Paul Skenes has officially progressed into side quests.
The Pittsburgh Pirates ace pitcher Skenes pulled an unusual move before his start on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Prior to the game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa., Skenes was spotted by media members going out onto the field with the grounds crew.
Skenes reportedly spent at least 15-20 minutes shooting the breeze with the crew. Take a look at a photo from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Paul Skenes looks to have joined the Pirates grounds crew. He’s been out there, chopping it up with the boys for a good 15-20 minutes now. pic.twitter.com/QtRlGwcKqA
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) July 1, 2025
After the game, Skenes was asked about his unorthodox pregame moment. He replied that he just got bored and that he would love to cut grass professionally upon his retirement from baseball.
Followed up on this. Paul said he was out there because he was bored. Added that he would love to cut grass professionally whenever his baseball days are over. https://t.co/gnspmBF19G
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) July 2, 2025
Skenes’ bonding moment with the great outdoors appears to have done him well. He proceeded to go out there during Tuesday’s game and hurl five shutout innings, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out five as Pittsburgh went on to beat St. Louis by a 1-0 final score.
As a 23-year-old All-Star who is the current frontrunner to win the NL Cy Young Award, Skenes clearly still has a whole lot of baseball left ahead of him. But in another decade or two, Skenes might be going from firing fastballs to firing up the weed whacker (among his other notable off-field interests).
