Max Scherzer was 26 years outdated and pitching for the Tigers after I first interviewed him. Thirteen seasons and three Cy Young awards later, he’s taking the mound for the Rangers, the sixth group he’s performed for in what has been an illustrious profession. Scherzer’s accolades embrace eight All-Star berths, and simply this week, he moved into eleventh place on MLB’s all-time strikeout checklist. Already at 72.0 WAR, he has a Hall of Fame plaque in his future.
In our preliminary interview, which ran on at present’s date again in 2010, Scherzer described himself as “a power pitcher” and “a very mathematic guy” who appreciated, however didn’t overly depend on, analytics out there at the moment. How does the veteran right-hander method his craft all these years later, and the way has he developed alongside the best way? I caught up with him to handle these questions shortly earlier than he was dealt from the Mets to the Rangers on the August commerce deadline.
———
David Laurila: We talked pitching in 2010. How in a different way do take into consideration your craft 13 years later?
Max Scherzer: “Way different, but the game is also way different. In 2010, it was much more based on what the human eye can see, what’s going on in the field, and listening to the pro scouts. We were understanding some of the numbers back then, but nowhere near what it has blossomed into. It’s almost the inverse now. In 2023, so much of the game is just number, number, number, number, number. I actually think it’s gone too far, that we’ve forgotten some of the human aspects that go into baseball. It’s become, ‘Follow the numbers, they have to be right.’ But no. There is actually a human component that doesn’t get enough credit.”
Laurila: Can you elaborate on that?
Scherzer: “There are instances the place what you’re seeing on the sphere issues greater than what the information says. There are instances to execute based mostly on what you see. For me, that’s been a maturation course of over the course of my profession.
“I’ve evolved in what I’m looking for and what I’m trying to ascertain. I’m always trying to figure out what I actually want to know on the mound. There is a limit to how much thought you can have about the hitter before you start taking away from yourself. There is a limit to how much bandwidth… like, you want to know what the hitter hits and what he doesn’t hit, but you also need to know what you do well. You need to understand, ‘When I execute this pitch, that’s when I’m at my best,’ and ‘When I put these sequences together, that’s when I’m at my best.’ As much as you want to scout your opponents, scouting yourself is just as important.”
Laurila: The opposing group is clearly going to know your strengths and your tendencies.
Scherzer: “Yes. The hitters are keying off of what you do. I’ve been on plenty of teams now, and the hitting coaches… I don’t want to say they’re all the same, but they’re looking at what you do and they’re evolving with you. You’ve got to be cognizant of that. If a guy hits .100 on changeups but he knows you’re going to throw one, then he’s going to look for it and he’s going hit it. Hitters pick up tendencies, so you can’t just keep doing the same thing over and over.”
Laurila: What you’re throwing in a sure rely, or a given state of affairs, can even differ by how properly a pitch has been working, proper? For occasion, your slider could be transferring much less that common that day and perhaps in current begins as properly.
Scherzer: “Pitch movement — the shapes, the spin rates, the breaks — are good to look at, but I focus more on how I’m using and locating a pitch. To me, that often explains more than the data does. Everything is with a grain of salt now.”
Laurila: Which information do you take a look at after begins?
Scherzer: “The first question I always ask our data people, I find this funny, is, ‘What was my first-pitch strikes?’ I want to know how I attacked. I mean, you can have all the data in the world, but if you’re not attacking the zone, it doesn’t matter. You can throw 110 [mph], but if you don’t throw strikes, it really doesn’t matter. I always hold myself accountable to how many first-pitch strikes I’m throwing.”
Laurila: I assume you additionally need to know the quality-of-contact in your first-pitch strikes.
Scherzer: “Let’s say, I’m simply utilizing fast numbers right here, I confronted 25 batters and threw 18 first-pitch strikes. There will likely be some contact, but when it comes from three of these 18 batters, I’ll know what occurred. I can already inform the story of why, in these conditions, they made contact. I’ll additionally know whether or not I used to be OK with that or not.
“Were they looking for the fastball? Were they looking for offspeed? Was I trying to execute in the zone or potentially trying to execute out of the zone? And where did they hit the ball? Was it hard, soft, pulled, oppo? There are a lot of things you can use to describe the situation and decide if you were OK with it. I mean, I might have a high pitch count through three innings and want contact for a first-pitch out. The context of the game impacts what you’re doing.”
Laurila: How a lot of what you’ve mentioned so far in our dialog would differ out of your thought course of 13 years in the past?
Scherzer: “That’s a good question. The basics are pretty much the same. Work ahead in the count. Throw strikes. Strike ‘em out. Don’t walk ‘em. Keep it in the ballpark. Pretty much what FIP tries to tell you. That basic formula still applies today.”
Laurila: In different phrases, the extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical.
Scherzer: “Correct. The amount of data in the game has changed, but how I think hasn’t really changed.”
Laurila: What concerning the high quality of your stuff? Has that modified?
Scherzer: “I mean, that’s changed a lot. My average velocity is pretty much the same, but my top end is definitely different. I don’t have 99 anymore. Every now and then you might see a 96, and maybe I’ll stick in a 97, but I’m basically still pitching at 94 miles per hour.”
Laurila: Not having the identical top-end velocity is an indication that you simply’re previous your bodily peak, however what about your psychological peak? Given your age and expertise, I assume you’re already there, and perhaps have been for just a few years?
Scherzer: “No. Why would I be? It never ends. And the physical ability is still there. I still feel like I can go out there and get guys out at a very high level. I still have the ability to win ballgames and be a part of a championship ball club. In those respects, nothing has changed.”
Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com