Toronto Blue Jays players are afraid of Max Scherzer and explain why they don’t talk to him on game day

Max Scherzer has been named the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting pitcher for Game 3 of the 2025 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which means his teammates have been giving the veteran plenty of space in the lead-up to Monday’s game in California.

Max Scherzer 101: Stay out of his way

When asked how to handle Scherzer on start days, several Blue Jays stars agreed there is only one approach: avoid him as much as possible once he’s in the zone.

“(I’ve) been very close to being run over when he’s coming around corners. There’s no stopping him,” says outfielder Nathan Lukes.

Brendon Little also advocates playing it safe. “He says you can talk to him before he puts his headphones on, but I’m just not crossing it.”

“He will kill you”

Fellow pitcher Jeff Hoffman confirms the pre-headphone rule but warns of severe consequences if it is ignored. “He will kill you.”

“I just say ‘Hi’ when we get here and that’s it,” explains Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who describes Scherzer as “scary” on start days. “When he’s finished, you can talk to him. But when he’s on the mound? Nah.”

New Blue Jays star learns the hard way

While most of the 41-year-old’s teammates know to give him a wide berth, one newer roster member learned the lesson the hard way.

“Somebody tried to give him a high five or something pre-game and…” begins Shane Bieber, shaking his head rather than finishing the sentence.

That “somebody,” it turns out, was infielder Ty France, who was traded to the Blue Jays in July. “I messed up,” France recalls. “No one told me not to talk to him. He got out of a jam, I think it was the third inning. I went to high five him and he walked right past me, so I patted him on the butt and he had some choice words for me. But then we had a laugh after.”

Hell hath no fury like Max Scherzer when somebody talks to him on start day.

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