DUNEDIN, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer recently shared a heartwarming story about his 8-year-old daughter’s secret mission to help bring him back to the team.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner revealed that his daughter Brooke penned a touching letter to the Blue Jays organization while the family was preparing Christmas wishes for Santa Claus last December.
Following Scherzer’s agreement to a one-year, $3 million deal with Toronto last week, his wife Erica May-Scherzer shared the handwritten message on Instagram.
“It’s the cutest thing you can possibly imagine when you read that, how much it meant to her to be in Toronto,” the veteran pitcher told media members Tuesday following the completion of his contract.
According to Scherzer, his children were busy crafting their holiday wish lists when Brooke approached her parents requesting a postage stamp. She then sealed her letter in an envelope and gave it to them without revealing its contents.
Once their daughter had gone to sleep, the curious parents decided to peek at what she had written.
“Dear Blue Jays,” the letter started, “I am so sorry that you didn’t win the World Series. I hope that you win next time. I hope my dad is back on the team. My whole family loves spending time in Toronto with our dad. We loved the aquarium, the (CN) Tower and of course the stadium. I am looking forward to come back next season. Love, Max Scherzer daughter.”
The 41-year-old hurler clarified that he and his wife chose not to actually mail the letter to team management.
“That’s a bad negotiating tactic,” Scherzer joked with reporters.
Scherzer’s desire to rejoin the Blue Jays stemmed largely from their near-miss at capturing the championship last season. Toronto held a lead entering the final inning of Game 7 but ultimately lost 5-4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in extra innings.
“Obviously we came as close as you possibly can to winning the whole thing – something you can never get over, forget or anything of that nature,” explained Scherzer, who previously won championships with Washington in 2019 and Texas in 2023. “That was a huge reason why I wanted to come back. This team can win. I wanted to be a part of it.”
The seasoned pitcher reported that his physical condition is on track for the upcoming season after battling thumb problems throughout much of the previous year.
“I feel healthy,” Scherzer stated.
During the 2024 regular season, Scherzer posted a 5-5 record with a 5.19 earned run average across 17 starts. He also earned a victory in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against Seattle and took the mound twice during the World Series.
While Scherzer hoped to return to Toronto, he understood the unpredictable nature of free agency. His new agreement with the Blue Jays features up to $10 million in potential performance incentives based on innings pitched.
“Free agency is a weird animal,” Scherzer observed. “I’ve been through it many times. You think it’s going to go one way and it goes another way. I kind of knew not to get my hopes up, but like I said, I was going to be picky about where I went. I wasn’t just going to sign with anybody. There was only a couple of teams I’d sign with at this point in time, and obviously Toronto was one of them.”
