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Death, taxes, and Max Scherzer having an opinion on something that goes against the grain are three things you can always count on happening. The Toronto Blue Jays star never fails to disappoint and his latest suggestion on how to fix starting pitching in Major League Baseball might be his best hot take yet.
Like many Major League Baseball fans, especially those around Max Scherzer’s age and above, are tired of seeing starting pitchers get pulled from games after barely making it halfway through the game. That’s assuming they even get to start the game at all what with relievers often now serving as “openers.”
His solution? Something he calls “the qualified starter.”
“If you go six innings, throw 100 pitches or give up four runs,” Scherzer explained to Sports Illustrated reporter Tom Verducci. “You achieve any one of these three, you become qualified.”
If a team pulls its starting pitcher before any of those three benchmarks, Max Scherzer wants to see that team penalized.
“Once you’re qualified, alright, okay, the DH gets to be in for the rest of the game,” Scherzer continued. “If you’re unqualified, [the DH] has got to come out.
“Okay? If that’s not enough to make the analysts upstairs keep the starter in the game, let’s talk about maybe there’s a free substitution. That way you can pinch hit or pinch run for somebody if you want to.
“If that’s not enough, okay, let’s go to extra innings. You get the baserunner. If your starter is qualified, you get the baserunner [on second base] in extra innings. If you’re not, you don’t. You know, keep upping the rules.”
It’s not a terrible idea. In 2024, Kevin Gausman, Max Fried and Cristopher Sanchez led all of Major League Baseball with a whopping TWO complete games. The last time any pitcher in MLB had more than three complete games in a season was Sandy Alcantara in 2022 with six, but you have to back to 2017 when Corey Kluber and Ervin Santana had five to find any others.
In the 1980s, the league leaders in complete games ranged from 11 to 28. In the 1990s, the range was between 7 and 15. Since 1999, a starting pitcher has reached double digits in complete games just once (James Shields with 11 in 2011).
As Verducci points out, “from 2014 to 2024, the average number of pitches per start dropped from 96 to 85 — and with more rest between starts.”
“So, it’s going to take rule changes,” Scherzer says. “We’re going to have to legislate this in and/or you’re going to have to start fining teams if they’re not getting their starters qualified.”
Max Scherzer also added that leaving the starting pitchers in the game longer will accomplish something that Major League Baseball is always trying to do: make the game more exciting.
“Because the league has always wanted more offense,” he said. “How do you get more offense? Just let the starter stay in for the third time. We know it. Do you want more offense? Here you go. Just make the starter stay in. You’ll get a more entertaining product. No one wants to see the starter go five innings, no runs, 75 pitches and pulled because the third time through.”