Texas Rangers Reunite Max Scherzer, Pitching Coach With Trade
The Texas Rangers now have Max Scherzer as part of their pitching staff. But the team has also facilitated a reunion between Scherzer and Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux.
Maddux has been a pitching coach for 20 years, with his career starting with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2003. While he experienced incredible success with the Rangers from 2009-15 — the franchise went to two World Series — he’s also been the pitching coach for three other franchises.
That includes the Washington Nationals, where he guided that pitching staff from 2016-17.
One of those pitchers was Scherzer.
The combination of Maddux and Scherzer was electric. Scherzer won two of this three career Cy Young awards with the Nationals under Maddux.
In 2016, Scherzer led the National League in wins, going 20-7 with a 2.96 ERA in 34 starts. Along with making the All-Star team, he was 10th in National League MVP voting.
In 2017, Scherzer did it again. He went 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA in 31 starts. He made the All-Star Game again and was 10th again in MVP voting.
The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the New York Mets, giving Texas an ace for a hopeful run to the American League West title and, perhaps, the third World Series trip in club history.
This season he is 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA. In the postseason — which is what matters to the Rangers right now — Scherzer is 7-7 with a 3.58 ERA in 27 games (22 starts). He has 164 strikeouts against 51 walks.
Scherzer won his World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019, which was two seasons after Maddux left the organization and took over as the pitching coach with the St. Louis Cardinals. Maddux re-joined the Rangers this offseason.
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