Missouri Professional Athletes

The Last Start of a Hall of Famer

If it was the end, Max Scherzer made sure it looked nothing like one.

The Missouri alumnus took the mound Sunday in Toronto for what may be the final start of a 19-year career, and he delivered on short rest, on fumes, and on pure competitive will. Against the Cincinnati Reds in the Blue Jays' season finale, Scherzer went seven innings, allowed just one earned run, struck out seven, and earned his 225th career victory in a 5-1 Toronto win. He threw 114 pitches. He didn't want to leave.

When manager John Schneider came out to pull him in the seventh — Schneider, who has affectionately called Scherzer a "psychopath" — the 42-year-old told him he wanted to stay in the game. The crowd gave him a standing ovation anyway. His wife and kids were there. He had planned it that way.

"We had circled this one, if we were out of it, to still pitch Sunday," Scherzer said afterward. "It gives me a chance to pitch in front of my kids one more time."

Chasing History, One More Time

The start wasn't just sentimental — it was strategic. With Justin Verlander having made one final appearance the day before, Scherzer had a chance to move past him on the all-time strikeout list. He entered Sunday ninth all-time, and the seven punchouts Sunday extended one of the most decorated statistical careers in modern pitching history.

The performance also came agonizingly close to triggering a $1 million contract bonus, per Bleacher Report — but fell just short of the required threshold. Even at 42, the man was chasing incentives.

Cincinnati manager Terry Francona, no stranger to Hall of Fame talent, offered high praise postgame. Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease made his admiration public as well. Reliever Brendan Cellucci, who has called Scherzer an idol, spoke glowingly of the clubhouse moment after the final out.

What Comes Next — And What's Already Owed

Scherzer hasn't officially announced retirement, but he's talking like a man who has made up his mind. He won't be back in Toronto — his contract is up — and with a potential labor lockout looming, the path back to any MLB mound grows narrower. A career that began in 2008 and spanned three Cy Young Awards, eight All-Star selections, two World Series rings, and nearly $395 million in earnings is quietly, defiantly winding down.

There's one more financial footnote: the Washington Nationals, who signed Scherzer before the 2015 season, are still paying him deferred money — $30 million owed — even as he contemplates life after baseball. That contract structure means Washington's financial relationship with Mad Max outlasts his time on any roster.

A Missouri Man's MLB Week

Scherzer wasn't the only Mizzou arm active this week. Red Sox righty Tanner Houck had a rough outing in Boston's season finale, allowing three earned runs over three innings in a loss to the Cubs, finishing with a 9.00 ERA on the day.

But make no mistake: this week belonged entirely to Scherzer. The kid from Missouri who turned feral competitiveness into a first-ballot Hall of Fame résumé walked off a major league mound one last time — smiling, for once — to a standing ovation he had more than earned.

The Last Dance, Unresolved

Max Scherzer isn't ready to say goodbye — but he's not ready to say anything else, either.

The Missouri legend, 42 years old and in his 19th MLB season, took the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays' season finale Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds with his Hall-of-Fame career hanging in deliberate ambiguity. Asked repeatedly whether the game would mark his final professional start, Scherzer declined to commit, telling reporters he'll wait until the offseason before making any decision about 2027. His family was in attendance, just in case — a detail that said more than any quote could.

The season finale capped a turbulent final week for Scherzer and the Blue Jays. On Wednesday, Sept. 23, he started Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles — a start that doubled as Toronto's playoff obituary. Scherzer went five innings, struck out seven, but surrendered four earned runs in a 4–2 loss that officially eliminated the Blue Jays from postseason contention. His ERA for the season settled at 6.14, a number that would look jarring next to his career résumé if the résumé weren't quite so bulletproof.

There were flashes of the old Scherzer, though. Sportsnet captured him striking out the side looking in the first inning against Baltimore — all three hitters frozen, the 42-year-old still capable of making big-league lineups look foolish. Sports Illustrated reported he'd been refining his curveball late in the year after his slider underperformed, a detail that sounds less like a pitcher coasting to retirement and more like one still grinding for answers.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider described managing Scherzer as "a big help" — though he acknowledged the "tiring conversations" that come with a pitcher who never stops competing, analyzing, or arguing. Dylan Cease, Toronto's ace, offered high praise for Scherzer's clubhouse presence during a season the team had hoped would build on its 2025 American League pennant.

After the Baltimore loss, Scherzer didn't hide his frustration. He dropped a blunt quote to reporters that reflected genuine disappointment — not the resignation of a player winding down, but the irritation of one who still expected to win.

That competitive fire is precisely why the retirement question stays open. Scherzer has said he'll "see how things unfold" in the offseason, language that leaves the door ajar without propping it wide open. MLB Trade Rumors noted his family's presence at the finale as a signal of the moment's weight, even if Scherzer himself refused to formalize it.

The Wider Missouri Footprint

Scherzer dominated the week's headlines, but the Mizzou pipeline runs deep across the league. Tanner Houck continues to anchor Boston's bullpen, while Pete Fairbanks wraps up a season with Miami. Kyle Gibson, pitching for Baltimore — the very team that ended Toronto's season — rounds out a Missouri contingent that spans both leagues and multiple roster roles.

For now, the spotlight belongs to Scherzer. Whether Sunday was the final chapter or merely the penultimate one, a Missouri kid from the Midwest stood on a big-league mound at 42 and made hitters look foolish one more time. That's a story worth watching — whatever the offseason brings.

