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Max Scherzer pitched an Immaculate Inning, but what the heck is that?

By Josh Hill

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 05: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches sin the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Nationals Park on June 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 05: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches sin the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Nationals Park on June 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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For the second time in his career, Max Scherzer pitched an Immaculate Inning, which is one of the best baseball feats you have no idea about.

Accomplishing something in baseball is always a tricky endeavor. If it’s not a fringe feat — like hitting the most home runs or pitching a no-hitter — fans need to be convinced to care. Or, at the very least, convinced of just how big of a deal even the smallest big deal is.

A situation like this occurred on Tuesday night when Washington National ace Max Scherzer pitched an Immaculate Inning. If you don’t know what the hell that is, you’re not alone. Don’t let baseball snobs talk down to you and ruin what is actually one of the coolest feats you never knew about.

What is an Immaculate Inning?

It happens when a pitcher makes it through an inning using only nine pitches, three per batter. Each pitch is a strike and nothing is put into play. This means no foul balls or tips — every single pitch was a strike.

Why is it a big deal?

Only 84 pitchers have ever done this since the first time it happened in 1889.

That seems like a lot, especially when you consider it’s been done 26 times this decade. This probably has more to do with the era of the pitcher being upon us, thanks to analytics forcing hitters to change their swing.

But that’s 1,620 games and 14,580 innings, which breaks down to basically 1 percent.

The fact that it can be done is a feat in of itself. When a pitcher does it twice — like Max Scherzer — it’s even more impressive.

Wait, Max Scherzer has done it twice?

Yup, and that’s why this is an even bigger deal. Baseball has been on along enough timeline that fluky things happen. Guys who shouldn’t do something amazing end up throwing no-hitters, but the truly great players add an extra twist.

Scherzer became the fifth pitcher in history to record multiple Immaculate Innings, joining elite company in the process. Scherzer now has his name next to Sandy Koufax, Lefty Grove, Randy Johnson, and Nolan Ryan — which is pretty damn good pitching company to be in.

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