Nationals create candies inspired by ace Max Scherzer’s eyes

The bag of colorful candies blends together two things that Nationals fans love: M&Ms and their ace pitcher’s different-colored eyes.

Max Scherzer is well-known for several reasons.

The reigning NL Cy Young winner – he could be this year’s winner as well – possesses an arsenal of effective pitches that flummox nearly every lineup he faces.

But even more interestingly, Scherzer’s eyes gather a lot of attention. With one brown eye and one blue, the pitcher gains even more publicity. About 11 in every 1,000 Americans possess this condition, known as heterochromia.

Now the Nationals are marketing the rarity by selling customized M&Ms inspired by their ace pitcher. Vendors are selling bags filled with brown- and blue-colored chocolate candies during playoffs. Each candy has a “K” in the middle of it as well.

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The idea is based on a billboard that sits above the Shake Shack concessions stand at Nationals Park. It is a picture of the five-time All-Star’s eyes with “K’s” in the middle to represent strikeouts, of course. Scherzer led the National League in whiffs for the second straight season with 268 this year.

Nationals fans frequently mention Scherzer’s uncommon attribute across social media, especially twitter. Some fans have even made posters for games to attract the star pitcher’s attention.

Often, many of the tweets that refer to the dual-colored eyes involve pets. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Washington have a dual-colored promotion next year. This is just the beginning.

Back to Scherzer. The right-hander is slated to throw against the Cubs in Game 3 of the Division Series on Monday. Scherzer pitched against Chicago just once this year, tossing six innings of one-run ball and racking up six strikeouts.

Thanks to another strong campaign, the Washington ace could be taking home his third Cy Young award this year. His biggest competitors are Clayton Kershaw, arguably the best pitcher in baseball history, Kenley Jansen and Stephen Strasburg.

But many people believe last year’s winner will be victorious, considering he finished second in the MLB in strikeouts, second in WHIP and third in ERA. He only amassed 16 wins on the season, but that was only two shy from the league lead.

Until the results of the Cy Young are in, Scherzer will have to focus on a Cubs lineup that ranked fourth in the league in runs scored. It could be the team’s last game of the season.

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While he prepares for just another pivotal matchup, fans will be indulging in M&Ms inspired by the beloved pitcher.