On July 1, 2019, the news shocked baseball fans around the world: the talented Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs was found dead in his room at the hotel where he was staying in Texas. He and his team were in that city for a regular-season game against the Rangers.

The Tarrant County medical examiner in charge of the autopsy further obscured the tragic death of the 27-year-old pitcher, ruling that Skaggs died of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone intoxication resulting in choking on his vomit.

The chargesfor which Eric Kay was found guilty in Tyler Skaggs’ death

According to a report by ESPN‘s investigative reporter T.J. Quinn, who was at the trial, the jury found Eric Kay guilty on one charge of fentanyl distribution and another one of causing Tyler Skaggs’ death. The minimum time that the former Los Angeles Angels Communications Director will spend in prison is 20 years.

“We are very grateful to the government and the jury for seeing this important case through to the right verdict. Tyler was the light of our family. He is gone, and nothing can ever bring him back. We are relieved that justice was served, although today is a painful reminder of the worst day in the life of our family.”, says Tyler Skaggs’ family statement issued through its attorneys.

Los Angeles Angels’ position after the jury’s verdict against Eric Kay was known

“On behalf of the entire Angels Organization, we are saddened by the devastating heartache that surrounds this tragedy, especially for the Skaggs family. Our compassion goes out to all families and individuals that have been impacted“.

“The players’ testimony was incredibly difficult for our organization to hear, and it is a reminder that too often drug use and addiction are hidden away. From the moment we learned of Tyler’s death, our focus has been to fully understand the circumstances that led to this tragedy.“

“We are thankful that Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have taken the important step to update their drug policies for players using opioids so that they can receive help.“, says the statement signed by the team’s President John Carpino.

When is Eric Kay’s sentence going to be set?

Again, according to ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, the former Los Angeles Angels Communications Director will know his final sentence on June 28. Meanwhile, he has already been taken into custody. Prior to the trial,Eric Kay has declared himself innocent.

Now, Eric Kay, a former Angels communications director, is facing trial for allegedly supplying the team with oxycodone and multiple opioids dating to late 2016 and could face up to 20 years in prison.

Moreover, former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey was called to testify as well, admitting to his own drug use and confessing to giving Skaggs pills ion more than one ocassion during his tenure in Anaheim.

Matt Harvey Admits To Drug Use, Giving Tyler Skaggs oxycodone

(Transcript via The Athletic)

“Harvey said he supplied pills to Skaggs on more than one occasion. The defense showed a text message in which Skaggs requested pills from Harvey because he wanted to be “loosey goosey” before he pitched. Harvey also said he acquired Percocet pills in April from his own drug dealer and gave some to Skaggs. He said he did so, in part, because Skaggs had previously given Harvey pills.

Harvey also acknowledged past cocaine use, and the free-agent pitcher said his use of drugs could have negatively impacted his career. On Tuesday, Harvey said he wished he had advised Skaggs against using pain medication recreationally, but viewed himself at the time as “being a good teammate” and helping him deal with pain. He said the two took pills at Angel Stadium in the clubhouse and in the dugout.”

Harvey also claimed that Kay had given him one of the pills that eventually led to Skaggs’ death and that he was ready to take it out of frustration for being injured at the time. Fortunately, he decided to take a bath and didn’t take the pill later.

Harvey May Never Pitch Again

Once an ace, Harvey’s career has taken a massive downfall over the past years. He’s now a free agent and was going to have a tough time finding another team before admitting to drug use. Now, that’ll be a nearly-impossible task:

“If Matt Harvey can find a team willing to sign him, he could immediately be suspended for at least 60 days for saying that he provided opioids to Tyler Skaggs on several occasions, a Major League Baseball official told ESPN on Wednesday,” reported T.J. Quinn of ESPN.

Hopefully, this terrible story will help raise awareness on this delicate subject around Major League Baseball and all major sports. Athletes— or anyone by any means— should have to deal with this, let alone on its own.

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.