Scherzer's confrontation with Schneider in ALCS Game 4 nothing new for ‘Hall of Famer’

Max Scherzer was pacing around the mound when he spotted Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider walking toward him, presumably to pull him from Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

Scherzer screamed, "No way!" After a brief but animated exchange, Schneider left the mound with the 41-year-old pitcher still in the game.

To casual Blue Jays fans, Scherzer's behaviour might seem disrespectful or even unhinged. But for his teammates and hardcore baseball fans, this was classic Mad Max.

"I've been waiting for that all year, for Max to yell at me on the mound," said Schneider in his post-game news conference. "I think at that point there's numbers, there's projections, there's strategy, and there's people. So I was trusting people.”

"I think in that moment, you relive every conversation I've had with him over the course of the year, and I trusted him to make pitches."

Scherzer responded to Schneider's mound visit by striking out Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena. Schneider said there were some more heated words between him and Scherzer in the clubhouse after the manager asked if he could pitch in the sixth inning.

"Talking about how we don't talk to him when he's starting, I definitely talked to him and that was another fun conversation in the tunnel," said Schneider. "When a guy is in it, when a guy is in the arena performing and doing well, I'm going to trust him to continue to do it."

Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reported that as Schneider left the interview room on Thursday, Scherzer was on his way in. The Blue Jays manager gave the veteran pitcher a hardy slap on the back.

"All right, you [expletive] psycho, get in there."

Scherzer brushed off the mound visit post-game.

"I think what I'm gathering from the bullpen and everything that he wasn't actually planning on taking me out," said Scherzer. "He just went in to check on me. So I don't think I actually fought to stay in.

"I think it was kind of a mind game to kind of get me going. So who knows."

'First-ballot Hall of Famer'

The right-hander has a 221-117 record over 18 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Toronto. He has a 3.22 earned-run average over his career with 3,489 strikeouts.

He's won the Cy Young Award three times, being recognized as the best pitcher in the American League in 2013 with Detroit and then in the National League in 2016 and 2017 with Washington. He's an eight-time all-star and has won the World Series twice, with the Nationals and Texas.

Although those gaudy numbers guarantee Scherzer will wind up in Cooperstown, it's his intense personality that makes him memorable.

Second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa said Thursday's exchange between Scherzer and Schneider was something he had been bracing for when Toronto claimed him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 31.

"I'm always nervous around Max when he's pitching," said Kiner-Falefa after the game. "I was told not to touch him, not to talk to him.”

"For me to see that fire and for him to finish the inning, I think that was the coolest part. A lot of guys try that and then they end up not finishing the inning, but Max was able to finish the inning. That's why he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer."

Mad Max’s history

On June 11, 2013, before winning his first Cy Young, Scherzer was struggling with his command against the Kansas City Royals. Tigers catcher Alex Avila wanted to motivate Scherzer so he offered him a purposely bad fantasy football trade. Scherzer yelled at Avila for the insulting proposal but pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on three hits with six strikeouts as Detroit won 3-2 and his record that season improved to 9-0.

Two years later, Scherzer was on the Nationals and had a similar scene to Thursday's confrontation with Schneider. Manager Matt Williams came to the mound in the seventh inning to pull Scherzer from a game against the Miami Marlins.

As Williams approached, Scherzer refused to leave, shouting, "I want it! I [really] want it! I [really] want it!" Williams returned to the dugout and Scherzer induced an inning-ending ground ball from Dee Gordon.

"He's scary. Whenever he's out there, he's scary," said Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw on Friday. "You stay out of his way. He's a competitor. You don't want to be on the other side.

"He has his days — good and bad, like everyone — but you know he's going to be locked in."

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Michael Saunders hit a 100-m.p.h. comebacker off Scherzer's knee on May 14, 2017. The line drive flattened Scherzer but in the next inning he struck out three consecutive hitters on nine pitches as Washington went on to win 6-5.

Scherzer broke his nose during batting practice on June 18, 2019, when he accidentally bunted the ball into his sunglasses. Despite having a black eye, Scherzer pitched the next day, striking out 10 over seven scoreless innings as Washington beat Philly 2-0.

In October 2019, Scherzer had such debilitating shoulder pain his wife had to help him get undressed. A cortisone shot and chiropractic treatment got him well enough to play, pitching five innings as the Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-2 to win the franchise's first championship.

"It's what you play the game for. You're in the biggest moment of the season right now," said Scherzer on Thursday. "These games are must-win, every single one of 'em, and when you get success, it's great."

Schneider said he and Scherzer cleared the air on Friday morning.

"He's a different breed," said Schneider. "He's a bull in a china shop. But it was exactly what I wanted to hear."

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