ARLINGTON, Texas — You’ll recognize him immediately Tuesday night before he sets foot on the pitcher’s mound.
He’ll be the one saluting the American flag with his right arm vertical, four fingers touching the bill of his baseball cap, his thumb underneath, and then dropping his right arm over his heart, – his chest sticking out.
There will be no swaying back and forth.
No spitting sunflower seeds.
He’ll be the one standing at complete attention.
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That will be Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star pitcher Paul Skenes, who nearly was known as Air Force Second Lieutenant Paul Skenes.
While Skenes is on the field, Major Mike Kazlausky will be looking down from the stands at Globe Life Field, letting the tears flow down his face.
“It’s going to be emotional, I’ll tell you that," Kazlausky told USA TODAY Sports. “Paul Skenes is a great American, and a better person than he’ll ever be as a baseball player."
Skenes, who recruited the Air Force Academy instead of the Academy recruiting him out of high school, cried when he left the Academy after his sophomore season. Kazlausky informed him he had no choice but to transfer to another college if he wanted to be a first-round pick and a major-league pitcher.
Skenes went to LSU his junior year, met now-incredibly-famous girlfriend Livvy Dunne, won the NCAA championship, became the first pick in the 2023 draft, earned a $9.2 million signing bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Tuesday night will become the first rookie pitcher since Hideo Nomo in 1995 to start an All-Star Game.
Oh, and one more thing that he told USA TODAY Sports on Monday.
He still wants to serve his country when his baseball career is over.
He’ll be too old to spend 10 years in officer training school to become a pilot as he originally desired, but whether it’s serving time in the reserves, or as a baseball coach for the Air Force Academy, he wants to help the military.
“Just being able to give back," Skenes told USA TODAY Sports. “An easy one would be coaching at the Air Force Academy and developing there. So that’s kind of a dream of mine."
Kazlausky, the head coach the past 14 years at the Air Force Academy, having dinner with Skenes on Monday night in Arlington, has no doubt that Skenes will serve his country when his career is over.
“As an American, how can you not root for this young man?" Kazlausky said. “Paul has high expectations for himself, and wants the best for our county. He wants us to go to bed at night sleeping comfortably knowing our freedom is secure.
“He knows there is a bigger purpose in life than baseball, and he truly wants to make an impact on the world in the military profession, and he will.
“It’s not about wearing a baseball uniform, but our nation’s uniform."
Skenes' peers admire from afar
Skenes, 22, was the center of attention at the All-Star workouts Monday. When he wasn’t answering questions, All-Star players were answering questions about him. When they weren’t being questioned about his pitching talent, 102-mph fastball and splinker pitch, they were asked if they were familiar with his background.
It’s hard to believe that this young man who never pitched before his sophomore year in high school at El Toro in Lake Forest, Calif., and was still a catcher just two years ago for the Air Force Academy, is now having one of the greatest rookie seasons ever: 6-0 record, 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 66 ⅓ innings.
“I think we’re all excited to meet him," Dodgers All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “To see his career off to an incredible start already, and the person I hear he is, I can’t wait to spend more time with him after this and really get to know him.
“Hopefully, he’s one of those that we get to watch for a long time as a great person on and off the field."
Says Colorado Rockies All-Star infielder Ryan McMahon: “It’s just so wild to think he was at the Academy two years ago and now he’s blowing cheddar in the big leagues. I’m super excited to see him."
Skenes, who has already pitched a six-inning no-hitter and a seven-inning no-hitter before being pulled in his first 11 career starts to preserve his brilliant arm, won’t have the chance to even go past one inning Tuesday. The Pirates and NL manager Torey Lovullo came to an agreement he would pitch just one inning, no matter how many pitches he throws.
The trouble is that the matchup the baseball world wants to see is Skenes vs. Yankees star Aaron Judge, mano a mano. Judge is batting cleanup for the American League, so if no AL hitter gets on base in the first inning, we’ll be deprived of the matchup everyone wants to see.
Judge laughed, knowing he should get a chance to face Skenes in the final weekend of the season at Yankee Stadium when the Pirates come to town.
“It’s so impressive what he’s done, and where he came from," Judge said. “Even when I got a chance to play against Air Force when I was at Fresno State, there was snow on the ground. It was freezing. We’re getting ready to take BP. We had our long sleeves on. We had our jerseys on. We got two jackets on.
“And these guys are out there you know wearing shorts and tank tops. A lot of psychological warfare there, but they got a lot of tough kids over there.
“He’s got an impressive background. For him to want to still go back to the military, man. It just speaks volumes to the type of person he is. You see what he does on the field, but it just shows you what kind of person he is on the inside."
Says Dodgers All-Star catcher Will Smith: “A guy committed to our country, wow, that’s special."
'The David Robinson of the Air Force Academy'
Skenes, who had two uncles serve in the Navy and another in the Coast Guard, was a fabulous ballplayer in high school, attending the same school as All-Star third basemen Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman. Yet his senior year was wiped out because of COVID. No matter. He didn't plan on attending a baseball power for college.
It came down to two schools: the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy.
The plan was to graduate as a Second Lieutenant, go to flight training school, and spend the rest of his life as an Air Force pilot.
His baseball talent changed those plans, starting for the Air Force Academy on Friday nights, DHing on Saturday with catching and closing duties on Sunday.
