In Memory of Tyler Skaggs: Always and Forever an Angel

Tyler Wayne Skaggs was born on July 13th, 1991, in Woodland Hills, CA, to Debbie and Darrell Skaggs. His mother Debbie was a well-respected softball and volleyball coach for Santa Monica High School, Tyler Skaggs’ future stomping grounds, and his father Darrell was a former high school shortstop.

Every parent wants their child to be a star who impacts the world around them in the best way possible, but little did they know the true impact Tyler Skaggs would have on the world, and the people, around him.

It is fitting to think that it was always Tyler Skaggs destiny to be an Angel. He never had to wait to step into his purpose, he was an Angel from the moment of his birth and even now he will continue to be an Angel always and forever. It’s so much more than his placement on an MLB team named the Angels, his career with the team was only a stamp on his purpose in this world. To be a light for everyone to look to; not just his family and teammates, but to the fans and all those young athletes looking to follow in his footsteps. He was a light to everyone in this world

Tyler Wayne Skaggs tragically passed away on July 1st, 2019 and in his wake has left what seems to be a permanent void. It may seem that way for now, and probably for a long time, but when we look to appreciate the spirit he carried around on a daily basis and the lessons he’s left to us we’ll be able to understand that his spirit is still there with us. Though it may not be in the physical it is not any less complete; Tyler Wayne Skaggs will forever be with all of us, his lovely spirit, his motivating energy, the dreams and hopes he had for his loved ones, all that he’s left to us keeps him complete in our hearts and minds. For his loved ones he is still there everyday cheering them on, motivating them to be the best that they can be, encouraging them to live the fullest versions of their lives, and all the while cradling them in a love that will never go away.

For his teammates he will always be there as a reminder of how to appreciate and approach the game with youthful spirit, how to bond with the athletes that become your brothers over the course of the season, and most importantly how to be a positive role model to the community and to your fellow athletes.

For his fans he will live in our hearts as an Angel for life.

Tyler Wayne Skaggs was born to be an Angel in spirit and during his life journey he became an Angel in the most literal sense. His existence is nothing short of universal poetry. The circumstances surrounding his passing are heartbreaking, yet beyond the tragedy of his early passing there is a beauty in knowing that his destiny is one that will keep him with us all forever.

Tyler Wayne Skaggs; an Angel at birth, an Angel in life, and an Angel for eternity.

1991-2019

Tyler Wayne Skaggs was born in Woodland Hills, CA to Debbie and Darrell Skaggs. Athletics became a fixture in his life early on as his family was born and bred with sports in their DNA. His mother Debbie, a highly respected softball and volleyball coach, would go on to become the biggest influence in her son Tylers life. His mother took on the role of his personal coach and would eventually retire from her own professional career in 2015 to give Tyler her fullest attention.

It’s been said that Tyler Skaggs had one of the best left-handed curveballs in the game, but that wouldn’t be the case if it wasn’t for his mothers attention and care to bring out the best out of the deep well of potential within her son. It really is beautiful to be able to look back at the life of Tyler Wayne Skaggs and see all the assistance he had in his life journey towards fulfilling his purpose to be an Angel in both life and baseball. His destiny truly was one that had to be lived for the good of all around him, it’s impossible to ignore this when you see how many guiding hands he had directed him towards his destiny. His life was one that was truly meant to be, for his life was one that elevated the lives of others.

Eventually Tyler would find himself pitching at the same school his mother was a profoundly respected coach and fixture of the local community. While pitching at Santa Monica High School Skaggs made the Varsity team his freshman year and threw 14.2 innings of 0.95 ERA baseball alongside 8 K’s and 2 BB’s with two wins in two starts. This was clearly only the beginning of a bright, vibrant career laying just ahead. His sophomore season saw him receive more responsibility as a team-mate, that year Skaggs pitched 43.1 innings to a 1.13 ERA alongside 42 K’s and 11 BB’s with 7 wins in eight starts as well as a complete game to boot. Not only was he a wizard on the mound, he has some good swings in him too as he hit .300 in 23 PA’s and scored 3 Runs while knocking in 6 RBI’s.

