The sun shined as Mirabito Stadium overflowed with fans eager to witness New York Mets’ ace Max Scherzer’s return to the mound for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Mets’ AA affiliate, against the Reading Fightin’ Phils.

I spoke with a father and his family sitting in front of me. They were locals who cherished seeing well-known names play at the AA level, whether they are major leaguers on a rehab appearances or future stars working their way up to the show. He and his son reminisced about seeing Aaron Judge on the AA Trenton Thunder in 2015. The son recalled that at the time, nobody knew Judge.

Everybody knew Scherzer, and the Rumble Pony staff had a circus on their hands. I parked my car a quarter mile away because cars filled the stadium lots. They had one ticket scanner per gate and no metal detectors.

The three-time Cy Young award winner broke the all-time attendance record in the Rumble Ponies’ thirty-year history. Mirabito Stadium has a seating capacity of 6,012, and 7,491 people packed the seats.

The eight-time All-Star continued the same routine. He sat alone, prepping his mind and twitching his leg before running on the field, paced the dugout between innings, and dominated his opponent.  

He struck out the first two batters, walked the third, and buried the fourth. In the top of the second, Scherzer forced a 1-2-3 inning.

The next inning, Scherzer sprinted back to the hump. The four-time MLB wins leader struck out the first batter, but then looked human. He gave up back-to-back doubles and a run. Mad Max ended the inning after forcing a ground out to second and a fly out to the left fielder. 

The same father left for concessions and returned empty-handed. “You could grubhub a beer to your seat and it would still be faster than the lines.” Our little pocket in the stands giggled. 

I continued watching the game and overheard the father speaking to his kids. He said it seemed like 30 people were in the stands last week and that you could hear conversations from fans sitting on the third-base line. 

In the 4th, and to everyone’s surprise, Scherzer sprinted to the mound to the tune of a raucous crowd. He struck out catcher Logan O’Hoppe, the Phillies’ third best prospect according to MLB.com. Mirabito Stadium rumbled. Afterward, right-fielder Jhyalin Ortiz stepped up to the dish, crushed the ball to left field, and onto the train tracks outside the stadium for a home run. Ortiz’s OPS is .746.

The infield packed in around Scherzer. Everybody knew Scherzer’s day was over, and the Rumble Pony faithful rose and applauded. Mad Max waved to the crowd and disappeared into the dugout. 

Scherzer pitched three and a third innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, six strikeouts, and throwing 65 pitches. 46 went for strikes.

“I’m healthy,” he said afterward. 

The New York Post’s Mike Puma reported that Scherzer seemed eager to return. Scherzer said, “I want to be in the big leagues, not a Rumble Pony.”  

The Mets have compiled a 20-10 record without him. One can only imagine how good this Mets team will be when Scherzer returns. Do not forget the Mets’ other ace, Jacob deGrom’s rehab is progressing nicely. “Everything feels good,” the two-time Cy Young winner said. “Hopefully not too much longer.”

The prospect of both pitchers returning soon is a scary thought for the National League. 

The question remains if Scherzer will return to the majors on Sunday versus the Marlins in Florida. But for the people of Binghamton, Scherzer’s appearance was memorable. He brought a community to the ballpark on a beautiful summer night. What more could you want?