What years did Max Scherzer play?

Max Scherzer played in Major League Baseball from 2008 to 2026.

Was Max Scherzer a pitcher?

Yes. Max Scherzer pitched in the major leagues, recording 225 wins and 3557 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Max Scherzer hit?

Max Scherzer hit 1 career home runs with 78 hits.

What was Max Scherzer's career batting average?

Max Scherzer batted .168 over his career, with 78 hits in 464 at bats.

How many RBI did Max Scherzer have?

Max Scherzer drove in 30 runs in his career.

What was Max Scherzer's career ERA?

Max Scherzer finished with a 3.29 career ERA, going 225-126 with 3,557 strikeouts.

Max Scherzer

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2008-2026)

Max Scherzer is a pitcher who has played in Major League Baseball since 2008 for 7 teams, including the Arizona Diamondbacks, a span of 19 seasons. Across 501 career appearances, he has gone 225-126 with a 3.29 ERA and 3,557 strikeouts. He has also batted .168 with 1 home runs. Max Scherzer is a 8-time All-Star and a 3-time Cy Young. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 68490.9.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 12, 2026

Active Player

W–L 225–126

ERA 3.29

WHIP 1.09

SO 3,557

Pitcher PIV thru 2025 68490.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 208 lb
Born: 7/27/1984 in St. Louis, MO, USA
MLB Debut: 2008-04-29
Awards: 8× All-Star · 3× Cy Young

Full name: Maxwell Martin Scherzer

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Career Pitching Statistics

Max Scherzer — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
225	126	501	492	12	5	0	3047.2	2,511	1,113	369	814	3,557	3.29	68490.9

Career ERA 3.29 vs. league average 4.14 across their career seasons — 20.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Max Scherzer Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
2008	ARI	NL	0	4	16	7	0	0	56.0	48	19	21	66	3.05	4.32 (+29%)	1409.6
2009	ARI	NL	9	11	30	30	0	0	170.1	166	78	63	174	4.12	4.32 (+5%)	2008.1
2010	DET	AL	12	11	31	31	0	0	195.2	174	76	70	184	3.50	4.08 (+14%)	1893.7
2011	DET	AL	15	9	33	33	0	0	195.0	207	96	56	174	4.43	3.94 (-12%)	-979.5
2012	DET	AL	16	7	32	32	0	0	187.2	179	78	60	231	3.74	4.01 (+7%)	3651.7
2013	DET	AL	21	3	32	32	0	0	214.1	152	69	56	240	2.90	3.87 (+25%)	6297.1
2014	DET	AL	18	5	33	33	1	1	220.1	196	77	63	252	3.15	3.74 (+16%)	5149.5
2015	WAS	NL	14	12	33	33	4	3	228.2	176	71	34	276	2.79	3.96 (+29%)	7154.3
2016	WAS	NL	20	7	34	34	1	0	228.1	165	75	56	284	2.96	4.19 (+29%)	5685.9
2017	WAS	NL	16	6	31	31	2	0	200.2	126	56	55	268	2.51	4.36 (+42%)	7624.1
2018	WAS	NL	18	7	33	33	2	1	220.2	150	62	51	300	2.53	4.15 (+39%)	8626.4
2019	WAS	NL	11	7	27	27	0	0	172.1	144	56	33	243	2.92	4.51 (+35%)	9176.1
2020	WAS	NL	5	4	12	12	1	0	67.1	70	28	23	92	3.74	4.45 (+16%)	1697.3
2021	WAS	NL	8	4	19	19	1	0	111.0	71	34	28	147	2.76	4.27 (+35%)	1882.1
2021	LAN	NL	7	0	11	11	0	0	68.1	48	15	8	89	1.98	4.27 (+54%)	4002.0
2022	NYN	NL	11	5	23	23	0	0	145.1	108	37	24	173	2.29	3.97 (+42%)	5056.6
2023	NYN	NL	9	4	19	19	0	0	107.2	98	48	30	121	4.01	4.33 (+7%)	-1002.0
2023	TEX	AL	4	2	8	8	0	0	45.0	28	16	15	53	3.20	4.33 (+26%)	1045.8
2024	TEX	AL	2	4	9	9	0	0	43.1	40	19	10	40	3.95	4.08 (+3%)	-112.4
2025	TOR	AL	5	5	17	17	0	0	85.0	87	49	23	82	5.19	4.16 (-25%)	-1775.4
2026	TOR	AL	4	9	18	18	0	0	84.2	78	54	35	68	5.74	4.18 (-37%)	-
Career · 21 seasons			225	126	501	492	12	5	3,047.2	2,511	1,113	814	3,557	3.29	—	68,491

