MLB Hall of Famer Warns Pirates' Paul Skenes
Few people know more about pitching than Randy Johnson.
The Big Unit is a Hall of Famer, won five Cy Young awards, was a 10-time All-Star, won the ERA title four times and was a World Series MVP in 2001. He also won 303 games, which ranks 22nd all-time.
Johnson had a chance to meet Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes during their road trip in Arizona in late July. He also watched Skenes pitch against Arizona on Aug. 4. The 6-foot-6 flamethrowing right-hander pitched 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on 100 pitches thrown.
Skenes exited the game with the lead, but the Pirates couldn't hold on, as they lost 6-5. With that loss, Johnson noted the warning he gave Skenes and the role he and the Pirates have in him reaching his full potential.
"If he could've gone another inning, he might've gotten that win, because as soon as he came out, the next guy gave up three runs," Johnson told CBS Sports. "And that's what I told him, when I met him. 'The organization, Paul, is going to dictate what you are gonna do and if you wanna have a real career, if you become the pitcher that everybody thinks you're going to be, you will have a lot of say in what you want to do, whereas a lot of pitchers don't have that say, but you will.'"
Skenes has gone 6-2 with a 2.25 ERA and has struck out 115 batters in 15 starts. Skenes' hot start to his career was enough for him to earn the start for the National League in the All-Star Game.
While it's way too early to determine what Skenes' ceiling is going to be in his career, he's lived up to the lofty expectations he came into the league. However, if he's going to one day etch his name into baseball immortality, Johnson believes he may have to do more than what's asked of most pitchers in today's game.
"He's definitely special, but in today's game, he's going to be held back for the rest of this year and maybe next year," Johnson said. "But if you want to be the pitcher that you're capable of being, you need to step up and show people what you're capable of doing and voice your opinion, because going five or six innings you're not going to win very many ballgames in today's game. You're gonna have to go seven or eight innings and you're not going to hurt yourself because the game has been around for 150 years and people went 7-8 innings all the time and they threw 115-135 pitches."
Skenes will get the start for Pittsburgh (56-64) on Friday when it faces the Seattle Mariners (63-59) at 6:40 p.m. ET at PNC Park.
NATHANIEL MARRERO