“He was such a good catcher," Kazlausky said, “that he would have been a first-rounder as a catcher if he didn’t pitch. He was that good. I had umpires all of the time rave about his catching skills. And he could hit. If you put him in that Home Run Derby right now, he’d win it."
Skenes became so dominant his sophomore season that Kazlausky sat him down, and had to inform him that he needed to transfer.
“I remember at the end of his freshman year, we knew what we had," Kazlausky said. “I talked to the Superintendent. I said, 'This is the David Robinson of the Air Force Academy. We need to do what we can to keep him.'"
If Skenes entered his junior season at the Air Force Academy, he would be required to fulfill his four-year commitment. He could still be drafted after his senior year, but would have virtually no negotiating leverage, and still would have to serve five years in the service or reserve duty.
Kazlausky asked that Skenes could be draft-eligible after his junior year, leave for professional baseball, but return to the Academy in the winter, graduate with online classes and later fulfill his five-year commitment.
The Pentagon denied his request.
Skenes departed for LSU, and wore No. 20 in honor of Travis Wilkie, who was a catcher at the Air Force Academy before Skenes, and was killed in a training accident in 2019 at Vance Air Force Base in Endid, Okla.
“We tried, we really did," Kazlausky said. “The United States Air Force Academy meant the world to him. He wanted so much to represent our school and represent the military. There just wasn’t a clear path for him.’’
In May, when Skenes’ graduating class was at Falcon Field at the Air Force Academy, throwing their hats high into the air after the commencement ceremony, with 30,000 spectators erupting in cheers, Skenes was in Pittsburgh pitching for the Pirates.
“I missed that, I really did," Skenes said. “But I’ll never forget where I came from. I’ll never forget what the Academy did for me. I owe everything to them.’’
The folks at the Academy still revere what Skenes meant to them. He was the ultimate leader. He was the first sophomore to be captain of the baseball team. He was the one they believed would be an Air Force general one day, or even be the commander of a base.
The leadership skills were in full display when he walked through the academy doors. There was the incident in 2021, just after 13 U.S. service members were killed in an attack in Afghanistan, when the baseball team was at practice as the national anthem started to be played. The American flag was lowered precisely at 4:45 p.m. Skenes looked up. There were two football managers not paying proper attention.
“Paul didn’t look to his left, didn’t look to his right, he just knew those kids were not standing to attention,’’ Kazlausky said. “So he raced up that hill, and airs out those cadets.
"‘We just lost 13 Americans over in Afghanistan, stand at a frickin’ proper position of attention.’"
“That’s the type of leader he was.’’
There was the time his sophomore year when Skenes was studying the standard and evaluation of military units, and he was responsible for inspecting cadets’ dorm rooms. He noticed that a senior basketball player's room wasn’t up to code with hospital corners on the beds, and his uniforms not properly hung.
Skenes flunked him.
“The cadet comes to Skenes and says, 'Hook a brother up. Come on. I don’t want to be restricted this weekend.'"
Skenes responded: “Clean your freakin’ room. You represent all of the athletes here. Clean it up."
“He wasn’t about to succumb to sheer pressure,’’ Kazlausky said. “He’s got such great values. Standards never sleep. We have a saying here, “Iron sharpens iron. Paul Skenes embodies that.’’
The Pirates see it every day themselves. When the national anthem is played before every game, even if Skenes is warming up before his start, he stops, salutes, puts his hand over his heart, and stands at perfect attention.
“We noticed that right away," Pirates All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds said. “When he stands for the national anthem, he’s so serious. This country means everything to him."
'A true red-blooded American'
When Skenes arrived for Monday’s press conference with AL manager Bruce Bochy and Lovullo, there were two men wearing casual open shirts and slacks and one wearing a gray suit, ivory tie, and white shirt.
Yes sir, the man in the suit was Skenes.
He may be the only player in baseball who wears a suit to the ballpark for every start.
He’s determined to make sure that every time he steps onto the mound that he’s representing the United States Air Force Academy, proud to let everyone know the Academy was instrumental in his development as a pitcher, but even more as a man.
“It’s exciting to be kind of labeled as an Air Force guy because that’s part of my background..." Skenes said. “I think it's important to bring as many eyes as possible to the academies. In my recruiting class at the Air Force Academy, I think I might have been the only one that sought out the Air Force Academy. Everybody else got recruited and kind of had to be convinced, or explained to them what the Air Force Academy is and what it's all about, which tells me that people don't know about it as much as they should."
Really, if there’s any flaw in Skenes’ character, even a little one, Kazlausky says, is that Skenes has fallen in love with that dark, thick, handlebar moustache he wears with the Pirates.
“He has to cut that stupid moustache,’’ Kazlausky said. “Come on. He looks like an idiot with it."
Sorry Major Kazlausky, but it’s staying. The famous Primanti Bros. restaurant in Pittsburgh is even giving away free sandwiches during the All-Star game for those dining at the restaurant with those wearing a mustache, real or fake.
“I like his moustache,’’ Reynolds said. “It’s just going to keep getting better, too.’’
Yes, so is the legend of Skenes, the former Air Force cadet, who vows to again serve his country.
“A great young man, a great American,’’ Kazlausky said. “He wants the best for his country. That’s who Paul Skenes is.
“He is a true red-blooded American. I hope America is paying attention."
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