That asking price isn’t looking so outrageous right now.

Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer surprised nobody by throwing his first career no-hitter Saturday. It came against the Pittsburgh Pirates and with little drama, as there was hardly a close call. And considering how dominant the ace right-hander has been recently, this might have been the least surprising no-no in Major League Baseball history.

Scherzer entered this home start against the Pirates coming off a road outing in Milwaukee in which he lost a perfect game on a broken-bat blooper by Carlos Gomez in the seventh inning last Sunday. This time, the perfect game was broken up with two outs in the ninth inning—by Jose Tabata’s elbow. Scherzer hit him with a two-strike pitch before polishing off what ended up being somewhat of an anticlimactic finish despite the zero hits, zero walks and 10 strikeouts.

He became the first pitcher since 1944 to allow one or fewer hits in consecutive complete games. Just, wow.

And his next start could come against a putrid Philadelphia Phillies lineup. That will be a must-watch game involving a last-place club.

Because we are in about the sixth installment of the Year of the Pitcher, feats like Scherzer’s do not have as much pizzazz as they once did. There have been 25 no-hitters since the start of the 2010 season and at least two per year since the 2007 season. We have also seen pitchers in both leagues sweep the Cy Young and MVP awards since 2011. 

Regardless of the regularity of no-hitters and overall pitching dominance in this era, the Nationals are looking marvelous for shelling out the seven years and $210 million it took to land Scherzer over the offseason. In Year 1 of the deal, he has produced a 1.76 ERA, 123 strikeouts and 14 walks in 102.1 innings, and the Nationals have won nine of his 14 starts. 

“Tenacity is the key,” Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters Saturday, prior to the no-hitter. “He’s a fun-loving guy for four days a week, and then the fifth day when he pitches, he’s a different animal.” 

Scherzer has been a bargain in an age when we know 30-something pitchers with long-term contracts do not get to hold that kind of distinction. As the game penalizes higher payrolls with taxes and teams try to curb their long-term spending, Scherzer is a rarity so far.

Even some of his teammates think so.

The Pirates were evolved enough to comprehend the kind of sheer dominance Scherzer had just smothered them in.

“You have to find it in your baseball heart,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle told reporters, “to appreciate that performance.”

Scherzer will turn 31 in about a month, and he is well on his way to a third consecutive season of pitching at least 200 innings. He is already the National League Cy Young Award front-runner and has easily been the most dominant pitcher in the majors. 

He has shown signs of only getting better, and now that he is in the more pitcher-friendly league, we could see more of this from Scherzer for the next few seasons.

Because he just reached his prime in 2013, it is entirely possible for Scherzer to abuse lineups well into his next decade. Comparing him to one of the best pitchers the sport has ever seen might not be totally fair at this point, but it’s not an absurd thought that Scherzer could go into his late 30s with the same kind of production Randy Johnson had—125-42, 2.63 ERA, 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings and a 175 ERA-plus— between ages 32 and 38.

There is risk. Everyone knows that. The Nationals knew that when they signed Scherzer, as did every team that was unwilling to plop more than $200 million on the table for a pitcher entering his 30s—a time when pitchers typically do not age well and decline is imminent.

That history aside, Scherzer looks like the best free-agent pitching signing in a long time. While CC Sabathia (pre-extension) and Zack Greinke have been good, even great at times, Scherzer’s start with the Nationals has already been otherworldly in an era when such pitching hyperbole is commonplace. This near-perfect game is just more early proof.

Whenever he declines—which he will over the duration of his seven-year deal, and the Nationals are funneling him $35 million annually—it could all be worth it. If Scherzer is the ace who leads the franchise to a World Series, its first ever, at any point in the next seven years—again, if he is the arm leading—the entirety of the contract will be worth spending for the softer years.

If he puts a trophy in the case, then yes, Scherzer will be a bargain.

 

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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