It wasn’t so long ago that the Pittsburgh Pirates had an ace, a 1-1 draft pick standing tall and dominant on the mound. I was there that warm fall evening in 2015 at PNC Park when that ace, Gerrit Cole , gave up two homers — including one to Kyle Schwarber , of course — and lost a pitching duel to Jake Arrieta. Advertisement It was that long ago the Pirates had a one-of-one superstar.
I was in my living room that fall evening in 1992 when left fielder Barry Bonds couldn’t throw out Sid Bream and the Braves ended the Pirates’ last chance for a return to the World Series. Bonds left for wealth, fame and eventually infamy in San Francisco. Now, the Pirates have both an ace and a superstar in Paul Skenes , who is, somehow, the All-Star Game starting pitcher as a rookie.
They’ve come a long way from Bryan Bullington and Daniel Moskos. As Skenes takes the mound in Arlington, Texas, I will be in my living room watching once again, a gray-haired man with teenage memories. "It's been surreal.
.. I've really had the opportunity to think about what it's going to be like to be here and be with all these guys.
" – @Pirates All-Star Paul Skenes on a whirlwind rookie season culminating tomorrow in the #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/bc4kU8Z12B — MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 15, 2024 If we are all defined by the teams we loved when we were 13 years old, then I remain that young Pirates fan haunted by Francisco Cabrera.
I cover baseball for a living now, which means my fandom is .