All About Max Scherzer’s Wife, Erica May-Scherzer
All About Max Scherzer’s Wife, Erica May-Scherzer
Madeleine Janz, Caroline BlairMon, September 28, 2026 at 8:34 PM UTC
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer with his wife and kids on September 27, 2026, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON.Credit: Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty -
Max Scherzer has been married to his college sweetheart, Erica May-Scherzer, since 2013
They are parents to four children: daughters Brooklyn, Kacey and Nikki and son Derek
Erica has traveled across the country for his career
Max Scherzer has had the support of his wife, Erica May-Scherzer, throughout his baseball career.
The Toronto Blue Jays pitcher — who’s also known as “Mad Max” — and Erica have been together for much of their lives, as they met in college and dated for nine years before getting married in 2013. Now, they share four children: daughters Brooklyn, Kacey and Nikki and son Derek.
In 2015, Erica spoke about the stereotypes of being an athlete’s spouse with The Washington Post.
“I don’t know if it’s because of reality TV or the culture of celebrities, but there’s this awful awful stereotype that all baseball wives do is shop or cause drama or get their hair done. In reality, we all want careers; we want to feel that we’re providing a value to society,” she said. “It’s just logistically very hard, because now you’re choosing your career, or seeing your husband and supporting him.”
So, who is Max Scherzer’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Erica May-Scherzer.
She met Max in college
Max Scherzer and Erica May-Scherzer in 2016.Credit: Max Scherzer Instagram
Max and Erica both attended the University of Missouri in the early 2000s, where they pitched for the school’s baseball and softball teams, respectively. The pair started dating during their freshman year in 2004.
Two years later, Max was drafted into the MLB to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the couple moved together to launch Max’s professional career. Max played with the Diamondbacks for two seasons before joining the Detroit Tigers in 2010.
As Max’s professional baseball career kicked off, Erica, who is originally from Colorado, worked as a historical researcher before pivoting to focus on charitable endeavors.
She married Max in 2013
Max Scherzer and Erica May-Scherzer during the 2016 WM Phoenix Open.Credit: Max Scherzer Instagram
Almost 10 years after the pair started dating, they returned to Arizona to tie the knot. Erica wore a strapless white gown and a curly updo, while Max kept it simple in a gray suit.
In 2017, Erica and Max returned to their wedding site for what Erica called an “off day date night” on her Instagram.
She has four children with Max
Max Scherzer and his wife, Erica, hold their daughter during a parade to celebrate the World Series champions on Nov. 2, 2019.Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty
Four years after getting married, Max and Erica welcomed their first child, daughter Brooklyn (Brooke). Their second daughter, Kacey, was born in 2019, followed by son Derek Alexander in 2021 and daughter Nikki in 2023.
Derek was born about four and a half hours after his dad threw the first pitch in a Washington Nationals game. Erica had scheduled a C-section that day, knowing Max would have a few days off after that game to support her and the new baby.
Erica often shares photos of the family of six at baseball games, at their home and with Max’s team. In a 2020 Father’s Day Instagram post, Erica compiled photos of Max with their children, playing, reading and laughing. “Happy Father’s Day to the DaDa that reads, looks for lightning, paints nails and does puzzles, makes the best messes and takes us on the most exciting adventures,” Erica wrote.
The following year, Erica posted another carousel for the holiday and complimented Max’s parenting skills. “You’re amazing on the baseball field but even better at home,” she wrote. “We love you.”
In February 2026, Erica shared a sweet note that Brooke wrote after Max signed a one-year, $3 million deal to return to the Blue Jays for the 2026 season.
“Dear Blue Jays, I am so sorry that you didn’t win the World Series,” Brooke wrote in the letter dated December 2025, via Instagram. “I hope that you win next time. I hope my dad is back on the team.”
“My whole family loves spending time in Toronto with our dad. We loved the aquarium, CN Tower and of course, the stadium. I am looking forward to coming back next season. Love, Max Scherzer’s daughter.”
