Having made their debuts in the mid-2000s, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw have enjoyed exceptional careers at the big league level. The three aces have nine Cy Young awards between them.
Talking about how the trio has dominated the big leagues for nearly the last 20 years, Miami Marlins sportscaster Jack McMullen compared Verlander, Scherzer and Kershaw’s era to the tennis “Big 3” of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal during Tuesday’s episode of MLB Weekend Headlines.
"The fact that their (Verlander, Scherzer and Kershaw) careers lined up pretty much in tandem with one another was so cool to me," McMullen said (40:42). "There are too many parallels to the big three in men's tennis to ignore. The Scherzer, Kershaw, Verlander trio to this generation of baseball fans, probably feels very similar to Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.
"I think of Justin Verlander as Nadal. Just power and dominance. I think Max Scherzer and Djokovic are very similar, because it took him a little bit to become the dominant one. Clayton Kershaw for me, is Federer, because he's perfect. Federer [was] perfect, robotic, every single shot is excellent. These three, we have to appreciate every single time they toe the rubber, moving forward."
Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw are all hoping to add third World Series title this year
Along with the exceptional individual success they have enjoyed, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw have all won the World Series twice in their careers. Heading into the closing stretch of their careers, each superstar will be hoping to end with one more title this season.
Out of the three, Verlander and the San Francisco Giants have the slimmest chances of making the playoffs, as they sit seventh in the NL wildcard with a 59-61 record. They will need to go on a strong run from now until the end of September to punch their tickets for the postseason.
As for Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays, it appears the AL East title is theirs to lose. With the starting rotation working well and the offense firing on all cylinders, the Blue Jays head into October with a strong chance of winning their first World Series title since the turn of the century.

Meanwhile, Kershaw and the Dodgers, having won baseball's biggest prize in 2024, are favored to go back-to-back. With some of their most important starting pitchers returning from injury, along with one of the most explosive offenses in the majors, the Dodgers are currently the bookies’ favorites to win the Fall Classic.