Reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes pulled over to watch a Little League practice in Wexford, then stayed for hours—signing autographs, posing for photos, and answering questions—just before he was scheduled to face the Dodgers.
When Paul Skenes turned off Perry Highway and walked onto Vestal Field, the kids didn’t know what to think. It was around 7 p.m. on Monday. June 8 in Wexford—during warmups for tournament-season practice at Vestal Field outside of Pittsburgh—and a teammate’s guess that the Pirates ace was there met instant disbelief.
Anthony Greco, a 10-year-old third baseman, said his group “didn’t believe it at first” after someone pointed and claimed it was Skenes. But after they walked over and saw him, the mood shifted fast. Skenes didn’t just stop by for a photo. He spent time with the players for hours.
Two hours later, Anthony’s mom, Courtney, was picking him up, and there was Paul Skenes still on the field with the kids. “He just took all the time in the world to talk to them and answer questions,” Courtney said. “He signed autographs, he took pictures and just spent a lot of time with them.”
The timing made it even harder to dismiss. This was the night before Skenes was scheduled to face the defending World Series champion Dodgers at PNC Park.
Skenes had an off day—and used it with the coaches and players of the Ingomar Franklin Park Little League. The kids had pitching questions that landed in the real, practical details. One asked how he throws his splinker. Another asked how he can throw so hard all the time. Skenes shrugged and told the young pitchers to throw as hard as they could. He signed everything the kids put in front of him, posed for every picture, and stayed through the evening.
He showed up just after practice started around 7 p.m., and he did not leave until after 9:15 p.m.
Anthony said he went through the moment with a direct ask. “I had a ball, so I just asked him, ‘Can you sign it?’” he said with a laugh. Then, he added, “we got a picture after that.” He planned to frame both the signed ball and the photo, keeping them in his room.
The surprise didn’t end when the conversation slowed. Skenes arrived at the field while he was on the phone with his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne. Dunne—described as a former gymnast and current model and influencer—posted about it on social media. She wrote that she could believe her MLB boyfriend “is just a boy” for pulling over to watch a Little League practice.
Skenes also told the adults at the field why he stopped: he said he loves baseball, remembers being that age, and how much Little League meant to him.
Anthony said the moment carried a small but unmistakable reality that felt different from television. He said the All-Star was “taller and stronger” than he looks on TV.
By the time Courtney and the other families arrived, the story had already begun to spread beyond the field. It went viral quickly, reached the nightly news, and appeared across baseball social media through pictures and videos. Anthony’s dad, Chris—who runs the league—was fielding phone calls from newspapers and television reporters.
For the kids, though, the lasting impact was simpler and more personal. Anthony said he and his teammates were just experiencing what it felt like to have a real-life baseball star show up. “I couldn’t believe he was there. ” he said. adding that he assumed Skenes would have to practice because he was pitching Tuesday night. Instead, Skenes chose to be there.
Courtney put it the way the children likely felt it themselves: “To go to the field and see Paul Skenes, someone they look up to.”
She said the kids “just couldn’t stop talking about it,” and neither could anyone else once they heard the details.
From here on out, Anthony Greco and his teammates and family, he said, will never forget it—because for one night, before Dodgers game preparations and the next big stage, Little League had its own star moment at Vestal Field.
Paul Skenes Little League Vestal Field Wexford Pittsburgh Pirates Dodgers PNC Park Cy Young winner Livvy Dunne sports news MLB