Max Scherzer will definitely be in some largely uncharted territory as he makes his first start of the season for the New York Mets.
A wild fact about the three-time Cy Young winner went viral Friday ahead of his 2022 debut against his old team, the Washington Nationals. Scherzer, who pitched for Washington for the previous seven seasons before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer, went a whopping 11 years and 297 days in between starts against the Nationals.
Mets writer Michael Mayer shared what Washington’s lineup looked like the last time that Scherzer started against them.
The start in question took place during interleague play in June 2010 when Scherzer was still with the Detroit Tigers. He held Washington to three runs on seven hits in six innings pitched and earned the victory for Detroit.
Of the players in that Nationals starting lineup last faced by Scherzer, not a single one is still in the league. Franchise icon Ryan Zimmerman, who just announced his retirement this past February, was the last man standing. The changing of the guard is also apparent considering that the Washington lineup Scherzer is facing on Friday has multiple players aged 23 or younger.
Scherzer, who won a World Series with Washington in 2019, is obviously still plenty beloved by the Nationals in many different ways. But Friday’s start against them certainly has to feel extremely weird for Mad Max.
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