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Max Scherzer — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
490	464	31	78	6	0	1	30	3	13	161	.168	.194	.188	.381	-2,314

Career AVG .168 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 33.3% below league average.

Career OBP .194 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 39.5% below league average.

Career SLG .188 vs. league average .408 across their career seasons — 54.1% below league average.

Career OPS .381 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 47.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Max Scherzer Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
2008	ARI	NL	17	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	ARI	NL	31	53	4	12	2	0	3	0	3	17	.226	.262 (-14%)	.332 (-20%)	.417 (-37%)	.750 (-29%)	-249.9
2010	DET	AL	31	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2011	DET	AL	33	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2012	DET	AL	32	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2013	DET	AL	32	3	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
2014	DET	AL	33	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2015	WAS	NL	34	69	4	15	0	0	0	0	2	23	.217	.254 (-15%)	.316 (-24%)	.404 (-46%)	.721 (-37%)	-388.4
2016	WAS	NL	34	70	4	13	1	0	12	0	2	30	.186	.255 (-27%)	.321 (-35%)	.417 (-52%)	.738 (-45%)	-500.4
2017	WAS	NL	31	62	4	10	0	1	5	0	4	16	.161	.254 (-37%)	.324 (-35%)	.425 (-51%)	.750 (-44%)	-440.3
2018	WAS	NL	35	70	8	17	2	0	6	1	1	14	.243	.247 (-2%)	.318 (-14%)	.409 (-34%)	.727 (-25%)	-269.3
2019	WAS	NL	29	55	6	10	0	0	2	2	0	27	.182	.252 (-28%)	.322 (-44%)	.434 (-58%)	.757 (-52%)	-465.3
2020	WAS	NL	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2021	WAS	NL	19	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2021	LAN	NL	11	24	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	15	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2022	NYN	NL	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2023	NYN	NL	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2023	TEX	AL	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2024	TEX	AL	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2025	TOR	AL	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 20 seasons			490	464	31	78	6	1	30	3	13	161	.168	—	—	—	—	-2,314

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Max Scherzer — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
32	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Max Scherzer — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
2025	ALCS	TOR	1	0	0	.000
2025	WS	TOR	2	0	0	.000
2023	ALCS	TEX	1	0	0	.000
2023	WS	TEX	1	0	0	.000
2022	NLWC1	NYN	1	0	0	.000
2021	NLCS	LAN	1	2	0	.000
2021	NLDS2	LAN	2	1	1	.000
2021	NLWC	LAN	1	0	0	.000
2019	NLCS	WAS	1	2	1	.000
2019	NLDS1	WAS	2	3	1	.000
2019	NLWC	WAS	1	1	0	.000
2019	WS	WAS	2	0	0	.000
2017	NLDS2	WAS	2	3	2	.000
2016	NLDS2	WAS	2	4	2	.000
2014	ALDS2	DET	1	0	0	.000
2013	ALCS	DET	2	0	0	.000
2013	ALDS2	DET	2	0	0	.000
2012	ALCS	DET	1	0	0	.000
2012	ALDS2	DET	1	0	0	.000
2012	WS	DET	1	0	0	.000
2011	ALCS	DET	2	0	0	.000
2011	ALDS1	DET	2	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Max Scherzer — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
8	7	32	27	1	153.1	116	61	61	178	3.58

