Not much can make fans flock by the thousands to PNC Park these days, but Paul Skenes Bobblehead Day certainly did.
Fans lined the streets for several blocks more than three hours before first pitch between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, hoping to be one of the first 20,000 to enter the ballpark and receive a Skenes 2024 National League Rookie of the Year bobblehead.
Due to the massive turnout – a sellout crowd of 37,713 – the Pirates, in a gesture of goodwill, announced on social media that any fans who scanned into Saturday's game after the 20,000 bobbleheads were distributed would be issued a voucher to get one of their own. Distribution details will be announced at a later time.
We know how unique today’s Paul Skenes Rookie of the Year bobblehead giveaway is and how popular it is for our fans. We don’t want any fan who attended today’s game to not receive one.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 19, 2025
Any fan who scanned into today’s game after the first 20,000 bobbleheads were given away… pic.twitter.com/e1lZNIEJBL
Bob Nutting’s attempt to win back Pirates fans on Paul Skenes bobblehead day is too little, too late
It was, quite literally, the least the Pirates organization could do after a start to the 2025 season that has somehow been more disastrous off the field than it has been on it.
As if the 8-15 start and last place in the National League Central weren't enough, the Pirates have caught plenty of (well deserved) heat for replacing a logo at PNC Park honoring a franchise legend with an ad for an alcoholic beverage and disrespecting generations of fans with the removal of the now-infamous "Bucco Bricks" that turned up at a landfill without warning. Did they really think another 17,000 mass produced bobbleheads would right all of their previous wrongs?
“We all saw the lines and unprecedented response for this unique giveaway,” Pirates president Travis Williams said in statement to TribLIVE. “Bob (Nutting) called me and we discussed how we can ensure every fan coming to today’s game received one. I give a lot of credit to our internal team for the quick response to make that happen.”
Dan Zangrilli of 93.7 The Fan reported that Nutting, inspired by the sight of fans lining up for several blocks to get into PNC Park on Saturday, "demanded" that the Pirates organization work on a plan to ensure that all fans in attendance for Saturday's game – not just the first 20,000 – receive a bobblehead.
I'm told Bob Nutting drove in today and saw the lines wrapping around the ballpark for blocks and that he has demanded the Pirates organization works on a plan to ensure that *all fans,* not just the advertised 20,000, receive a Skenes Bobblehead.
— Dan Zangrilli (@DanZangrilli) April 19, 2025
Any fan who scanned in to…
If driving past the throngs of fans outside PNC Park was all it took for Nutting to give the fanbase what they want, perhaps he can take a drive by the Pirates' 26-man roster sometime soon. I would be willing to bet that the vast majority of Pirates fans would happily trade 1,000 Paul Skenes bobbleheads for a team that actually, you know, wins games.
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