Opinion: Max Scherzer is in a pitcher's paradise with Dodgers and why would he want to leave?
LOS ANGELES - Max Scherzer emerged from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout Tuesday afternoon, with the beautiful sunshine overhead, the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains to the north, the dazzling downtown skyline to the south, and soon, a gorgeous ballpark filled with fans.
Scherzer, stepping into his new home for the first time since he was traded last Thursday to the Dodgers, has fallen in love at first sight.
He may be under contract for only two more months with the Dodgers when he’s eligible for free agency, but the reality is he’s likely not leaving anytime soon.
Come on, why would you ever want to leave a team that wins year after year, with eight consecutive NL West titles since 2013, three National League pennants, a World Series championship and hunger for a whole lot more?
Scherzer is now in a pitcher’s paradise in the NL West, the breeding ground for NL Cy Young Award winners. There’s a reason he told the Washington Nationals his preference was to be traded to the NL West.
And if he continues to dominate and leads the Dodgers to another World Series title, the filthy rich Dodgers aren’t about to let him leave the city.
Scherzer’s roots may be in St. Louis, but when you have a chance to be a LeBron James in spikes, you’re going to stay put where your name will be in the Hollywood lights night after night.
“I did want to stay in the National League,’’ Scherzer said Tuesday in a zoom call before his Dodgers debut on Wednesday against the Houston Astros. “I had familiarity over here, and especially for these last two months. Obviously I wanted to stay in warm weather. It’s a good thing for a pitcher to stay in warm weather.
“I told the Nationals I wasn’t going dictate what team I wanted to go to, but I would tell them what teams I would accept a trade to.’’
Voila!
Los Angeles.
Scherzer certainly has nothing left to prove. He won three Cy Young awards. He won a World Series championship. His seven-year, $210 million contract has been the greatest investment in Nationals history. Now, there’s more to accomplish that will be etched on that Hall of Fame plaque.
“Max has done it all in this game,” said Dodgers president Andrew Friedman. “He’s on the Mount Rushmore of pitchers in terms of what he’s done in the regular season, what he’s done in the playoffs.’’
Scherzer is 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA this season and has a 183-97 career record with a 3.19 ERA. He has been a fixture in the postseason, making 22 appearances and going 7-5 with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 137 batters in 112 innings.
Now, he joins a team that already has three Cy Young winners -- although Trevor Bauer remains on administrative leave and may never throw another pitch for the Dodgers --with another one potentially on the way in Walker Buehler. Clayton Kershaw and Scherzer have combined for six Cy Young awards alone in the past decade.
“You can argue that these two are the best pitchers of our generation,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Fierce competitors, championship winners. [Scherzer] is a championship winner. He’s not just a pitcher, he’s a baseball player. You see him on the bench, rooting for guys, staying on the bench before starts, after starts, paralleling Clayton. He’s a high-end competitor.’’
Scherzer and Kershaw, in the same 2006 draft class, have been competitors for the past 14 years, with Scherzer and the Nationals beating the Dodgers in the 2019 playoffs en route to the Nats’ first World Series title.
“Flags,’’ Scherzer said, “fly forever. The most important thing is we won a World Series together.’’
