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Michael Rothstein
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A former Los Angeles Angels teammate of deceased pitcher Tyler Skaggs testified Tuesday that the two players and the team employee who provided them with illicit pills were secretive about their drug use, and that the team was not responsible for what they did.
Former pitcher Mike Morin told jurors in the Skaggs family’s wrongful death case against the team that during the 2017 season, he believed only he, Skaggs and Eric Kay, the then-Angels communications employee who provided them with pills, knew about the illicit drugs.
Morin said he didn’t tell his wife or his family, and he testified he knew what he was doing was illegal. He also testified to how he thought Skaggs felt.
«I think that he wanted to not have a bunch of people know what he was doing,» Morin said. «That’s it.»
Morin was asked three versions of the same question: Does he believe Skaggs was responsible for his decision to drink alcohol and chop up and snort opioids on the night he died in a Texas hotel?
did not make anyone at the Angels aware of her son’s Percocet addiction in 2013. She did say she would have told the Angels had they asked her about it.
During her continuing testimony Tuesday, defense attorneys questioned Hetman on parts of her earlier sworn testimony, in which she said she didn’t believe her son had a Percocet addiction in 2013.
«I just didn’t use the word addiction,» Hetman said of her deposition testimony. «You can use whatever word you want. Problem, issue, addiction, it’s all the same.»
The trial continues Wednesday with testimony from expert compensation witnesses who are expected to explain how much Skaggs could have earned for the remainder of his career.