Three Missouri Alumni, Three Very Different September Stories

Late September in MLB has a way of sorting out careers and rosters with cold efficiency. For Mizzou's contingent in the majors this week, the standings were unforgiving and the injury report even more so.

Scherzer Delivers When It Counts

Max Scherzer turned back the clock — or at least borrowed a page from it — in Toronto's 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, September 16. The Blue Jays had been staring down a series sweep at home; instead, Scherzer went five innings, surrendered just one earned run and two hits after a shaky first inning, and struck out three in what amounted to a near must-win for a Toronto club sitting at 76-77 on the season.

The performance was vintage enough that CBS Sports framed it in exactly those terms in their pre-game preview. Afterward, Scherzer didn't sugarcoat the stakes. Asked about Toronto's playoff chances with nine games remaining, he delivered a characteristically blunt message — the Blue Jays are still in it, and he intends to treat every remaining start accordingly.

Manager John Schneider, who may be watching Scherzer's final starts in a Toronto uniform, was openly effusive, calling his impact on the clubhouse irreplaceable. Scherzer himself said he's feeling as good as he has all year. With a 6.07 ERA on the season, the results have been uneven — but when the moment demanded something, the 41-year-old former three-time Cy Young winner answered.

Fairbanks' Season Is Over

Pete Fairbanks will not be back. The Marlins announced this week that their closer will undergo surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, ending his 2026 campaign. Fairbanks had already landed on the IL — his absence forced Miami to deploy starter Sandy Alcantara out of the bullpen for a save situation, a remarkable scene that underscored just how thin the Marlins' relief corps has become.

Thoracic outlet surgery is serious business for pitchers, with recovery timelines that can extend well into the following year. Fairbanks posted a 6.31 ERA, his final outing coming on September 15 against Arizona in which he allowed one earned run — but the bigger concern now is the road back in 2027.

Zastryzny Designated for Assignment

Rob Zastryzny's difficult season came to its logical, dispiriting conclusion when the Milwaukee Brewers designated the left-hander for assignment. Zastryzny had been on the injured list and working through a rehab assignment when Milwaukee pulled the plug. With no options remaining, the Brewers opted to clear the roster spot rather than reintegrate him into the bullpen. He'll need to clear waivers or negotiate a new deal to continue his career.

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Elsewhere in the Missouri alumni orbit, Tanner Houck — who was reportedly nearing a return from injury for Boston's playoff push — remained a peripheral storyline this week, with multiple outlets tracking his progress without a confirmed activation. The Red Sox, like the Blue Jays, are chasing a postseason berth with the clock running out.

It was a week that captured college baseball's randomness made fully real: one legend squeezing every last drop from a Hall of Fame career, one closer sidelined by a surgeon's schedule, and one journeyman out of chances. Missouri's fingerprints are all over September's most compelling subplots.

Two Missouri pitchers are defining opposite ends of the October conversation this week — one clawing his way back, the other trying not to spiral out.

Tanner Houck: The Return That Could Change Boston's October

Tanner Houck is back on a mound, and the Red Sox need him badly.

The Missouri right-hander made his first competitive appearance since Tommy John surgery last August, throwing 20 pitches for Double-A Portland at Hadlock Field. The results were uneven by design — this was a cautious, structured re-entry — but the milestone itself carried real weight for a Boston club grinding through a playoff push with a battered roster.

Per reports from the Boston Globe cited by MLB Trade Rumors, the Red Sox plan to deploy both Houck and ace Garrett Crochet as relievers upon their returns, likely working them through additional rehab outings at the upper minor-league level first. Houck was also spotted throwing three innings during a Worcester rehab appearance, with the organization managing his workload carefully as October closes in.

The stakes are genuine. The Red Sox have been hit hard by injuries — outfielder Eli White is already on the IL, and Willson Contreras is also rehabbing — making Houck's return one of the most consequential storylines in Boston's clubhouse. His own confidence hasn't dimmed: he was quoted saying he's done "crazy things before" and doesn't consider a full comeback an unreasonable ask of himself.

The Red Sox still have a decision to make about exactly how and when to activate him, but the window is clearly open. For Mizzou fans, it's the kind of comeback story worth tracking into the postseason.

Max Scherzer: Accountability in Toronto

On the other side of the ledger, Max Scherzer is fighting his own battle — and not winning it.

The three-time Cy Young winner took the mound Friday for the wild-card-chasing Blue Jays against Baltimore and absorbed a punishing 7-4 loss, surrendering six earned runs over five innings with just three strikeouts. His ERA on the season sits at 6.38 — a number that, attached to Scherzer's name, reads almost like a misprint.

He didn't deflect. "I'm accountable for my mistakes," Scherzer told reporters after the game, addressing both his velocity and a second inning in which the Orioles offense exposed him repeatedly. The loss dropped Toronto to 73-75, two games back in the wild card race — a position where a rotation anchor absorbing six runs is damage the Blue Jays can ill afford.

The rough outing wasn't an isolated incident. With Dylan Cease also under scrutiny after laboring through 94 pitches in five innings against the Athletics earlier in the week, Toronto's rotation depth is a legitimate concern. Scherzer was also on the mound Saturday in a tense follow-up against the Orioles, where an early hit-by-pitch raised eyebrows among fans wondering whether the veteran had retaliation on his mind — though nothing definitive was established.

The Blue Jays are desperate. Scherzer knows it. His response over the final weeks of the season will define how this chapter ends for a future Hall of Famer burning through one of his toughest stretches.

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Two Mizzou arms, two completely different September stories — but both with October hanging in the balance.