Mets SP Max Scherzer Says PitchCom System Should Be ‘Illegal’

The future Hall of Famer struck out six in seven scoreless innings against the Yankees on Wednesday night.

Major League Baseball now allows the use of a PitchCom system, in which pitchers and catchers are able to communicate signs to one another without putting manual signs down. The new system gained another user on Wednesday as Mets pitcher Max Scherzer gave it a try during a start against the Yankees.

Scherzer flourished with the new device at his disposal, tossing six shutout innings in a win over the Yankees. But don’t count Scherzer as a PitchCom endorser just yet. 

“Does [PitchCom] help? Yes. But I also think it should be illegal,” Scherzer said postgame, per the New York Post. “I don’t think it should be in the game.”

Scherzer added he believes the PitchCom system gave him an unfair advantage Wednesday, noting he no longer has to hide signs from opposing hitters and baserunners. 

“The fact that we’re taking this out of the game and we’re just putting in technology, now everybody—you can’t steal signs on second, the pitcher can’t have an advantage of having a complex system," Scherzer said. "It’s part of baseball trying to crack someone’s signs. Does it have its desired intent that it cleans up the game a little bit? Yes, but I also feel like it takes away part of the game.”

Scherzer didn’t commit to using PitchCom in his next start, though he didn’t rule it out. Regardless, he’ll likely continue mowing down hitters through the rest of 2022. Scherzer now sports a 2.09 ERA in 2022 with 104 strikeouts in 82 innings. 

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