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She celebrated Max’s World Series win in 2023
On Nov. 1, 2023, Max and his team, the Texas Rangers, beat the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the 2023 World Series. Max’s first MLB team was the Diamondbacks, and his 2023 victory happened in the same place as his first-ever professional game. Erica posted about this unique circumstance on her Instagram Stories.
“Same stadium a little over 16 years ago. Holy crap did this all come full circle,” Erica wrote over an old photo of her and Max.
Max previously scored his first World Series win in 2019 with the Washington Nationals.
In the years since, Erica has celebrated Max’s career successes and expressed how proud she is of him.
“I feel incredibly blessed to still live this beautiful baseball life and to watch Max live out his dream,” she captioned photos of the family of six after the Jays lost to the Dodgers in the 2025 World Series in November. “I’m devastated the season is over, proud for what this team accomplished, and grateful for the experiences and lifelong friendships that came from it. 💙”
She volunteers often
Max Scherzer and Erica May-Scherzer during the 2017 Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards dinner on January 12, 2017 in New York City.Credit: Alex Trautwig/MLB/Getty
Over the years, Erica has been involved in charities related to each baseball team Max has played for and has served on boards for nonprofits focused on issues from equity in baseball to women’s empowerment.
Erica told The Polaris Project that volunteering feels like a duty. “We are in so many different communities and Max makes a significant amount of money, and a lot of it indirectly comes from the fans and the community supporting him,” she explained. “I think it’s really important for us to support the communities and give back.”
This work has included volunteering time and money to the Reviving Baseball in the Inner-City program, hosting a luncheon with The Salvation Army and serving on the board of The Polaris Project, a nonprofit focused on shaping policy to reduce human trafficking.
Finding purpose in this work didn’t come immediately, though. Erica told WashingtonFAMILY in 2020 that she struggled to make her aspirations and Max’s career work together.
“I think one of my challenges for a long time was choosing between being able to see my husband ... and travel and support his career or working and using my education and degrees,” she said. “When I really got heavily involved in volunteer work, I was able to move up the ranks and really use my degrees and use my experience. So not only were we donating money, but I was also donating my time and my experience. I felt like I brought more value to the table as well.”
She is an activist
Max Scherzer and Erica May-Scherzer with Sen. John McCain in the Capitol on May 24, 2016.Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
Beyond volunteering, Erica has spoken out in support of causes like environmental protection and LGBTQ rights. Along with Max, Erica advocated for a charity stamp to benefit vanishing species and has been vocal about LGBTQ+ visibility at baseball games.
In 2015, just days before the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, Erica helped to plan a “Night Out” event with the Washington Nationals, Max’s team at the time. The event encouraged LGBTQ+ fans to attend the game and players’ spouses hosted a pre-game party. At the time, Erica shared why this cause mattered to her with The Washington Post.
“I can’t wrap my head around it, I really can’t, how you could deny any rights to a person just because they might have a different love interest than you would have, or a different gender identity than you,” she said. “Our guys are on the field — they can’t come to the stands during the game — but we can by extension help show support for the cause.”
She accidentally threw out one of Scherzer’s important jerseys
Max Scherzer and Erica May-Scherzer in 2015.Credit: Max Scherzer Instagram
In 2016, Erica was cleaning up the couple’s new home in Virginia when she threw out what she called a “tattered and soiled” jersey. However, the jersey held a special meaning for Max: He wore it during one of his Nationals games where he pitched a no-hitter.
Thankfully, Max rescued the jersey and shared a photo of it in the trash on X, writing, “Wife was cleaning up the house and threw away a ‘dirty’ Jersey... It was the 2nd No Hitter Jersey!”
Erica later spoke of the incident to Northern Virginia Magazine, saying, “No, that wasn’t a joke. It was an accident. It was all tattered and soiled, and I was going through the box and said, ‘This is gross; it smells; it’s stained.’ “
She continued, “It was the first game jersey I’d ever thrown away. I’m never going to live that one down.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
