consecutive batters retired (13) for a pitcher making his MLB debut as a reliever. The previous record was 12 set in 1962 by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Pete Richert. The seven strikeouts that he had in the appearance were one short of the MLB record for most in a debut relief appearance. The Pittsburgh Pirates' Barry Jones had eight on April 20, 1986.

On April 30, 2008, the Diamondbacks announced he would be part of the starting rotation, due to his impressive debut. In his first appearance as a starter for the D-Backs, Scherzer allowed five runs (two earned) in four innings, while striking out five, taking the first loss of his major league career. He returned to the bullpen for much of the 2008 season. For the season, he was 0–4 with a 3.05 ERA in 16 games (seven starts) and struck out 66 batters in 56 innings.

Scherzer participated in the 2008 Arizona Fall League season as a member of the Phoenix Desert Dogs.