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#MizzouMade Max Scherzer Claims National League Cy Young

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Baseball standout and current Washington National ace Max Scherzer was named the National League Cy Young winner, announced Wednesday by Major League Baseball. The award is given annually to the top pitcher in both the National and American Leagues and is considered the most prestigious pitching award in Major League Baseball.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Baseball standout and current Washington National ace Max Scherzer was named the National League Cy Young winner, announced Wednesday by Major League Baseball. The award is given annually to the top pitcher in both the National and American Leagues and is considered the most prestigious pitching award in Major League Baseball.

Scherzer is just the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to win the award in both leagues after winning the AL crown in 2013 with Detroit and this season with the Nationals. He joins Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Gaylord Perry as the only pitchers to accomplish the feat. Three of those pitchers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (Johnson, Martinez and Perry with Halladay eligible in 2019).

Scherzer posted a banner year during his second season with the Nationals, leading the NL in wins (20), innings pitched (228.1), strikeouts (284) and WHIP (0.97) while ranking eighth in the league in ERA (2.96). Of his 284 strikeouts, 20 came in his May 11 win when he struck out 20 against his former team – the Detroit Tigers. He averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings, third-best in the NL, and the best strikeout-walk ratio in the league at 5.07.

A master a missing bats, Scherzer's strikeout rate was 31.5 percent in 2016, making it back-to-back seasons accomplishing a rate higher than 30 percent. In the history of the game, only five right handers have accomplished that feat (Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Curt Schilling, Kerry Wood and Scherzer). He is just the eight pitcher in NL history to lead the league in wins, WHIP and strikeouts, doing all of that while pitching an NL-best 228.1 innings for the NL East Champion Nationals.

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