Who is MLB's fiercest competitor? Players weigh in

During Spring Training, MLB.com beat writers surveyed their clubhouses, asking players for their opinions on a range of topics. Well over 100 players participated, in exchange for anonymity. In the leadup to Opening Day, MLB.com is publishing a series of stories based on the results of that survey.

Today’s topic: Fiercest competitor

Every MLB player is competitive. Although talent is certainly the most important factor, you don’t get to the highest level of professional baseball without having some sort of desire to outdo your rivals. But even among some of the most competitive people on Earth, a select group of players stands out.

These are the names that came up the most when MLB players were asked to identify who among their peers is the fiercest competitor.

1. Max Scherzer, SP, Rangers
Nearly 30% of our survey participants mentioned Scherzer as the fiercest competitor in the game, which isn’t surprising for anyone who has ever seen the three-time Cy Young Award winner pitch. The intensity he brings to the mound makes him an intimidating presence, even in his late 30s.

“He scares me,” one National League outfielder admitted.

Scherzer is currently working his way back from offseason back surgery, but in his heyday, there wasn’t much that could stop him from taking the ball.

While with the Nationals in 2019, he started a game a day after suffering a broken nose while laying down a bunt during batting practice. Pitching with a visible black eye against the Phillies, he went out and struck out 10 batters over seven scoreless innings.

Later that year, Scherzer was scratched from his scheduled start in Game 5 of the World Series against the Astros due to intense pain in his neck and right trapezius muscle. Three days later, he was back on the mound, gutting out five innings of two-run ball in Game 7 as Washington clinched the championship.

Even teammates are advised to stay out of his way on the days when he’s pitching.

One former teammate of Scherzer’s relayed a story about trying to pat Scherzer on the butt after the pitcher drove him in with a sacrifice fly. The player’s manager quickly intervened, warning him not to touch Scherzer when he pitches.

2. Bryce Harper, 1B, Phillies
Was there really any doubt that Harper was going to beat the initial timetable for his return from Tommy John surgery last season? The Phillies said they expected to have Harper back as their designated hitter around the All-Star break. He returned on May 2.

Harper played through a torn UCL in his right elbow for much of the previous season, but that didn’t stop him from having a huge playoff run for Philadelphia.

The left-handed slugger recorded a 1.160 OPS and hit six homers during the 2022 postseason, one of them a go-ahead blast in the bottom of the eighth inning in the Phils’ pennant-clinching win over the Padres in the NL Championship Series.

"He's one of the best players in baseball in those big moments,” said one AL outfielder. “His highlight reel has to be ridiculous at this point. And I've only ever heard good things from the dudes who have played with Bryce."

Harper has shown a strong competitive drive from a young age, even going as far as getting his GED in high school so he could qualify for the MLB Draft sooner. He enrolled in junior college for a year and went on to be selected first overall in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Nationals at the age of 17. He was still a teenager when he debuted less than two years later.

Somehow, Harper has managed to live up to the massive expectations bestowed upon him, winning two MVP Awards and signing one of the largest free-agent deals in MLB history (13 years, $330 million).

3. Ronald Acuña Jr., OF, Braves
Acuña won the NL MVP Award last year after becoming the fifth member of the 40-40 club and the first player in MLB history to produce at least 40 homers and 70 stolen bases.

But the superstar outfielder is far from satisfied, especially after having to miss the Braves’ 2021 World Series title run due to a torn ACL.

Despite playing 159 games in the regular season last year, Acuña didn’t take much time to rest after the Braves were eliminated by the Phillies in the NL Division Series. He kept right on playing, suiting up for Tiburones de la Guaira in the winter league of his native Venezuela.

One American League outfielder who also participated in the Venezuelan Winter League said he saw no dropoff in intensity from the 26-year-old Acuña.

“That guy wants to win all the time,” the outfielder said. “He plays 100 percent all the time; he doesn't care. I played with him in Venezuela; he won the [NL] MVP and he was playing hard all the time like nothing ever happened.”

4. Gerrit Cole, SP, Yankees
Another fearsome presence on the mound, Cole has earned the respect of his peers for his reliability and determination.

Before being set back by a right elbow injury during Spring Training this year, Cole had been a model of durability, throwing 200-plus innings five times from 2017-23 and leading the Majors with 1,279 2/3 innings in that span.

The right-hander was also tenacious in his pursuit of his first career Cy Young Award, finally winning AL honors last year after coming close on several occasions prior.

5 (tie). Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals and Justin Verlander, SP, Astros
Two decorated veterans tied for fifth in our survey.

Arenado won a Gold Glove Award at third base in each of his first 10 seasons, with six Platinum Gloves in that span. He’s also an eight-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger.

He has remained highly productive at the plate since moving from the Rockies to the Cardinals, quieting skeptics who wondered if he could succeed away from hitter-friendly Coors Field. Arenado, though, is still driven by the one achievement that has eluded him: a World Series title.

Now 41, Verlander continues to prove doubters wrong as well. The right-hander faced a major hurdle when he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and missed all of 2021.

Showing his grit and resolve, Verlander not only made it back to the mound in 2022 but also won the AL Cy Young Award for the third time in his career at the age of 39. To top it off, he helped the Astros win the World Series for the second time in six years.

Others receiving votes: Sandy Alcantara (MIA), Pete Alonso (NYM), Luis Arraez (MIA), Will Benson (CIN), Mookie Betts (LAD), Alex Bregman (HOU), Corbin Burnes (BAL), Génesis Cabrera (TOR), Luis Castillo (SEA), Matt Chapman (SF), Carlos Correa (MIN), Edwin Díaz (NYM), Pete Fairbanks (TB), Freddie Freeman (LAD), Logan Gilbert (SEA), MacKenzie Gore (WSH), Sonny Gray (STL), Liam Hendriks (BOS), Rich Hill (FA), Brent Honeywell (PIT), Joe Kelly (LAD), Clayton Kershaw (LAD), DJ LeMahieu (NYY), Lance Lynn (STL), Shohei Ohtani (LAD), Albert Pujols (retired), Chris Sale (ATL), Corey Seager (TEX), Marcus Semien (TEX), Nick Senzel (WSH), Jose Siri (TB), Tarik Skubal (DET), Juan Soto (NYY), Spencer Strider (ATL), Marcus Stroman (NYY), Dansby Swanson (CHC), Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD), Christian Walker (AZ), Logan Webb (SF)