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After seeing what the Americans did in Milan during the Winter Olympics, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes hopes Team USA can continue its dominance at the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Skenes is on the WBC roster, which begins March 5, representing Team USA alongside some of America’s best, like Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and Tarik Skubal.
Skenes knows how well the United States did at the Milan Cortina Games, in which it won a record 12 gold medals, including gold medals for the men’s and women’s hockey teams against Canada in overtime.
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Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training at Pirate City on February 12, 2026, in Bradenton, Florida. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Skenes was asked about the United States’ current push toward the WBC.
“Yeah, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, all the gold medals we won in the Olympics,” he said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We are America. We must assert our dominance over everyone. This is what we do.
“It’s going to be fun. If the U.S. wins, that’s what we do. We’ve got to keep it up.”
The roster for Team USA will be interesting, however, as Skubal, the Detroit Tigers’ reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, will only make one start before returning to spring training with his team.
Skenes should start multiple times, but there is one caveat. Team USA needs to go deeper in the tournament before they can pitch again.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes stands for the national anthem before a game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on September 15, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
Skenes explained to The Athletic his reasoning for wanting to play for Team USA.
“We do it to represent the men and women who fight for us, as well as many other things that make this country the greatest country in the world. It puts things in perspective a little bit,” Skenes, who was thinking about a military career while playing for the Air Force before transferring to LSU, told the outlet.
He added that seeing Judge, the reigning AL MVP, answer the call to play for the country also adds to his desire to help the United States achieve victory against international talent like Japan and the Dominican Republic.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the second inning against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, September 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)
Skenes is coming off a NL Cy Young Award win in 2025, which included a 1.97 ERA in 32 starts with 216 strikeouts for the Pirates.
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