Play.
The Mets' culture is ready to be challenged.
Max is confident that he and his teammates can turn the Mets around. (0:32)
Max is no stranger to pressure.
The spotlight will be stronger than it has ever been during the career of the future Hall of Famer, as he prepares to begin his tenure as a member of the New York Mets.
He will make $43.3 million per season, the highest in the sport's history, after signing a three-year, $130 million contract earlier this week.
"The pressure is a privilege, not a problem," he said during his introductory news conference.
After finishing third in the National League Cy Young Award voting with a career-best 2.46 earned run average in the 2021 season, Max Scherzer chose New York.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, team president Sandy Alderson, and general manager Billy Eppler welcomed the pitcher.
Cohen said it was a great day for the New York Mets. It's even better for our fans.
The Mets faced controversy last season when some players gave the thumbs-down sign to fans for booing their performance on the field, and others got into spats with the media.
It only takes a few guys to change a club.
Cohen and Eppler were the first people to hear of the interest in joining the Mets.
"Steve said it's whatever it takes to win here," he said. He wants to win a championship and he's going to do whatever it takes to do that. You don't hear that from owners a lot these days. When an owner wants to do whatever it takes to win, that made me curious.
Following the departures of Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, the team's free-agent wish list was topped by Max Scherzer, according to Eppler.
Eppler said they set out to make a real impact. We learned that Max has a special way of seeing the game. He's a pro in every way. He has an obsession to win and a relentlessness.
Jacob deGrom is at the top of the rotation with the signing of Max Scherzer.
After meeting with Eppler and Cohen, Scherzer reached out to deGrom to find out what it was like to play for the Mets.
"I was happy with it," he said. We can do some great things together.
Being closer to his wife and kids in Jupiter, Florida was one of the factors that played into his decision. The Mets' spring training site is close to Port St. Lucie, and New York is more convenient than being on the West Coast.
In his 30s, Scherzer has won more games than he did in his 20s, and he has shown no signs of slowing down. He'll join a rotation with deGrom and Carlos Carrasco and will no longer be a thorn in the side for his new team.
The New York Yankees spent more than $240 million to remake their roster after finishing third in the NL East.
The team option on Luis Rojas was declined by the Mets and they still need to name a manager.
The last decision for the pitcher will be his jersey number. The Nationals and Dodgers have numbers that are currently unavailable.
He chose the Mets because they had the chance to win another championship.
At this point in my career, you put all those things together, and I said I was going to be a New York Met.
