Paul Skenes is “just a boy” at heart.
The Pirates ace and one of the biggest names in Major League Baseball was driving on Perry Highway in Wexford, Pa., a suburb north of Pittsburgh, when he saw the lights on at a little baseball field and made the night of the kids who make up Ingomar Franklin Park Little League.
Skenes watched practice on a park bench before the kids and parents took notice of the baseball superstar, before he ended up spending more than two hours with the local little leaguers, signing autographs, posing for pictures and playing catch with them.
An Ingomar Little League coach and member of the board of directors, Eddie Dubis, told MLB.com that the kids were “totally starstruck, in awe of what happened.”
Photos and videos circulated of Skenes online smiling with players and playing catch, even seeming to be giving advice while throwing the ball with one player under the lights at the ballpark.
“He just said he loves baseball, he’s a baseball nut, he loves everything about the game, and he remembers being that age, and how special Little League baseball was to him when he was that age,” Dubis said.
Skenes impromptu stop spread like wildfire and his girlfriend, and influencer, Olivia Dunne, posted about it on social media.
“Remembering your MLB bf is just a boy bc wdym he saw a little league team practicing while driving home and pulled over to show me and play catch with them,” Dunne captioned a TikTok post that featured screenshots of a FaceTime at the Little League park.
Several people who said they were there commented on Dunne’s post, praising Skenes for making their kids’ night and sharing photos.
“He took a picture with my two boys there last night and they said it was the greatest night of their life,” one person wrote, “it was SO sweet that he stopped by!!!”
“This is my kids’ league – this meant so much to so many people tonight,” another wrote. “Can’t even tell you how many of our friends are posting pics of their kids looking like it’s Christmas morning. What a good human.”
Skenes is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday night against the defending World Series champion Dodgers.
