Max Scherzer

MLB Aces Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer Love Their Pet Dogs

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:57 p.m. ET

Fansided, Bobby Mueller/FanSided via Call to the Pen

On the field, Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer are two of MLB's most intimidating pitchers. Off it, they are dedicated advocates for pets.

Over the last year, pitchers Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer have both adopted dogs to add to the ones they already had.

Thanks to a nice bit of timing on social media recently, a pit bull named Sage was rescued before heading off to the dog pound. Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish had his start pushed from Friday to Saturday this week. Because of the extra day of rest, he was up later than usual on Thursday night and happened to notice a tweet about a pit bull named Sage that was headed for the dog pound. Darvish already had five dogs of his own, but couldn't resist adding another and Sage joined the Darvish family.

The original tweet about Sage came from a producer for radio station 1310 The Ticket, Danny Balis (who goes by Larry Skywalker on Twitter). It was retweeted by Emily Jones, a field broadcaster for the Texas Rangers. Darvish noticed the tweet as he was heading to bed and jumped up and headed to the vet office to adopt Sage.

The Yu/Sage sage story goes national. @faridyu @EmilyJonesMcCoy https://t.co/8fpnGFC7SE

— Larry Skywalker (@badkaratemovie) April 28, 2017

This wasn't the first time Darvish provided a home for a needy pup. Three years ago, Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers found a dog on the road that needed a home. Darvish stepped up and adopted him. Talking about dog ownership, Darvish said (per MLB.com),

"I want to remind people what you have to do when you get a dog. You've got to be responsible and think about what you can do to take care of the dog. Make sure you can take care of the dog."

Yu Darvish isn't the only pitching ace in baseball who has a love for man's best friend. Two-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals is known for having heterochromia iridum, meaning one eye is a different color than the other. His left eye is brown and his right eye is blue. Other famous people with this condition include Jane Seymour, Mila Kunis and Kate Bosworth. Last April, Max Scherzer adopted a dog named Rocco who also has two different colored eyes. He tweeted a picture of the energetic pup.

Another boy with 2 different colored eyes is in the house! We think Rocco is GSP mix. This guy has energy! pic.twitter.com/OIatQZAwKW

— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) April 9, 2016

Because of his love for dogs, Scherzer has tweeted multiple times about dogs who are up for adoption at the Humane Rescue Alliance, specifically the Ogelthorpe, Washington location. In particular, he has a soft spot for dogs with different colored eyes that some might find odd looking. His tweets have led to his Twitter followers adopting dogs from the shelter.

Scherzer has also partnered with the Humane Society of the United States. Scherzer promotes their Pets for Life program that provides access to affordable pet care for communities that don't typically have that option. The Pets for Life program offers free services that include food, training classes, spay and neutering and vaccinations. Scherzer appeared in a 30-second commercial for Pets for Life last year.

When you're watching a star pitcher strike out batters with a 95-mph fastball, it's easy to forget that he can be a regular guy off the field. Not just a regular guy, but a regular guy who loves his dogs. Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer are not only great pitchers on the field, but great dog lovers off of it.