Will Livvy Dunne Have the Taylor Swift Effect on the MLB?
Taylor Swift had a big impact on NFL viewing and interest last season, because she started dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Now, it’s worth asking if Livvy Dunne will have the Taylor Swift effect on the MLB. Why? Well, she’s dating new Pittsburgh Pirates pitching star Paul Skenes, who made his long-awaited MLB debut last weekend.
Will Livvy Dunne Have the Taylor Swift Effect on the MLB?
Livvy Dunne’s longime boyfriend, Paul Skenes, had a big debut last weekend with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He stroke out seven and hit 100 mph 17 times. It was an impressive showing, to say the least, and helped score the Pirates a win on the road against the Chicago Cubs. But, even with all the excitement of his debut, Dunne kind of stole the spotlight. The LSU gymnast and NIL hotshot was at the game to support her guy, and pretty much everyone played up her appearance, from the Pirates to the MLB to the media. The MLB’s highlight reel of Skenes’ first game even shows Dunne cheering on her man.
What’s more, the MLB took to social media to make sure everyone knew that Dunne was at the game, gunning for the Taylor Swift effect. They posted an interview with Dunne on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram talking about how happy she was to see Skenes shine on his debut. On TikTok, they shared the clip with the caption, “Livvy Dunne is entering her MLB WAG era.”
I think it’s great that Dunne is supporting her man and watching him excel in the MLB. But, it feels kind of like the league is trying to force a Taylor Swift moment here, and I just don’t see that happening. While Dunne is hugely popular, she’s just not at the level of a pop star like Swift. But, the MLB would be silly to sleep on this relationship. After all, Dunne has 8 million followers on TikTok, which is nearly 1 million more than MLB. She also has 5.2 million followers on Instagram and 2.2 million followers on Snapchat. In other words, her social following, for the most part, is bigger than the MLB and their teams. She took to social media to post about Skenes’ debut, and it’s getting hundreds of thousands of likes. So, sure, go for it MLB. Maybe it will help the brand grow and attract more viewers, even if it’s not quite the Taylor Swift effect. What’s cool is that Dunne is also an athlete, so these two seem perfect for each other. I wish them lots of happiness and many winning games. But, go Tigers.
