The good vibes following the gold medal victories of the USA men’s and women’s hockey have inspired one of America’s greatest pitchers ahead of our country’s next great international competition.
Paul Skenes, the 23-year-old ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates staff and boyfriend of the equally famous former LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, was asked about next week’s World Baseball Classic and his feelings on the tournament after watching America’s thrilling Winter Olympics performance.
“We’re America, we’ve got to assert our dominance over everybody else,” Skenes said, via Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “That’s what we do.”
The Pirates’ ace revealed his motivation heading into the tournament.
“We’re doing it to represent the men and women that are fighting for us, along with many other things that make this country the greatest country in the world,” Skenes said. “That puts it into perspective a little bit.”
Skenes’ use of the word dominance also best describes his performance in 2025. The 23-year-old posted a 1.97 ERA and tied for second in the National League with 216 strikeouts.
Those more-than-impressive numbers led to Skenes earning a unanimous vote for the NL Cy Young Award.
The World Baseball Classic begins on March 5. The 20 countries will be divided into four pools in different locations. The host cities are Miami, Houston, Tokyo, and San Juan.