Paul Skenes

I guess a slower sweeper is what they were calling it?

Like maybe an off-speed sweeper?

I genuinely have no idea where that came from.

So I couldn't tell you anything about it.

How about the cutter?

Is that sold in the works?

No.

It's just pretty much the same stuff.

Hopefully better.

But, yeah, no more made-up pitches.

It's good to see that this competition can't bring the best out of everybody.

So looking forward to that competition and everybody's gonna be better off because of it.

There's nothing stopping us from being, call it whatever you want, the best group we can be, the best group in baseball, whatever.

The only thing that's gonna get in our way is ourselves.

One day at Wrigley Field last May, Paul Skeens was pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, carving out a small piece of baseball history in his second big league game. Just two years before, he was a sophomore at the Air Force Academy, learning to fly C-17 transport planes in preparation for a career in the military. Now he was dominating the Chicago Cubs.

One day at Wrigley Field last May, Paul Skeens was pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, carving out a small piece of baseball history in his second big league game. Just two years before, he was a sophomore at the Air Force Academy, learning to fly C-17 transport planes in preparation for a career in the military. Now he was dominating the Chicago Cubs.

He struck out the first seven batters he faced. By the end of the fifth inning, he had increased his strikeout total to ten. More impressive, he hadn't allowed a hit. To end the sixth, Skeens unleashed a fastball that was foul-tipped into the catcher's glove for an eleventh strikeout. The Cubs remained hitless. At that point, Skeens had thrown exactly 100 pitches. He wouldn't throw another.

He struck out the first seven batters he faced. By the end of the fifth inning, he had increased his strikeout total to ten. More impressive, he hadn't allowed a hit. To end the sixth, Skeens unleashed a fastball that was foul-tipped into the catcher's glove for an eleventh strikeout. The Cubs remained hitless. At that point, Skeens had thrown exactly 100 pitches. He wouldn't throw another.

When the Pirates took the field in the bottom of the seventh, Pittsburgh's manager, Derek Shelton, replaced him with Carmen Majinski. No hitters are not wildly uncommon. Since 1901, when the American League was formed and rules were standardized, each season has averaged around two of them.

When the Pirates took the field in the bottom of the seventh, Pittsburgh's manager, Derek Shelton, replaced him with Carmen Majinski. No hitters are not wildly uncommon. Since 1901, when the American League was formed and rules were standardized, each season has averaged around two of them.