Baseball great Mike Trout testifies in civil trial over Angels pitcher's fatal drug overdose
The Angels slugger fielded questions about Tyler Skaggs' and Eric Kay's drug use in front of a jury deciding a wrongful death lawsuit against the Angels over Skaggs' 2019 death.
Baseball star Mike Trout testified Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Angels organization over the 2019 drug overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
Stating his name as “Michael Nelson Trout,” the Angels outfielder and power hitter was on the witness stand for about 90 minutes in Orange County Superior Court Judge H. Shaina Colover’s courtroom in Santa Ana, California.
His clearest testimony may have occurred in cross-examination when Angels’ lawyer Todd Theodora asked him if he knew 27-year-old Skaggs had been using drugs and receiving them from now-former Angels employee Eric Kay. Kay is serving 22 years in federal prison for supplying Skaggs the counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl that killed him in a Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019.
“As of the time Tyler passed away, did you at all suspect that he had been on drugs that were not prescribed?” Theodora asked.
“No,” Trout answered.
“And as of the time Tyler passed away, did you personally have any reason to suspect that Eric Kay may have been in his room that night?” Theodora asked.
“No,” Trout answered.
“Did you have any reason to suspect that Eric Kay, in any way, shape or form, might have been connected to Tyler’s death?” Theodora asked.
“No,” Trout answered.
Still, Trout indicated in earlier testimony that he suspected Kay, who was convicted by a federal jury in Texas in 2022, was using drugs after hearing so from an Angels clubhouse attendant. He said the attendant warned him that money Kay accepted for performing clubhouse antics such as getting beamed with a fastball and eating a bug off the floor could be going to what plaintiff’s lawyer William Haggerty called “a bad purpose.”
“First thing that came to my mind was drugs. That was what I got out of it. I don’t know what kind of drugs or anything,” Trout testified in direct-examination with Haggerty, who represents Skaggs’ parents, Debbie Hetman and Dale Skaggs, and his widow, Carli Skaggs.
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Skaggs’ family is seeking tens of millions of dollars from the Angels in a wrongful death lawsuit that accuses the organization of negligence. Along with Haggerty, the family’s lawyers include Rusty Hardin of Houston, Texas, as well as Shawn Holley of Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP in Los Angeles, who gave the opening statement last week.
Their case argues the Angels caused Skaggs’ death by allowing Kay to travel with the team and be around the athletes despite knowing he was a drug addict. The Angels’ lawyers at Theodora Oringher PC in Los Angeles argue Skaggs died because he mixed the fentanyl-laced pill he got from Kay with oxycodone and 11 to 13 alcoholic drinks.
Trout is the trial’s most high-profile witness. His testimony about hearing of Kay’s possible drug addiction from an Angels employee could help the plaintiffs establish that the Angels knew much more about Kay’s problems than employees such as Tom Taylor, the team’s traveling secretary, and now-former Vice President for Communications Tim Mead have testified.
A future National Baseball Hall of Fame member, Trout testified mostly through affirmation that he grew cautious about autographing memorabilia for Kay because he suspected he was selling the items and using the money to buy drugs.
Asked by Haggerty if Kay seemed “a little bit off” in the clubhouse, Trout testified Kay was “sweating” and “wired.”
Trout’s suspicions prompted him to offer Kay help.
“I said ‘Hey, you got two boys at home. You know, you’ve got to get this right,’” Trout testified.
“You offered to pay for him to go to rehab, didn’t you?” Haggerty asked.
“I don’t remember me specifically saying ‘Hey I’m going to pay for rehab,’ but I just basically said, ‘If you need anything, let me know,’” Trout answered.
“OK. You would have helped him?” Haggerty asked.
“Yeah,” Trout answered.
Dressed in a gray suit, black tie and white shirt with his hair in a brohawk, Trout, 34, was soft spoken and reticent on the stand, but he grew emotional as he testified about how he learned of Skaggs’ death during a team meeting on July 1, 2019.
Haggerty asked what he did when he learned his teammate and “your buddy that you’ve known since 2009” was dead.
“Cried,” Trout answered.
“You broke down crying. Why?” Haggerty asked.
Trout paused and appeared to grow emotional.
“You loved him like a brother,” Haggerty said as Trout nodded his head yes and his eyes appeared to well with tears.
