Late Monday morning, July 1, 2019, the baseball world was stunned when reports began flooding social media that 27-year-old Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs, a Southern California native who was born in Woodland Hill, CA and grew up in Santa Monica, was found dead in his team hotel room in Southlake, Texas only hours before the Angels were scheduled to play the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in nearby Arlington, TX. He was 12 days shy of his 28th birthday.

A short while later, the Southlake Police Department issued this statement:

At around this same time, the Angels release this statement:

“It is with great sorrow that we report Tyler Skaggs passed away earlier today in Texas. 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.”

As often happens in cases like this, rumors and speculation run rampant, all of which is inappropriate; most certainly before the actual cause of death has been determined by the coroners office. And while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, they are best kept to themselves and absolutely do not belong on social media.

Being a Dodger fan, I must admit that I knew very little about Tyler Skaggs, other than he was a local product who had been drafted by the Angels in the first round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Santa Monica High School. I must also admit that his passing struck me so incredibly hard that I openly wept; not necessarily because of his very young age or that he leaves behind a wife of less than one year, for whom my heart hurts terribly.

No, Tyler’s passing struck me so very very hard for an entirely different reason.

Almost 26 years ago to the day – on July 3, 1993 – Van Nuys, CA native and Dodgers Hall of Fame right-hander (and my all-time favorite player who became a very popular Dodgers broadcaster) Don Drysdale was found dead in his hotel room in Montreal, Canada. Drysdale had failed to show up for the bus ride over to nearby Olympic Stadium, where the Dodgers were scheduled to play the Montreal Expos. Hotel employees entered his room and found him face-down near his bed. The coroner estimated that he had been dead for 18 hours. He was 20 days shy of his 57th birthday.

With visibly reddened and watery eyes, Hall of Famer broadcaster Vin Scully, who worked alongside the nine-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion, 1962 Cy Young Award winner and former Major League Player of the Year, broke the devastating news to the world:

“Never have I been asked to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one. And I say it to you as best I can with a broken heart.”

I had just sat down in front of the TV to watch that game when Scully broke the news – and my heart – and I openly wept.

The entire staff at ThinkBlueLA sends our deepest sympathies, thoughts, and prayers to the family, friends and teammates of Tyler Skaggs … who is still pitching for the Angels.

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