Max Scherzer will toe the rubber at Comerica Park on Sunday for the first time since he left the Detroit Tigers via free agency after the 2014 season. His return to the Motor City has left the right-hander asking "What if?"
"That honestly feels like a big regret, that we weren't able to deliver a World Series championship here," Scherzer said, according to MLive.com's Evan Woodbery. "In talking with (Washington Nationals teammate) Anibal (Sanchez) about it, we all kick ourselves like, 'Man, how did we not win a World Series while we were here?' The teams that we had here, especially in that three-year run in '12, '13, '14. You play the games of 'What if?' to this day.
"You do have to see it as a failure in some ways because that's what keeps you motivated. That's what motivates me to push myself every day, that's what I play the game for. That's what keeps me going."
Scherzer spent five seasons with Detroit from 2010-14 and won his first Cy Young award in 2013. At one point, he was in a mind-blowing starting rotation that also featured Sanchez, Justin Verlander, David Price, and Rick Porcello.
The 34-year-old went 82-35 with a 3.52 ERA and 1,081 strikeouts over 161 starts for the Tigers. He signed a seven-year, $210-million deal as a free agent with the Nationals after leaving Detroit. The six-time All-Star has won two more Cy Youngs with Washington but is still looking for his first World Series title.
