The Pittsburgh Pirates held a Paul Skenes baseball card-themed bobblehead giveaway on Saturday, causing an unimaginable level of demand from fans. Well before the game’s first pitch, fans began lining up outside the stadium, which quickly reached a level hard to fathom.
In a video captured by 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi on X, fans were lined up across the Roberto Clemente Bridge, stretching into Downtown Pittsburgh. A similar video was posted on X by Pirates beat reporter Alex Stumpf, who walked along some of the bridge leading into the center field gate, showing fans lined up, some sitting, waiting for an opportunity to get the coveted bobblehead of Skenes.
A fan interviewed by WTAE 4 News named Shawn Barr shared his excitement, saying that “I took off today from work to watch Skenes pitch and to get my hands on a bobblehead,” adding that he had driven three hours to get to the park.
While initially being limited to the first 20,000 fans receiving the giveaway, the Pirates later announced that all fans who had tickets to the game would be able to get their hands on the bobblehead. In a statement on X, the Pirates acknowledged the “unique” giveaway and stated, “any fan who scanned into today’s game after the first 20,000 bobbleheads were given away will be sent an electronic voucher,” adding that details on how the bobblehead would be distributed to those fans would soon be announced.
Skenes, the 2023 first overall draft pick and 2024 National League Rookie of the Year, quickly became one of the most popular players not just on his team but within the sport. Pitching on his bobblehead night, Skenes did well, allowing two runs over seven innings, though the Pirates still lost 3-0 to the Cleveland Guardians.
