OutKick⁠97%

Paul Skenes Says His 'Happy Face' And 'Sad Face' Are Basically The Same In New Interview ⁠47%

By Ian Miller⁠0%

4/9/2026, 9:24:47 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 20 faulty reasoning types, including Availability Heuristic, Hasty Generalization, and Framing Effect, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 31.9% saturation with 156 hits. Analysis detected 728 faulty-reasoning hits from 489 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 48.3% and a BS Rank of ⁠47% (11,786 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 53.80% of the article peer group.

Pittsburgh Pirates superstar starting pitcher Paul Skenes is many things. 
He's the reigning Cy Young Award winner in the National League. 
He won Rookie of the Year in 2024, despite not making his debut that season until May 11th and pitching just 133 innings. 
He was the best pitcher on Team USA's World Baseball Classic team, helping pitch them to a win over the fearsome Dominican Republic lineup in the semifinals. 
Skenes is also famously dating former LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, making him one of the few Major League Baseball players to achieve a level of fame and notoriety outside fans of the sport. 
RELATED: Paul Skenes Asked About Representing America, And The Miserable Lefty Sports Media Is Going To HATE His Answer 
He has many attributes and impressive accomplishments already. 
But there's one thing few would say Skenes possesses: a sense of humor and willingness to express any level of emotion. 
Well, thanks to a new interview with the 23-year-old star, we can finally see some of the personality he's so carefully hidden. 
Paul Skenes Almost Smiles During New Interview 
Skenes accidentally created a meme template when winning Rookie of the Year in 2024, sitting on the couch with Dunne. 
While she immediately lit up and celebrated when his name was called, he remained completely emotionless. 
That's become the surrounding perception around him, that he's not one to show emotion or humor. 
But in a new interview with ESPN's Jeff Passan, he was asked about how he is on the mound, especially compared to some of his peers. 
"The demeanor each of you has on the mound," Passan said, "It's not like, diametrically opposed, but Tarik [Skubal], he's pretty damn fired up out there, but Paul, you're not." 
Passan paused briefly, then added, "I just got a look there though, and I'll be honest that scared the s*** out of me a little bit." 
Skenes immediately shot back, "Good," to which Passan laughed. 
"Yeah, I think I do have thoughts and emotions and stuff like that, but I don't think I show it, partly because I don't want to show it, and partly because I'm just not good at showing it. 
Like, my happy face and my sad face are kinda the same face." 
So he does have a personality! 
Skenes isn't so different from many baseball players and pitchers in years past, but obviously the game has trended in a different direction in the modern era. 
Showing emotion, whether it's joy or anger, is much more common and expected now, and in some circles, encouraged. 
But go watch highlights of Sandy Koufax, and there's none of that. 
Skenes, in that measure at least, is a bit of a throwback. 
Still, it's good to see him show some sense of humor and personality. 
Despite what he claims, he's pretty good at it. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 6.3%Ian Miller: 11.4%Outkick: 8.8%Confirmation Bias6.3%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 1.3%Outkick: 1.9%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 13.5%Ian Miller: 3.7%Outkick: 5.3%Availability Heuristic13.5%This article: 9.2%Ian Miller: 0.9%Outkick: 2.0%Representativeness Heuristic9.2%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 1.1%Outkick: 1.9%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 5.8%Outkick: 6.1%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 11.5%Ian Miller: 10.7%Outkick: 12.5%Framing Effect11.5%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.2%Outkick: 1.0%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 5.5%Ian Miller: 0.7%Outkick: 1.3%Status Quo Bias5.5%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.1%Outkick: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 2.7%Ian Miller: 1.7%Outkick: 4.4%Optimism Bias2.7%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 2.3%Outkick: 2.5%Pessimism Bias0.0%This article: 9.4%Ian Miller: 14.9%Outkick: 12.8%Negativity Bias9.4%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 1.5%Outkick: 3.2%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 3.3%Ian Miller: 3.7%Outkick: 3.2%Fundamental Attribution Error3.3%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.5%Outkick: 0.6%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 4.2%Outkick: 5.1%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 2.7%Outkick: 2.8%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 2.2%Ian Miller: 3.3%Outkick: 5.2%Halo Effect2.2%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 1.4%Outkick: 1.3%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.1%Outkick: 0.1%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 2.2%Outkick: 3.4%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 3.3%Ian Miller: 0.4%Outkick: 0.5%Primacy Effect3.3%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.1%Outkick: 0.4%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 3.1%Outkick: 4.0%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 1.9%Outkick: 2.0%Straw Man0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 2.3%Outkick: 3.6%Appeal to Authority0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 3.1%Outkick: 2.3%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.8%Outkick: 1.1%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.1%Outkick: 0.3%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 12.7%Ian Miller: 13.0%Outkick: 11.5%Hasty Generalization12.7%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.9%Outkick: 1.2%Red Herring0.0%This article: 3.9%Ian Miller: 1.0%Outkick: 2.4%Bandwagon3.9%This article: 1.8%Ian Miller: 6.3%Outkick: 10.0%Appeal to Emotion1.8%This article: 4.5%Ian Miller: 2.0%Outkick: 1.7%Begging the Question4.5%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 4.2%Outkick: 2.9%Post Hoc (False Cause)0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 1.6%Outkick: 0.3%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.3%Outkick: 0.5%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.1%Outkick: 0.3%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 5.5%Ian Miller: 0.3%Outkick: 0.3%Composition/Division5.5%This article: 6.5%Ian Miller: 2.1%Outkick: 4.3%Anecdotal6.5%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.2%Outkick: 0.4%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 5.1%Ian Miller: 1.1%Outkick: 1.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)5.1%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.1%Outkick: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.0%Outkick: 0.2%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.4%Outkick: 0.7%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.7%Outkick: 1.0%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.5%Outkick: 0.7%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 6.1%Ian Miller: 1.3%Outkick: 2.1%Unattributed Quote6.1%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 1.1%Outkick: 0.9%Quote-first Misdirection0.0%This article: 31.9%Ian Miller: 16.5%Outkick: 18.0%Biased Writer Voice31.9%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.8%Outkick: 2.4%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 0.3%Outkick: 0.2%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Ian Miller: 4.3%Outkick: 2.3%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 3.9%Ian Miller: 1.6%Outkick: 0.9%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…3.9%

489 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers22%attributed speech382writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 27 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 33 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 21 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 22 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 7 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 20 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 26 words • 0.0% coverageJeff Passan • 30 words • 100.0% coverageJeff Passan • 26 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coveragePaul Skenes • 38 words • 0.0% coveragePaul Skenes • 13 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 6 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 27 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 100.0% coverage
Selected voice

Jeff Passan

54%flagged-word coverage
56 attributed words52% of attributed speech79% writer coverage
0%27.5%55.0%Unattributed Quote+53.6 ptsWriter: 0.0%Jeff Passan: 53.6%53.6%Biased Writer Voice-40.8 ptsWriter: 40.8%Jeff Passan: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -5.0 ptsWriter: 5.0%Jeff Passan: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.