Future hall of fame pitcher Max Scherzer is back where he began his professional career.
Scherzer is set to make his debut for Texas on Thursday after the New York Mets traded Scherzer, 39, to the Texas Rangers for prospect Luisangel Acuña.
And it won’t be the first time he pitches for a team in Tarrant County.
After the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Scherzer with the No. 11 pick in the 2006 MLB draft, the two parties could not agree on a contract. Scherzer, then 22 and from Missouri, skipped summer minor league and spring training, and signed with the now defunct Fort Worth Cats independent league team in spring 2007.
Fort Worth Cats’ pitcher Max Scherzer is expected to lead the team this season with his pitching. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tom Pennington) TOM PENNINGTON STAR-TELEGRAM/TOM PENNINGTON
Scherzer pitched three games for the Cats in April and May, striking out 25 and allowing just one earned run in 16 innings. With the signing deadline looming, scouts packed Cats games behind home plate, radar gun in tow, to watch the top prospect touch 98 mph on his fastball in case he re-entered the MLB draft.
Major league scouts use radar guns to clock the pitches of Fort Worth Cats’ Max Scherzer during third inning of Saturday’s, May 12, 2007, second game of a double header against Shreveport. Scherzer may be the first pick in the draft in June. Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Haynes NOTE Scouts refused to give their names. Bob Haynes SPECIAL/BOB HAYNES
Major league scouts use radar guns to clock the throws of Fort Worth Cat pitcher Max Scherzer during second inning of Saturday’s, May 12, 2007, second game of a double header against Shreveport. Scherzer may be the first pick in the draft in June. Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Haynes Bob Haynes SPECIAL/BOB HAYNES
Almost a year after being drafted, and 12 days after his last start with the Cats, Scherzer agreed to a four-year $4.3 million contract with the Diamondbacks, and made his debut for the big league team less than a year later. He went to pitch for the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. He is 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA in 107.2 innings this season.
Scherzer, an eight-time All-Star and winner of three Cy Youngs, has pitched two no-hitters and won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019. Before he became one of the best pitchers of the past decade, he showed what he could become with the Cats 16 years ago.
Fort Worth Cats pitcber Max Scherzer pitches towards home plate during the first inning of Saturday’s, May 12, 2007, second game of a double header against Shreveport. Scherzer may be the first pick in the draft in June. Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Haynes Bob Haynes SPECIAL/BOB HAYNES
Fort Worth Cats pitcber Max Scherzer throws a strike to Shreveport’s Alex Entrekin during the fourth inning of Saturday’s, May 12, 2007, second game of a double header. Scherzer may be the first pick in the draft in June. Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Haynes Bob Haynes SPECIAL/BOB HAYNES
Fort Worth Cats pitcber Max Scherzer pitches towards home plate during the first inning of Saturday’s, May 12, 2007, second game of a double header against Shreveport. Scherzer may be the first pick in the draft in June. Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Haynes Bob Haynes SPECIAL/BOB HAYNES
This story was originally published August 1, 2023 at 11:38 AM.