Playoff Pitching by Year

Max Scherzer — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2025	ALCS	TOR	1	0	1	1	0	5.2	3	2	4	5	3.18
2025	WS	TOR	0	0	2	2	0	8.2	9	4	2	6	4.15
2023	ALCS	TEX	0	0	1	1	0	2.2	4	2	2	2	6.75
2023	WS	TEX	0	0	1	1	0	3.0	2	0	2	1	0.00
2022	NLWC1	NYN	0	1	1	1	0	4.2	7	7	0	4	13.50
2021	NLCS	LAN	0	0	1	1	0	4.1	4	2	1	7	4.15
2021	NLDS2	LAN	0	1	2	1	1	8.0	3	1	1	12	1.12
2021	NLWC	LAN	0	0	1	1	0	4.1	3	1	3	4	2.08
2019	NLCS	WAS	1	0	1	1	0	7.0	1	0	2	11	0.00
2019	NLDS1	WAS	1	0	2	1	0	8.0	4	1	3	10	1.12
2019	NLWC	WAS	0	0	1	1	0	5.0	4	3	3	6	5.40
2019	WS	WAS	1	0	2	2	0	10.0	12	4	7	10	3.60
2017	NLDS2	WAS	0	1	2	1	0	7.1	4	3	4	8	3.68
2016	NLDS2	WAS	0	1	2	2	0	12.0	10	5	2	12	3.75
2014	ALDS2	DET	0	1	1	1	0	7.1	7	5	1	6	6.14
2013	ALCS	DET	0	1	2	2	0	13.1	6	4	7	21	2.70
2013	ALDS2	DET	2	0	2	1	0	9.0	6	3	4	13	3.00
2012	ALCS	DET	1	0	1	1	0	5.2	2	1	2	10	1.59
2012	ALDS2	DET	0	0	1	1	0	5.1	3	0	1	8	0.00
2012	WS	DET	0	0	1	1	0	6.1	7	3	1	8	4.26
2011	ALCS	DET	0	1	2	2	0	8.1	11	9	5	7	9.72
2011	ALDS1	DET	1	0	2	1	0	7.1	4	1	4	7	1.23

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (973 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Max Scherzer — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	241	221	13	39	0	14	.176
Away	249	243	18	39	1	16	.160

Pitching — Home / Away

Max Scherzer — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	237	1462.2	1192	517	371	1710	3.18
Away	246	1500.1	1241	542	408	1779	3.25

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Max Scherzer — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
2025-09-24	TOR	BOS	L	5.0	10	4	4	0	5	1
2025-09-19	TOR	KCR	L	0.2	7	7	7	1	2	2
2025-09-13	TOR	BAL	—	5.0	4	2	2	2	5	0
2025-09-07	TOR	NYY	L	4.1	3	4	4	4	8	1
2025-08-31	TOR	MIL	—	4.0	9	4	4	0	1	2
2025-08-25	TOR	MIN	W	6.0	4	4	4	1	5	2
2025-08-19	TOR	PIT	W	6.0	4	1	1	3	4	0
2025-08-14	TOR	CHC	W	7.0	5	1	1	1	3	1
2025-08-08	TOR	LAD	L	6.0	6	2	2	3	5	1
2025-08-02	TOR	KCR	W	6.0	5	1	1	0	5	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Max Scherzer — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	483	474	164	215	18	15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Max Scherzer — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2008	ARI	P	16	7	4	5	1	2
2009	ARI	P	30	30	15	18	2	3
2010	DET	P	31	31	14	14	2	0
2011	DET	P	33	33	11	12	0	2
2012	DET	P	32	32	8	13	1	0
2013	DET	P	32	32	17	21	3	0
2014	DET	P	33	33	9	17	1	2
2015	WAS	P	33	33	7	22	0	0
2016	WAS	P	34	34	12	19	1	1
2017	WAS	P	31	31	9	9	1	1
2018	WAS	P	33	33	8	8	1	0
2019	WAS	P	27	27	10	13	1	1
2020	WAS	P	12	12	3	5	2	1
2021	WAS	P	19	19	6	4	0	0
2021	LAN	P	11	11	2	6	0	0
2022	NYN	P	23	23	6	12	0	1
2023	NYN	P	19	19	9	6	1	1
2023	TEX	P	8	8	6	2	0	0
2024	TEX	P	9	9	4	5	1	0
2025	TOR	P	17	17	4	4	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Max Scherzer Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	483

