Max Scherzer is no stranger to the World Series.
The 41-year-old has seen it all throughout his MLB career and is set to pitch in the Fall Classic with his fourth team as he takes the ball for the Toronto Blue Jays in a crucial Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night.
If his track record on baseball’s biggest stage is any indicator, he should be ready to do his part as the Jays aim to rebound from a loss in Game 2 that evened the series.
“I absolutely respect playing in a World Series, what that means, and absolutely cherish these opportunities. When I get a chance to get the ball, man, this means everything,” Scherzer told reporters over the weekend.
In his four World Series starts, Scherzer owns a 2.79 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. Even though he was the pitcher of record in just one of those starts, Scherzer’s team has won three of the four games he’s taken the mound for.
Scherzer made his World Series debut as a member of the Detroit Tigers in 2012 against the San Francisco Giants. He was cruising into the sixth inning until Giants catcher Buster Posey snuck a two-run shot just inside the left field foul pole to make things 3-2 for the Giants. However, Scherzer got out of the inning and the Tigers tied it in the bottom half, but would later go on to lose 4-3 in extra innings en route to being swept in the series.
Three years later, Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Washington Nationals. It turned out to be a home run move for the Nats despite the high price tag. Scherzer made the All-Star Team five seasons in a row and won back-to-back Cy Youngs in 2016 and 2017. In 2019, Scherzer and the Nationals were in the World Series against the Houston Astros.
The St. Louis native got the ball in Game 1 and didn’t seem to have his best stuff, pitching his way into but mostly out of jams. Having thrown 95 pitches and surrenderingI t two runs through four innings, manager Dave Martinez decided to let Scherzer go one more inning. He retired the Astros in order in the fifth and pounded his glove as he walked off the mound. The Nats would go on to win a hard-fought Game 1 5-4 to strike first in the series.
“Max, kudos to him. He gave us everything he had today,” Martinez told reporters after the game. “Those guys are good. They don’t chase. And they’re good hitters. He gave us everything he had.”
As it turns out, Scherzer really did give the Nationals everything. So much so that he had to miss his next scheduled start in Game 5 due to neck spasms that left him unable to move his right arm.
Scherzer had a cortisone shot and when the series went the distance, he was ready to take the ball in Game 7.
Similar to Game 1, Scherzer didn’t have much in the way of stuff but gutted his way through five innings. He surrendered 11 base runners but held the Astros to just two runs, keeping his team in the game long enough for them to rally and eventually take Game 7 6-2, winning their first championship in franchise history.
The right-hander threw just 56 per cent of his pitches for strikes, his lowest rate of the season. But the Nats never lost trust in their ace.
“You never worry when Max is on the mound,” Scherzer’s catcher Yan Gomes said. “Today was one of those days where he had to get us out of some tough innings. They put together some really good at-bats against, but he kept us in the ballgame. He always gives 100 per cent. He leads this team with his heart and his attitude.”
“One, to fight for my teammates – everybody would have fought for me,” Scherzer said. “And I have to give credit to my wife. I was in a bad spot when I woke up that morning. When I wasn’t feeling too well, she said, ‘Get healthy and go pitch Game 7,’” Scherzer said, referring to his injury from earlier in the series.
Scherzer’s latest opportunity in the Fall Classic came as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2023 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rangers had acquired Scherzer – who was 39 then – from the New York Mets at the trade deadline. Scherzer pitched well down the stretch of the regular season for Texas but missed time to end the season with a shoulder strain and had been shaky in two playoff starts entering the World Series.
Manager Bruce Bochy sent him to the mound in Game 4 and he looked like he was dealing, holding the D-Backs off the scoreboard for the first three innings. But big trouble was waiting for him in the fourth.
Scherzer gingerly made his way out to the mound for the bottom half of the inning and got through just two warmup pitches before the training staff had to come out. Scherzer left the game with back spasms and looked crestfallen as he made his way down the dugout steps and into the tunnel.
“I just had my back tighten up, and then it went into full spasm. In the third inning we were trying everything to kind of stretch it out, try to get going. And then I went out there to warm up for the fourth and I tried and I was going to hurt it even more and I wasn’t going to be myself so at that point I came out of the game,” he said of the injury.
The Rangers went on to win Game 3 and the next two contests to capture their first title and win Scherzer his second ring.
Just over two years later, Scherzer gets another chance to pitch in the World Series Monday in Los Angeles. And he seems like he’s more than eager for the opportunity.
“He was asking what we were doing after Game 7, and I was like, ‘Max, I’m enjoying a beer, man,’” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “He’s so regimented and wants to know what he’s doing, [because] he’s been through this, too.”
Schneider seems comfortable with Scherzer taking the ball despite an up-and-down injury-filled regular season at the age of 41.
“I think just looking at not having too much of a layoff with Max from his last outing but still giving him some rest,” said Schneider. “Him pitching in that environment [Dodger Stadium] that’s going to be a lot of hoopla, Game 3, much like yesterday — or any game this series.
“He’s pitched in that stadium. It keeps him available for Game 7.”
Scherzer threw Game 4 of the American League Championship Series for the Blue Jays, turning back the clock with a fiery outing that helped the Jays even the series and eventually punch their ticket to the World Series for the first time in 32 years.
He allowed two runs in 5.2 innings of work and barked at Schneider to leave him in the game at one point in the fifth. Needless to say, Scherzer got his way and rewarded his manager by getting out of the inning. If that decision was motivated by trust or fear is a whole other discussion.
“I thought he was going to kill me. It was great,” Schneider said. “He locked eyes with me, both colors, as I walked out. It’s not fake. That’s the thing, this isn’t fake. He has that Mad Max persona, and he backed it up tonight.”
Whether or not Scherzer is able to help his team to another World Series victory remains to be seen. But you can be sure he has the track record and the identity to meet the moment.