Paul Skenes is an interesting individual. He’s tall, towering over folks at 6-foot-6. One would easily assume that he seems to have an imposing presence about him. It’s interesting to see the way a crowded, busy chicken tender restaurant in South Florida (packed full of journalists and social media influencers) quickly quiets down when he enters the room.
You can probably chalk some of that up to the fact that said folks in said restaurant were waiting for his arrival.
He was, after all, the central figure in Thursday afternoon’s event, hosted and promoted by Raising Cane’s and benefitting the Gary Sinise Foundation.
Skenes, fresh off of a dominant season full of strikeouts and a Cy Young award (what feels like will be his first of several with the way his very young career is going and how solid he is while on the mound) sure seemed prepared to greet some veterans, work behind the counter and in the drive thru window, and discuss the $500,000 that he and the folks over at Raising Cane’s helped raise to present to the Gary Sinise Foundation for the work they do to support for veterans.
As Skenes notes, the connection that he has with Todd Graves, the entrepreneur and CEO of Raising Cane’s, has helped make a fair bit of this possible.
Todd Graves and Raising Cane’s have done a great job of fostering connections and giving back
“Yeah, it’s huge, that’s what it’s all about,” Skenes explained. “I had a conversation with Todd at one of the football games this year and he said one of his goals, if not his main goal, is to donate as much money to charity as possible.”
And I think this is a cause that plenty of folks can get behind. Plus, as the Cy Young Award-winning pitcher straightforwardly explained, partnerships like this certainly make charitable pushes possible.
“This is a pretty logical way to do that,” Skenes continued. “I’m glad that they reached out to us for the partnership and I’m glad that we were able to make it happen.”
Skenes, who was once a remarkably successful pitcher for both the Air Force Falcons and the LSU Tigers (the latter of whom he won a College World Series with in 2023), was able to quickly establish a connection with Graves while with the Tigers.
And as it turns out, it’s not a bad thing to have a connection with a motivated businessman who seems eager to connect with athletes and communities across the country and to use his restaurants as the focal point for events like this.
That partnership between Skenes and Graves has gone beyond just connections to LSU athletics and is now benefitting veterans’ causes.
It’s a fascinating thing to see unfold.
And it’s also fascinating to see Skenes field questions from reporters during a press conference.
Paul Skenes’ reactions to reporters asking about his reactions might be my new favorite thing
From what I saw in my limited interaction with him, Skenes handles questions in a direct and even-keel manner. There was no real emotional rise or fall from him as he answered things.
Everything seemed measured, but nothing seemed manufactured.
I’d certainly be willing to bet that the 23-year-old has had some media training, but when he was asked about the way he was seen responding to winning the Cy Young Award (and the way it contrasted with his reaction to winning the Rookie of the Year last season), he shrugged things off with a semi-wry chuckle and then made it a point to discuss the way that media members often catch athletes at odd times.
“I don’t know, it’s tough, I won the national championship at LSU and right when you get done they stick a microphone in your face,” Skenes said with a smile.
And it’s fair. He continued to explain the sort of interesting emotional dynamic that athletes go through and how it can be tricky to know how to react for people who aren’t close to you in moments that are incredibly emotional.
“It’s like a running joke,” Skenes continued. “You get high school players and college players, they go to the draft and they get picked in the first round, first overall or whatever. The most emotional moment of your life and they stick a mic in your face. So it’s always weird to have these things on live television, because you know, I’m not a reactionary person. I’m just kind of like, it is what it is. So we had rehearsed a couple of times and then you get in the moment and it’s just like ‘sweet’ so, I don’t know.”
That sort of awareness is something I find to be refreshing and it makes Skenes seem that much more approachable and this event seem that much more important.
He seemed a little tired (which, to be fair, he did just win a Cy Young Award after just his second MLB season). It’s been a little over two years since he helped the LSU Tigers win a College World Series. He was certainly polite, engaging, and alert, but I’m not convinced the 23-year-old loves the limelight.
Based off of the extremely limited interaction that I had with him (take my perceptions for what they’re worth, which may not be much), you could certainly and easily convince me that he’d much rather support the Gary Sinise Foundation from behind the scenes.
And again, that’s what makes this particular event that much more interesting to me.
Raising Cane’s does such a phenomenal job of integrating marketing and PR efforts into these events and they approach everything in such a comprehensive manner. I’ve been consistently impressed by all of the effort that goes into making these things possible, from seeing them both in person and from afar.
They’re part celebration full of incredible hospitality and a ton of energy. They’re part press conference. They’re part marketing push to get content captured for internal purposes. It’s an impressive thing to witness and I’m grateful to have had the chance to be there.
It’s a lot to take in all in a small period of time. I say that as a guy who wasn’t the central figure for the event. I can imagine that it’s a lot of energy expended for folks who are the central figures.
And for a guy like Skenes, who certainly seems relaxed (and maybe a bit reserved), I certainly can appreciate the way that this all turned out.
Right alongside Raising Cane’s, Skenes helped raise a lot of money for a worthwhile cause, he gave back to those who served in the military, and he juggled a variety of questions from media members.
Plus, he gave me my favorite press conference soundbite in quite some time:
“I eat a lot,” Skenes said.
Which, you know, I can relate with.
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