To non-baseball fans, Paul Skenes is just Olivia Dunne‘s boyfriend who happens to be a professional athlete. But for sports watchers, Skenes is a generational talent. Coming off of a historic rookie season, the sky is the limit for the 22-year-old.
Skenes already has a start in an All-Star Game under his belt. A Cy Young appears to be in his future at some point, too. But his toughest task will surely be bringing a World Series trophy to Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a memorable history, but most of their success came ages ago. They haven’t been to a World Series since 1979 and haven’t won their division since 1992.
Paul Skenes’ main goal is to win a World Series for the city of Pittsburgh
As the unofficial “Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates“, Skenes now has a lot of pressure to deliver that for the club. When asked by beat writer Alex Stumpf about the expectations placed on him as the team’s leader, Skenes didn’t take it lightly, and made sure that his goal is to make the city of PIttsburgh happy.
I think we owe something to the city. We owe a lot to the city. It’s our job to go out and win for the city because this is bigger than all of us. There’s a reason why [Andrew McCutchen] keeps coming back, and specifically to Pittsburgh. There’s something about this city… The bar needs to be set pretty high.
The Pirates were the fourth-worst team in the National League last season. They missed the postseason for the ninth straight season.
With an elite ace in Skenes on the team, the team will always go into every series with a plus on their side. But that’s clearly not enough, and they need to surround him with more run support and some running mates in the starting rotation to really find success.
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