AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RANGERS VS ASTROS

October 17, 2023

Max Scherzer

Globe Life Field

Texas Rangers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. So now that it's here, how excited, anxious are you to get going after a month off?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, just trying to get back in the flow of things. And just get my routines. And I get to pitch. I'm thrilled about that. One opportunity to go out and get to pitch in the ALCS. So this is what you dream of.

Q. Were you surprised at all by how quickly you were able to recover? And when you initially went down, did you see yourself coming back around this time?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, given that I was able to get back to actually playing catch within a week of the actual injury, that was a good sign. The longer time you have away from throwing a baseball, the longer it takes to ramp up. I was able to get back to baseball pretty quick.

When this injury happened, we were in that-four-to-six-week window. You definitely knew the regular season was out of play. I took one day to feel bad about it, and the next day back to grinding, because I knew we had a team that could compete with anybody. There's a chance I can come back, I'm going to do everything I can to put myself in position to make that on the four-week side.

And here we are. You can never quit in baseball. You can never try to predict baseball. You have to go out every single day and do something about that. And fortunately that's playing great in my hand.

Q. Anything different about coming back off an injury knowing your first start back will be in the postseason versus when you're going back to regular season?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, it's definitely going to be different. I don't know how to answer that because I don't think there is an answer, trying to tackle something like this. All you can do is go out and give my all, go out and compete as long as I can. And that's all I can do is give everything I've got for tomorrow.

Q. What have you been doing during the games? Have you been talking to the other starters to sort of stay not just involved, but specifically preparing for the Astros lineup?

MAX SCHERZER: Well, I'd say I've been in touch with everybody about all the teams. For me, this whole process is being a good teammate this whole time -- staying locked in, sharing different thoughts with everybody, hitters, pitchers, you name it, about different postseason experiences and different things that have happened that I've seen in the postseason ball, things to think of when you get to this stage.

So as much as, yeah, we were talking about the Astros and this and that, it's actually a lot more conversations, wide range, because of my experience in the postseason.

Q. Besides your own competitiveness and desire to come back, how much of your motivation while ramping up also involved the point that the Rangers got you to make a start like tomorrow's for the postseason?

MAX SCHERZER: I don't know how to answer that. I come to the park, and I do what I do. I go out there and pitch for my teammates and go out there and compete to win. I don't know, if you want to try to start laying extra layers to this, I have no idea how to answer that. I try to keep it simple. For me it's go out and compete and win.

Q. So I guess we'll go to different layers. You have won before. You have pitched in LCS's before. The possibility existed that this team was going to be in the LCS or be in the postseason, and there was a possibility you were not going to be able to pitch, how did that hit you?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, like I said, I had one day that I was pretty frustrated. The next day I was almost relieved I got the news that it was a teres major strain and wasn't going to need surgery. For a split second there I was happy with the news that it wasn't anything worse.

Given how many injuries we've seen across pitchers this year, it's definitely a concern of mine. When I woke up the next day, I could tell something was deeper. When the first diagnosis was a teres strain, four to six weeks, for one day I was kind of relieved about it. And then it's been a grind to get myself back to this point to be able to go out there and take the ball again. That's been my mentality this past month.

Q. Is there a range to quantify how much more precious this start is for you compared to other postseason opportunities?

MAX SCHERZER: Always postseason starts are precious. There's no one way to say about it. You're playing for a ring. When you get to this point in the year, like I said, this is what you dream of, all the sacrifices you make in your life, all the hard work you put throughout the offseason is to get to this moment, to get to this spot. So here we are.

Q. Boch told us that you were beating him down pretty hard about getting back on the roster. How would you characterize or rate your peskiness or staying in his ear?

MAX SCHERZER: I was realistic. I was just having conversations with what I felt what I could do, where I was in the process, you know, if I was going to be able to even come back for the Division Series. We were having conversations about that.

So I want to pitch. I want the ball. That's just how I tick. So, yeah, I'm always going to have conversations if I'm hurt to try to get back.

Q. You've started playoff games with your team in almost any imaginable position, up, an elimination game. Does your emotional intensity, do you find it at a higher level given whatever the team situation is at that point in time?

MAX SCHERZER: For which start?

Q. Just if your team is leading or if your team is trailing, are you more focused?

MAX SCHERZER: It's postseason baseball. Every start means -- everything is on the line for these postseason starts. I don't know how you get any higher than postseason starts. That's where -- that's the noise, what you're talking about, of trying to almost -- giving credence to that. Are you falling for that trap to make it something that it's not.

It's still 60 feet, six inches. You have to execute and pitch against a great lineup. You don't have time to really think about all the exterior headlines that are going on. You've got to go out and compete and win every single time.

