Pirates' Paul Skenes Exclusive Baseball Card Found
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes finally had someone find his exclusive baseball trading card.
Topps announced that an 11-year old baseball card collector in Los Angeles found the exclusive card for Skenes, which is a 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card. This card has Skenes' autograph and the debut patch from their game-worn jersey.
𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: The Paul Skenes 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card has been pulled by an 11-year-old collector from Los Angeles, CA. pic.twitter.com/tYZe5KuqM2
— Topps (@Topps) January 21, 2025
The Pirates made an incredible offer to the lucky fan who found the card. This includes two season tickets to the Pirates for the next 30 years, along with a softball game for you and 30 of your friends with coaching from former Pirates.
It also featured a Spring Training experience, with a private tour of LECOM Park and Pirates City in Bradenton, Fla., which includes other unique experiences, like batting practice and warming up with the Pirates.
Skenes, himself, is also a part of the deal, as he would meet the fan and also sign two of his own jerseys for them.
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.
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 for his performance in 2024 and won NL Rookie of the Year.
