Max Scherzer, the Blue Jays right-hander, stepped onto the mound against the Orioles on Wednesday for his 500th career pitching appearance. It was a tough outing, giving up four runs on four hits over five innings, but that 500th game puts him in some serious historic company. The big question, though? Is this the final chapter for one of baseball’s all-time great aces?
Hitting the Big 5-0-0 as Time Marches On
Think about it: 500 games pitched, 491 of those as starts. Only 54 pitchers in MLB history have more starts than Scherzer, and he’s now the 451st to hit the 500-game mark. That’s elite, no doubt. But at 42 years old, with back-to-back injury-riddled, sub-par seasons in the books, you have to wonder. His ERA for this season is 6.14, and last year he had a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts for Toronto. This isn’t the Mad Max we all know and fear. We just saw Clayton Kershaw retire last season at 37, after a third World Series ring. Justin Verlander, older than Scherzer among active pitchers, already announced he’s hanging it up after this year. It feels like the last of a generation of true aces, guys who brought excellence and huge workloads, are fading out.
The Legendary Resume and a Final Stand?
Look, despite the recent struggles, Scherzer is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Three Cy Youngs, eight All-Star selections, a career WAR of 74.3, ninth all-time in strikeouts, over 3,000 innings pitched, 10th-best K/BB ratio, 224 wins, two World Series rings… that’s a titan’s haul, period. We even saw flashes of the old Scherzer this season, like that absolute gem on August 30 against our very own Mariners, where he twirled seven scoreless innings and punched out 10 guys. Even when he’s winding down, he can still bring it! Scherzer himself said, “I don’t know if I want to publicly say, yet. I’d rather keep the blinders up and address once the season’s over. I’m not limping to the finish line, I’m accelerating through the finish line… want to keep the focus on just getting to finish line.” The Blue Jays were eliminated from the playoffs with Wednesday’s loss, but manager John Schneider hinted there’s a chance Scherzer could pitch Sunday on short rest for a final home crowd send-off. Scherzer said he wants to pitch.
So, will Sunday be the very last time we see “Mad Max” on a big-league mound? He’s sitting at 3,550 career strikeouts, just four shy of Verlander for eighth all time. If he pitches Sunday, he could add to that legendary total and give the home crowd one last memory. We’ll be watching to see if this generation’s last true ace gets one more shot before making that final, monumental decision.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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