His junior year is when things would really take off; in 2008 Skaggs received the “Ocean League” Player of the Year Award, the Ocean League being an athletic conference affiliated with the CIF Southern Section.Skaggs junior season saw him twirl 63.1 IP and collect 89 K’s to 22 BB’s all to a 1.11 ERA. His senior year was strong as well, with Skaggs pitching 48 innings of 1.16 ERA baseball while collecting 76 K’s to 11 BB’s. He swung the bat really well that year as well as Skaggs hit .328 in 76 PA’s with 12 Runs scored, 6 RBI’s, and 9 Doubles. The talent kept growing and growing come senior year, but his explosive junior year is what solidified in everyones minds the actuality of Skaggs potential to be something larger than life itself.

After his high school career it was only a matter of time until life took off for Skaggs in a big way.

The Angels almost missed Tyler Skaggs in the 2009 draft; at the time Tyler was debating whether or not he should attend Cal State Fullerton and pursue a college career. The Angels were able to convince him to enter the draft, and given his first round selection by the Angels it’s apparent how highly they valued him and this was before he was even a part of the organization. The Angels made it a mission to make Skaggs one of their own, and looking back at the years past we can see the strength of his destiny drawing him to be in the company of Angels. Tyler Wayne Skaggs was the 40th pick in a draft that saw the Angels nab Mike Trout as well as Patrick Corbin, two fellow Angels that Skaggs would grow incredibly close to and form the bonds of a lifetime.

It is often said that art is an imitation of life and this sentiment couldn’t be any more true with Tyler Skaggs walking this earth as a living, breathing Angel during the precious time we had with him.

His career with the Angels started off strong, so strong that he would only be with the team for a year and a half as he was traded to the Diamondbacks in the middle of the 2010 season. Prior to the trade Skaggs pitched 10 innings of Arizona League and Orem Owlz Rookie Ball in 2009 and maintained a 1.80 ERA with 13 K’s during that short stretch. 2010 saw him pitching 82.1 innings of 3.61 ERA baseball alongside 82 K’s and 21 BB’s with the Angels Class A affiliate, the Cedar Rapid Kernals. Tyler Skaggs ended up rooming with Mike Trout during his time with the Angels Low A affiliate, a time where Skaggs began to make the unbreakable bonds that would affect those around him for a lifetime.

On July 25th, 2010, Tyler Skaggs was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks alongside Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and Joe Saunders for prolific MLB starter Dan Haren. It was at this point that Tyler Skaggs would truly come into himself as a star pitcher. It was this year that would see Skaggs embracing his All-Star potential; all in all he pitched 98.1 innings of 3.29 ERA baseball with 102 K’s in 18 starts (23 games total). Tyler Skaggs was named an All-Star for the Midwest League. At the young age of 18 Skaggs was already making waves in the world of baseball.

Things would only get bigger for the young star as his 2011 season within the Diamondbacks organization saw him receive accolade after accolade. That 2011 season saw Skaggs hold down a 2.96 ERA in 158.1 IP alongside 198 K’s , after that performance he was named the D’backs MiLB pitcher of the year as well as given a bid to start that years Futures Game. On top of that he was named to Baseball Americas MiLB All-Star team as well being named as the D’backs 2nd best prospect by the same publication.

This would be the final step between Skaggs grinding away in the Minors and making it in the big leagues

The MLB debut of Tyler Wayne Skaggs couldn’t have gone any better for the young star. Skaggs was called up to make his debut August 22nd of 2012 and earned the win in his first MLB start, which came against the Miami Marlins, as he pitched 6.2 innings of 2 run ball. The rest of his season would be up and down with the Diamondbacks as his six MLB starts that year saw him perform to a 5.83 ERA in a total 29.1 IP. His only win that year would be in his debut start against the Marlins.

Tyler Skaggs was just 20 at the time of his first Major League looks and he didn’t spend too much time with the big league ball club. His 122.1 IP across Double and Triple A dwarfed his 29.1 MLB IP, his time within the Minors in 2012 saw him pitch to a 2.87 ERA in those 122.1 innings. Once again, Tyler Wayne Skaggs was named to the Futures Game and became just one of five future MLB talents to appear in the game for a second year straight alongside Nolan Arenado, Jurikson Profar, Wil Myers, and Manny Machado. Skaggs would continue to exist in the top class of athlete for the rest of his career.

