For two months, fans in Pittsburgh have been captivated by the performance of Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes. That’s not to say that outside of town, baseball fans, players and analysts haven’t taken notice of the mustachioed, 6-foot-6 rookie since he made his highly anticipated MLB debut May 11. But Tuesday night, when the 22-year-old starts for the National League in the All-Star Game, the Skenes story will expand significantly to televisions across the nation.
“I think it’s awesome. He’s one of the biggest stories in baseball. He’s must-see TV,” MLB analyst Keith Law of The Athletic told TribLive.
“He’s legitimately earned the All-Star spot. You want to argue that somebody, maybe a veteran, should get the starting spot? What’s going to make people turn on the TV and watch? Oh, Paul Skenes is starting? You know when he’s pitching. That’s actually a pretty good marketing move.
” NL All-Star manager Torey Lovullo calls in to tell Paul Skenes he will be the NL starter for the All-Star Game @Paul_Skenes @Pirates @MLB pic.twitter.com/EeAmuuM17l — Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 12, 2024 Skenes (6-0, 1.
90 ERA) is set to become the first rookie pitcher to start in the All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo in 1995, and just the fifth all-time. Not since Jerry Reuss in 1975 has a Pirates pitcher started the game. Skenes will be only the fifth in franchise history to do so — Dock Ellis started for the NL in 1971, while Vern Law and Bob Friend both did so in 1960.
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