Max Scherzer, the pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB), is a baseball player with many records and a talent that few can boast. The power pitcher is known for his low three-quarter arm delivery and can also hit and throw with his right hand. The baseball star has set numerous strikeout records: He is the tenth pitcher to win at least three Cy Young Awards, the fifth pitcher to throw more than one flawless inning in his career, and the sixth pitcher to set two no-hitter records in the same season. If he keeps on playing, you expect more of him to come.
While Mikel Trout is considered the best player in the MLB, Max Scherzer is listed in the top 5 according to Kwese.ESPN MLBRank. There is more about Max Scherzer that you probably didn’t know about, so we will keep you informed about everything we know about this professional baseball player.
Max Scherzer Bio
Max was born on July 27, 1984, in Chesterfield, Missouri, the son of Jan (Shirck) and Brad Scherzer. His full name is Maxwell Scherzer, and he spent much of his childhood and youth in Chesterfield.
He attended Parkway Central High School in his hometown, where he also played baseball for the school team. An opportunity to play in the MLB came in 2003 when he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 43rd round (1,291st in total), but he did not sign the contract and chose the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.
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In his first year at college, Max Scherzer made his debut in a summer baseball college league with the La Crosse Loggers of the Northwoods League (NWL). After his impressive performance, in which he hit 50 bats in only 33 thrown innings and an ERA of 1.91 with 6 parries, he was named All-Star in mid-season.
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Three years after his failed draft in 2006, he was called 11th All-Star by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round. However, he and his agent failed to reach an agreement with the D-B side, so he did not join them, but instead began his professional career with the Fort Worth Cats of the independent American federation. He only needed to appear in three games to reappoint the Diamondback with a $4.3 million contract he had signed.
Max Scherzer began playing in the Diamondback organization in 2007 and quickly grew to fame, needing only a few games to prove his worth before finally reaching a place on the main team in April 2008.
He made his MLB debut on 29 April in a game against the Houston Astros. As expected, his performance continued to improve and in 2009 he became a full-time starter for the Diamond team. A 12-0 win over the Atlanta Braves was Max’s first Major League win, and 10 days later, on May 26, 2009, he also celebrated his second League win. In December of the league season, however, he was transferred to the Detroit Tigers along with Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke, and Austin Jackson to pave the way for Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson to join the Diamondbacks and Curtis Granderson to join the New York Yankees. In the Tigers, his performance was no less impressive until he decided to go to the Washington Nationals.
Salary and Contract with the Washington Nationals
Having played for the Detroit Tigers for 5 years and helped them reach the post-season in all these years, including the 2014 World Series, winning 21 and 18 wins in 2013 and 2014 respectively, it would only take an amount that would break the bank to keep Max Scherzer with the Tigers after his release in 2014. The Detroit Tigers side offered $160 million to still let him play for them, but when the Washington Nationals offered a $210 million 7-year contract, you definitely know which side he signed up to.
Max Scherzer’s contract with the Nationals became the biggest in their history and the second-highest for a pitcher behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. In addition to this delicious amount, he received a signing bonus of $50 million, which was spread over the entire term of the contract. His salary is a handsome $15 million per year until 2018 and is expected to reach $35 million by 2019 for the last three years of his contract with the Nationals.
What Happened To Max Scherzer Eyes?
Another distinguishing feature of Max Scherzer, besides his extraordinary abilities in intonation, is his two-colored eyes. He has one blue and one brown eye, a genetic condition known as heterochromia-iridium, a feature that causes each eye to have a different color.
In an interview granted by his mother in 2005, she announced that he had blue and green eyes at birth. She took him to a pediatrician and the pediatrician told her that the eyes could return to normal, although it was not certain. However, as Max grew older, the blue eye became bluer while the green eye turned brown. The Nationals began selling M&M’s in blue and brown in honor of Scherzer’s Heterochromia.
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Professional Career Stats
As of June 2018, Max Scherzer’s career stats are given below
| Year | Team | GP | CG | ER | SO | W | L | WHIP | ERA |
| 2008-2009 | Diamondbacks | 46 | 0 | 97 | 240 | 9 | 15 | 2.57 | 7.17 |
| 2010-2014 | Detroit Tigers | 161 | 1 | 396 | 1081 | 82 | 35 | 6.02 | 17.72 |
| 2015-2018 | Washington Nationals | 111 | 8 | 221 | 961 | 60 | 26 | 3.62 | 10.21 |
Family – Wife
Max Scherzer is married to Erica May, whom he met at the University of Missouri, where they both worked as kickers. May played softball for the college softball team, but a terrible heart condition forced her to cancel the game.
They married in November 2013 after 8 years of dating and 4 years later, in November 2017, their daughter Brooklyn May-Scherzer was born. The family of three has their home in McLean, a suburb of Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia, where they live with four rescue dogs and two cats of prey.