It might have been a case of overthinking analytics.
Or maybe inside knowledge played a role.
But in any case, the pulling of Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes in the midst of a seven-inning no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers took many hardball fans by surprise, myself included.
Skenes had struck out 11 batters and was pulled after throwing ninety-nine pitches.
The LSU and Air Force Academy product and No. 1 overall pick in last year’s Major League Baseball Draft is off to a remarkable, if not already legendary, start to his professional career.
He is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA, including a Bob Gibson-like 1.14 ERA over his last six starts.
In fact, the last team to beat him was the University of Arkansas on May 23 of last year.
Among MLB pitchers with at least 50 innings so far this season, Skenes ranks second in ERA (to Reynaldo Lopez of the Atlanta Braves), second in average fastball velocity (99.1 mph, trailing only the Angels’ Jose Soriano at 99.2 mph), and second in strikeout percentage (34.9%, trailing only Dodgers trade target Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox at 35.2%).
So why pull him with a no-hitter going with a 1-0 lead (the game’s final score)?
It could have been a pitch count — analytics play an ever-increasing role in today’s world of professional athletics.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he made his decision based simply on his eyes.
“He was tired,” Shelton said. “It really didn’t have anything to do with the pitch count. Everybody makes it about pitch counts; it was about where he was at. It was about trusting your eyes, trusting him.
Which may have been true. But why take away the chance for Skenes, not to mention the Pirates in attendance, to become a part of history?
It is a debate that does not matter now.
But I do wonder now if Shelton already knew that the next morning Skenes would become part of baseball history by being tabbed as only the fifth rookie ever to be a starting pitcher at the MLB All-Star game, which will be played tonight in Arlington, Texas. Wanting to be sure Skenes would be fresh for an historic performance does make some sense.
NL manager Torey Lovullo of the Arizona Diamondbacks called it a no-brainer to start Skenes.
“Paul is everything right about this game,” Lovullo said Monday at Globe Life Field. “Youthfulness, his ability to balance what he’s had to go through this season, he does it with humility and he does it very, very well.”
As big as a Thursday afternoon no-hitter in Pittsburgh would have been, Skenes working the opening inning for the NL Tuesday, only giving up one walk while retiring the always dangerous Judge for his final out on the mound, might be much bigger and just as much historic as throwing no-hitter, if not more so, because it was before a nationally-televised audience.
I think it is likely we will see better TV ratings for an MLB All-Star Game last night than we’ve seen in years and years, simply because of Skenes making the start.
That is more than enough history for me already. It was fun to watch the rookie flamethrower in action, no matter the true reason behind last Thursday’s decision.
