Tyler Skaggs: LA Angels Fans Find Creative Ways to Pay Tribute Amid Questions Over Pitcher's Cause of Death

L.A. Angels fans have been finding creative ways to pay tribute to Tyler Skaggs, amid questions [...]

By Stephen Andrew

L.A. Angels fans have been finding creative ways to pay tribute to Tyler Skaggs, amid questions over the pitcher's cause of death. The O.C. Register shared a story of some fans who recently honored Skaggs with a sand-sculpture. A group of them descended upon Baby Beach in Dana Point Harbor and crafted the giant A with wings. They also carved out his name and his number, 45.

Skaggs cousin Ray Salcido was present for the unofficial memorial, and told reporters "I feel like he was looking down."

The heartfelt event took place on Saturday, July 13, which would have been Skaggs 28th birthday.

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Another memorial that recently turned up is in the form of wall graffiti that was found in Venice Beach, California.

One person pointed out that "this beach & graffiti wall is about a mile away from Santa Monica High School, where Skaggs pitched for the Vikings."

The memorials came as many questions about Skaggs' death are swirling. The star athlete passed away on July 1, with his body being discovered in a hotel room just hours before his team was scheduled to play the Texas Rangers.

California newspaper The Santa Monica Observer reported that Skaggs overdosed on opioids, but deleted their story after receiving violent threats. The outlet's publisher David Ganezer later issued a formal statement on the situation, titling his editorial, "Why did we take down our original story about the death of a ballplayer?"

Ganezer shared that he decided to remove the post after being harassed by Internet users. "Not simply in the form of a threat letter from lawyers Kirkland and Ellis, representing the Angels and a certain deceased ball player. And not just in the form of anonymous phone calls and emails," he said. "No, we also received multiple personal threats and attacks from anonymous sources.

"We'll never know if they were actually acquainted with the deceased, fans or whatever. But I do know that a young female intern from our organization got a creepy text message on her phone, just after midnight," Ganezer went on to say, stating that he understands "how out of hand the potential pile-on is getting in this country."

"There are certain things worth risking your life and safety for, and others that just are not," the journalist added.

An autopsy is being done on Skaggs body, but the results will not be available until October.

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