Even though the Nationals have been eliminated from the playoffs, we still get to watch pitcher Max Scherzer!
Last night, Scherzer made baseball history as the 17th pitcher since 1900 to throw 300 strikeouts. In the last 118 years of baseball, only 17 pitchers have been able to reach this milestone, which is one of the highest achievements on a pitcher's career to-do list.
Making what could be his final start of 2018, Scherzer needed only seven innings to strike out 10 Marlins and reach this plateau. He is the first right-handed pitcher to earn this honor since Curt Schilling in 2002. Two other dominant pitchers hit the milestone this decade: Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale.
Courtesy of MASN Facebook
This further cements “Blue Eyes”' shot at getting into the Hall of Fame when he retires. Scherzer already has three Cy Young Awards (the award given out to the best pitcher in each league) and is currently in a battle to earn his fourth, against the Mets' Jacob DeGrom, who has been unhittable all season.
Since the Nationals were eliminated from playoff contention, they have seen their attendance suffer while playing their last home series against the lowly Mets and Marlins. The cold dreary weather was doing the home crowd no favor as well.
But the crowd came out on a Tuesday (or Scherzday) to watch their dominant ace.
Courtesy of Nationals Fans Facebook
Scherzer has joined exclusive company in getting his 300th strikeout. The record for 300 strikeout seasons is an astounding six by Randy Johnsen and Nolan Ryan. This just shows how dominant those pitchers were in their respective seasons. Curt Schilling and Sandy Koufax hit the mark three seasons in their careers as well.
Max Scherzer has been anchoring the front of the rotation since he signed a seven-year $210 million contract before the 2016 season. After these first three seasons, he seems to be living up to the money thus far, becoming a sports icon in Washington, D.C.
One thing is for certain: hearing the Nationals Park crowd and their incessant chant of "Let's go, Max, Let's go, Max" showed just how much he is loved here.
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