Ad Disclosure
Paul Skenes sets lofty fundraising goal for 2025 ahead of Opening Day start
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Paul Skenes is coming off his dominant debut season for the Pittsburgh Pirates after rolling to the National League Rookie of the Year award. The former LSU baseball star even finished 3rd in the NL Cy Young Award voting and will be Pittsburgh’s Opening Day starter.
Ahead of the start of the season, Skenes revealed he will continue working with the Gary Sinise Foundation and his fundraising efforts to help veterans, first responders and their families. Skenes has pledged to donate $100 for every single strikeout he amasses throughout the season with a goal of $100,000 and called on fans to join him the cause with a chance to earn a special meet and greet.
Here are the details:
To kick off this campaign, I will personally thank the individual that makes the largest donation between the launch of this campaign and the Pirates home opener on April 4. This individual will be thanked with a batting practice meet and greet and tickets to stay and enjoy the game.
The meet and greet experience is for a mutually agreeable game date during the 2025 season. In the event that there are multiple donors with tied donation amounts, up to two prizes will be awarded to the first two donors.
RELATED: The start of the MLB season is a great time to dive into Daily Fantasy Sports! Grab any of the top apps like PrizePicks and get started in time for Opening Day.
While that number might seem high, Skenes had a blistering 150 strikeouts during his rookie campaign — and it took the hard-throwing righty just 23 starts and 133 innings pitched to reach that mark. Provided he stays healthy, Skenes should blow past that number in a full season, especially with the hurler facing an innings limit at times last season.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
