Welcome to 3,000: Scherzer reflects after Kershaw joins K club

TORONTO - Being part of one of baseball's most exclusive clubs doesn't exempt you from bedtime parenting duties.

As Clayton Kershaw wrote his way into the history books at 11:46 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Los Angeles - becoming the 20th member of the 3,000-strikeout club - Max Scherzer was dealing with other commitments.

"I got kids," Scherzer told theScore with a laugh when asked Thursday if he stayed up late to watch Kershaw make history in real time. "I'm trying to put them to bed."

Scherzer was the 19th pitcher to strike out 3,000, having accomplished the feat in 2021, when he, too, was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It's a big deal," Scherzer said, adding that he sent his former teammate a congratulatory text after watching the highlights. "It's a really cool milestone to reach because of the names that you get mentioned with. You pinch yourself being mentioned with those names.

"It's just a testament to durability over the years to be able to do this year in and year out, to be at the top of the game. When you get a second to reflect upon that, and you see these lists that you're on, it's really cool."

Scherzer and Kershaw are two of the three greatest pitchers, alongside Justin Verlander, of this generation. They were both selected in the 2006 draft - Kershaw was picked seventh overall, while Scherzer went four picks later at 11. The two will one day see their names on plaques in Cooperstown as first-ballot Hall of Famers.

"Being in the same draft class with him, to compete against him my whole career, and then being teammates with him, I've got nothing but the utmost respect for what he does on and off the field," Scherzer said of Kershaw. "(He's) a great teammate, a great clubhouse guy. There's no one more deserving."

Kershaw made his major-league debut in 2008 and won the first of his three Cy Young awards in 2011, when he was just 23 years old. His storied career has inspired the next wave of young pitchers, including New York Yankees ace and California native Max Fried, who grew up watching Kershaw.

"I watched him a lot," Fried told theScore. "A left-handed pitcher with a big curveball, I definitely tried to pick up as much as I could."

Fried's amassed 969 strikeouts over nine MLB seasons, putting him 613th on the all-time list. The thought of ever getting close to 3,000 is something Fried says he can't comprehend.

"To think that I would even need 2,000 more," he said. "It's a testament to how long he's been in the game and how good he's been consistently."

Though Scherzer couldn't watch Kershaw's performance live, another one of his former teammates, Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger, was locked in.

"I was so happy for him," Bellinger told theScore, adding that Kershaw is one of his favorite teammates. "Just the person he is. He doesn't try to be a good teammate; he just is a good teammate. He's a good person, good family man, and on top of that, one of the best pitchers on the planet.

"I'm sure he's literally getting a million (congratulatory texts)."

'We drank champagne into the wee hours'

Scherzer is still living in the moment. At 40, he knows his playing career will soon come to an end, and he believes that's when he'll get the time to reflect on his time in MLB.

"There will be a different day to really be able to enjoy that, but right now is not the day because you're in the thick of it," Scherzer said. "You're not playing for your milestones or your records or anything about myself, you're going out to try to help bring a World Series here. That's the only goal. But it's kind of cool to reflect upon it."

Scherzer was thrown into a playoff race when the Dodgers acquired him at the 2021 trade deadline in a blockbuster deal from the Washington Nationals.

The start in which he reached 3,000 strikeouts, against the rival San Diego Padres on Sept. 21, was a big one, not only because the Dodgers trailed the San Francisco Giants by 2.5 games for the NL West lead.

Scherzer went into the matchup knowing he was on the verge of history, and he put together one of the better starts of his career, retiring the first 22 batters he faced and also throwing an immaculate inning. He punched out Eric Hosmer in the fifth inning for No. 3,000.

Scherzer immediately returned his attention to the task at hand - winning that night's contest.

"It wasn't a refocus (thing for me), because I never broke focus. I knew it was going to be a big moment. I knew there was a time to show respect for everybody involved, but I knew I couldn't lose my rhythm. I couldn't lose my focus. I had to compete. I had to win. Celebrating 3,000 was going to come at a different time."

And that time wouldn't come before Hosmer got a bit of revenge.

"He broke up the perfect game," Scherzer said of Hosmer's double with one out in the eighth.

Scherzer didn't have to wait too long to celebrate, though: The Dodgers won the game 8-0, and the right-hander was joined by his family and teammates after the final out. He kept his jersey from that night and gave the strikeout ball to his dad.

"We drank champagne into the wee hours of the morning, so I definitely got my celebration time in," Scherzer said. "That's kind of how those milestones go. I feel like that's reflective of who I am and who I've always wanted to be; I'm a team-first guy. I'm here to win, I'm not here for myself. I'm here to do whatever I can to help the team win."

Unlike Scherzer, Kershaw could savor the moment immediately - his 3,000th strikeout came at the end of his outing.

"He did it right. He did it at the last batter of his outing so he could have a chance to really enjoy that moment," Scherzer said. "He did it better than I did."

Now that Kershaw's joined the club, the attention shifts to the next wave. Scherzer believes Chris Sale (2,528) and Gerrit Cole (2,251) have a shot to reach 3,000 strikeouts.

There's no one close after that, and Scherzer says MLB must address the number of pitcher injuries and innings limits set on so many starters if there's a chance for any young pitcher to achieve the feat.

"It's a big milestone," Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who was in the dugout when CC Sabathia reached 3,000 strikeouts, told theScore. "How many more will get there in this century or in this generation? It's quite a feat. It's longevity met with excellence and dominance."

With 3,000 in his rearview, Scherzer's priority remains winning. His eventual plaque in Cooperstown will be loaded with individual accomplishments, but he'd like to add at least one more World Series title.

"When you show up here and put the work in to compete, you put the work in to take care of your body, and you go out there and your sole focus is to win," Scherzer said. "The rest of the stuff just takes care of itself."

And one day, when his playing days are over, Scherzer will be able to truly celebrate his achievements.

After the kids are in bed, of course.