Max Scherzer is an excellent pitcher who has won three Cy Young Awards during his career. He is on a Hall of Fame track and is known for his intensity on the mound as much as unhittable pitches. Dave Roberts learned that message the hard way.
Scherzer came over to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the trade deadline in a blockbuster deal that also involved Trea Turner. He has since made three starts for his new team, getting the win in two of them.
Scherzer pitched six innings for the win in the Dodgers’ 14-4 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday night. During the game, Roberts spoke with ESPN and shared a funny story about Scherzer.
Roberts told the announcers that “you can’t talk to let alone touch” Scherzer during a start.
Roberts shared that he patted Scherzer on the behind after each inning of the pitcher’s first start with the team. By the fourth inning, Scherzer had grown tired of it and grumbled something under his breath.
“Did he just say, ‘don’t effing touch me?'” Roberts said.
Sure enough, that’s exactly what Scherzer said.
Roberts said he got the scoop from his players, who informed the manager that Scherzer does not want to be touched during starts.
Later, after Scherzer completed his outing, Roberts asked him about the “don’t f—ing touch me” line.
Scherzer said indeed that was his message to the manager and explained why.
“This is my job,” Scherzer told Roberts. “I don’t need any kind of congratulations or support. This is my job.”
So there you have it. Scherzer does not need the positive reinforcement during his starts, and he does not like to be touched.
His methods definitely work. A 185-97 record with a career 3.18 ERA, three Cy Youngs and eight All-Star appearances say that Scherzer knows what he’s doing. Roberts just got clued in.
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