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Sitting down with the fiercest competitor in baseball: Max Scherzer

ST. LOUIS - When Bob Gibson says your stuff is even better than his was, you must be doing something right. Max Scherzer is historically good.

The Chesterfield native and former Mizzou and Parkway Central star sat down with KSDK Sports Director Frank Cusumano at Busch Stadium during a series between Scherzer's Washington Nationals and his hometown team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Speaking of the Cardinals, Scherzer recalled some memories he had growing up in St. Louis.

"I grew up doing book reports on Bob Gibson," Scherzer said. Cusumano followed with, "Bob Gibson told me last year that he thinks you have better stuff than he had." This rendered the Nationals ace almost speechless. "Wow," Scherzer said. "That's probably one of the best pitching compliments I can get."

The three-time Cy Young Award winner also dished on who his baseball hero was growing up in St. Louis.

"Ozzie Smith," Scherzer said. "Every time I came to the park you knew you were going to see a great defensive play. I think every kid here my age wanted to be like Ozzie."

Credit: Patrick McDermott

Scherzer is also known around the league as one of the most fiery competitors in the game.

"I have fun when I compete," Scherzer said. "And it's only fun when we win."

The former Mizzou tiger says he doesn't think about the hall of fame too often, but knows his resume is starting to reflect that of a hall-of-famer. There are only four other pitchers in history with more Cy Young awards.

You can hear more from Scherzer's chat with Frank Cusumano in the video above, including his take on his free agency that almost brought him to St. Louis, how he still give back to his hometown and how he looks back on his no-hitters and greatest games.

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