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Inside The Blue Jays

Max Scherzer Crosses Career Milestone Eluded by Most in First Start Back

For awhile, Scherzer has been solidified as a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, but he is continuing to etch his name in history.
Maddy Dickens|
Apr 24, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) juggles the ball at a MLB game against the Cleveland Guardians at Rogers Centre.
Apr 24, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) juggles the ball at a MLB game against the Cleveland Guardians at Rogers Centre. | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

There isn't much in baseball, or life, that is guaranteed, but there is one thing: Max Scherzer will be voted into the Hall of Fame. That was already secured going into his start Wednesday night for the Toronto Blue Jays, but he is continuing to build on his resume.

Now, Scherzer had a lengthy stint on the injured list, so it has been a long time coming for him to cross this one off of his bucket list, as he needed one strikeout to become the 11th pitcher in history to record 3,500 throughout a career.

It wasn't an outing that anybody was hoping for, and better to skip past the final stat line altogether, but overlooking what he has done since stepping into the majors 19 years ago would be a mistake, as the game has changed significantly over the years, and he could be the last one to achieve this.

Career Strikeout Leaderboard

Max Scherzer throws a baseball in a blue Blue Jays jerse
Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches to the Minnesota Twins during the second inning at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

While Scherzer likely won't crawl into the top-five by any means, he should easily finish inside the top-10 by the time he decides to retire. As impressive as it is that he has thrown more than 3,500 strikeouts since stepping into the majors, it is the pace at which he has done so; look at his number of innings pitched compared to the rest.

  1. Nolan Ryan-5,714: 5,386 Innings
  2. Randy Johnson- 4,875: 4,135.1 innings
  3. Roger Clemens- 4,672: 4,916.2 innings
  4. Steve Carlton- 4,136: 5,217.2 innings
  5. Bert Blyleven- 3,701: 4,970 innings
  6. Tom Seaver- 3,601: 4,783 innings
  7. Don Sutton- 3,574: 5,282.1 innings
  8. Justin Verlander- 3,554: 3,571.1 innings
  9. Gaylord Perry- 3,534: 5,350 innings
  10. Walter Johnson- 3,509: 5,914.1 innings
  11. Max Scherzer- 3,503: 2,985 innings

The immediate two pitchers ahead of Scherzer on this list have all pitched in more than 2,000 innings than Scherzer has, and while he is still active and the others are not, that is clearly not a mark that Scherzer will catch.

Looking back to when this all first started for Scherzer on April 29 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, it is hard not to get somewhat emotional as he began his career promising, and took off from there. He spent just over four innings on the mound without giving up a hit while retiring seven.

As he turns 42 years old in July, it seems likely that this could be the final of his run, but he would retire as a 2x World Champion, 3x Cy Young Award winner, and an 8x All-Star. That is a man who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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