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ANAHEIM, California. – Debbie Skaggs was visibly worried as she climbed into the elevator that would take her to the field for the heartbreaking ceremony that pays homage to her missing son. She was to deliver the first ceremonial throwing in front of a line of Tyler Skaggs-equipped Los Angeles Angels players and a stadium full of spectators still in shock from her sudden death. She was to pitch it to Andrew Heaney, his son's best friend in the team.
"I hope I will make him proud," Debbie, a high school softball coach, said on Friday afternoon, which inspired Tyler's love of baseball in many ways.
She threw a perfect shot, without hesitation, then took four steps towards the edge of the mound, put her hands together and rolled her eyes. A few minutes later, she saw Mike Trout, another of Tyler's closest friends, sputtering a first-round homer, his seventh of seven games since the Skaggs defeat.
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Since then, Angels General Manager Billy Eppler has seen Trout become a leader.
"His shoulders are wide because he's wearing a lot," Eppler said before the game. "This kid – or this young man – just continued to be there for everyone."
Skaggs, 27, died at his hotel in Texas in the afternoon of Monday, July 1. A statement from the Southlake Police Department said that "at that time, no criminal act is suspected", and a police spokesman ruled out suicide. But the cause of death will not be known until the end of the autopsy, early October.
"At this point, I'm getting a little bit out of it," said Brad Ausmus, head of the Angels. "His loss is his loss, and there is a void whatever the cause, I'm in no hurry to know it, all I know is that Tyler Skaggs is no longer there. He had a lot of friends and family members who care about him a lot.The reason he died is not what hurts, but the fact that he's dead , that's what hurts. "
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Before their first home game since his death, the Angels pay homage to Tyler Skaggs with a video and the whole team is wearing his number 45.
Skaggs was a local product. In 2009, he was ranked 40th overall by the Angels. He then found his way here in 2014 after three years with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tommy John's surgery followed soon after and occasional struggles arose from time to time. But Skaggs was at his best before his death, with a 1.62 ERA in his last three starts. He was becoming the best pitcher in the rotation of the angels.
"He became the ace of the baton," said Angel broadcaster Mark Gubicza, former pitcher of the All-Star program, who forged close ties with Skaggs. "He really understood how to throw."
The Angels postponed their match on the Monday after Skaggs' death, then continued their last six games in the first half, separating them from the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, two teams ahead of them in the American Hockey League. ;Where is.
When the players came back from the break from the stars on Friday, they saw the shrine built by the fans outside the main gate of the Angel Stadium, now filled with caps, candles and handwritten letters. They saw images of Skaggs everywhere, including on the wall of the central field. They saw his locker kept in its usual location. They saw his number 45 painted behind the pitcher's mound. And they found their own No. 45 jerseys hanging in their own lockers.
"Tonight is for him," said Angels field player Zack Cozart. "We will do everything in our power to honor him and preserve his legacy."
Debbie headed for the Angels canoe, her arm around Skaggs' wife, Carli, and his son-in-law, Garret Hetman, who was wearing the Skaggs Santa Monica High School jersey at his side. Debbie went around the canoe, hugging Heaney and Trout and Kole Calhoun, among others, while Carli was sitting on the bench next to the molded Skaggs jersey that would be worn on the ground. A video montage was played, followed by a moment of silence of 45 seconds.
After going through the marble – after a well-traveled run, 45 m – Trout stopped to make eye contact with the Skaggs family on the upper deck. The leader took part in the first two games of what became a first round of seven innings against Mariners starter Mike Leake. The last two rounds came from Trout's double loaded base.
Eppler was still visibly shaken at a press conference before the match.
"I think of all that he has brought to this organization," Eppler said of Skaggs. "I really appreciated Tyler's reach and the number of people here, outside this locker room, or outside of baseball operations, on which he had had some impact."
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