Pirates' Double-A Affiliate Announces Paul Skenes Bobblehead
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is no stranger to a bobblehead giveaway and there will come another one in 2026 for fans to get.
The Altoona Curve, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, announced that they are doing their own Skenes bobblehead release.
Altoona will give out a limited 1,000 Skenes bobbleheads to fans for their second game of the season vs. the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, on April 3, with 6:00 p.m. first pitch at Peoples Natural Gas Park.
Fans can get tickets for this game on a flash sale through Dec. 19, with prices ranging from $14.20 to $19.99.
Skenes' Short Tenure with Altoona
The Pirates took Skenes with the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of LSU and signed him to a record bonus of $9.2 million.
Skenes quickly moved up the ranks from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Bradenton, then skipping High-A Greensboro to go to Altoona.
He struggled in his first start, giving up three hits, two walks and four earned runs and just getting two outs vs. the Akron RubberDucks on Aug. 26.
Skenes made his other start vs. the Erie SeaWolves on the road on Sept. 1, where he had a much better outing, throwing two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and posting three strikeouts in his final minor league outing of the season.
Paul Skenes Bobblehead Giveaways in 2026
The Pirates will have two of their own Skenes bobblehead giveaways in 2026, as they honor their best player.
Pittsburgh is releasing a Skenes Bobblehead for all fans on April 18, as they take on the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park, celebrating his 2025 National League Cy Young Award. Every fan that attends that game will get that bobblehead.
The general bobblehead has Skenes in the regular home uniform, black jersey, white pants with yellow stripes and a black line down the sides, black Pirates cap, glove and also socks, with yellow cleats.
It also shows Skenes in mid-throwing motion, containing his entire body, with the Cy Young Award at his left foot.
The Pirates will give out an exclusive Skenes bobblehead this season, only available for season ticket holders. It is the same bobblehead model of Skenes for winning the NL Cy Young Award, but is in all gold.
Pirates Have Great Success With First Paul Skenes Bobblehead
The Pirates released the first Skenes bobblehead back on April 19 against the Cleveland Guardians, bringing in a crowd of 37,713, the second highest-attended game at PNC Park in 2025. This honored his 2024 National League Rookie of the Year campaign.
Only one game eclipsed that attendance, which was for the Mac Miller bobblehead giveaway against the Chicago White Sox on July 19.
They originally had a limit of 20,000 bobbleheads, which saw fans line outside hours before the gates opened and supplies run out quickly.
The Pirates then announced that they would honor every fan that scanned their ticket for the game with an electronic voucher for a Skenes bobblehead at a later date, which they revealed details for later in the season.
Pittsburgh had less success on the field, as they suffered a disappointing 3-0 loss to the Guardians, which saw fans demand owner Bob Nutting sell the team.
Skenes had a strong outing, allowing just two earned runs off of two solo home runs to Guardians designated hitter Kyle Manzardo through seven innings with four strikeouts in the defeat.
History of Paul Skenes Bobbleheads
The Pirates also released two other Skenes bobbleheads throughout the 2025 season.
The next bobblehead came out on June 22 against the Texas Rangers, which was a Superman Skenes bobblehead, a collaboration with DC Comics. Fans that wanted the bobblehead bought a special ticket, as it wasn't a Pirates giveaway.
Pittsburgh also unveiled a Fanatics MLB Debut Skenes bobblehead that came out on Sept. 2 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, but fans had to spend $200 in the team store to get the bobblehead.
Both of these bobbleheads are far less ubiquitous, due to their exclusive nature, making them a big draw for collectors.
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.