You can certainly bet on never catching Paul Skenes doing nothing. A few days ago, he joined volunteer first responders at the Monroeville Public Safety Center to serve meals and help provide equipment grants. A week later, he achieved what only a few pitchers in MLB history have done—finishing a season with an ERA below 2.00. You expect him to celebrate after that? Well, he did celebrate, but in his own way.

He threw six scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, and the 23-year-old finished his second season in the majors with a 1.97 ERA. With that, he became the first pitcher of his age to do so since Dwight Gooden in 1985.

After finishing up his Cy Young worthy season, he was found groundskeeping in the stadium while listening to music. It happens to be something Paul Skenes truly enjoys.

Back in July, ahead of his crucial game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pirates’ ace was captured chatting with the grounds crew. He stayed there for more than 20 minutes and later went on to secure a 1-0 win against the Cardinals.

When asked after that game about it, Paul Skenes revealed that he would indeed love to cut grass professionally one day, whenever the baseball days are behind him. Looks like his post-retirement plan includes being a landscaper. He certainly wouldn’t mind making a living out of it.

However, speaking of his latest gesture of groundskeeping, it came after the Pirates lost 2-1 to the Reds. It marked Pittsburgh’s 90th loss of the season. Still, Skenes delivered a stellar start. After which he said, “It gives us a taste of what’s ahead for us. The atmosphere is just electric. I wasn’t out there most of the game after I came out [of the game], but just watching, it was unbelievable. Hopefully, we have that in Pittsburgh next year.” A lot of work is required to be done in order to achieve that.

Thursday’s loss was just a reminder to the Pirates of the same. Meanwhile, Pirates fans who have certainly lost hope in the team are now putting all their focus on Paul Skenes.

Paul Skenes’ groundskeeping gesture invited mixed reactions

After Thursday’s outing, Paul Skenes wasn’t happy with his performance of the season. In the postgame media appearance, he said, “I’m worse than last year. It was 1.96 in 2024; now it’s 1.97. I just have to be better”—that’s almost insane coming from a generational arm. It could be a possibility that Skenes said that jokingly but nothing can change the fact that he’s the league’s favorite hurler at the moment.

Skenes’ gesture somehow reminded fans of the Pirates and their ownership approach. “Sucks he’s stuck with that horrible organization… he should be pitching on the big stage.” It’s been said the entire season that Paul Skenes deserves to be playing with a contending team. Another season has come to an end and for the Pirates, it means nothing less than another season of Cancun jokes instead of making it to the playoffs.

With a 69-89 record, they’ve drawn insane backlash for wasting Skenes’ prime years. “His talent is wasted playing for the Pirates! Trade him to a contender.” Another fan quipped. Holding a 1.97 ERA with 187.2 innings pitched and a 0.95 WHIP, he would rather fit in a contending team like the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Paul Skenes truly does it all. It certainly didn’t go unnoticed by the ones who have followed him all along. “The guy truly just wants to do manual labor. Baseball is just a side quest.” After all, this was the second time he was found groundskeeping. It’s rare to see a generational phenomenon do so.

Another fan noted, “You can tell Skenes is the type of dude that will cut his own lawn after retirement until he can’t walk anymore. BIG DAD energy!!!” That’s true! He admitted back in July, while speaking with Noah Hills, that he would love to be a landscaper when his baseball days are over. He is currently the leading candidate for the National League Cy Young Award. And guess what?

He could become the third Pirates player to win it, joining the historic company of Vernon Law (1960) and Doug Drabek (1990). Despite it all, his calm demeanor and grounded nature are something that win more hearts than any other historic feat.

Still, at some point, the general consensus among fans is that Pirates owner Bob Nutting needs to build a better team around Skenes. A team that builds a roster around their once-in-a-lifetime kind of player. “Bob needs to back up the Brinks truck for Paul and commit to pieces around the pitching staff. He will make all of that money back as fans will show the support if they believe they are truly committed to winning.” Pirates aren’t known for spending big on their players. It’ll surely be interesting to see the franchise’s moves in the coming offseason.