Max Scherzer was born in St. Louis back in 1984, 10 years after Cardinals legend Bob Gibson completed his 17-year career that included some of the best individual seasons in baseball history by a pitcher.
Nearly 38 years later, Scherzer now stands atop Gibson on the career strikeouts chart, passing his father's idol on Friday night and ending his day with 3,118 career punchouts.
Given who he passed, and the family ties that come along with a local hero like Gibson, that one meant a little more to Scherzer.
"That was my dad's favorite pitcher," Scherzer said. "Definitely going to give that ball to him. For me, as a kid growing up, he was one of my idols. I did book reports on him left and right. I know so much of his career and what we meant to the Cardinals organization, to my dad, and to me.
"To pass him, that's a huge thing for me personally."
Scherzer is now 15th all time in the strikeouts department, and Pedro Martinez at 13 (3,154) and Fergie Jenkins at 12 (3,192) are all within reach in the short term. As for the rest of his career, Scherzer could even flirt with surpassing the franchise legend of his current team in Tom Seaver, who is sixth all time with 3,640 strikeouts.
"It's pretty good company you're getting into," Buck Showalter said. "I think we all know where this story is going to end for his career."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to WFAN:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say 'Play W-F-A-N')
