It has been Max Scherzer’s extraordinary talent, work ethic and health that have put him in rarified air, but it was a simple piano session that has enabled him to go where only 10 men have ever gone in baseball history.
Scherzer, scheduled to start Friday for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Cleveland Guardians, needs just one strikeout to become only the second pitcher to eclipse 3,500 strikeouts in the past 24 years. He is just 11 strikeouts shy of passing legendary Walter Johnson to crack the top-10 in baseball history.
"The cool thing is I really appreciate the history of this game, and it’s been played for over 100 years," Scherzer, 41, told USA Today Sports. "When you can kind of connect the eras, and have an accomplishment that only so many guys have gotten to that number, it’s humbling."
While Nolan Ryan is the all-time strikeout leader with 5,714, the only player to eclipse the 3,500-strikeout barrier since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2002 is Scherzer’s former Detroit Tigers and New York Mets teammate, Justin Verlander. He accomplished the feat last September with the San Francisco Giants, and has 55 more strikeouts than Scherzer while pitching 92 more innings.
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There are only four pitchers in history who have struck out at least 4,000 batters: Ryan (5,714), Randy Johnson (4,875), Roger Clemens (4,672) and Steve Carlton (4,136). Scherzer doesn’t plan to hang around that long, but passing Walter Johnson (3,509) on the all-time strikeout list is mind-boggling to him.
"Passing Walter Johnson, the Big Train, everyone knows who that is," Scherzer said. "You just appreciate the game where it was, where it is now, and where it’s going to be. It’s pretty special."
And to think, without sitting down and learning how to play the piano again last July at his rental Toronto condo, he might be sitting home with his wife and four kids in Jupiter, Florida, these days, retired from the game.
Scherzer says that twice last year he was one more missed start, or even a missed bullpen session, from taking off his uniform for the final time.
Simply, Scherzer was exasperated, believing his inflamed right thumb would never allow him to again be an effective starter. He thought the thumb might have been the root of his strained right teres major muscle in 2023, and his shoulder fatigue that sidelined him for six weeks in the second half of 2024.
"In the offseason, I tried every grip strength I could to try to address it," Scherzer said, "and I thought I did. But as soon as the [2025] season started, it blew right back on me."
Scherzer, the eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young winner and two-time World Series champion with a career 222-119 record, made one start in 2025. He was back on the injured list for three months and came oh so close to calling it a career before sitting down at that piano.
He took lessons as a kid, but decided to brush up on his skills with a few notes, keys and chords, just to ease his mind.
"I was just trying to get my kids to play the piano," Scherzer said. "All right, I’ve got to learn a few songs to teach them now to play the piano. And when I did that, I noticed, oh, my fingers are sore from playing the piano. And I go pitch, and I’m like, "Wait a minute, my thumb’s better.
"I played a little bit more, played more with the kids, and my hand’s even better. I’m like, 'Oh my gosh, did I finally figure this out?’ So I chased it. I tried to play as long as I can, and my fingers are really sore in between starts. Then, I get back out there, and my thumb pain was gone."
Scherzer couldn’t believe it. He made 12 starts in the second half, and when the Blue Jays needed him the most, was 1-0 with a 3.76 ERA in the ALCS and the World Series.
It still boggles his mind that after all of the strength exercises, treatment and cortisone shots, it was a piano that has kept his career alive.
"I mean, I had tried everything," he said. "Every treatment, you name it, and this is what worked."
'I have to play the piano if I want to keep pitching'
It’s not like the folks at the "New England Journal of Medicine" will be asking for Scherzer’s thoughts any time soon, but for all the trainers and medical staff that MLB teams employ, well, this could be a chapter for their books.
"Why it works is because playing the piano is making you work through your fingertips," Scherzer said. "So, all of the grip strength exercises that we do goes through more of the palm of your hand and up higher. I needed my finger tips for the lower part of my hand. So, playing the piano was giving me a lot of finger strength.
"It’s like no one wants to run for five miles, but if you can play basketball and get the same conditioning, you’ll do it. Same thing here. I’m doing something I can have fun with, and it’s a challenge to figure out how to play."
Nowadays, the portable keyboard travels wherever Scherzer goes. When Blue Jays manager John Schneider was talking to reporters in his visiting office at Chase Field last week, the sounds of Scherzer could be heard through the walls. He was playing Dr. Dre’s "Still D.R.E.," Eminem’s "Lose Yourself," Meek Mill’s "Dreams and Nightmares," and a little bit of the intro to Kanye West’s "Heartless," too.
"I have to play the piano," Scherzer said, "if I want to keep pitching. If I don’t do it, my thumb issue will come right back."
So, Scherzer will play at least three or four times a week, an hour or two at a time. He doesn’t know how to read music yet, but has learned by watching YouTube tutorials with a blend of "Guitar Hero." He’ll play in his hotel room, hotel lobbies, the clubhouse, or even the team plane.
His wife, Erica, is playing the piano, too, along with his kids. Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk, who’s on the injured list with a fractured and dislocated thumb, says he’s even willing to give it a go.
"I’m trying to get him to learn some Van Halen," Schneider said.
In the meantime, Scherzer has more strikeout victims in his path. He grew up in the St. Louis area and was a diehard Cardinals fan who idolized the legendary Bob Gibson. As a young pitcher, he was in awe of Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, all of whom are enshrined in Cooperstown.
Now, his name will be in the same conversation as those strikeout greats.
"Growing up in St. Louis, I’ll always have a bias towards Gibson," Scherzer said. "I’ve gotten to appreciate how good Tom Seaver was. And to see Nolan Ryan have 5,700 strikeouts is just unbelievable. What an iron horse.
"So, to be on the same list of those guys, I can’t even describe it."
And, to think, if not for the assistance of a mere piano, being one of baseball’s top-10 strikeout artists would never be a reality.
"Amazing," Scherzer said, "what a piano is doing for my career."
