Max Scherzer 'loses' $100K on Cy Young recount

Jason Owens
Updated
A BBWAA counting error almost put an extra $100,000 in Max Scherzer's pockets. (Cooper Neill/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
A BBWAA counting error almost put an extra $100,000 in Max Scherzer's pockets. (Cooper Neill/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Hopefully Max Scherzer wasn’t counting on this payday.

When the National League Cy Young tally was announced on Wednesday, the Washington Nationals ace finished in a second-place tie with Hyun Jin-Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers, well behind winner and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom.

Per his contract, a second-place Cy Young finish was worth a $250,000 bonus for Scherzer.

Cy Young tally was wrong

But shortly after publishing the voting tally, the BBWAA announced a recount.

No, deGrom’s second consecutive Cy Young trophy wasn’t in peril. But Scherzer got bumped down a line.

Scherzer bumped down for $100K loss

The correct tally showed Ryu with 88 points to Scherzer’s 72, meaning Ryu stood in second place alone, with Scherzer in third.

The third-place finish means the Scherzer’s bonus goes from $250,000 to $150,000.

SB Nation’s Eric Stephens, a BBWAA member, spotted the six-figure “loss” for Scherzer while pointing to a Baseball Prospectus breakdown of Nationals contracts.

He’s probably OK

That same Nationals breakdown shows Scherzer in the midst of a seven-year, $210 million contract. So here’s hoping he’s he’ll be OK without that extra $100,000.

Who are we kidding? Scherzer’s probably still too enamored with his first World Series championship to notice.

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