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SALT LAKE CITY — Smith’s Ballpark is covered with reminders of players who have come and gone. There’s a photo of Mike Trout inside the stadium press box and banners celebrating all the famous ballplayers who once played there before moving on to the big leagues.
But in the days following the shocking death of Tyler Skaggs, the reminders that Skaggs once played here have a different meaning.
As Bees players entered the locker room Thursday for their first home game since Skaggs’ passing, they found a No. 45 Skaggs jersey in the clubhouse to be carried out to the dugout. Skaggs’ initials were painted on the infield behind home plate and a black No. 45 was placed on the right field wall. The team also plans to wear a patch on their jerseys later this week and likely for the rest of the season, Bees officials said.
Skaggs made 11 starts for the Salt Lake Bees scattered between 2014, 2016 and 2017. He also appeared in two games for the Orem Owlz, months after he was selected by the Angels as a first-round compensatory pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. But on Thursday, it was like he never left. It felt like he was still with the team.
The baseball community is still trying to find answers since Skaggs, 27, was found unresponsive in his hotel room on Monday and pronounced dead at the scene. How did this happen? Why did this happen? For the Angels organization, Skaggs wasn’t just a pitcher: he was a friend, a leader and a positive influence. His loss didn’t just tear wounds into the team he was on, but the team of guys in the league just below who had known him just as well.
“These are tough times just trying to make sense of it and rely on God that he’s got a perfect plan and we definitely don’t get it when your friend passes away,” said Bees pitcher Luke Bard, who had talked to Skaggs on Sunday before Bard was optioned to Salt Lake after the Angels’ game against Oakland. Bard went to meet up with the Bees in Tacoma; Skaggs left with the Angels to Texas. “There’s a lot of emotions there and none of them are good. We’re just trying to rely on each other and support each other and try to get through this tough time.”
The Bees learned of the tragedy like the rest of the world. The Angels announced Skaggs had died in a Twitter post. Outfielder Michael Hermosillo was lounging around a Tacoma hotel enjoying a late breakfast and trying to kill time before the Salt Lake Bees took on the Rainiers Monday when he saw the tweet.
It was a sick joke. Someone had hacked the team account. That had to be it, Hermosillo thought. But as the news trickled down to his teammates, it became abundantly clear it wasn’t. Bard, infielder Kaleb Cowart and pitcher Taylor Cole helped gather players together when they traveled to Cheney Stadium in Tacoma and held a team prayer for Skaggs that afternoon. The Rainiers opted to postpone the game to allow the team to grieve.
“I don’t think anyone’s prepared for this to happen,” Hermosillo said. “I just think back to all the conversations we had in spring training. … He was a veteran of the team. He always made you feel welcome no matter who you were: you could be a rookie; you could be there for three days. He just had this spirit about him that you felt welcomed. He was obviously a great teammate, but you always had a friend in Skaggs. It’s just terrible — it’s super sad for all of us.”
The past few days have been equally rough. Hermosillo said it’s constantly running through his mind. He’s not sure if or when that’ll end. But he cracks a smile when he’s asked what Skaggs was like.
“He was energetic, positive — he’d just light up a room,” he said.
Skaggs was the one blasting West Coast music in the clubhouse. He was the one checking on others. He was the one with inside jokes with everyone single person in the clubhouse. When Hermosillo got injured in spring, Skaggs was there giving him tips on how to get back in shape. When Hermosillo made it to the big leagues for the first time last year, Skaggs took him out to dinner.
“I loved just going to the clubhouse every day. It was just a good vibe,” Hermosillo added. “It didn’t matter who you were. It didn’t matter if you were Mike Trout or Michael Hermosillo, he was going to treat you the same exact way. He was just that kind of guy.”
That’s exactly what Bard remembers. He remembers joking around in cold tubs after a game. They were locker room neighbors on Sunday and they planned to keep in touch. Bard will likely return to Los Angeles at some point this season. He’ll return to his locker again, but he’s not sure how that’ll feel now.
“That team, that locker room — it’ll never be the same without him,” Bard said. “He was the life of the clubhouse.”
It didn’t matter who you were. It didn’t matter if you were Mike Trout or Michael Hermosillo, he was going to treat you the same exact way. He was just that kind of guy.
–Bees outfielder Michael Hermosillo
Bees manager Lou Marson, who never coached Skaggs, was fond of him. He knew Skaggs from pickup basketball games they played during the offseason with a mutual friend, major league veteran pitcher Joe Smith.
“I had a pretty good relationship with Tyler,” Marson said. “I had good conversations with him at spring training about different stuff: pitching, baseball. He was a great kid and he’s going to be missed for sure.”
His competitive nature was as legendary his personality, even in Salt Lake. Bees broadcaster Steve Klauke recalled a time when Skaggs struck out 14 batters in a start in Omaha back in 2016. It tied the franchise record with Jered Weaver, a pitcher Skaggs idolized as a kid. Somehow Skaggs learned that and tried to go over his allotted pitch count to break the Bees’ record.
“Basically (the coaches) said ‘We like our jobs, no,’” Klauke said with a chuckle.
Skaggs’ former teammates now think of the family he left behind. They pray for his wife, Carli, whom he married over the offseason. They pray for his family and friends. It’s a trying moment they’re hoping to learn from, not necessarily as ballplayers, but as people.
“It takes situations like this to realize how meaningless this game can be, but also how important every day is,” Hermosillo said. “For me, I take it as a blessing to just be on this earth every day. For Skaggsy, I’m just going to make the most of every day.”