Haggerty referenced Trout’s reticence earlier in testimony, telling him, “You love hitting a 95 mph fastball, but you don’t like speaking in public, do you?”
“I do not,” Trout answered.
“So sitting here in front of a jury, it’s not a Mike Trout kind of thing, because you’d rather be somewhere else, wouldn’t you?” Haggerty asked.
“Yes,” Trout answered.
“Well, at least you’re honest,” Haggerty said as some in the gallery laughed.
Lots of baseball talk, then questions about drugs
Haggerty began his exam by congratulating Trout on hitting his 400th career home run this summer, calling it “quite an achievement.” He asked if the 485-foot blast is the longest he’s hit, and Trout answered, “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Your Honor, I think we have a stipulation and we’ve solved the case,” Theodora interjected with a laugh.
“Well, at least we agree on something: 485 feet is a bomb,” Haggerty asked.
Haggerty turned to Trout’s childhood in Millville, New Jersey, where his father coached the high school baseball team. Trout caught balls in the outfield with his father and worked as the team’s bat boy. He met Skaggs when they were both 17, separated in age by only a month. Trout testified about learning of Skaggs’ parents’ athleticism, including his mother being “really into sports.”
Haggerty questioned Trout about playing basketball and baseball in high school, and playing shortstop instead of the outfield position he now plays for the Angels.
“I thought I was going to be the next Derek Jeter, but uh, obviously that didn’t work,” Trout testified.
“You also pitched, didn’t you?” Haggerty asked.
“I did,” Trout answered.
“That’s not too bad,” Haggerty said.
Trout testified he committed to East Carolina University and Haggerty said, “But the Angels interrupted that, didn’t they?”
Trout and Skaggs both were drafted by the Angels in 2009. They played together in Arizona, then played for the Cedar Rapids Colonels in Iowa, where they lived together with a host family. Haggerty tried to emphasize their roots and natural bond, calling them “two 18 year olds” from opposite coasts: “the pride of Millville” and “the pride of Santa Monica.”
Trout said he and Skaggs got along “great” and Skaggs was “outgoing” and “fun to be around.” They remained friends after the Angels traded Skaggs to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and after Trout was called up to the Major Leagues in July 2011. Trout testified that “I struggled” at first, but he returned in 2012 and was called up after a month in the minors.
“And when you got called up, there was no struggling anymore was there?” Haggerty asked.
Trout hesitated and Haggerty said, “I know you’re humble” and confirmed Trout’s dislike for public speaking.
Haggerty recited Trout’s rookie year achievements “because there’s jurors here who don’t know baseball,” including three-time Most Valuable Player in the American League, “second in MVP voting two more times,” 404 home runs, 214 stolen bases and 1,196 RBIs.
“Are you still fast?” Haggerty asked.
“Yeah,” Trout answered.
Haggerty asked if Trout imagined “this type of career,” including “nine Silver Slugger Awards and 11 All-Star Games” when he and Skaggs began their careers.
“I dreamed of it,” Trout answered, adding that he “always told myself ... at all times … so, yeah.”
Haggerty, now 15 minutes into his direct exam, asked Trout about Skaggs returning to the Angels in 2013. Trout said he was excited and called Skaggs “very outgoing” and “fun to be around.”
Haggerty asked about “a Thursday night game in Baltimore” in July 2014 in which “Tyler was throwing a no hitter.”
“At one point, his curveball was rated the best of anybody in the minor leagues. Did you understand why?” Haggerty asked.
“It was nasty,” Trout answered.
Haggerty said “that’s a word that Tyler loved” and asked Trout “when a pitcher is nasty, what does that mean?”
“The movement on the pitch is basically unhittable,” Trout answered.
Haggerty asked about Skaggs leaving the Baltimore Orioles game because of arm pain, then undergoing surgery and returning to pitch for the Angels in the 2016 season. He also asked why left-handed pitchers like Skaggs are so “coveted” in MLB compared to right-handed pitchers. Trout said you don’t see as many “lefties.”
Haggerty asked about Skaggs as a teammate, and Trout said he was always making everyone laughed. Haggerty asked if Skaggs brought a boombox with him on road trips, and Trout said he was the team’s “DJ.”
