PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There was a social media post of a reported former teammate of Paul Skenes that would have Pirates fans dismayed and thinking how bad it is. Listening to Skenes talk after winning the National League Cy Young Award, that feeling likely changed.
The report is that a former Pirates teammate allegedly spoke to a reporter in New Jersey and said Skenes told him he has no confidence the Pirates are ever going to win and he’s hoping for a trade well before he becomes a free agent in 2029
“I got shown the Tweet and really didn’t think anything of it,” Skenes said Wednesday on a Zoom with mostly Pittsburgh reporters. “I got some texts about it. I’m on the Pirates, my goal is to win with the Pirates.”
“I love the city of Pittsburgh. The fans are hungry to have a winner in Pittsburgh and I want to be a part of the group that did that. I think about it the same way as when I was at the Air Force Academy. We had never been to a conference championship and my sophomore year we ended up winning the conference. We had never finished in the top four in the conference before that.”
In his two seasons with the Pirates, it’s been a pair of last place finishes, overall 147-177.
“Pittsburgh, the way that fans see us outside of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh is not supposed to win,” Skenes continued. “There are 29 fan bases that expect us to lose. I want to be a part of the group, a part of the 26 guys that change that.”
“I don’t know where that came from, the goal is to win. I don’t know the reporter that reported it. I don’t know the player that supposedly said that, but the goal is to win and the goal is to win in Pittsburgh.”
Asked if he felt the organization shares his hunger for a winner? He said he does. He warns there is a long way to go and they got to show up and do it because talk is cheap. But Skenes is optimistic.
"And there are people, I think, probably not enough people, but we can change that, people who realize that Pittsburgh deserves this, is craving this and so, like I said, we're going to change it,” Skenes said.
Skenes said it’s what makes Don Kelly the perfect guy to manage the Pirates. Not only does he know about baseball and that he’s a people person, it’s that he’s from Pittsburgh. Kelly talked about not wanting to do it anywhere else. And Skenes has been around enough to know what the fans want to see.
“I think we need to to get back to, that gritty, blue-collar personality that Pittsburgh is,” Skenes said. “I'm going to push for that. I know there are others that are going to push for that, and then whoever's new to the organization, they're going to realize really quick. But that's what the goal is.”
“I wish it were February 10 already, or whatever spring training reporting date is, because I'm incredibly excited to do this and to push in this direction for next year.”
Skenes said he remembers watching the Pirates in the playoff years of 2013-15.
“Everybody in Pittsburgh talks about that,” Skenes said. “You run into a fan on the street, they’re still talking about that. I think that shows how special it is. My agent, and I don’t even think he was an agent at that point, was at that game (2013 Wild Card against the Reds). He said that it was the coolest atmosphere he’s ever been to in sports.”
“The city is craving it.”
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“This isn’t my city, I’m not from Pittsburgh. I’m adopted by this city. The fans that show up for us when we are winning. I personally love that if we are losing the fans don’t show up in the same numbers. It’s not like Chicago or St. Louis, if you want fans, you gotta win. They deserve it.”
“I want to be part of the group that accomplishes that.”
It’s been 46 years since the Pirates won a World Series, Skenes said he’s going to show up to the ballpark and get to work pushing everyone in the same direction. He believes others are going to do that same. He punctuated the comment with the four words ‘that’s all the truth’.
“Making the Pittsburgh Pirates jersey that I'm wearing better,” Skenes said. “From the time I got here to the time I leave. We're stewards of the game. We're stewards of the city of Pittsburgh. It's a whole lot bigger than all of us and everybody needs to realize that.”
They were great words. It’s hard to doubt his belief, can he really lead this team out of the baseball desert?
"I have the Cy Young now," Skenes said. "What else do I have to accomplish in this game? A World Series championship."