Los Angeles Angels Trainer Found Guilty
Former Angel’s Trainer Eric Kay has been Found Guilty in the Death of Pitcher Tyler Skaggs
By JT Scott
Staff Writer
On February 18, former Los Angeles Angels trainer Eric Kay was found guilty in connection to the death of starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
Skaggs, a left-handed pitcher for the Angels, died of an overdose on July 1, 2019. He played minor league ball for the Diamondbacks until 2015, when he was signed by the Angels where he would ultimately finish his career.
The cause of Skaggs death had been diagnosed as an accidental overdose for almost three years. Then in early February, four former Angels players (Matt Harvey, CJ Cron, Mike Morin and Cameron Bedrosian) came out to the media and claimed that trainer Eric Kay supplied them and Skaggs with prescription drugs during their time with the Angels.
This discovery sent shockwaves through the baseball community since it was Skaggs’ own trainer that supplied him with the drugs that killed him. On top of that, Matt Harvey, one of the players that testified against Kay, had previously been on drug probation from the MLB for cocaine use. Kay was aware of this and took advantage of Harvey’s drug issue and targeted him.
Other players that testified like CJ Cron and Cam Bedrosian were lucky enough to not get hooked on the drugs and turned Kay’s offers down.
“I didn’t like the way they made me feel,” said Cron in an interview with MLB insider. “I tried them once and I hated it.”
News of Eric Kay’s case has enraged MLB fans like Alex Stroh.
“I hope that guy rots in jail,” said Alex Stroh, a freshman. “It’s bad enough he supplied Skaggs, and then he went after other guys after his death? That’s unbelievable.”
With this verdict, reports of other teams supplying players with drugs have begun to come out. This is not a good look for the MLB amid the lockout that postponed the start of the regular season.
“I just miss watching baseball,” said Marina Bundalo, a freshman. “The lockout was already troubled enough and now this?”
The MLB has yet to release a statement on the matter. Eric Kay’s sentencing is set for June 28th of 2022, when he will face a minimum of 20 years in federal prison.
