WASHINGTON — It's hard to take your eyes off "Mad Max" Scherzer when he's on the mound. If his killer fastball isn't enough to hold your attention, his unique eye condition known as heterochromia iridis, leaving him with one brown eye and one blue, will have you doing a double take.
At home, Scherzer confronts his genetic anomaly on a daily basis, when he looks into the mismatched eyes of two of his dogs. Scherzer and his wife have adopted four dogs from local rescue groups, and two of them share Scherzer's hereditary eye condition. Rocco has different colors in each eye, while Bo has eyes of half blue and half brown.
Scherzer and his wife adopted Bo in 2015, shortly after Scherzer signed his $210 million contract with the Nationals, and Rocco joined the pack in 2016.
Scherzer has appeared in numerous Humane Society campaigns promoting dog adoption, and in 2017, he covered the adoption fees on 125 animals in an effort to clear shelters and make room for the influx of pets affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Heterochromia iridis is caused by the distribution and level of melanin in the irises, and in most cases, doesn't cause any damage to the eyes.
Jan Scherzer, Max's mom, said his eyes have been that way since he was a kid
The three-time Cy Young award winner has openly embraced his features, even poking fun at the heterochromatic goggles he has gotten to wear after big wins.
Other celebrities you might recognize with the condition include Mila Kunis, Kate Bosworth and Jane Seymour.
Maybe this will be the Nationals lucky charm -- if they can all keep their eyes on the prize.
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