PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes was driving down Perry Highway in Wexford, Pa., just past seven o’clock Monday night when the Pirates' superstar pitcher made a pit stop. He saw Vestal Field, home of the Ingomar Franklin Park Little League teams, and the lights were still on.
Skenes proceeded to make his way down to a park bench to watch the practice. When a few kids and parents noticed, he was quickly swarmed. Fast-forward over two hours later, and Skenes had signed countless autographs, posed for photographs and played catch with numerous young players.
“Seeing the smiles on the boys’ faces was just unbelievable,” said Eddie Dubis, an Ingomar coach and member of the board of directors who was in attendance. “They were totally starstruck, in awe of what happened.”
With a start against the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers at PNC Park looming on Tuesday night, Skenes prepared by returning to the setting where he first fell in love with the game: a Little League field.
“There's a lot of things that make [baseball] a business and it's work, it's a job for us for sure, but on some days more than others, you got to remember you love the game and why you started playing it in the first place. So, it was good for me to go and visit them,” Skenes said.
The Ingomar team, composed of 10- to 12-year-olds, recently wrapped up its rec season and were going through a typical Monday night practice in preparation for multiple summer tournaments coming up.
Skenes said he was bored, but then he saw the baseball field. He saw a full parking lot and circled while second-guessing if he should go or not. Skenes remembers meeting one of his favorite players, Angels outfielder Garret Anderson, when he was younger. When word began to spread of Skenes’ presence, the practices abruptly ended as everyone fixated on the 24-year-old pitcher.
“I'm not very good at being incognito,” Skenes joked. “Should have worn some sunglasses and a fake mustache.”
Ingomar Franklin Park Little League president Chris Greco was away for work in New York City, but his three boys and wife were at the fields when the madness ensued. He received a text from one of the other fathers in attendance.
Later that night, he spoke with his youngest son, 10-year-old Anthony, who was “flabbergasted” at meeting his idol. He struggled to get words out to explain to his father what happened, and Greco knew the 10-year-old would have a hard time sleeping.
Like many young baseball fans in the Pittsburgh region, Anthony wears Skenes’ jersey to every Pirates game and asks for signed memorabilia of his favorite player at every birthday and holiday. Greco said more kids played Little League baseball for Ingamor in 2026 than any other year he’d seen. He credits the correlation directly to Skenes’ stardom and the Pirates fielding an exciting team.
“To the kids here in Pittsburgh, he's the biggest thing in baseball by far. He is baseball,” Greco said.
Greco and Ingamor hope to keep the connection going past a one-time thing. They plan to make him a customized Ingomar jersey and send a care package over with more gear from the organization, which is run solely by volunteer parents like Greco and Dubis.
For Skenes, it was a simple decision to make the stop on Monday night.
“He just said he loves baseball, he's a baseball nut, he loves everything about the game, and he remembers being that age, and how special Little League baseball was to him when he was that age,” Dubis said.
After Skenes made his rounds, Dubis said the coaches offered him a beer for his time. Skenes had to decline. It was for good reason.
“‘Oh no, I can't,’” Skenes told the coaches. “‘I'm pitching against the Dodgers tomorrow.’”