Paul Skenes has shaved off his trademark beard and moustache, a change first revealed Thursday night by his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, on social media.
“Happy New Year,” Dunne wrote on her Instagram story, adding a smiling emoji alongside a photo of Skenes clean-shaven.
If the right-hander were to take the mound tomorrow, it would mark the first time he has pitched without facial hair since making his major league debut in 2024.
The exact timing of the transformation remains unclear. As recently as December 21, Skenes was still sporting his familiar look while attending a New Jersey Devils game with Dunne.
Photos and video shared by the Devils during that matchup against the Buffalo Sabres showed the Pirates star with his beard and mustache intact.
Once the new look surfaced, fans wasted little time reacting. For a pitcher whose presence on the mound has become synonymous with intimidation, the clean-shaven version of Skenes caught many off guard.
“Clean-shaven Skenes is throwing more people off than his fastball ever did,” one X user joked. “New year, new look, same nightmare for hitters.”
As with most things in baseball, superstition quickly entered the conversation. Some fans half-seriously wondered whether the beard had been part of what made Skenes so dominant, while others leaned into humor.
A handful of jokes even suggested the shave could be preparation for a future stint with the New York Yankees, who ended their long-standing facial-hair policy ahead of the 2025 season.
A new look after a season for the history books
Whether facial hair has any impact at all is beside the point. Skenes‘ dominance has been rooted in performance, not appearance.
He is coming off a remarkable 2025 season in which he posted a 1.97 ERA and struck out 216 batters while walking just 42 across 187 innings.
His 7.7 bWAR ranked fourth among all major league pitchers, trailing only Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez.
That campaign further solidified Skenes‘ place in baseball history. He became just the third pitcher ever to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award within his first two seasons, joining Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden.
According to MLB Advanced Media, Skenes owns a 1.96 career ERA through his first 55 starts, the lowest by any pitcher in the Live Ball Era, which dates back to 1920.
Read the full article here