Haggery asked about Trout and Skaggs playing basketball together —Trout acknowledged that Skaggs had a better jump shot — and asked about him taking Skaggs to a Philadelphia Eagles football game against the Minnesota Vikings. Trout is an Eagles fan and Skaggs was a Vikings fan — “I have no idea why,” Trout testified.
Haggerty also asked about Skaggs’ love for the Los Angeles Lakers and him and Trout once meeting Kobe Bryant.
“Other than smoking weed and drinking, did you ever see Tyler use any other drugs?” Haggerty asked.
Trout said no.
Haggerty asked if Trout knew of other athletes who came to the Angels with drug problems, and Trout answered “Yes.” Haggerty named Josh Hamilton and also said Matt Harvey “allegedly” had drug problems.
“You saw nothing of that with Tyler Skaggs?” Haggerty asked.
“Correct,” Trout answered.
Trout ‘not proud’ of Angels’ paid ‘horseplay’
Haggerty appeared to be working to portray Kay as a bad influence in the Angels clubhouse when he questioned Trout about locker room “horseplay” that Trout testified was “to keep the clubhouse loose.”
“Truth be told, you were part of it,” Haggerty asked.
“Not proud of it,” Trout answered.
The “horseplay” included Kay being paid $1,000 to “take a 90 mph fastball to his leg.” He also was paid “ a couple hundred bucks” to eat a bug off the clubhouse floor, and he was paid to shave his eyebrows and jump into cold water with his clothes on. He also was paid to “put an Eagles helmet on and have Cole Calhoun drill him with a pass to the head.”
“It was a bunch of us,” Trout said with a smile.
“You were involved in that?” Haggerty asked.
“I was,” Trout answered.
Haggerty also asked Trout about paying Kay to “pop a pimple of your back and eat it.”
“I’m not proud of that one,” Trout answered.
Haggerty asked Trout if he knew that Kay “would procure sex workers” for players in spring training. Theodora objected and said Haggerty was testifying and assuming facts not in evidence, but Judge Colover overruled.
“Were you aware of that?” Haggerty asked.
Trout answered no.
Trout also answered that he “may have” heard that when Haggerty asked if Kay got Viagra for a player who wanted it, and he acknowledged that some clubhouse attendants may have bought marijuana for players.
Haggerty segued into questions Kay’s drug use and Trout’s knowledge of it. He asked about Kay taking a “leave of absence” from the Angels “because of his drug problem” in April 2019. He returned on May 31, 2019. Trout testified he didn’t know why Kay was in rehab.
Haggerty moved into questions about the Angels’ first home game after Skaggs’ death on July 12, 2019. Skaggs’ mother threw a strike as the ceremonial first pitch, and Trout hit a home run in his first at bat, on the first pitch.
“Now, I don’t want to get too metaphysical … but did you feel Tyler’s energy and his spirit that night?” Haggerty asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Trout answered confidently.
“How did you feel when you were running around the bases?” Haggerty asked.
“I mean, it felt good to hit a homer, but emotional,” Trout answered.
“Did you feel Tyler’s energy, his spirit that night?” Haggerty asked.
“I did,” Trout answered.
Haggerty continued questioning Trout about the details of the game, including that the Angels scored seven runs against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning and 13 overall, when Skaggs’ birth is July 13 or 7/13.
“Well, every kid wants to have a perfect night where they go four for four or five for five, right?” Haggerty asked.
“Yes,” Trout answered.
“What’s every pitcher’s dream?” Haggerty asked.
“A no hitter,” Trout answered. “Or a perfect game.”
Haggerty then asked Trout about the two pitchers who threw a no-hitter for the Angels — Taylor Cole and Felix Pena — and commented that the players behind them “were making miraculous plays.”
“Do you know the date of the last combined no hitter in the state of California, prior to July 12, 2019?” Haggerty asked.
“Nah,” Trout answered. Haggerty said it was July 13, 1991, which is Skaggs’ birthdate.
Haggerty ended his exam by asking Trout about Skaggs’ legacy.
“When you think of Tyler Skaggs, does drug addict come to mind?”
“Uh, no,” Trout answered.
“What pops into our mind when someone says Tyler Skaggs?” Haggerty asked.
“Unbelievable guy” and “life of the party,” Trout answered.
