Tyler Skaggs was pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels who unfortunately was found dead in a Texas hotel room on July 1st, 2019. Skaggs was in Texas playing for the Angles against the Texas Rangers when his body was found, an autopsy would reveal that he had died from aspiration of his own vomit and intaking fentanyl, oxycodone, and alcohol; authorities ruled his death an accident. Skaggs was only 27 years old at the time of his death. As a result, the MLB honored the pitcher when all major league players wore the number 45 as a patch on Players Weekend.
Tyler Skaggs played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels, in his career he achieved a record of 28-38 and an ERA of 4.41, with 476 strikeouts. At the time of his death Skaggs led the Angels in wins and strikeouts.
The MLB paid homage to the player with a series of events commemorating his life, and various players paid homage to him with 45 patches on their jerseys. We will now review how players paid homage to Tyler Skaggs.
How did the MLB honor Tyler Skaggs?
The MLB honored Tyler Skaggs with a series of events, on Players Weekend every player wore the 45 patch on their sleeves across the league. Ryan Braun, Jesse Chavez, Patrick Corbin, Jack Flaherty, Max Fried, Lucas Giolito, Scott Heineman, Mike Moustakas, and Christian Yelich wore nicknames on their jerseys that paid homage to Skaggs.
The Angels wore the 45 patch the remainder of the 2019 season, Patrick Corbin switched his number to 45 for a Nationals game. Mike Trout and Tommy La Stella wore 45 for the MLB All-Star game.