"We have buy-in" - Paul Skenes gets honest about building a championship-caliber locker room

Paul Skenes had a fantastic rookie season in the major leagues, finishing his first ever regular season with a 11-3 win/loss record, a 1.96 ERA and 170 total strikeouts. Owing to his incredible performances, Skenes was named as the NL Rookie of the Year for 2024.

Despite the 22-year-old's best efforts, however, the season was a disappointment for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as they finished at bottom of the NL Central standings with a 76-86 record.

According to the Pirates' young ace Paul Skenes, the attitude and mood in the locker room plays a key role in the success of any team, and the 22-year-old believes the Bucs will be improving in that regard come the new season.

"In the short time that we've been here, I think we have buy-in. There are a lot of guys that have been talking about changing some things within the clubhouse, and that kind of thing. The nature of pro locker rooms compared to college locker rooms, is just going to be different," Paul Skenes said, speaking to sportswriter Kevin Gorman.

"I learned a lot about how a pro locker room is last year, but I've also learned how a locker room should be too. We're going to work on getting it there, we've started already," Skenes added.

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Having proven himself in 2024, Paul Skenes expects to have more "more say" in the Pirates clubhouse in 2025

Having come into the Pittsburgh Pirates team as a highly-rated but unproven prospect in 2024, it's safe to say the recently crowned NL Rookie of the Year has done his bit over the course of last season, in order to prove his quality to his teammates and coaches.

Heading into the new season, the ace believes he will now have much more responsibility on his shoulders.

"I don't know what the character of that will be, but I'll have probably a little more say -- and obviously having established myself a little bit -- but there's still a long way to go. I'm not going to overstep, but winning is winning. We've got to do what we've got to do to make it happen," Skenes said.

Pittsburgh Pirates v New York Yankees - Source: Getty

Not one to rest on his laurels, Skenes has already shed some light on his plans to improve even further in the upcoming season. Pirates fans will be looking forward to watching their young ace on the mound again, hoping that he can inspire them to a first postseason appearance since 2015.