“Max Scherzer has the right to yell at me in front of everyone.”

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
“Max Scherzer has the right to yell at me in front of everyone.”
Credit: Reddit

Max Scherzer is the eighth starting pitcher to join the Blue Jays' rotation. Even though injuries will change the situation (especially with Shane Bieber), Eric Lauer can be used in relief, and the rotation can include six guys if necessary, that's a lot of people.

But despite everything, the Blue Jays were keen to bring MadMax back. Why? Because he makes everyone better.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic spoke with John Schneider, who made no secret of the fact that the pitcher draws a lot of energy out of a year. But he makes everyone better and acts like a coach, practically.

Scherzer “has the right to yell at him” in front of everyone (as happened in the playoffs) because it's his intensity that helps him perform and because he's a legend. But in return, he's also an important voice.

The proof? This anecdote.

During Game 7 of the World Series, when Scherzer was no longer in the game, he saw his manager approaching him. It was the end of the eighth inning, with Shohei Ohtani as the third batter of the inning.

The manager didn't know whether to face the Japanese player. He asked his assistants for advice, but also asked Scherzer. He was the only player asked this question, which shows how important he was.

His response? He told his manager that he had spent the year pushing the right buttons and that he simply trusted him.

The bond of trust between Scherzer and Schneider is strong… and that's one of the big reasons why the pitcher chose to return to Toronto, despite the surplus of starting pitchers.

PMLB
  • A guest at Blue Jays camp.
  • Today's Canadian lineup.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.

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