22 Nov Getting to Know 2017 National League Cy Young Award Winner Max Scherzer
Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer’s reign as the best pitcher in the National League continued in 2017 Scherzer won his second straight National League Cy Young award last Wednesday, beating out fellow finalists Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers and teammate Stephen Strasburg.
Born: July 27, 1984 in St. Louis Missouri
Q:What is your approach from one year to the next?
A: Just to get better. Get better on the mound and what I’m able to do with the baseball. You can’t get caught up in results. Home runs are a bad result. I can’t focus on bad results. I can only focus on how to make better pitches. How to improve my off-speed pitches. How to better locate not only my fastball but my off-speed pitches as well. That’s something that I feel like I made strides with again this year in terms of what I’m able to do and how I’m able to execute pitches consistently.
Q: What’s your secret to longevity?
A: I just work hard year-round. Offseason and in-season. Lifting weights. Making sure I go out and run and take care of my cardio. It’s just having a plan for what you want to do each month of the offseason, as well as the other four days of the five-day cycle for us. Make sure you plan on what you want to accomplish in the weight room. That’s been kinda my secret. You use everything off the field to help make you better on the field.
Q: Who is your favorite manager to play for?
A: Jim Leyland
Q: What do you like to do on an off day?
A: Sleep
Q:Who is the biggest influence in your life?
A: My parents
Q:Whats the best advice anyone has ever given you?
A: Everyday of your life do something to get a little better. Even its just a little do something to improve yourself as a person and as a player.
Q: How many pitches do you throw?
A: Four. A four seam fastball, the curveball, slider and changeup.
Q: Favorite ball player growing up?
A: Ozzie Smith
Q: Favorite baseball team growing up?
A: St. Louis Cardinals
Q: Funniest Teammate of all time?
A: Tori Hunter
Q: Smartest Teammate?
A: Me
Q: Favorite Musician:
A: M & M
Q:Favorite non baseball professional sports team
A: Baltimore Ravens
Q:Toughest Hitter ever faced?
A: Shin-Soo Choo
Q: First Job?
A: Abercrombie and Fitch
Q:Most embarrasing moment?
A: Wearing the wrong jersey color and showing up to a game.
Q: Is there something about you that most people do not know?
A: I love to scuba dive
Q:What is heterochromia iridum?
A: It’s something that I was born with. It means that one iris in my eye is a different color from the other. In my case my right eye is blue and my left eye is brown. Q
:Whats the biggest thrill you’ve had as an athlete?
A: Playing at Augusta National
Q: With a name Max Scherzer people must ask you all the time if you are Jewish. To set the record straight are you?
A: No