Posted on 07/01/2019 4:27:51 PM PDT by Pelham
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs died Monday at the age of 27, stunning the baseball world and leading to the postponement of the team's game against the Texas Rangers.
Police responded to a report of an unconscious man in a hotel room in Southlake, Texas, and pronounced Skaggs dead at the scene. No foul play is suspected and an investigation is ongoing, police said.
A Southlake police spokesperson said it "is not suspected" that Skaggs took his own life, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"It is with great sorrow that we report Tyler Skaggs passed away earlier today in Texas," an Angels statement said. "Tyler has, and always will be, an important part of the Angels Family. Our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family during this devastating time."
Angels players and coaches who had arrived at the Rangers' ballpark for Monday night's series opener left about four hours before the scheduled start of the game to return to their hotel. The clubhouse was never opened to the media.
The Rangers' clubhouse also was closed when general manager Jon Daniels and manager Chris Woodward told their players what had happened and dismissed them.
Woodward described it as "one of those moments where you're just kind of numb'' and said the Rangers were thinking about Skaggs' family and the Angels organization.
"There were a lot of pretty emotional guys in there, you could tell. Some guys knew him. [Jesse Chavez] had actually played with him in L.A.,'' Woodward said. "Some guys that didn't even know him were visibly shaken. You could tell.''
Daniels told media that he had only discussed the postponement of Monday's game with MLB, but he would be open to talking if the league feels more should be done.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
Listening to the Rangers Pre-game live ...
They apparently have no additional info on what caused the death.
That’s the only report I’ve seen of cocaine. Police and MLB are unlikely to talk, so if it’s true it could be someone from the hotel.
tmz has not reported this . Is SMO credible.. we will know soon enough.
Nothing on Angel radio either. Fans who interacted with Skaggs outside of the stadium have been calling in with stories about how friendly and generous he was.
I think SMO is a legit “free” city newspaper for Santa Monica as opposed to someone’s blog. So it could be credible.
I suspect a cerebral hemorrhage or something like it. A good friend of mine, whom I had known since we were both about 7, was killed by one when he was 25. I learned of it when my father called me while I was doing Officers’ Basic Training at Ft. Lee, VA in 1967.
Prayers up.
should have sourced the info.
Sounds like Darryl Kile’s death all over again. It must be especially hard on teammate Albert Pujols as for him it really is deja vu. Albert was a 2nd year player and Kile’s Cardinal teammate when Kile died unexpectedly at age 33.
During the season these players spend more time with each other than their families. It must be nearly like losing family.
Darryl Kile had undiagnosed heart disease. When they are young and athletic everyone assumes it has to be drugs but no one knows until an autopsy. And it’s tragic no matter how they die.
Very sad. Sympathies and prayers to his family and friends, the Angels organization, and the Major League Baseball community.
The circumstances remind me of Darryl Kile.
I wonder if the Angels will play with Skaggs’s jersey in their dugout, like they did for Nick Adenhart when he did.
Why write such a salacious article based on speculation? Pretty $hitty thing to do.
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