Five years on, the grief of Tyler Skaggs’ loved ones remains unhealed

LOS ANGELES — Without even noticing, Debbie Skaggs, the mother of the late Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, slips into the present tense. For three short sentences, her voice elevates, her face lights up.

“He doesn’t big league anyone,” she said. “He’s funny too, he’s a funny guy. And he’s a total music guy.”

For a moment, it’s almost forgotten. But Debbie’s reality is never gone for long: Tyler’s death from a fentanyl overdose, now five years ago. The revelation of his drug abuse. The high-profile trial of a former Angels communications employee. The still-pending $100 million lawsuit against his former team. The fact that she must speak about her son in the past tense.

Skaggs was using oxycodone, and regularly relied on then-Angels communications director Eric Kay, an addict himself, to supply him. Soon after arriving in Texas on July 1, 2019 for a road series, Skaggs swallowed a pill from Kay that contained a lethal dose of fentanyl. He overdosed, choking on his own vomit, and was discovered by hotel employees and team officials the next morning.

Kay was convicted of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He is in federal prison, serving a 22-year sentence.

Five years later, much of the world has moved on. There are small reminders of Skaggs in the Angels’ orbit — a remembrance on the apartment complex next to the stadium, a brief highlight in the Calling All Angels pre-game montage. But, largely, people’s lives have resumed.

For those who loved Skaggs the most, however — his mother; his father, Darrell Skaggs; his wife, Carli Skaggs; and his best friend, Andrew Heaney — moving forward has been a challenge. Much of their lives are still defined by the grief that has been with them for the last five years.

Near the entrance to Debbie’s Los Angeles home is a shrine to her late son. Photos and paintings of him line the walls. In another room is a framed jersey with Skaggs’ number that Nationals starter Patrick Corbin wore as a tribute.

Debbie and Carli, who chose to be interviewed together in Debbie’s home, are close. They’re comfortable finishing each other’s thoughts and asking one another for confirmation when discussing their memories of Tyler. They still regularly get lunch and go for walks.