In front of family and former Air Force teammates, Paul Skenes shows why he’s a ‘special presence’
MIAMI — Paul Skenes, still wearing his Team USA uniform, walked purposefully down a concourse below loanDepot Park, passing reporters, ballpark security guards and assorted onlookers.
His father, Craig, along with two of Paul’s former teammates at the United States Air Force Academy and three other friends, were waiting. They stood near the team buses, a good distance from the Team USA clubhouse. When Skenes finally arrived at the arranged spot, he hugged each of his guests, then spent the next half hour or so reliving one of the best baseball games you will ever see.
“I was on the edge of my seat the whole game,” Craig Skenes said. “I was telling him, I think that is the best game I’ve ever seen in person.”
Many will remember it the same way, even with plate umpire Cory Blaser missing two potential ball-four calls, one on Juan Soto leading off the eighth and another on Geraldo Perdomo with a runner on third and two outs in the ninth.
A different call on either pitch might have swung the outcome of Team USA’s 2-1 victory Sunday night over the Dominican Republic. But the umpires were not the story of this World Baseball Classic semifinal.
This was a game that featured perhaps the greatest assortment of major-league talent ever gathered on one field; it was a game that, like Game 7 of last year’s World Series, was full of twists, nuances and sequences that will remain indelible.
The night included exquisite defense, magnificent pitching from both bullpens, the tying homer by a surprising entry in the U.S. lineup, Gunnar Henderson, and a go-ahead homer by the youngest American player, Roman Anthony, 21.
Skenes, 23, is the second youngest, though he doesn’t show it. Amid all the noise and hide-your-eyes drama, he offered no hint of tension, no sign of relenting.
“I think that’s what the academy did for him,” said Skenes’ former teammate at Air Force, Chase Spencer.” At the end of it all, there’s so much mental growth and stability that comes from that. It shows every day on the field.”
Skenes spent two years as a pitcher and catcher at Air Force before transferring to LSU and focusing solely on pitching. Spencer was also a two-way player at the academy, pitching and playing center field. Aaron Reyes, Skenes’ other former teammate in attendance, was a fellow catcher.
Both graduated from the academy last May, and they are now in pilot training in Daytona Beach, Fla. They had not seen Skenes pitch in person since they were together at Air Force. And the whole night, Reyes said, they were awestruck by the electric environment and their former teammate.
Craig Skenes, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, was dealing with his own emotions while watching his son pitch. At times, he almost longs for the days when Paul was catching and hitting. The experience was easier on a father’s nerves than watching Paul face batters such as Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“I don’t know if ‘worried’ is the right word. I’m nervous every time he pitches,” Craig Skenes said. “In fact, I’m more nervous when he pitches than when he ever hit and played in the field. I don’t know why.
“I’ve always kind of enjoyed him catching a little bit more. I see a little bit more artistry to it. And when he was swinging the bat, I just loved when he was able to connect with something. It’s a different type of feeling with this. Everything is on the line with every pitch. There are a lot bigger outcomes as well.”
The day before the game, though, Skenes was his usual calm self. Asked about his first WBC start, when he shut out Mexico for four innings before a divided crowd in Houston, he said it reminded him of a college game, only with a bigger atmosphere.
And how would the pro-D.R. crowd in Miami affect a pitcher who has never come close to the postseason in two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates?
“It’s a game, same as every other one,” Skenes said, practically yawning.
Yet, his father had it right. Bigger outcomes were indeed possible.
The Dominican Republic scored 51 runs in its first five games of the WBC. Junior Caminero’s homer off Skenes in the second inning was the team’s 15th, a tournament record. Manager Albert Pujols, asked before the game how his lineup would approach Skenes, sounded unconcerned, saying the right-hander had never faced a lineup like the D.R.’s. Skenes afterward conceded the point. He also said it wasn’t the cleanest or prettiest game he has pitched.
Caminero’s two-strike, two-out homer came on a sweeper up in the zone. Skenes hit two batters, something he has not done in 55 major-league starts, both with two strikes. He escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Austin Wells to fly out in the fourth, then needed reliever Tyler Rogers to bail him out of a two-on, one-out jam in the fifth by getting Soto to ground into a double play.
For all that, Skenes’ final line was quite good: 4 1/3 innings, one run.
“Special presence, special man,” Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said.
DeRosa views Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft just three years ago, as Team USA’s pitching pillar, and Aaron Judge, a three-time MVP, as his position-player equivalent.
Paul and Craig Skenes pose for photographs after Team USA’s win over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinal. (Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic)
From the moment he accepted DeRosa’s invitation to join the team, Skenes has talked about honoring servicemen and servicewomen around the world with his participation. Two of his uncles served in the Navy. Another was in the Coast Guard. A sense of duty has fueled Skenes throughout the WBC.
“I got a text from one of my teammates at Air Force. I don’t know where he’s stationed right now,” Skenes said. “But he said he was going to wake up at 3 a.m. to watch the game. It puts it into perspective. … It’s heavy stuff. For us, playing a game against a bunch of people that we know and we play all the time, it’s heavy.”
Skenes will turn 24 on May 29. He has already won a National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award. And Sunday night, he wore a suit to the ballpark, ready to face a lineup featuring one fierce slugger after another. All business, as always.
“That’s something about Paul. He’s always been so focused and determined in everything he does,” Spencer said. “You can really see a focus or a mentality shift with him from the moment he gets here. He’s ready to go from pitch No. 1.”
As Spencer spoke, it was well after midnight. Skenes had left the group to return to the Team USA clubhouse. Spencer marveled that his former teammate could perform the way he did in a game of such magnitude, then spend time relaxing with family and friends as if he had just come off a Little League field.
Craig Skenes marveled, too, at what his son accomplished.
“Even if he has a bad outing, I’m incredibly proud to see him out there doing what he’s doing,” Craig said. “But to see what he did tonight against that lineup was amazing.”
That wasn’t just a father talking. That was a sentiment shared by baseball fans around the world.
