It is clear who’s the biggest fan of Paul Skenes—Olivia Dunne, the girlfriend of the MLB star. The two have been really supportive of each other’s sports careers, and every time there’s a milestone in either of their careers, they celebrate it together. Skenes was awarded the NL Rookie of the Year after completing his terrific rookie season in the MLB as a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The announcement was made by the Baseball Writer’s Association of America on Monday, and everybody close to the baseball star celebrated this accolade, including Dunne.

Olivia also mentioned her boyfriend’s favorite rookie moment in the sport, which took place at a rival team’s home ground. Paul Skenes was a wonder in the 2024 season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Olivia has been supporting him since the moment he was drafted into the team. It has been an exciting journey for both of them ever since; the gymnast loves to watch her boyfriend compete in the league, and he just adores the support he gets from her. Dunne also confessed that there’s been a ton of moments that define Skenes’ rookie career, but there’s this one moment that she can rank as being at the top of the list.

“My favorite moment was when he pitched for the first time at Wrigley Field. I wasn’t there, but I was screaming on my phone, jumping up and down. I was so excited,” said the gymnast, as seen on MLB’s official Instagram profile. Dunne was candid about her boyfriend’s rookie season – there were surely a lot of moments, but his first pitch at the Chicago Cubs’ home ground was her favorite. Even though she wasn’t present at that time, she had this cluster of emotions going through her. Furthermore, the gymnast explained this, stating, “He did amazing. It was like watching a unicorn. Like watching a fairytale.”

The gymnast has watched her boyfriend go from one of the most popular drafts in MLB to one of the most admired rookies out there, and his journey from the junior levels to playing baseball professionally is something that she admired a lot. After the wholesome video of Dunne talking about Skenes’ best rookie moment, MLB also shared a picture where the NL Rookie of the Year was holding a cookie cake amidst the celebrations.

The support that these two show themselves in their respective sports shows how close they are in their relationship. Skenes did have his ups and downs coming up to this big moment in his professional baseball career, but the way he started up things made it predictable during his early times in the season.

Paul Skenes’ exciting MLB debut

Picked up no. 1 way back in the 2023 MLB draft, Paul Skenes was one of those pitches who were much anticipated to hit the ground with a bang. Ten months later, at Wrigley Field, he found himself against the Chicago Cubs on their home ground. There was a lot to prove for her rookie, and he did stand up to the expectations of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The debut was not easy, as the game started after a rain delay of two hours and twenty minutes. However, Skenes was locked in, not letting any kind of pressure get to him. 

Skenes threw four balls that were 100 mph or faster, and even a 101.9 mph pitch, which was the fastest ever recorded by a Pirates player since the start of the tracking era back in 2008. Eventually, due to Skenes’ seven strikeouts, the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to win the game by a score of 10-9. Winning a debut game with such a performance against an enormous crowd at Wrigley Field was surely an achievement, as the pitcher built a lot more anticipation around him.

What’s your take on Olivia Dunne and Paul Skenes’ wholesome bonding? Share below.