Max Scherzer

MLB Pitcher

“You never stay the same – as a pitcher, as an athlete. It doesn’t matter what you do, you never stay the same.“

-Max Scherzer

One of the most dominating pitchers in all of baseball during the early part of the twenty-first century, Max Scherzer has proven time and again why he is a future Hall of Famer. He grew up pitching on diamonds across the St. Louis area. But he became a legend as one of the most feared pitchers on baseball fields across the Major Leagues. He is a World Series Champion, an All Star, a Cy Young Winner, and future Hall of Famer. But he is proud to first be called a St. Louisan.

Early Years

Maxwell M. Scherzer was born on July 27th, 1984 in St. Louis and grew up in the suburb of Chesterfield. He played numerous sports at Parkway Central High School, but baseball was his ticket to the professional leagues. He was drafted by his hometown team, the St. Louis Cardinals, out of high school but passed on the opportunity and chose instead to pitch for the Missouri Tigers.

Rise to Fame:

Scherzer’s decision to pitch at the University of Missouri didn’t turn out to be an immediate success. His coaches pulled the “unrefined” freshman from the rotation to work on his mechanics. He improved his performance and changed his body composition to become a more effective pitcher in following years.

That extra time off the field and in the practice facilities worked. His sophomore year at Mizzou turned into a breakout season for him. He was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. Major League scouts again took notice. This time, the Arizona Diamondbacks picked him in the 1st Round of the 2006 draft. He agreed to a contract and was finally off to the “Bigs.”

Show Me Success:

Scherzer wasted little time climbing through the ranks of professional baseball. Just two years after leaving college he made his Major League debut on April 29, 2008. In that first appearance, he set a record by retiring all 13 batters in a row. That broke the previous record of 12. The first game set the stage for big things to come as he established himself as one of the best up-and-coming pitchers in the league.

Scherzer played with Arizona for two seasons before moving the Detroit Tigers where he broke through as a bona fide star. It was in Detroit where he won the first of three Cy Young Awards as the league’s best pitcher. He also appeared in the first of his many All-Star games, and started Game 4 of the 2012 World Series. But even greater things were to come when he made the move to the nation’s capital in 2015 to play for the Washington Nationals.

Max The Legend

In Max’s first year with the Nationals, he pitched two no-hitters in that same season. That has only been accomplished by four pitchers in MLB history. He was also named to the All-Star team once again.

In 2019, Scherzer cemented himself in the history books by leading the team to the World Series against Houston. His path to the championship also pitted him against his hometown Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. “Mad Max” flirted with history when he had a no-hitter until the seventh inning. That’s when Cardinal Paul Goldschmidt finally got a hit, but the Nationals still prevailed. In the World Series, he was sensational. He started in ames one and seven of the series. In fact, he pitched in two of the team’s four wins to lead the Nationals to their first-ever championship.

Extra! Extra!

• Scherzer was Mizzou’s first ever “first round” MLB draft pick.
• Max was selected as an Academic All-American during his sophomore season at Mizzou.
• While with the Nationals, Max pitched two “immaculate innings”. That is where the pitcher strikes out all three batters on nine consecutive strikes. Only eight pitchers in MLB history have accomplished that.