ANAHEIM — Paul Skenes believes he has a special connection with the Angels.
“I like to think I was the reason the Angels won the World Series, because I was born that year,” Skenes said with a smile.
Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 23-year-old pitching sensation, was enjoying his first day as a major leaguer back at Angel Stadium, where he saw countless games as a young Angels fan.
“I grew up watching (Mike) Trout, (Shohei) Ohtani more recently,” Skenes said on Tuesday. “Erick Aybar. John Lackey. Go through them. It’s cool to be back.”
Skenes said two of the most memorable games he attended were in 2018, when Ohtani was in his first days with the Angels. Skenes said he was at Ohtani’s first home start as a pitcher in April 2018. Ohtani took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in that game against the then-Oakland A’s. Skenes said his family got tickets from A’s third baseman Matt Chapman, who was also a product of El Toro High.
A couple of days later, Skenes returned and saw Ohtani at the plate.
“He hit a ball about 470, over our heads in right field,” Skenes said.
All of this nostalgia would have had even more meaning for Skenes if he were pitching in this series. He’s instead scheduled to pitch on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
The Angels don’t mind that they’re missing Skenes, who has a 2.87 ERA in his first five starts this season after winning National League Rookie of the Year honors and finishing third in NL Cy Young Award voting with a 1.96 ERA last season.
“If he’s on the rotation to pitch, I’m looking forward to it,” Angels manager Ron Washington said with a chuckle. “He’s not on the rotation to pitch. I’m looking forward to it.”
Skenes has become one of baseball’s biggest stars after playing just one season in the majors. After playing at El Toro, he attended the Air Force Academy and then LSU, before being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.
His trip to Angel Stadium allowed him the opportunity to meet a former phenom who was one of his early heroes. Trout made his major league debut when Skenes was 9.
Skenes chatted with Trout during early batting practice on Tuesday.
“It was pretty cool to meet him,” Skenes said. “Got to spend a little bit of time with him.”