Every Parent Wants a Son Like Paul Skenes

Team USA’s Paul Skenes delivered a commanding performance on Monday night against Mexico in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international tournament featuring twenty nations.

The 2024 National League Rookie of the Year and last year’s Cy Young Award winner who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skenes threw four scoreless innings and struck out seven in Team USA’s 5-3 win.

Speaking with FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal after the game, he was asked what it meant to represent the United States.

“That’s what we do it for,” he replied. “This is the greatest country in the world.”

The pitcher’s patriotism didn’t start in Houston but was nurtured and amplified during his two years as a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Born and raised in California, the All-Star pitcher was inspired to pursue military service growing up around two uncles who graduated from the Naval Academy and one who served in the Coast Guard.

“Everything I saw from them — how they lived their lives and the values they represented — I had the utmost respect for those who serve,” Skenes wrote this week.

Arriving at the Air Force Academy in the summer of 2020, the then fourth-class cadet said he was moved when taking the “Oath of Enlistment.”

“I got the chills reciting that pledge,” he recalled. “Just from how proud I am of this country. I’m actually getting chills right now remembering back to that time. Because when you love something so much that you’re willing to lay down your life for it? It’s pretty meaningful stuff. And, truth be told, as much as I love the game of baseball … that’s much bigger than any sport.”

It wasn’t a surprise that Paul Skenes pitched well for the Air Force Falcons, but nobody expected him to dominate as he did, especially in his freshman year. After enjoying two commanding seasons, he realized he had a life-altering decision to make. Were he to remain at the Academy, Cadet Skenes would be obligated to serve five years as an Air Force officer following graduation. This was an attractive option given that he had chosen the Academy to pursue his dream of being a fighter pilot. But it would also mean that his chances of playing Major League Baseball would be greatly diminished if not dashed all together.

Ultimately, Skenes decided to transfer to LSU, a school with a highly regarded baseball program. He helped his team win the National Championship in 2023. After graduation, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Prior to pitching on Monday night in Houston, Skenes wrote, “A Letter to All Little Leaguers Out There,” a heartfelt reflection detailing his love of America and his hope to somehow encourage younger players to follow in his footsteps:

Everyone on this team, they’re all here because they do something different than everybody else. And I’m all about finding out what that exceptional trait is. Whether it’s Bobby, or Bryce, or Tarik, and on down the line. It’s been so much fun for me to be able to do that. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.  

But this tournament is not about me. It’s not about any of us, really. 

It’s bigger than any one person. It’s about country.  

Paul Skenes went on to stress that the secret to any success is sacrifice and dedicated effort:

I’ll finally give you that tip I mentioned. (And I hope your parents are reading this, too.)

“How does my kid make it to the bigs?”

I’ve been asked that so many times. It’s like your parents are looking for a cheat code or something. But I’ll tell you all right now….

It’s not magic. It’s not luck. It’s work! 

Hard work is the minimum if you want to be successful in anything. That’s baseball, and that’s life. Please always remember that. And take that with you wherever you go in this world. 

It will serve you well, I promise.

Careful viewers and fans of Paul Skenes may have noticed a not-so-subtle clue that might explain the star pitcher’s stability and confidence both on and off the mound.

On the pinky finger of his baseball glove, you’ll see “2 Timothy 1:7.”

Wrote the Apostle Paul, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Whether serving at the Air Force Academy or playing baseball for LSU, the Pittsburgh Pirates or Team USA, that biblical guidance has served him well.

It’s an open question if Team USA will prevail in the World Baseball Classic, and Paul Skenes isn’t alone with his patriotism and faith. But in a world that so often seems upside down, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight shine so brightly on a young man who so clearly loves his country, believes in hard work, and who appears to unapologetically and openly declare his Christian faith.