2013 saw Skaggs struggle in the Majors once more as he pitched 32.2 innings of 5.12 ERA baseball with a record of 2 wins and 3 losses. His time in the Minors that year didn’t fare any better as Skaggs pitched 109.2 innings across Triple A and Class A Advanced and perform to a 4.60 ERA over the season. After putting up two star-studded years with the Diamondbacks Skaggs had hit a learning curve, and though it looked like opportunities were getting more difficult to grasp somewhere there was something even greater waiting in wings for him.

At the age of 21, on December 10th of 2013, Tyler Skaggs was traded for the second time in his young career in what seemed to be a stroke of circumstance. The General Manager of the Diamondbacks who traded for Skaggs in 2010, Jerry Dipoto, was now the General Manager for the Angels. Dipoto, being aware of the true talent of potential within Skaggs, decided to bring him back under his wing and swing a three team trade that saw the Angels trade Mark Trumbo and A.J Shugel to the Diamondbacks for Tyler Skaggs.

Some would call Dipotos hiring by the Angels and affinity for Tyler Skaggs circumstantial happenings which brought Skaggs over to the Halos, but the truth is that his status as an Angel was always meant to be. As I said before; an Angel at birth, an Angel in life, and an Angel for eternity.

The life of an athlete comes with the opportunity to chase glory and experience moments that the vast majority of the world would never get to touch. The glamour of the athletic life makes it seem as if some of lifes greatest moments happen on the field. Some of the most memorable moments in our own lives, as fans, can come from the accomplishments of our favorite athletes and teams.

One of the two greatest moments in Tyler Skaggs life came not on the field, but in his personal life. On November 9, 2017, Tyler Skaggs proposed to his then girlfriend Carli Mills while on vacation in Bora Bora. The two would often post about each other on their social media pages, many of these posts gushing about the vibrant love shared between the two. At the age of 26 Tyler Wayne Skaggs was engaged to be married to the love of his life and things couldn’t seem any more perfect. Following his engagement he went on to have the best season of his career and a year later, on New Years Eve of 2018, the two were wed in a ceremony that saw many teammates, both current and former, attend to celebrate the momentous occasion in the life of our young Angel.

Tyler Skaggs life was a life lived with love. From his love of the sport, to the love of his friends, family and teammates, to the ultimate love between him and his wife Carli; each moment of Skaggs life seemed to radiate with love and blinding positivity. From watching the inside-the-clubhouse videos of Tyler Skaggs interacting with his teammates all of us fans could see how much people loved being around him. Constantly would we see his infectious energy spread to his teammates as he danced and joked in the dugout during games. It always seemed like Skaggs lived every moment to its absolute fullest. Tyler Skaggs understood the beauty of life, he understood how precious life can be, and because of that he radiated love and joy for all around him to feel.

There are many lessons to be learned from the life that Tyler Skaggs lived, lessons that he would want you to carry forward in life and use to make yourself the best version of yourself that you can be. Be that person who fills a room with joyful energy when you walk in, be that person who wants to light everyones face up with smiles. Be the person who brings light into this world, no matter how big or small. Be the person who lives not just for the benefit of yourself, but the benefit of all around you. Even from watching on the television or reading stories from his teammates, friends, and family you could always tell Tyler Skaggs was the kind of person who liked making others happy because it made him happy. That’s the mark of a person who is larger than life, one who seeks to make life a greater experience for all others sharing in it’s existence.

Tyler Wayne Skaggs lived a beautiful life, because he lived a life where everyone was his friend. He lived a life where everyone was someone he could share his love and enthusiasm with. Tyler was deeply active in community efforts; so much of his time outside of baseball was spend giving back to everyone around him. He spent much of his time attending events for children and visiting the sick of all ages in hospitals around the country. Tyler Skaggs gave as much of himself as he could to everyone around him and to the game of baseball itself, that right there is the mark of a rare human being, one who is giving every bit of himself to those around him while also finding strength in those same people he gives to. The more he gave to others the greater the light of the world around him became, and the brighter that light around him grew so too did his own light grow brighter and brighter.

That is the most beautiful way any person could live their life; spreading love and goodness everywhere you go. That is kind of life that Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs lived, a life that his parents Debbie and Darrell Skaggs could only have dreamed of on that magical day back on July 13th, 1991.

Tyler Wayne Skaggs; an Angel at birth, an Angel in life, and an Angel for eternity.

1991-2019