Angels News: Tyler Skaggs' Legacy Lives On in New MLB Opioid Initiative

J.P. Hoornstra | Jun 7, 2024

Jul 12, 2019; Anaheim, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Angels stand on the field for late pitcher Tyler Skaggs prior to the game against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports / Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Baseball is one of many partners in a new White House initiative to decrease the likelihood of opioid overdoses, like the one that contributed to the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019.

Nearly five years ago, Skaggs was found dead in a Texas hotel room, the result of a toxic ingestion of oxycodone, fentanyl, and ethanol. Former Angels communications director Eric Kay, who illegally distributed oxycodone pills to Skaggs and other Angels players,was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison in the wake of Skaggs' death.

According to a report from Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein, MLB administered 12,000 tests for drugs of abuse last year, and Coyles claims opioid use is "low" among players. Players who test positive are not subject to discipline under MLB's recreational drug use policy, which went into effect in 2019 after Skaggs' death.

"I can't think of a more important public health issue than this particular one," Jon Coyles, MLB's vice president of drug health and safety programs, told Apstein. "I think our experience and our focus on naloxone in our industry will hopefully, just because of the public facing nature of baseball, help with the public awareness and contribute to the national conversation on this."

MLB now requires all Certified Athletic Trainers travel with naloxone when MLB teams travel on the road, and committed to training employees on naloxone.

Hopefully, the new initiative is just one small step toward preventing another unnecessary player death from the same drugs that killed Skaggs.