Perrotto: Paul Skenes Becoming Modern-Day Ralph Kiner

Ralph Kiner is not the greatest player in Pittsburgh Pirates’ history.

That distinction belongs to Honus Wagner. You could also make a case for Roberto Clemente and Paul Waner, though, in my mind, neither was accomplished as The Flying Dutchman.

As far as the most popular player in Pirates’ history, it might have been Kiner.

I never met anyone who was around when Wagner played, though I’d assume he was likely very popular, especially with his local roots as a Carnegie native. I don’t think he had Renegade as his walk-up song at Forbes Field when he came to bat, though.

Clemente, frankly, is more popular in death than he was when alive. It was a different time when Clemente played, and many fans did not embrace a player from a foreign country with an accent. His popularity rose after he died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve in 1972 while on a humanitarian mission.

Kiner, though, was beloved during his seven seasons with the Pirates from 1947-53. He was a bright spot on some bad teams, had plenty of charisma, and dated famous actresses and athletes.

And he hit home runs. As former Pirates marketing chief Steve Greenberg told me many years ago, fans come to the ballpark to see home runs.

Kiner hit 301 home runs for the Pirates, and the fans came to watch him at Forbes Field. The Pirates drew over one million fans in four consecutive seasons from 1947-50 despite the team finishing with records of 62-92, 83-71, 71-83, and 59-96. The only time the Pirates came close to a pennant in that span was 1948, when they finished 12 games over .500 but 8.5 games behind the National League-winning Boston Braves.

To put into perspective what drawing one million fans meant, the Pirates had never done it before 1947 or again until 1958.

Which leads to the current-day Pirates and Paul Skenes. With all due respect to Andrew McCutchen, Skenes is the Pirates’ most popular player.

Walk around inside or outside PNC Park on a gameday and you’ll see more Skenes jerseys and shirts than anyone else. When the Pirates had a Skenes bobblehead day in April, the line to receive the souvenir stretched all around PNC Park and over the Clemente Bridge.

So, what do Kiner and Skenes have in common? The Pirates wasted Kiner’s prime and are doing the same with Skenes.

Skenes pitched five scoreless innings Friday against the Cubs in Chicago. Not his greatest outing of the season, to be sure.

However, it was good enough for Skenes to get credit for a win. Instead, he did not factor in the decision as the Pirates eked out a 2-1 victory in 10 innings.

Skenes’ ERA dropped to 1.78 through 15 starts this season, yet his record remains 4-6. It is hard to fathom that Skenes’ record is two games under .500 with an ERA that low.

It almost seems like a problem from Algebra II class: How does a pitcher dominate nearly every time out and have a losing record?

The Pirates have gone 7-8 when Skenes pitches this season, even though he has allowed two runs or fewer in 13 of his 15 outings.

Skenes has made 38 major-league starts since debuting last season. His record is just 15-9 despite a 1.89 ERA. He has yielded two runs or fewer 32 times – 84 percent of his starts.

Kiner eventually made it to the Hall of Fame. Skenes could, too, though it seems his chances would be a lot better if he didn’t play for the Pirates.