Max Scherzer gets the start for the Texas Rangers on Wednesday in Game 3 of the ALCS. It’ll be a tough matchup going against the Houston Astros and Justin Verlander.
The two have quite a bit in common.
Just months ago they were teammates with the New York Mets. Three Cy Young Awards each, 17 All-Star selections between the two of them and, of course, many postseason appearances.
They’re built different, but there are similarities in how they approach a start, no matter the stage.
“[Scherzer] doesn’t talk too much,” Astros manager Dusty Baker told media on Tuesday. “He’s kind of like Verlander. I mean, they’re very similar. Just leave them alone. And they’re intense. They’re concentrated. They’re focused. And a lot of the good ones, they’re like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you don’t really talk to them on the days that they pitch.”
Baker and Scherzer spent time together during a stint with the Washington Nationals in 2016 and ’17.
Baker even once told a story of a time where he planned on taking Scherzer out of a game, but there was a look in his eye that made him think otherwise.
” I remember one time I was going to take Scherzer out and I wasn’t sure,” Baker told WTOP News in 2020. “In Washington. He has two different colored eyes. One’s brown and one’s blue. Sometimes, you look in their eyes and they’re blinking and you can tell they’re rattled and a little bit nervous. And I asked Scherzer which eye I should look at. He told me the blue eye. So I looked at the blue eye. I left him in there and it worked.”
Talk about an eye test.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.