Paul Skenes Is Starting the All-Star Game, and It’s a Beautiful Thing for Baseball
If you haven’t seen Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitch yet, stop what you’re doing and watch these highlights from his seven innings of no-hit work against the Milwaukee Brewers in his last start:
If you thought, “Hey, this is pretty neat,” then you might want to check out these highlights from May:
If you thought, “Wow, this kid seems pretty good,’ you’re on to something, partner. Skenes isn’t just good – he might be the most talented pitching prospect we’ve ever seen.
You also might have noticed that, in both of these games, Skenes was removed from the game with a no-hitter still intact. What’s indisputable is that we, as baseball fans, were robbed of two potentially incredible and historic moments. Given the equally incredible and historic rates of pitcher injuries, though, Pirates manager Derek Shelton’s decision to remove Skenes doesn’t fall so neatly on one side or the other of the MLB’s moral equivalency scale.
That’s why it’s so important that Skenes is starting the All-Star Game tomorrow night. For once, baseball is giving us exactly what we want. Skenes might not be a household name yet, but he should be – and if his last start is any indication, he will be by Wednesday morning.
The All-Star Game can have that effect. Baseball may not hold the national imagination like it did in the early 2000s, and the game itself might not have stakes anymore, but it can still be the stage for some memorable performances.
American League starter Pedro Martinez struck out five of the six National League batters he faced in 1999, including some of the most feared sluggers of all time in Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Brad Penny started the All-Star Game in 2006 for the National League and struck out the side (Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, and David Ortiz) in order. It’s a little laughable these days, but back in ‘06, Penny reaching back for some 98 mph gas to strike out three Hall of Famers was no joke for a starting pitcher.
Cliff Lee dazzled the National League in 2008 with four Ks over two innings as the American League starter.
After giving up a leadoff home run courtesy of Mike Trout, Zack Greinke settled down and struck out four of the next six batters he faced as the National League starter in 2015.
Now, Skenes has his opportunity. His moment. His chance to create a memory that could even rival a no-hitter. The All-Star Game is that stage, and Skenes is the perfect candidate for the role. If he strikes out the side – which, for the record, would be no small task given the first three batters he’ll face are Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge – he’ll explode into the consciousness of the sport-media landscape.
It’s a shame we as fans never had the opportunity to watch Skenes go for either no no. The Pirates coaches and front office might tell you they did it to save Skenes’ arm for the long haul, but sadly, pitch count just doesn't seem to have any correlation to arm injuries. Perhaps the term “abundance of caution” should be used instead…
Don’t expect MLB teams to change their ways, though. Investing in a young, explosive starting pitcher is not for the faint of heart. If I was about to make a half a billion dollar investment in an athlete who (more than likely) will get hurt at any moment, I’d still be doing everything in my power to prevent the injury, even if that’s ultimately improbable.
That’s why Tuesday night is so important. It's the chance for the world to watch Skenes do the incredible. The spotlight is on him and him alone – and Derek Shelton won’t be there to pull the plug early.
For too long, baseball hasn’t gotten marketing right…like, at all. Patrick Mahomes can appear in 20 commercials a day, but baseball players are almost nowhere to be found. Skenes will never approach football-player famous, but he might be able to set a new standard for baseball, and that’s a wonderful place to start for a sport that’s faced a steep decline in national interest.
Skenes will be the sixth-youngest player to be the starting pitcher at an All-Star Game, and just the fifth-ever rookie. It took bravery from National League manager Tony Lovullo to make this call over Ranger Suarez or Tyler Glasnow, both stud veterans having excellent seasons. Luvollo could have taken the easy route and gone with the experienced guy – instead, he understood Skene’s importance and what it could mean for baseball as a whole. This is bigger than any one player.
So, Skenes – after just eleven major league starts – will take the mound ahead of nine other All-Star starting pitchers with a combined 1,184 starts. And yeah, he deserves it because he’s that good. It’s fitting that Skenes is considered the greatest pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg, because for all of his incredible talent and dominance on the field, Strasburg never started an All-Star Game in his three trips. That was a failure by baseball. This is their chance to make up for it.
At the end of the day, the All-Star Game should be about entertainment and baseball decided to give the people what they want. Right now, peak baseball entertainment is watching Skenes make the best hitters on the planet look helpless. Tuesday night should be a treat – for the fans, and for the game itself.
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