Pirates’ Paul Skenes has self-deprecating reason for not calling his own pitches

After Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes had a scorching start against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, the pitcher has impressed immensely this season, though the process before the throw with the 23-year-old is interesting to say the least. As Skenes has been recording electric performances for the Pirates, he would reveal how he and the catcher communicate on pitches.Speaking to Pat McAfee on his self-titled show, Skenes would be asked who calls the pitches, which the California-native said is the catcher. The reason is that he is “too stupid,” as he claims to call his own pitches in hilarious form.“Yeah, catcher. I don't shake a ton, you know, I'm too stupid to call my own pitches, so I just let him do it. He's got my career in his hands every fifth day,” Skene said.Skenes would go through the process of how the various catchers on the team, like Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, and Joey Bart, call the game, as he goes with what they think.“Yeah, it's all him. Some teams are doing the, you know, from the dugout stuff, but we do it where Henry calls the game, and Joey and Endy and our other catchers, they all call the game for themselves,” Skenes said. "I don't shake off a ton of pitches.. I'm too stupid to call my own pitches 😂😂 My career is in his hands every fifth day"@Paul_Skenes #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/8ElolUhUgX — Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 15, 2026Pirates' Paul Skenes on communication with the catchers So far this season with the Pirates, Skenes has recorded a 1.98 ERA to go along with 56 strikeouts and a 6-2 record in nine starts. Skenes would even go into how conversations with the catcher go, or lack thereof, like in the case of a pitch not working.“I think a lot of the time it's not even a conversation, just because we see how it's going in the bullpen, we see how it is between innings during the game, you know, sometimes a pitch just sucks, so we just stop calling it, nothing really needs to be said then, so, but there's a lot of communication that goes into it,” Skenes said.Skenes looks to continue to impress with Pittsburgh, as his next scheduled start is set for Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies.After Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes had a scorching start against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, the pitcher has impressed immensely this season, though the process before the throw with the 23-year-old is interesting to say the least. As Skenes has been recording electric performances for the Pirates, he would reveal how he and the catcher communicate on pitches.