PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes won the biggest award of his career yet and celebrated it with his favorite food.
Skenes won the National League Cy Young Award unanimously for his 2025 season, honoring the best pitcher in his league.
He took to Instagram afterwards and posted a selfie of him smiling with a hot dog, slathered in mustard and ketchup, with the caption, “Sweet action.”
Paul Skenes and His Love of Hot Dogs
Skenes has recently indulged in his love of hot dogs this offseason, purchasing a new hot dog roller.
The hot dog roller Skenes purchased is a VEVOR hot dog roller, with seven rollers, capable of cooking 18 hot dogs simultaneously. There are two knobs on the front of the hot dog roller that control the temperature of the front and back of the hot dog roller and there is also a top shelf that has space for the hot dog buns.
Skenes purchased the hot dog roller for his girlfriend Livvy Dunne’s new home in Jupiter, Fla., back in early October
Livvy Dunne Posts Boyfriend and Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Paul Skenes’ Hot Dog Roller Before the Cy Young Award Announcement. | Livvy Dunne on Instagram
Skenes Dominates on Dollar Dog Nights in 2025
Of all the ballpark staples, the hot dog is one of, if not the, most important cuisines that every ballpark in the United States has to offer.
PNC Park offers Pirates fans “Dollar Dog nights” where fans can purchase a hot dog for a dollar, leading to them buying and eating many hot dogs, generally upwards of 15,000 to 20,000.
Skenes, himself, pitched on the last two dollar dog nights at PNC Park this season, putting in two great outings.
He gave up seven hits against the Cincinnati Reds in the series opener on Aug. 7, but worked out of some jams and threw six scoreless innings, posting eight strikeouts in the 7-0 win. Fans consumed 20,547 hot dogs by the top of the ninth inning that game.
Aug 7, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Skenes dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the series finale on Sept. 4, allowing just two hits and a walk, while posting eight strikeouts over six innings in a 5-3 win.
2025 Season Marks Skenes’ Best Yet
Skenes had just a 10-10 record in 32 starts with the Pirates, but a 1.97 ERA over 187.2 innings pitched, 216 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .199 opposing batting average and a 0.95 WHIP, along with a 10.36 K/9, a 2.01 BB/9 and a 5.14 K/BB.
He ranked amongst the best pitchers in the MLB, with the lowest ERA, tied for the fourth-most strikeouts, the fourth-lowest WHIP, the sixth-lowest batting average and the 10th-most innings pitched, plus the fifth-best K/BB, seventh-best K/9 and ninth-best BB/9.
His play made him the starting pitcher for the NL in the All-Star Game, becoming the first pitcher to start consecutive All-Star games in the first two seasons in the MLB.
He was the first NL pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and 200+ strikeouts since right-hander Jacob DeGrom did it with the New York Mets in 2018. He is the first MLB pitcher to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA in a season since right-hander Justin Verlander did so with the Houston Astros in 2022.
Skenes became the first pitcher in MLB history to finish with 200+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA and still not have a winning record, since ERA became a stat in 1913.
Jul 6, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) smiles as he walks off the field during the third inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
He was the first qualified pitcher to post a sub-2.00 ERA in a season at 23 years or younger, since right-hander Dwight Gooden did so at age 20 with the Mets in 1985.
Skenes also made Pirates history, with his 216 strikeouts the most for a right-handed pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920). Only Ed Morris, who had 326 strikeouts in 1886 and 298 strikeouts in 1885, the most and second-most in a season in franchise history, has more than him.
His 216 strikeouts rank seventh-most in a season in franchise history and fifth-most in the live-ball era.
Skenes is just one of three Pirates pitchers that led the MLB in ERA, with right-hander John Candelaria last doing so in 1977 and right-hander Cy Blanton doing it first in 1935.
He also earned other accolades for his play, with Baseball Digest naming him their Pitcher of the Year, the MLB Players Association Choice Awards naming him the NL Outstanding Pitcher of the Year and Sporting News naming Skenes to their All-Star team.
Skenes will hope for more success like the one he had in 2025, which will surely result in more delicious, celebratory hot dogs.