Facing a Season of Uncertainty, Max Scherzer Is Still Tinkering

It was Scherzer’s first World Series appearance since 2012, with the Detroit Tigers. Between appearances, he fashioned a run of dominance few pitchers have matched: Scherzer has finished in the top five in Cy Young Award balloting in each of the last seven seasons, a streak equaled only by Greg Maddux and Clayton Kershaw since the award was first given in 1956.

He won it three times — in 2013, 2016 and 2017 — and led the majors in victories (161) and strikeouts (2,452) for the decade of the 2010s, to go with two no-hitters and a 20-strikeout game.

“As great as those things are, that’s not what motivates me,” said Scherzer, who turns 36 next week and is signed through 2021. “I don’t come to the park for all the other hoopla; I come to the park because I want to win another World Series with my teammates. To me, that’s the greatest motivating factor there is, and that’s really all I need.”

The Nationals will try to end baseball’s longest streak without a repeat champion; the last team to repeat was the Yankees, from 1998 through 2000. Washington’s star third baseman, Anthony Rendon, signed with the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent, but the Nationals retain the majors’ most imposing starting three in Scherzer, Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, who got an unexpected four-month layoff.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/sports/baseball/max-scherzer-opening-day.html