Baseball fans who happen to be Baby Boomers will likely recall the hysteria surrounding pitcher Mark (The Bird) Fidrych in 1976. Ditto for Fernando Valenzuela in 1981. More recently, Steven Strasbourg of the Washington Nationals came into the majors with a Cy Young future almost guaranteed. In 2024, we’re saying hello to the newest member of that pitching phenom club, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The careers of Fidrych, Valenzuela and Strasbourg hardly turned them into Hall of Famers, but Pirates’ fans are hoping the same doesn’t hold true for Skenes, who has been setting the National League on fire as a first-year player and gained the celebratory role of starting pitcher in the recent midseason all-star game.

Fidrych, who started the all-star game in 1976 after exploding onto the American League scene as a rookie, fizzled out after he posted a rookie-season record of 19-9. He told reporters he talked to himself before every pitch, but reporters suggested he was talking to the ball, adding a layer of mythology to his talent. He played only four more years in the majors and had a ho-hum career record of 29-19.

Valenzuela was a 20-year-old rookie with the Dodgers in 1981 and finished that year with eight shutouts, although his win-loss numbers (13-7) were hardly overwhelming. His career lasted longer than Fidrych’s, but a 157-137 career record didn’t come close to screaming ‘Hall of Fame.’ Strasbourg came into the majors with a can’t-miss label, but he was hardly spectacular. He won 15 games on three occasions and his best year, 2019, when he went 18-6, was also his last as a regular. He started eight games over the next three seasons, posting a 1-4 record, and retired due to a nerve and blood disorder that required surgery to remove a rib and two neck muscles.

And now there’s the fire balling Skenes. In 11 starts this year prior to the all-star game, Skenes and his ‘splinter’ — a combination splitter/ sinker — has confounded NL hitters. He had a 6-0 record going into the midsummer classic and in two of his starts, May 17 vs. the Cubs and July 11 vs. Milwaukee, he pitched six- and seven-inning no-hitters respectively, but was pulled for pitch-count reasons. He had given up only 48 hits in 66 innings but compiled a whopping 89 strikeouts and only 13 walks. His nohitter days await. Skenes didn’t disappoint during his short stint as the all-star game starter. He went the traditional one inning, throwing strikes on 11 of his 16 pitches and giving up no hits and one walk. The rookie flash is on the verge of joining Shohei Ohtani as the face of baseball, and might soon compare well with LeBron James, Connor McDavid, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Mahomes as major sports icons.

Half a season of sensational play didn’t ultimately pay off for Fidrych, but baseball fans in general and Pirates’ fans in particular are hoping to watch Skenes stymie MLB hitters for many years to come.

 • Late baseball great Ted Williams, as reported by Jack Finarelli at sportscurmudgeon.com: “If you don’t think too good, don’t think too much.”

• Headline from onion.com: “Caitlin Clark Supplements Rookie Salary By Taking Adjunct Professor Of Basketball Job”

• RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “Jay Cutler said his spouse, Kristin Cavallari, urged him to end retirement and quarterback the Dolphins. Not the first guy told by his wife to take a hike.”

• New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick, who said soon-to-be Fox analyst Tom Brady was getting advice from NBC’s Cris Collinsworth: “That’s like taking singing lessons from Yoko Ono.”

• Vancouver comedy guy Torben Rolfsen: “The Colombia-Uruguay semi-final game (at the COPA tournament) needed 45 minutes of stoppage time due to fake injuries.”

• Rolfsen again: “Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back their ‘Core Four’ again. Meanwhile, word in Vegas is their fans are getting restless about their Stanley Cup drought.”

• Bob Molinaro of pilotonline.com (Hampton, Va.), after the MLB all-star game: “Baseball can now return its All-Star uniforms to the softball teams they borrowed them from.”

• Another one from Molinaro: “WNBA stalwart Diana Taurasi reportedly has recovered from a lower leg ailment in time to compete in her sixth Olympics. Her return saves the U.S. selection committee the trouble of thinking up another excuse for keeping Caitlin Clark off the team.”

• Headline at fark.com, downplaying the ability of Peyton Manning’s nephew, Arch Manning, who enters college with more hype than almost any quarterback in memory: “Texas will need both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning this season. One to play quarterback, the other to bring water to Quinn Ewers.”

• Another fark.com offering, after the mayor of Paris swam in the Seine River to soothe fears about its cleanliness: “Now I want to see the mayor of NYC jump into the East River.”

Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca