All attention is focused on Max Scherzer.
On Monday, The Post verified that the star pitcher and the Mets reached a three-year, $130 million agreement, but there’s more to Scherzer than initially meets the eye.
Speaking of eyes, the right-hander possesses a unique feature: his eyes are different colors. While his left eye is brown, his right eye is blue.
At 37 years old, the ace pitcher has a condition known as Heterochromia Iridis, resulting in a variation in color within the iris (the colored portion of the eye).
Scherzer has had this condition since a young age and takes pride in his distinctive appearance. It has even been featured on his MLB bobbleheads and a picture of him that was previously displayed on the scoreboard at Nationals Park to commemorate his strikeouts.
“I’ve always embraced it. Whether people like it or not, that’s just who I am,” Scherzer stated, as reported by NBC Sports. “With one blue and one brown eye, there’s nothing I can change about it.”
Growing up, the Mets right-hander would sketch animals with similar eyes to his own. Additionally, he intentionally chose dogs with Heterochromia Iridis as pets.
In 2012, following the Tigers’ victory in the American League pennant, Scherzer donned custom heterochromic goggles during the celebration. These goggles featured lenses of different colors and were a gift from his then-girlfriend, Erica May. He sported the same goggles again in 2013 when Detroit secured the division title with a win over the Twins.
During the past season, Scherzer posted a record of 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA while playing for the Nationals and Dodgers before joining the Mets. He was a contender for the NL Cy Young Award this year, an accolade he has won three times, but ultimately lost out to the Brewers’ Corbin Burnes.
Scherzer’s new contract with the Mets includes a groundbreaking average annual salary of $43.33 million and provides the option to opt out after the second year. Additionally, he has been granted a full no-trade clause.