Mets’ Max Scherzer, wife Erica welcome fourth child

“Our newest addition to our family baby Nikki!  Born 1-30-23.. All good and healthy now.  Same B-Day as the wife lol,” Scherzer wrote on Twitter.

The Mets congratulated Scherzer, their 38-year-old right-hander, on social media, quote-tweeting his announcement and sending a message to Scherzer and Erica — with blue and orange heart emojis attached at the end.

Erica had announced in August that the couple was expecting their fourth child, posting a photo of the Scherzer family that included their three oldest kids: Brooke, Kacey and Derek Alexander. They each held a balloon — representing a number one, two or three — while Erica held the “4.” 

It’s the couple’s first child since Scherzer left the Nationals for the Mets following the 2021 season. Derek Alexander, their third, was born on the same day as one of Scherzer’s starts that year, and the then-Washington ace tossed a five-hitter before rushing to the hospital afterward to be with Erica for her planned C-section.

“It was pretty crazy,” Scherzer said in 2021, according to an MLB.com article shortly after Derek Alexander’s birth. “I kind of like it that way. Erica did, too. She likes it like that. She didn’t mind going to the hospital while everything was going on. It was even better to come back with a win.”

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Brooke was born in 2017, while Scherzer and Erica welcomed Kacey 15 months later.

Scherzer and the Mets will start their season together over the next few weeks, as pitchers and catchers report Feb. 15 — with position players following five days later ahead of the team’s Grapefruit League games. And this year, the rotation will again be one of their strengths.

The Mets signed Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana in the offseason, though they lost Jacob DeGrom to the Rangers. Scherzer, in a three-year deal, will once again anchor one of the rotation’s top slots after a 2022 season where he went 11-5 with a 2.29 ERA, striking out 173 batters while walking 24.