"Need Paul Skenes to dress like Livvy Dunne" - Fans buzz as Olivia Dunne shows off pitching skills & flips while impersonating Pirates star boyfriend
Olivia Dunne's boyfriend, Paul Skenes, is known to dangle hitters with his 100+ mph fastball. On the other hand, Dunne is more equipped to handle herself on gymnastics apparatus. But what if one portrays the role of the other? NYC Fanatics Fest had the answer.
On Sunday, the last day of NYC Fanatics Fest, Dunne filled the shoes of Skenes to pitch. She threw a pitch from a distance and followed it up with acrobatics to settle at a pose. The caption had the perfect reply to the query.
"Velocity is down but tumbling is way up when @livvydunne becomes @paulskenes. #FanaticsFest," the caption from Fanatics' post read.
Netizens on social media reacted to this viral video with different hilarious reactions.
"I’m sure there’s enough of his DNA in there to qualify as Paul Skenes," one fan said.
“That was actually really good,” another wrote.
"Now I need Paul skenes to dress like livvy dunne🙏🏼🙏🏼," another had a different ask.
"Now I need Paul to do a flip while on the mount😈," another had a similar reaction to it.
A few took a dig at Fanatics and MLB in the comments section:
"Funny how fanatics has people poorly impersonating other people at their event, just like they poorly impersonate all of their products," one wrote.
"MLB needs to get off this girl's nuts. She's only associated to a player, she has nothing to do with baseball," another added.
Olivia Dunne amazed by how hard Paul Skenes throws in his debut game
Earlier in May, Paul Skenes made his debut against the Chicago Cubs to start his highly anticipated major league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Olivia Dunne was present in the stands, cheering for her beau at PNC Park.
During the game, broadcasters interviewed the social media star in attendance. Dunne expressed her amazement at watching Skenes pitch hard from the mound.
“I always say it’s way harder to be the person in the stands watching because I’m not in control,” Dunne told the reporter. “I can’t control — I don’t know how to throw a 100-mile [per hour] fastball, but it’s hard to have no control. Especially with gymnastics when you’re just watching. But I know he’s got this and I just have a lot of confidence in him.”
In his debut game, Skenes pitched four innings, allowing three runs. However, the potential was there for everyone to see and Skenes made sure to only improve, as he currently sports a 2.30 ERA after 16 starts. He's among the frontrunners for NL Rookie of the Year while in contention for a Cy Young if he can pitch over 162.0 innings.