Max Scherzer has wholesome, unlikely connection to Toronto Blue Jays rookie right-hander
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Veteran Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer shares an unexpected and rather unlikely connection with rookie teammate Spencer Miles, despite the 16-year age gap between them.
When a player has spent as many years in the majors as Toronto Blue Jays veteran Max Scherzer, it’s inevitable that some younger teammates grew up watching and admiring him.
However, Spencer Miles, the newest arm in Toronto’s bullpen, has a unique connection to Scherzer, one that involves tobogganing.
In a recent interview with The Athletic writer Mitch Bannon, Miles recalled being just six years old and eager to join older kids sledding in his family’s backyard.
Back in 2006, while pitching for the Missouri Tigers, Scherzer went sledding with teammate Danny Hill on a steep hill located behind the Miles family home.
At the time, Hill was coaching Miles’ youth team and invited the young lad to join him and Scherzer for a day on the snow.
Scherzer had just been drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, while Miles was still a small child affectionately known as “little Spence,” according to Bannon.
Scherzer’s college teammates were close with the Miles family, and their backyard became a popular gathering spot
“The college boys built this ramp for the sled,” Miles’ father, John, told The Athletic ahead of Opening Day. “It’s a real steep hill. They’re going down this thing headfirst and going off this ramp. I’m sure his agent would not have approved.”
As the snow continued to fall, Scherzer and his teammates kept making the ramp bigger, taking turns racing down the hill on sleds.
Before long, Spencer Miles wanted a turn. Dressed in a green snowsuit, he made his way outside and launched himself down the hill.
“He was so light,” John Miles said, “that when he hit this thing, we measured 38 feet in the air.”
Years later, “little Spence” followed a similar path, eventually pitching for Missouri, just like Scherzer, 14 years after that winter day.
Miles was selected in the fourth round of the draft by the San Francisco Giants.
After dealing with multiple injury setbacks during three seasons in the minors, he later joined Toronto as a Rule 5 draft pick.
He earned the final bullpen spot on the Blue Jays’ 2026 Opening Day roster.
Miles made his MLB debut Saturday afternoon in extra innings against the Oakland Athletics.
He made an immediate impact, picking off the automatic runner at second base before striking out Max Muncy for his first major league strikeout.
Toronto completed the comeback in the bottom half of the inning, as Ernie Clement delivered a walk-off single that brought home Nathan Lukes, giving Miles his first career MLB win.
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