Paul Skenes has got a chance.
My new friend Victoria, in control of the remote and much more behind the bar, was kind enough Monday evening to turn the channel at Antoon’s in Natchitoches to the telecast of the Pittsburgh Pirates (let’s not kid ourselves, of Paul Skenes pitching) against the Cincinnati Reds in a National League Central contest that otherwise was of muted interest to anyone, even hard-core Bucco and Redlegs fans.
Other channel options: the College World Series, Kentucky vs. Texas A&M. The NBA Finals. And I mean final. Did anyone outside of Dallas fanatics doubt the Celtics were closing it out tonight? The poor 10 p.m. newscast production team at KTBS knew they’d wait an hour later than normal for ABC to finish commemorating the Boston victory.
We watched that postgame overkill. Kind of. Not like I watched Skenes carve up Cincinnati, just as he’s handled every other professional baseball team, minors or bigs, since leaving Omaha last summer after anchoring LSU’s run to the College World Series championship.
It’s something extremely rare in MLB history. Combine that with the fact that Skenes is forever tangled up in purple and gold, so there were no protests from the Antoon’s audience when Victoria dialed in Pirates-Reds as the fifth inning began. She knew. We all did, too.
Paul Skenes is something very special. You don’t have to dive down the rabbit hole of metrics and MLB statistics to know that. You see it. You’ve seen it when he threw laser beams for Jay Johnson at LSU.
Has he done enough, right now, to rank among the legends of the game? Not yet. He’s phenomenal, yes. But longevity enters in the legends discussion.
Another LSU phenom, Mondo Duplantis, does rank among the all-time greats in his sport, track and field. He has longevity even at the age of 24, having been a world champion since he was 15, and owning seven different world-record clearances in the pole vault. The Lafayette native has been over the bar at 20-feet, 5 ¼ inches, higher than any other human.
Duplantis owns 12 gold medals in international competition, including Olympic gold in 2020 in Tokyo, and is the prohibitive favorite to win the crown at this summer’s Paris Olympics. He competes for his mother’s home country, Sweden, because the Swedes have a selection process, not Olympic Trials where with one bad day, dreams die hard.
Mondo’s already a world legend, no phenom, with Louisiana roots. Skenes has Louisiana ties, a tremendous LSU resume, and if he keeps on track, he will soon rank among the best ever with LSU ties to play in the big leagues, joining the likes of local legends Albert Belle and Todd Walker.
Which brings me to this week’s showcase in Natchitoches, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 inductions. Belle and Walker have enjoyed their well-earned turns in the induction spotlight.
This year’s festivities kick off Thursday with a 3 p.m. press conference live streamed on LaSportsHall.com, and include a Thursday evening free reception (5-7) at the Hall of Fame museum, where the curtain will come up on a wonderful new exhibit of Pete Maravich photos from his extraordinary days at LSU. Showtime, indeed.
There’s a Friday evening riverfront concert – free again – with Louisiana Music Hall of Fame bands, and after 9:15 introductions of the Class of 2024, a sports-themed fireworks show over Cane River Lake downtown.
Saturday’s induction ceremony is sold out, nearly 800 patrons at the Natchitoches Events Center. You can watch a free live stream at LPB.org, or dial it up afterwards, then on July 11, enjoy a two-hour recap show on LPB channels statewide.
Years from now, Paul Skenes will almost certainly be one of the inductees in our state’s sports hall. Mondo Duplantis, the way I see it, is already assured of that status. But way before then, this weekend, 12 people, many who you have heard plenty about, are going to officially take their place among Louisiana’s greatest sports heroes.
We get to do this every summer. But never should we take it for granted. There are a dozen taking their place in our state’s sports elite. They came from a ballot of nearly 160 nominees from 28 different sports categories. Since 1958, just 492 have been chosen.
That’s reason to celebrate. Hope you’ll join the party this weekend.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com