ARLINGTON, Texas — Max Scherzer’s baseball resume is almost incomparable: a three-time Cy Young Award winner, an eight-time All-Star, two no-hitters, and a World Series champion in 2019.
Scherzer, 39, who was traded from the Mets to the Rangers, his sixth different team, prior to the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline, is known for his impeccable preparation before every start, an attention to detail he remembers experiencing at Missouri between 2004 and 2006.
“(I remember) the atmosphere. My teammates, how competitive they were, learned a lot from the upperclassmen, coaching staff, how hard you had to work and strength staff. There was attention to detail, be on time every time or you’re going to wear it,” Scherzer said. “And you’d better do every conditioning thing right every time, every set, every rep.”
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“There’s still times on a spot rack, I will never not keep the safety bars at the right level because of the planks I had to do for not doing that right. That was the attitude. The attitude was you’re going to work, you’re going to get better. Everybody loved that. Everybody loved the demand to be great.”
Scherzer recalls his Mizzou tenure for the great culture surrounding the baseball program, a setting where he put on the last 20 pounds of muscle, “man strength” as he dubs it to complete his evolution from an 18-year-old high school thrower to a 21-year-old polished pitcher named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2005 and the 11th pick in the June 2006 Amateur Draft by Arizona.
In 2012, he was inducted into the MU Athletics Hall of Fame, an indication of the legacy he left. “That’s an awesome honor. Very appreciative they recognized me for that,” he said. “For how long all the sports have been there, to be among one of the great athletes there, it’s an honor because of how much I love Mizzou.”
In July 2023, he was traded from New York to Texas. However, this isn’t Scherzer’s first time pitching in the Dallas area. In 2006, he pitched four games for the unaffiliated Fort Worth Cats, who play about 30 miles from Globe Life Field, where Max now pitches as a Ranger, to prove to Arizona he was worthy to sign as a starter.
“That was my wakeup to the business of baseball. As soon as I got drafted, the Diamondbacks want to tell me I’m hurt or a reliever,” Scherzer said. “I had to have the resolve to say no, I’m not. I’m a top pitcher and (want to know) what it’s like to fight for a contract. Teams just don’t hand those out, you’ve got to not only go out there and prove it. You’ve got to believe it too.”
“Based on the rules when I was going through the draft, teams would hold your rights for another year. It was a great chance to get into pro ball, see what it was about, get my feet exposed and pitch under immense pressure. It was fun to do that, but glad no draft prospects have to do it again.”
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In 2008, Scherzer made his big-league debut with the D-Backs. He has since pitched for the Tigers, Nationals, Dodgers, and Mets before landing with the Rangers earlier this summer. That might seem like an excessive number of teams, but playing a sport often defined by change is something he embraces.
“I’ve moved from team to team. It’s the baseball life,” Scherzer said. “I would love to tell you I could play for one team, but that’s not the hand I was dealt. I’ve actually learned to like moving from clubhouse to clubhouse, it keeps everything fresh. I can never say I got stagnant in any one place. You’ve got to have a good personality and sense of humor to be able to do it seamlessly.”
So, it’s not surprising to hear his latest transition to a new clubhouse, new manager and new teammates has been stress-free. “More than anything, (what he impresses me most is) how he prepares, how he takes that mound. That competitive spirit that he has too, he’s all-in on finding a way to win a ballgame,” said Rangers first-year manager Bruce Bochy, a three-time World Series champion with the Giants. “That’s what you love about him.”
One of his new catchers, Mitch Garver, agrees with Bochy, himself a former catcher, about what makes Scherzer great. Scherzer has a personality that makes him easily integrate himself into new surroundings.
“Obviously, has the name, has the resume. As expected, coming in throwing strikes, commanding the strike zone, mowing through lineups like he knows how to do,” Garver said. “Five plus pitches, everything you would expect him to be as a multiple Cy Young winner.”
“He likes to come out there and prove he is the ace,” Garver continued. “That’s what we needed. He knows ball. He’s good to talk to in the dugout on non-start days about baseball in general. He’s smart, knows what’s going on. Obviously, been around the game for a really long time. It’s nice to have him in our clubhouse.”
However, not everyone with the Rangers is new to Scherzer. Coming to Texas reunited him with pitching coach Mike Maddux after the pair worked together previously in Washington, including when the Nationals won the 2019 World Series. “His number one strength is his mindset of how he wants to attack guys and the different quips to keep you mentally locked in for every situation,” Scherzer said. “There’s still things I say to this day coming from him all these years later. There’s a lot of his checks I’ve brought into my game. Coming here, I know how he thinks. I know how he works.”
One Scherzer-related number that doesn’t get discussed much is his three immaculate innings, where a pitcher throws nine pitches, all strikes, and gets three strikeouts in a perfect frame. Scherzer’s three career immaculate innings tie him with Sandy Koufax and Chris Sale for most all-time.
“No (it’s not a fluky thing). You notice it after the second one,” Scherzer said. “The first one, okay, but the second one, you realize hey, that’s only six pitches and you start smelling it. So, then you want to go for it. I’ve had three and those are really fun, really cool to be able to do that because to me, that’s a perfect game. Not three pitches, three outs. Nine pitches, three strikeouts.”
