2025 Cy Younger Award winner and two-time MLB All-Star Paul Skenes traded the mound for the Drive-Through in West Palm Seaside on Thursday morning, stepping behind the counter at Elevating Cane’s to serve those that’ve served our nation. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching phenom spent the day handing out Field Combos to veterans earlier than accepting a $500,000 donation to the Gary Sinise Basis on their behalf. The milestone second capped off a whirlwind 24 hours for the 23-year-old, who celebrated his unanimous Cy Younger victory by giving again fairly than partying. Skenes lately teamed up with Elevating Cane’s for its Veterans Day marketing campaign, serving to to boost funds for the nonprofit based by actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise. The group helps veterans, first responders, and their households by housing, aid applications, and group outreach.
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Elevating Cane’s Donates $500,000 As Paul Skenes Works A ‘Shift’ Serving Veterans
Throughout a press convention earlier than clocking in, Skenes informed media, together with The Blast, that partnering with Elevating Cane’s and the Gary Sinise Basis felt deeply significant. “This partnership is particular. Cane’s is a family title, so for them to be prepared to associate with the Gary Sinise Basis could be very selfless,” Skenes mentioned. He added that baseball struggles “aren’t adversity” in comparison with the challenges confronted by America’s service members, noting that supporting them “actually places issues in perspective.”
In keeping with Skenes, the $500,000 donation can be used “very instantly to assist veterans, from constructing homes to placing on occasions for veterans and their children, fallen troopers and airmen.”
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His Army Background Formed The Man (And Athlete) He Is Immediately
Skenes’ deep connection to the army started lengthy earlier than his MLB days. As a former Air Drive cadet, his years within the academy formed each his character and self-discipline.
“The Air Drive Academy and the army as a complete is constructed round a couple of key ideas… one among them is ‘the way you do every part is the way you do something,'” Skenes mentioned, explaining that the atmosphere taught him to strategy each a part of life with objective. “The 2 years I spent there, I obtained higher as an individual and as a baseball participant.”
That ethos, he says, is why giving again to veterans is non-negotiable.
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Paul Skenes Breaks Down His Off-Season Mindset After Cy Younger Victory
Contemporary off his Cy Younger win, Skenes is not easing up. “I am celebrating the Cy Younger Award by getting again to work!” he mentioned. “I do know I am not a completed product… I am simply determining methods to get higher.”
Skenes defined that this low season will concentrate on figuring out what the Pirates want and refining the “how,” the day-to-day self-discipline that results in successful baseball. “We’re at all times speaking, texting, and capturing concepts forwards and backwards,” he mentioned of his teammates. “The work has obtained to get accomplished.”
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Why Skenes And Cane’s Are A Pure Pair, And How Livvy Dunne Suits In
Paul Skenes and Elevating Cane’s share deep Louisiana roots. The chain’s first-ever restaurant opened throughout from LSU’s North Gates, the identical campus the place Skenes led the Tigers to the 2023 Faculty World Sequence title. After that historic win, Skenes and coach Jay Johnson labored a celebratory “shift” at Cane’s flagship location, kicking off a years-long relationship.
His girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, an LSU legend in her personal proper, Sports activities Illustrated Swimsuit mannequin, and the most-followed faculty athlete within the nation, additionally partnered with the model this 12 months for her first-ever non-NIL and solely QSR deal. Collectively, Skenes and Dunne have shaped a detailed friendship with Elevating Cane’s proprietor and founder, Todd Graves, one which goes far past campaigns.
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“It was nice having my good buddy Paul out to Cane’s immediately,” Graves mentioned. “Paul and I each share a ardour for giving again and supporting our nation’s veterans… Paul is a good man each on and off the sphere and had an ideal season. I’ve beloved following his journey from successful the Faculty World Sequence to now unanimously successful the coveted Cy Younger Award.”
Paul Skenes Addresses Viral Cy Younger Response, 5,000-Calorie Rumors, And His Go-To Cane’s Order
Throughout the press convention, Paul Skenes additionally opened up about a couple of lighter viral moments, together with his now-famous Cy Younger Awards response. Followers joked that his animated celebration was an enormous departure from final 12 months’s extra subdued rookie-year second, and Skenes took the web chatter in stride. “Individuals are having enjoyable with it,” he mentioned. “I am not a reaction-heavy individual… however it was enjoyable.”
He additionally addressed the broadly circulated rumor that he eats 5,000 energy a day to keep up peak efficiency. “It is up there,” Skenes admitted with a smile. “I eat quite a bit, however it’s nearer to three,000 or 3,500, not 5,000.”
And with regards to Elevating Cane’s, the Cy Younger winner did not hesitate to call his go-to order: the Caniac Combo. “Simply give me probably the most meals potential,” he joked.
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Skenes Proves His Largest Wins Occur Off the Discipline
Paul Skenes might have simply secured one among baseball’s largest honors, however Thursday’s occasion confirmed the place his coronary heart really lies, and that’s honoring those that serve.
From his Air Drive roots to his booming MLB profession and his long-standing bond with Elevating Cane’s, Skenes continues to make use of his platform for objective.
And in West Palm Seaside, the Cy Younger champ proved that the very best victories lengthen far past the diamond.
