Who Is Max Scherzer's Wife? All About Erica May-Scherzer

Texas Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer met his wife, Erica May-Scherzer, in college

Max Scherzer and Erica May-Scherzer have been together for over 15 years.

The Texas Rangers pitcher met his wife Erica at college, and the pair dated for nine years before marrying in 2013. Max and Erica have traveled the country as the pitcher hopped between MLB teams in D.C., New York, and Los Angeles, all while welcoming four kids.

Erica has been incredibly supportive of her husband over the years. After Max and the Rangers won the American League Championship series and secured a spot in the World Series on Oct. 23, 2023, Erica shared photos of their family celebrating the milestone. "A little bit of life lately…lots of baseball, not a lot of sleep, fun with some amazing friends…and oh yea, we’re going to the World Series!!!" she wrote on Instagram.

She has dedicated time and money to various causes in the cities she and Max have lived in throughout his professional baseball career, too. In 2015, she also 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."

This hard work paid off when Max helped the Texas Rangers win the 2023 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Erica posted the exciting news on her Instagram Story, posing with her three older children on the field and reminiscing on her history with Max.

So, who is Max Scherzer's wife? Here's everything to know about Erica May-Scherzer.

She met Max in college

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

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 grey 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

Four years after getting married, Max and Erica welcomed their first child, daughter Brooklyn. 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 this game to support her and the new baby.

Erica often shares photos of the family of four 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."

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 Story.

"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.

She loves animals

Erica and Max share four rescue dogs, a couple of cats, and have even supported the release of endangered sea turtles. In 2015, Erica told The Polaris Project that animals have always been a big part of her life.

"I grew up in a family of huge animal lovers, and we were always rescuing birds, rabbits, squirrels — you name it, we were saving them," she said. "I started out fostering animals after college, and kind of kept keeping them all."

Since 2014, Max and Erica adopted dogs Rafi, Bo, Rocco and Gigi.

She volunteers often

Over the years, Erica has been involved in charities related to each baseball team Max has played for and has served on boards for non-profits focused on issues from equity in baseball to women's empowerment.

Erica told The Polaris Project that this 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 non-profit 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

Beyond volunteering, Erica has spoken out in support of causes like environmental protection and LBGTQ 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

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, meaning no opposing player hit the balls he pitched.

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."

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