Paul Skenes stepped onto the mound at Globe Life Field, 66 days after his debut in Major League Baseball and 13 months after pitching in college. The stadium played Smash Mouth’s “All-Star” over the speakers, and he truly felt like one. “I was fully aware out there, but it was an overwhelming experience,” he said.
Skenes became the fifth rookie to start in an All-Star Game, retiring Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson, and Aaron Judge without allowing a hit in the first inning of the National League’s 5-3 loss on Tuesday night. The top players in baseball watched as the 6-foot-6 pitcher threw pitches reaching up to 100.1 mph.
“What made it special was how welcoming and accepting they were, embracing me into the clubhouse,” he said happily. While some veterans left early, Skenes stayed in the dugout for a few innings to learn from the experienced players.
Later, he headed to the clubhouse for more camaraderie and a light snack. Shortly after the game ended, he arrived at the postgame interview room dressed in a custom white suit made by Pittsburgh tailor David Alan.
His appearance was slightly disheveled, with his white shirt partly unbuttoned. “I feel like Colonel Sanders,” he joked.
Skenes’ girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, a gymnast and influencer, had given him a cream Dior necktie that he wore to a news conference the day before. She had skipped his start in Milwaukee last week to shop in Chicago.
Considering how well he pitched, he’s being seen as a trendsetter now. It’s quite a change from two years ago, when he was a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, or even last year when he helped LSU win the NCAA championship.
A 22-year-old right-handed pitcher with just 11 appearances in the majors, the fewest for any All-Star, Skenes wore high socks with colorful horizontal bands of yellow, light blue, maroon, and navy when he took the mound.
He retired Kwan, who leads in hitting in the majors, on a pop-up and got Henderson to hit a weak comebacker. Juan Soto patiently earned a walk after fouling off a 100.1 mph pitch over seven pitches.
“I was trying to hit a home run off him. I won’t lie,” Soto said with a smile during a joint interview with Judge. “But once I got to two strikes, I focused on working the at-bat because I wanted to make sure I faced Judge as well. I did my job.”
Judge grounded into a forceout to end the inning on the next pitch, a 99.7 mph fastball. “After fouling off that fastball, he was really locked in,” Judge said about Soto. “He definitely wanted another shot at that pitch.”
Skenes joined Dave Stenhouse (1962), Mark Fidrych (1976), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), and Hideo Nomo (1995) as the only rookies to start in the All-Star Game.
He threw 11 strikes out of 16 pitches, starting in the strike zone against all four batters. He used seven fastballs and seven splinkers, along with one curveball and one slider.
He cherished his time on the field with Shohei Ohtani, who gave the NL the lead with a three-run homer in the third inning off Tanner Houck. Ohtani had hit a home run off Skenes last month.
“I tried to enjoy the three hours or so that I had on the same team with him because that’s probably only going to happen once a year,” Skenes said.
“A guy like him, I’m sure everybody is probably going up to him so I kind of tried to stay out of his way. Talked to him about a couple different things and, yeah, watched him.
I was in the weight room when he was in the weight room and just tried to observe him doing his thing and learn from that.”
Skenes also sought advice from Chris Sale, Tyler Glasnow, Logan Webb, and Hunter Greene. “Even if I get one tiny piece of advice or something that can — one tiny nugget from them, it could help,” he said.
Last year’s top pick in the amateur draft, Skenes debuted in the majors on May 11 and has a record of 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA for the Pirates, striking out 89 and walking 13 in 66 1/3 innings.
He had hoped to have more time on the mound in front of a national audience. “Frankly, I wish I had a few more pitches,” Skenes said. He no longer saw himself as an outsider among the greats. That was the biggest change.
“I feel like I belong with them,” he said.
