Max Scherzer was far from the Max Scherzer when he joined Mizzou’s pitching staff nearly 17 years ago.
A three-sport athlete at Parkway Central High, Scherzer hardly was projected as a generational baseball talent.
His first five appearances in the Post-Dispatch came in the fall of 2000 — in stories about his role as Parkway Central’s new quarterback. By his junior baseball season, the newspaper named him an All-Metro pitcher — on the third team. As a senior, he made it all the way up to second team.
His hometown St. Louis Cardinals drafted him that year — in the 43rd round.