Haggerty then, to enter them as evidence in trial, briefly asked Trout about dozens of communications between him and Angels employees about tasks and errands, including golf outings at Strawberry Farms and Pelican Hill in Orange County, jet ski rentals in Dana Point, tickets for an Anaheim Ducks hockey game, tickets to a Jason Aldean concert and a Wrigley Field tour for Trout’s friend.
‘I’ve never even heard of that,’ Trout says in cross
Court recessed for 15 minutes before Theodora began cross-examination. It lasted about 19 minutes, and Theodora began by asking Trout, “Mike, how are you?” — “Good,” Trout answered — then asking, “I have to ask you first, what’s harder: hitting a 100 mph fastball or showing up in court for the first in a suit and tie?”
“Showing up in court, no doubt,” Trout answered.
Theodora asked Trout about “clubbies” or clubhouse attendants, who work with players and don’t have offices away from the clubhouse like Kay did. Trout said they’d run errands for him such as “if I needed a pair of shoes” or a laptop from the nearby Best Buy. Mead sometimes set up golf times for him, “but the clubbies would do more personal things for you,” Theodora said.
“I know it sounds like a silly question, but I’m just going to ask you as a team leader: In your view, was procuring drugs that were not prescribed to a player part of Tim Mead’s job responsibilities?” Theodora asked.
“No,” Trout answered.
“Was procuring drugs that were not prescribed to a player, in your view, part of Erik Kay’s job responsibilities?” Theodora asked.
“No,” Trout answered.
Trout answered “yes” when Theodora asked if Kay was good at his job. Trout testified that Kay was “shooting straight” with media interviews by telling him what to expect.
Theodora moved into questions about Trout hearing from a clubhouse attendant that Kay may be abusing drugs.
“What was your overall view of Eric Kay? Did you want him to get treated and healthy?” Theodora asked.
“Yes,” Trout answered.
“Why was that?” Theodora asked.
“For anybody, for somebody dealing with something, whether it’s drugs or mental illness, I want them to seek help,” Trout answered.
Theodora asked about Trout’s lack of knowledge of Skaggs’ drug use, and he asked about Trout learning after Skaggs’ death of other players who used opioid drugs. Trout answered “no” when he asked if he knew before Skaggs died that C.J. Cron, Mike Morin and Blake Parker got opioids from Kay. He said he’d heard “from New York” about Harvey, referring to Harvey’s cocaine use while with the Mets.
“Would you have any suspicion at all that he was using any drugs that were not prescribed?” Theodora asked.
Trout mentioned “marijuana.”
“Prior to Tyler’s death, did you have any reason to suspect that Eric Kay was providing drugs to Cam Bedrosian or Mr. Parker or Mr. Morin or Mr. Cron?” Theodora asked.
“No,” Trout answered.
Theodora again asked about Skaggs.
“Had you had any inkling at all before he died that he had any issues?” Theodora asked.
“No,” Trout answered.
“So to the extent if it was true that Tyler Skaggs and these other five players were using drugs, did they keep it secret?” Theodora asked.
“Yes,” Trout answered.
Theodora asked if players can “chop up opioids that are not prescribed them” and ingest them “to play through the pain.”
“Everything that you get from the medical staff is prescribed for that. I’ve never even heard of that,” Trout answered.
Trout testified he would “definitely want him to get help” if he knew Skaggs was struggling with addiction.
“Would you want Eric Kay and Tyler Skaggs treated the same way, regardless of what kind of drug addiction they have?” Theodora asked.
“Yes,” Trout answered.
Haggerty didn’t ask questions in re-direct, but he asked a question submitted by a juror: Does Trout recall what year it was that he started thinking maybe I shouldn’t sign things for Eric until I verify where the memorabilia is going?
Trout answered, “I didn’t know specifically” and doesn’t have “the exact date” “but it was closer to when Tyler passed.”
Trout left the courthouse using a non-public elevator and exit into a parking garage. No one got a good photo of him, but sketch artist Bill Robles was in court for his testimony.
The trial continues Wednesday in Santa Ana. Several great journalists are covering every day of it, including my friend Sean Emery for the Orange County Register. For $3, you can subscribe to the Register online for a year and read all his articles.
Here are some videos I got of Trout during Angels games last summer.
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