Which version of Max Scherzer is best?
Max Scherzer is defiant. In an era of injuries derailing starting pitchers' careers earlier and earlier - well before they hit statistical thresholds once considered compulsory for Hall of Fame induction - the veteran right-hander is on a contract that'll take him beyond his 40th birthday.
We've seen many versions of Mad Max over his illustrious 15-year career. It's time to start looking at which one is the best.
5. D-Backs debut
Scherzer's MLB tenure began with an oft-forgotten Arizona Diamondbacks period.
Drafted 11th overall in 2006 out of the University of Missouri, it didn't take especially long for Scherzer to work his way through the minors. He eventually earned the call in 2008, debuting with an impressive mop-up performance in which he tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings and racked up seven strikeouts with zero hits or walks.
That punch-out prowess didn't translate to immediate success, though. As opposing hitters figured out they could be more patient against him, Scherzer's walk rate climbed to 8.5% while his strikeout rate fell to 23.5% - decent numbers but nothing compared to what would be expected of him during his seemingly never-ending prime.
Eventually, those command-and-control issues led the Diamondbacks to the ill-advised decision to trade Scherzer to the Detroit Tigers in a three-team deal that netted them Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson.
4. Flushing finale?
Scherzer's Flushing tenure is too early to properly judge, but we can conservatively forecast it'll be neither his worst nor best period.
It'll be interesting to see how he ages during his three-year, $130-million deal. Early returns are certainly promising - particularly with Jacob deGrom on the shelf.
Scherzer was unable to fill in for the incumbent ace on Opening Day due to a minor hamstring injury, which seemed like an ominous sign for a franchise routinely plagued by misfortune. However, the eight-time All-Star acquitted himself relatively well in his New York Mets debut the next day, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk over six innings with six strikeouts. He followed that up by allowing one run on five hits and three walks over five frames while punching out seven in his second appearance.
While those are nice numbers, they aren't even close to the characteristic dominance Scherzer's known for. Mets fans got a taste of that when he made his first start for the team at Citi Field on Tuesday, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning and striking out 10. Will this tenure eventually surpass his Los Angeles Dodgers or Tigers runs? If he keeps it up, it's certainly possible, albeit unlikely.
Of course, there's also a chance he opts out of this deal or even completes it and still has something left in the tank to continue elsewhere.
3. Dodgers dalliance
Scherzer's tenure with the Dodgers can be described as short but very, very sweet.
Brought in as a mercenary for a beleaguered L.A. rotation, Scherzer somehow wound up being more valuable by FanGraphs WAR over his 11 starts with the Dodgers than his 19 starts with the Washington Nationals before the trade.
Upon rejoining a pennant race, Scherzer quickly became arguably the best version of himself we've ever seen, keeping his strikeouts at his normal elite levels while limiting walks and homers at a mind-boggling clip.
It was that performance down the stretch that reentered Scherzer's name into Cy Young considerations. While Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes was simply too great to overcome, Scherzer - a three-time winner already - still earned his seventh top-three finish and ninth top-five.
2. The Tigers' budding ace
Scherzer was certainly promising when he joined Detroit but didn't really begin showing true ace-level stuff behind Justin Verlander until his final two years with the team. In 2013, he threw 200 innings for the first time in his career and led the American League with a 0.97 WHIP while setting personal bests with a 2.90 ERA and 2.74 FIP en route to his first Cy Young win.
The encore was almost as good. He posted a 3.15 ERA and 2.85 FIP over 220 1/3 innings, finishing fifth in Cy Young voting. With those two seasons in the bag, Scherzer cemented an incredible platform stretch entering free agency. Between 2013 and 2014, only Clayton Kershaw and Felix Hernandez were worth more WAR, and no one bested Scherzer's unbelievable 492 strikeouts over that span.
It's astonishing to think that any pitcher could possible get better after this.
It's also honestly stunning in retrospect that a rotation that featured Scherzer, Verlander, Robbie Ray, David Price, and Rick Porcello didn't win at least one World Series - even though that was largely due to the construction of the bullpen behind Scherzer.
1. Champ in D.C.
Lengthy and large free-agent investments - particularly into the oft-injured profession of pitcher - are usually considered foolish, if not idiotic. Outperforming a seven-year, $210-million deal is simply unheard of. But Scherzer did - easily.
The Nats took a chance by guaranteeing a 30-year-old starter $30 million a year. Only three deals have surpassed that in total value since then - and to very mixed results (Price's seven-year, $217-million contract; Stephen Strasburg's seven-year, $245-million pact, and Gerrit Cole's nine-year, $324-million deal).
Not only did Scherzer secure his spot as arguably the best active pitcher on that contract, but he also built a legacy unquestionably worthy of Cooperstown. Between 2015 and 2021, no pitcher was worth more WAR than Scherzer. He added a pair of NL Cy Young Awards to his mantle during that run, becoming one of 10 hurlers to win at least three and the sixth to win at least one in each league.
Perhaps most importantly, he played an integral role in bringing the Nationals their first-ever World Series championship in 2019. After tossing 172 1/3 innings as a 34-year-old - his 11th straight year with at least 170 IP - Scherzer spun another 30 in the postseason, which was nearly 20% of Washington's total.
The simplest answer to which Scherzer is best, though? Whichever one is on your team.