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Mike Trout took the stand Tuesday in a Santa Ana, California, courtroom to testify in a trial over whether his Los Angeles Angels should be held responsible for the drug overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
Skaggs died in 2019 after taking fentanyl-laced oxycodone, mixed with alcohol, supplied by the team’s former communications director, Eric Kay, who is serving 22 years in prison. Skaggs’ family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Angels, saying the team knew about Kay’s past drug history, posing dangers.
Trout testified that players would pay Kay for bizarre stunts, leaving Trout to raise an eyebrow. At one point, a clubhouse attendant suggested the players should stop, Trout said, because Kay might be using the money for a “bad purpose,” which Trout said he immediately assumed was drugs.
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Mike Trout wears a number 45 badge in honor of Tyler Skaggs during a Texas Rangers game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports)
Trout said he would not sign autographs requested by Kay unless he knew who they were going to out of concern they could be sold for money.
Trout said it was clear Kay was “using something.”
“I just didn’t know what it was,” Trout said.
The three-time MVP said he had only seen Skaggs smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, never thinking he was using other drugs.
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout reacts during a press conference about the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs before a game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports)
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Skaggs’ family is seeking $118 million for Skaggs’ lost earnings, compensation for pain and suffering, and punitive damages against the team. In addition to Trout, other players, including former Angels pitcher Wade Miley, who currently plays for the Cincinnati Reds, could also testify in what is expected to be a weeks-long trial. Miley was tabbed by Skaggs’ former agent, Ryan Hamil, in a deposition earlier this year as a drug supplier to Skaggs.
“I hate what happened to Tyler. It sucks. My thoughts are with his family and friends,” Miley said in June. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that somebody might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I’ve never been accused of any wrongdoing.”
Former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey admitted during Kay’s trial that he had supplied drugs to Skaggs. The two were teammates with the Angels in the year of Skaggs’ death.
Harvey, C.J. Cron, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian also said in court that they had been provided drugs by Kay.
Los Angeles’ Tyler Skaggs pitches against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium on June 6, 2019, in Anaheim, California. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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Skaggs was 27 when he was found in a hotel room in Southlake, Texas, before the Angels were set to play the Texas Rangers. The Angels argue that Skaggs, despite being given the pill by Kay, took the drugs in his private time on his own admission.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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