Rookie of the Year

Pittsburgh Pirates superstar starting pitcher Paul Skenes is many things. He's the reigning Cy Young Award winner in the National League. He won Rookie of the Year in 2024, despite not making his debut that season until May 11th and pitching just 133 innings. He was the best pitcher on Team USA's World Baseball Classic team, helping pitch them to a win over the fearsome Dominican Republic lineup in the semifinals. Skenes is also famously dating former LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, making him one of the few Major League Baseball players to achieve a level of fame and notoriety outside fans of the sport. RELATED: Paul Skenes Asked About Representing America, And The Miserable Lefty Sports Media Is Going To HATE His AnswerHe has many attributes and impressive accomplishments already. But there's one thing few would say Skenes possesses: a sense of humor and willingness to express any level of emotion. Well, thanks to a new interview with the 23-year-old star, we can finally see some of the personality he's so carefully hidden.Skenes accidentally created a meme template when winning Rookie of the Year in 2024, sitting on the couch with Dunne. While she immediately lit up and celebrated when his name was called, he remained completely emotionless. That's become the surrounding perception around him, that he's not one to show emotion or humor. But in a new interview with ESPN's Jeff Passan, he was asked about how he is on the mound, especially compared to some of his peers. "The demeanor each of you has on the mound," Passan said, "It's not like, diametrically opposed, but Tarik [Skubal], he's pretty damn fired up out there, but Paul, you're not." Passan paused briefly, then added, "I just got a look there though, and I'll be honest that scared the s*** out of me a little bit."Skenes immediately shot back, "Good," to which Passan laughed."Yeah, I think I do have thoughts and emotions and stuff like that, but I don't think I show it, partly because I don't want to show it, and partly because I'm just not good at showing it. Like, my happy face and my sad face are kinda the same face."So he does have a personality! Skenes isn't so different from many baseball players and pitchers in years past, but obviously the game has trended in a different direction in the modern era. Showing emotion, whether it's joy or anger, is much more common and expected now, and in some circles, encouraged. But go watch highlights of Sandy Koufax, and there's none of that. Skenes, in that measure at least, is a bit of a throwback. Still, it's good to see him show some sense of humor and personality. Despite what he claims, he's pretty good at it.