The Pittsburgh Pirates have been so starved of success over the past few decades; in the early 2010s, the Pirates had a bit of a good run going, but they never made it past the Division Series — with their biggest highlight since then being their rousing Wild Card game victory over the Cincinnati Reds. But with ace pitcher and reigning Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes leading a crop of very talented youngsters, the Pirates’ fortunes look like they’re about to change.
Skenes is hellbent on turning the Pirates franchise around. In an interview with Alex Stumpf of MLB.com, Skenes outlined his goals for the 2025 season — which includes getting the Pirates to the promised land in an effort to give back to a passionate fanbase that has remained behind the team despite the lack of winning baseball over the past decade or so.
“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,” Skenes said.
For the talented 22-year-old ace, he is looking to re-establish the “legacy” of winning baseball that the Pirates franchise had. After all, this is a proud franchise that has five World Series championships to its name but hasn’t progressed beyond the Championship Series since 1993.
“We’ve got a legacy here. Got to keep it going. They left the jersey in a better spot than they found it. That’s what I’m trying to do, and what we’re all trying to do,” Skenes added.
With the Pirates having the services of Skenes for at least the next five years, Pittsburgh will have time to construct a winning roster around one of the most talented young starting pitchers the league has seen in a while.
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Paul Skenes wants to deliver winning baseball to Pirates fans
The support the Pirates franchise has received hasn’t waned even though fans have taken issue to how the team is being run these days. And for Paul Skenes, getting that kind of support is special, and such a passionate fanbase deserves to root for a winning team.
“There’s a reason why [Andrew McCutchen] keeps coming back, and specifically to Pittsburgh. There’s something about this city. We saw it last summer. We’ve seen it in the videos of the Wild Card Game. I’m tired of watching them because it was a Wild Card Series. The bar needs to be set pretty high. Not taking anything from those guys. The fact that that’s a golden era of recent Pirates baseball, that needs to change. We owe it to the city,” Skenes said.