Awards & Honors

Max Scherzer — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
2022	All-MLB Team - Second Team	SP
2021	All-MLB Team - First Team	SP
2021	MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2021	Player of the Week	Week of 2021-09-11
2021	TSN All-Star	SP
2021	TSN Pitcher of the Year
2019	All-MLB Team - First Team	SP
2019	Pitcher of the Month	June
2019	Player of the Week	Week of 2019-06-29
2018	Pitcher of the Month	April
2018	Pitcher of the Month	May
2018	Player of the Week	Week of 2018-04-14
2017	Cy Young Award
2017	MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2017	Pitcher of the Month	June
2017	TSN All-Star	SP
2017	TSN Pitcher of the Year
2016	Cy Young Award
2016	TSN All-Star	SP
2016	TSN Pitcher of the Year
2016	This Year in Baseball Best Performance	Esurance
2016	This Year in Baseball Best Pitcher	Esurance
2015	Pitcher of the Month	June
2015	Pitcher of the Month	May
2015	Player of the Week	Week of 2015-06-21
2015	Player of the Week	Week of 2015-10-04
2015	This Year in Baseball Best Performance	Esurance
2013	Cy Young Award
2013	MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2013	Player of the Week	Week of 2013-06-23

Salary History

Max Scherzer — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2016	WAS	NL	$22,142,857
2015	WAS	NL	$17,142,000
2014	DET	AL	$15,525,000
2013	DET	AL	$6,725,000
2012	DET	AL	$3,750,000
2011	DET	AL	$600,000
2010	DET	AL	$1,500,000
2009	ARI	NL	$1,450,000
Total Career Earnings			$68,834,857

College History

Max Scherzer — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of Missouri Columbia	Columbia	MO	2004, 2005, 2006

Award Voting History

Max Scherzer — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
2021	Cy Young Award	NL	3rd	113.0	210	6
2021	Most Valuable Player	NL	14th	11.0	420	0
2019	Cy Young Award	NL	3rd	72.0	210	0
2019	Most Valuable Player	NL	22th	1.0	420	0
2018	Cy Young Award	NL	2nd	123.0	210	1
2018	Most Valuable Player	NL	10th	59.0	420	0
2017	Cy Young Award	NL	1st	201.0	210	27
2017	Most Valuable Player	NL	10th	34.0	420	0
2016	Cy Young Award	NL	1st	192.0	210	25
2016	Most Valuable Player	NL	10th	39.0	420	0
2015	Cy Young Award	NL	5th	32.0	210	0
2014	Cy Young Award	AL	5th	32.0	210	0
2013	Cy Young Award	AL	1st	203.0	210	28
2013	Most Valuable Player	AL	12th	25.0	420	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Compare Max Scherzer

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See Max Scherzer in Another Era

Translate Max Scherzer's peak season across eras →

Max Scherzer: the record in brief

Max Scherzer made a major league debut on April 29, 2008 and is still active, so the totals on this page keep changing. The team column moves through the Arizona Diamondbacks (2008 to 2009), the Detroit Tigers (2010 to 2014), the Washington Nationals (2015 to 2021), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2021), the New York Mets (2022 to 2023), the Texas Rangers (2023 through 2024), and the Toronto Blue Jays (2025). Scherzer, born on July 27, 1984, in St. Louis, MO, USA, is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 3 inches and 208 pounds. On the record, Max Scherzer was born Maxwell Martin Scherzer.

The pitching table credits Scherzer with a 225-126 record and a 3.29 ERA in 501 games. The same table counts 3,557 strikeouts, 12 complete games, and 5 shutouts. The leagues Scherzer pitched in allowed 4.14 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 20.6% better than average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Max Scherzer

What years did Max Scherzer play?: Max Scherzer played in Major League Baseball from 2008 to 2026.
Was Max Scherzer a pitcher?: Yes. Max Scherzer pitched in the major leagues, recording 225 wins and 3557 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Max Scherzer hit?: Max Scherzer hit 1 career home runs with 78 hits.
What was Max Scherzer's career batting average?: Max Scherzer batted .168 over his career, with 78 hits in 464 at bats.
How many RBI did Max Scherzer have?: Max Scherzer drove in 30 runs in his career.
What was Max Scherzer's career ERA?: Max Scherzer finished with a 3.29 career ERA, going 225-126 with 3,557 strikeouts.