Sudden Death

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Tyler Skaggs was a 27-year-old, professional athlete, and by all accounts, was a good guy.

He was found dead in his hotel room.

It’s always a shock when a young person is cut down in the prime of their life. It’s also a true surprise when a seemingly healthy person just expires.

It doesn’t make sense.

It’s not how it’s supposed to be.

Immediately we found out that foul play and suicide were out.

I thought of Pistol Pete and Reggie Lewis and others who had an undetected problem with their ticker.

“Overdose!” One moron without info posted on Twitter.

Yet, it’s not out of the question ever these days.

It makes me really wonder why my heart sinks when I hear of a random death, and someone else just displays zero compassion for anyone.

“Wow! He was pitching well,” one guy wrote. “You think the Angels deal for a starter now?”

Heartless.

Skaggs was newly married.

He suffered some rough injuries and battled back.

His confidence in himself was something everyone spoke about.

Maybe he would’ve been an ace...

...maybe he would’ve led them to a World Series.

On Tuesday, the Angels won their first game after the sudden death. They won.

Skaggs number 45 was all over the place.

One of the Angels hitters homered, and then pointed to the sky as he approached home plate.

Tears in his eyes for his friend.

I always think about the death of another Angels player, Lyman Bostock. He was a good player who was shot to death back in 1978.

Mistaken identity.

It was the first time I realized that sports stars were people too.

Then Thurman Munson died suddenly.

Sad.

RIP to Tyler Skaggs.

He was already a star to the people who loved him.

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