Paul Skenes is one of three cover athletes on MLB The Show 25, but the Pittsburgh Pirates ace won’t be one of the many people who actually play the popular video game. While he is dominant on the mound in real life, Skenes says he isn’t quite as good in the virtual world.
Skenes was recently on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” and he was asked about being on the cover of MLB The Show 25. The NL Rookie of the Year said he would log in once and put down the controller after that.
“I’ll probably go in, log in, get my card and log back out,” Skenes said. “I’m not a video game guy.”
MLB The Show 25 cover athletes: Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson to be featured together
Chris Bengel
In a bit of an ironic twist, Skenes admitted he doesn’t have the “finger dexterity” necessary to play video games at a high level. Instead of frustrating himself, Skenes just avoids them altogether.
“I hate it,” Skenes said. “It’s the worst. I don’t have the finger dexterity to press the right buttons at the right times, so I just don’t do it.”
Skenes will just have to take solace in being one of the best young pitchers in baseball. In 23 starts last season, Skenes posted a 1.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts and a 0.947 WHIP.
Maybe with a little practice, he could hit those numbers virtually, too.
