Pirates Fans Line Up for Paul Skenes Bobblehead
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates fans lined up in droves before the upcoming game vs. the Cleveland Guardians, with a special giveaway they just couldn't pass up.
The Pirates are giving away a bobblehead of Paul Skenes to the first 20,000 fans who attend the upcoming game vs. the Guardians on April 19.
Skenes will also make his fifth start of the season, giving fans a chance to not only get his bobblehead, but watch one of the best pitchers in baseball too.
Alex Stumpf of MLB.com took a video of fans, that lined up more than three and a half hours before first pitch at 4:05 p.m., with the line stretching from the gate, onto the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which connects downtown Pittsburgh to the North Shore at PNC Park.
Three and a half hours before first pitch, here’s the line on the Clemente Bridge for a Paul Skenes bobblehead pic.twitter.com/zOiMW1nuvd
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) April 19, 2025
Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also took a video of fans line up at the other gates of PNC Park, as they patiently wait for the bobblehead.
Seems like a few people want a bobble head pic.twitter.com/ARsedN3EfB
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) April 19, 2025
The bobblehead features Skenes with his famous moustache in a black Pirates hat with a yellow "P" logo. It is also a black jersey, with the Pittsburgh script lettering and the outline of the lettering, his No. 30 and the outer part of the arms in yellow.
The box that the bobblehead comes in has his minor league stats on it and the side of the box honors Skenes for winning National League Rookie of the Year.
It also shows his stats from 2024 and his achievements, which includes winning NL Rookie of the Month for September and setting the franchise record for strikeouts for a rookie.
Skenes starred at LSU in 2023, after transferring from Air Force. He had a 13-2 record in 19 starts, 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings pitched, gave up just 23 earned runs and seven earned runs, while making 209 strikeouts to just 20 walks, leading the program to a national title that season.
He would enter the 2023 MLB Draft, where the Pirates took him with the No. 1 overall pick. He also signed with the franchise on a $9.2 million signing bonus, the highest ever given to a player at the time.
Skenes dominated in the minor leagues and soon made it up to the majors on May 11 of the 2024 season.
He started 23 games, had a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 innings pitched, allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while making 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95.
He was also the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years ago. He is also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers doing so in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.
Skenes also made the All-MLB First Team and finished third in the NL CY Young Award voting.
He is 2-1 this season in four starts, with a 2.96 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched, with 26 strikeouts to three walks.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.