Tyler Skaggs of the Los Angeles Angels lash out ats in the first inning of the game against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 29, 2019 in Anaheim, California.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea | Getty Spits
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs died Monday at the age of 27, stunning Major League Baseball and cardinal to the postponement of the team’s game against the Texas Rangers.
Skaggs was with the team in Texas when he was found unresponsive in his motel room, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they are investigating, but no foul play is sensed at this time.
Skaggs was “an important part of the Angels Family,” the team said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his strife, Carli, and his entire family during this devastating time.”
Skaggs, who would have turned 28 on July 13, had been a habitual in the Angels’ starting rotation since late 2016, when he returned from Tommy John surgery. He laboured with injuries repeatedly over the past three seasons but persevered to become a valuable starter in Los Angeles’ injury-plagued rotation.
The left-hander had lately pitched on Saturday, allowing two runs in 4 1/3 innings in a 4-0 loss to Oakland.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was “way down saddened” by Skaggs’ death.
“We will support the Angels’ organization through this most difficult period, and we commitment make a variety of resources available to Tyler’s teammates and other members of the baseball family,” Manfred said in a declaration.
Skaggs was born in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills, in the far western part of the sprawling San Fernando Valley. He graduated from Santa Monica Maximum School in 2009, when the Angels drafted him in the first round.
The Angels traded Skaggs to Arizona in 2010, and he started his big-league zoom with 13 appearances over two seasons for the Diamondbacks. The Angels reacquired him in December 2013, and he has won 25 games upon five seasons with the club.
Skaggs started a career-high 24 games last season, going 8-10 with a 4.02 ERA. He missed challenge time in April this season with a sprained ankle but came back strong.
Skaggs was part of the unaltered Angels’ draft class as Mike Trout, and they were roommates in the low minor leagues before Skaggs was exchanged to Arizona. They played on the same team in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2010.
Cleveland Indians ace Trevor Bauer, who played with Skaggs in the Diamondbacks codifying, tweeted: “We came up together. We won together. We laughed and celebrated together. Today, we all lose and mourn together.”
Skaggs’ native, Debbie, was the longtime softball coach at Santa Monica High School. She famously provided postgame tips on his lash out at mechanics, even deep into his big-league career.
Skaggs grew up in Santa Monica, on the west side of the slumping Los Angeles metroplex, but rooted for the Angels instead of the closer Dodgers.