"We owe so much to them" - Pirates rookie Paul Skenes opens up on donating $100 to veterans charity with every strikeout

Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes has been impressing the masses with his pitching arsenal in the big league. He had humble beginnings for his baseball career and played high school baseball at El Toro High School. He committed to playing with the Air Force Academy in September 2018.

Reflecting on the values he learned from the Air Force Academy and his ongoing initiative of donating $100 for every strikeout he makes in the big leagues to a foundation that supports veterans and first responders, Paul Skenes said:

"Yeah, I mean the military has impacted me a lot you know personally nd not to mention everybody else in the country, we owe so much to them that we can never really repay so just you know being able to use my platform and that kind of thing to do some good for them is big."

Next, the interviewer asked Skenes what American sports analyst Pat McAfee said about donating a million dollars to the foundation if the Pirates rookie struck out 21 batters in a single game. Paul Skenes said:

"That sounds about right. That would be cool. Hopefully, some point in my career. I mean one of those things that's going to come about, I can't go out there and try to do it but yeah, that would be pretty damn cool."

Skenes graduated from high school in 2020, and four years after playing at the Air Force Academy, he transferred to the LSU Tigers on July 28, 2022. He won his maiden NCAA College World Series tilt with the Tigers in 2023.

Finally, the rookie sensation reflected on the time he spent in the Air Force Academy and what those life lessons meant to him, saying:

"We were actually just in Colorado so I got ot visit the academy and some of those folks. The relationships, the lessons I learned, you know, ho wit shaped me as a person, teaching me about life and all that like something that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else.

"Those experiences and went to LSU and that was more for a baseball thing but in terms of you know, how I live my life and everything I learned and all that like the Air Force Academy was just a huge stepping stone for me."

Paul Skenes struck out eight batters in the series finale against the Rays on Sunday

Paul Skenes impressed the home crowd at PNC Park once again as he dominated from the mound in his latest start for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gave up just one run on six hits and struck eight Rays batters in seven innings and didn't register a loss or a win despite Pittsburgh losing the contest 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.

He has taken his tally to 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA, 61 strikeouts, and a healthy 0.99 WHIP for the 2024 campaign. Paul Skenes will make his next start on the road against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.