Q. How impressed are you with what your teammates have been able to do?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, we're playing good baseball. We've got a good thing going, we're flowing, we're rolling. Just continue to keep it going. Now it's my turn to get back into the fray and go out there and compete and give it the best I've got.

Q. Can you speak to the effort from the bullpen during this playoff run? And then I know you've only been here for one game as the home crowd, but what are you expecting from the fans, what would you like to see?

MAX SCHERZER: I've seen it a couple of times here where they get pretty loud. Especially in this indoor building they can get pretty loud, especially with this Texas battle. It's going to be pretty loud no matter what's going on. I expect a pretty raucous atmosphere.

You know, bullpen guys, they're constantly going up and down. There's times they get overused and they get killed and you guys want to crush them and say they're awful. That's the life of a reliever. If the starters go out and do their job, pitch deep in the ballgames and manage their workloads and put them in the right spots and put them in the right roles, that's usually when they pitch the best.

We've had pretty good starting pitching throughout this whole postseason, and guys are solidifying in their roles and go out and have success.

I'm not surprised by it. I've seen these guys. These guys can really throw the baseball. They've gone out there and given us quality outs and big outs when we needed it.

Q. During this time, have you been able to take a step back and work on anything, or has it strictly been ramping back up to be back on the mound?

MAX SCHERZER: You're always tinkering with stuff. You're always making little adjustments and trying to find different stuff. The number one thing here is getting the pitch count up and getting the arm in shape and get out of this injury.

Q. When you throw a pitch now in a game, bullpen, whatever, it's tracked. You've got all the data. Has any of that data helped inform you of where you are in this ramp-up process to let you know you're on the right track or this needs to be tinkered with or this needs to be changed? Or is that not part of that thought process at all as you try to build yourself back up?

MAX SCHERZER: I don't lean on the data like that. I go more by feel. For me my check mark on that was in my last sim game, in the fourth sim inning, the last battle I'm facing, I was stepping on every single fastball, every single off-speed pitch. I was trying to throw it at max effort to see like, all right, I am at 60-plus pitches here. How is my arm going to respond when I go to step on it? And it held up. So that's just in a sim game there.

That gives me confidence to know, all right, now we have a better shot to be able to navigate a start. I have no idea what that means in a playoff start. I have no experience coming off an injury list a month off and try to make a playoff start. It's my best guess what I will be able to do but no one really knows.

Q. What have you appreciated about working with Mike Maddux in your career?

MAX SCHERZER: Just his perspective. He really works hard at breaking down lineups and breaking down hitters and how you should pitch them. He takes a great deal of pride in that. Really to have him two years in DC and then come back to him after a handful of years, the game has changed I feel like even since six years ago, what everybody is thinking and how they attack you.

So to get his perspective on the different minutia things that happen in a start of what he's seeing, where his mind is at, it's a great kind of check for me. I got my checks, but when you compare notes with somebody else who's been working with other pitchers and other guys to see what he thinks of you. See what his checks or where you're off. Where my thinking is not right. And so he's a great baseball mind for that, great pitching mind for that and really enjoy working with him.

Q. You are starting and not knowing what to expect when you get out there, has that ever happened in your career or is this a weird place for you?

MAX SCHERZER: Coming back off the injury list for the first time, that was weird. I had no idea what that was going to be like. I think you can always come out with a scenario where I've never done this, and you've got to go out there and pitch. Or pitch in windy weather. Or pitch in the freezing cold. Or pitch in the burning hot. There's always some type of scenario where you have a new set of circumstances that you've got to deal well. It's how you handle the hand you're dealt and how you play it.

I realize what I got going forward for tomorrow. I realize the challenges I have for tomorrow. But it's my job to navigate it and make the best of it.

Q. How impressed or what are your thoughts on Nathan getting out of that fifth inning yesterday?

MAX SCHERZER: Oh, man, yeah, especially the way that unfolded, a couple of hits and an error, bases loaded and no outs, and be able to bare down and get two consecutive strikeouts. A lot of time that's tough in its own right. But to get that third out, that's tough as nails to do, especially against Bregman. For him to get Bregman out just shows you the type of stuff he has, and where he's at now working with Jonah, the sequences, and how he's pitching, he's just lights out right now.

Q. So when you faced the Astros in September you were dealing with the forearm thing. Is it possible that you're healthier now than you were then?

MAX SCHERZER: Physically I'm healthier, but I don't know what my pitch count is going to be. Going in the regular season, you build up for a hundred-plus pitches. Right now I don't know what the number is in the playoff.