Back in hometown park, Skenes starstruck all over again

ANAHEIM -- Paul Skenes had walked the outfield dirt of Angel Stadium before, on Little League day growing up. He had caught batting-practice home runs in the right-field bleachers. He made plenty of trips to watch games, including in that window in 2023 between winning a College World Series and being drafted first overall by the Pirates.

But until Tuesday, he had never stepped foot on the actual playing field of his hometown team. After shagging fly balls in the outfield and interacting with fans in the stands, he got a look at how things are on the other side.

“I was just running in the outfield. It's the same as when I was growing up,” Skenes said with a smile before the Pirates opened a three-game set at the Big A. “The sun's right in your eyes when you're trying to catch balls in the stands during BP. … One of those things that you can't forget how cool it is, what we're doing.”

Skenes is an Orange County kid, growing up in Lake Forest, about half an hour from Angel Stadium. There are plenty of memories at this ballpark, whether it was being in attendance to watch Shohei Ohtani’s first home pitching start (Matt Chapman also went to Skenes’ high school, El Toro, and hooked the team up with tickets since the Athletics were in town) or sitting out in those bleachers a few days later when Ohtani sailed a majestic shot over his head.

“[I was a fan] until I got drafted,” Skenes said. “... I'd like to think I was the reason the Angels won the World Series [in 2002] because I was born that year. This was my team. Obviously grew up watching [Mike] Trout, Ohtani more recently, Erick Aybar, John Lackey, go through them. It's cool to be back.”

Unsurprisingly, Skenes was a big Trout fan growing up. Skenes was still a catcher and hitter instead of a pitcher at that point, and he remembers how “everybody tried to hit like him when we were growing up, but nobody could.”

The real surprise was that when Skenes finished his bullpen Tuesday, Trout was in the outfield, and the two had a chat. Nothing earth-shattering or any career advice from a future Hall of Famer to one of baseball’s hottest young stars. Just a chance to introduce himself to a childhood favorite.

“I was walking in from the bullpen, and I just looked up and saw him, so I was a little surprised to see him,” Skenes said. “Didn't tell him [I watched him growing up]. Maybe somebody told him that. I don't know. That was kind of a cool moment for me.”

While most people have dreams of playing in the Majors when they visit their hometown stadium growing up, that dream didn’t start to feel like a reality for Skenes until he went to Coors Field when he was with the Air Force. At Angel Stadium, he was just a fan.

The exception was that game he attended in 2023, just before being drafted.

“At that point it was like, 'All right. Here we go,’” Skenes said. “Not necessarily scouting or anything like that. It was a relatively recent thing for me when I realized that maybe I could play on the field with these guys. Now I'm here. It's pretty cool.”

The one downside for Skenes’ homecoming is he won’t actually get to pitch this series. His turn in the rotation won’t come up until the Pirates head up I-5 North to take on the Dodgers, and there will be plenty of family and friends waiting for him there.

“Gotta wait a couple more years to pitch at home,” Skenes said. “It is what it is, but I'll get another opportunity.”