When looking at how a franchise has evolved competitively over different eras and locations, it really takes a standout, exceptional figure to change the story. For a long time, local historians naturally believed that hometown heroes like Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg would be the first to lead the modern chapter of Washington D.C. baseball after moving. However, it was an intense, uniquely eyed right-hander who came into the capital and completely changed the game. Before the 2015 season, Max Scherzer signed a significant seven-year free-agent deal. He didn’t just meet expectations; he made every game he pitched a must-see, high-speed event. Over an incredible six-and-a-half seasons, 'Mad Max' set a new standard for pitching excellence, becoming the anchor of a championship-winning era.
His first season in D.C. truly changed the expectations around the National League East. Scherzer embraced the challenge of long, intense innings as part of his daily routine. He finished fifth in the Cy Young race and led the league with an impressive 8.12 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That summer, he made an unforgettable mark in the local baseball history by pitching two separate no-hitters—just narrowly missing a perfect game against Pittsburgh on a controversial hit-by-pitch, and ending the season with an incredible game where he struck out 17 batters against the Mets.
The pinnacle of his hardware-certified legacy shined brightly over the next two summers. In 2016, Scherzer delivered an outstanding performance, showcasing front-line intimidation by tying the historic major-league record with 20 strikeouts in a single nine-inning game against his former Detroit teammates. That summer, he finished with 20 wins, a league-best 0.968 WHIP, and 284 strikeouts, earning his second Cy Young award and joining a distinguished group of pitchers who have won the award in both leagues.
He impressively followed up that performance with an equally remarkable 2017 encore, thoroughly dominating seasoned batters to top the league with 268 strikeouts and an impressive 0.902 WHIP. This achievement comfortably earned him a consecutive Cy Young Award, making him only the tenth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to win at least three in his career.
He finished as the close Cy Young runner-up in 2018, during a historic 300-strikeout campaign, cementing a phenomenal run in which he led the National League in strikeouts for three consecutive summers.
As good as he had been, Scherzer’s 2019 had to be the sweetest in that uniform. Finishing third in the Cy Young balloting, Scherzer anchored the Nationals to an improbable, resilient run through the postseason—famously overcoming severe neck spasms that required a cortisone shot to dynamically take the mound and battle through five gutsy frames in the deciding Game 7 of the World Series, guiding the organization to its first-ever world title.
After a strong and efficient season during the COVID-shortened 2020 year, Scherzer entered the final year of his contract in 2021. Although he was named an All-Star for the seventh time as a National League player, the team's rosters, which were aging and injury-prone, couldn’t keep up in the competition. Committed to a full rebuild, the front office decided to make some major moves at the trade deadline, including a high-profile fire sale. They executed a blockbuster business exit in July 2021, trading their iconic ace alongside Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a prospect package centered on Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray, bringing a poignant, abrupt end to the greatest pitching run in franchise history.
With Washington, Scherzer compiled a spectacular 92–47 record alongside 1,610 strikeouts over his 1,225.2 innings.
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