Mike Trout Recounts ‘Emotional’ Days After Tyler Skaggs’ Death in Court Testimony

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Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout became the first player to testify in the civil trial against his team brought on by the family of late player Tyler Skaggs, who overdosed in 2019Trout testified that he had been made aware of concerns about drug abuse regarding former communications director Eric KayTrout recalled the last time he saw Skaggs and the “emotional” home game after his teammate’s death

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout recalled the “emotional” days following the death of his former teammate Tyler Skaggs in 2019.

Trout, 34, became the first Angels player to testify in the civil trial against his MLB team on Tuesday, Oct. 21, according to ESPN.

The Skaggs family is seeking $118 million in the wrongful death suit, alleging that the Angels continued employing Eric Kay, the team’s former communications director who is serving a 22-year sentence for providing Skaggs with fentanyl-laced oxycodone, despite claims that multiple people in the organization were aware of Kay’s drug abuse.

On Tuesday, Trout testified that an Angels employee had made him aware of those concerns before Skaggs’ accidental overdose in 2019, per ESPN. The outfielder also said that he spoke to Kay himself about the situation and told him, “You have to get this right,” because he has, “two boys at home.”

Trout’s testimony spanned two hours, reportedly revealing multiple interactions he had with Skaggs, whose family members were in tears in the front row of the courthouse, according to ESPN.

Angels’ pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Trout also reportedly became emotional while sharing “lighthearted memories” of him and Skaggs, the outlet said.

The last time Trout saw Skaggs, he said, was on an elevator at the team’s hotel the night Skaggs died. Trout told the jury, per ESPN, that he broke into tears when he was informed of his friend’s death in a team meeting the following morning.

Trout said it was “tough” when Kay asked him to speak to the media after the news broke, and recalled the “emotional” game days after when Skaggs’ mother Debbie threw out the game’s first pitch. That night, Trout hit a home run.

In court on Tuesday, he recalled it “felt good to hit a homer,” adding, “But emotional.”

The outfielder reportedly told the jury he had never witnessed Skaggs use any substances other than marijuana and alcohol, and he was surprised when he was informed that some of the Angels roster had been using drugs other than Viagra. Trout testified that he “may have heard” that Kay would retrieve Viagra from a doctor for players on request, per the outlet.

Mike Trout of the Angels.
Jennifer Stewart/MLB Photos via Getty

Kay was accused of supplying oxycodone by multiple former Angels players in 2022.

An opening statement from attorney Shawn Holley alleged that the Angels’ continuous employment of Kay put Skaggs “directly in harm’s way” following the concerns of the former staff member’s drug abuse.

An attorney for the Angels, Todd Theodora, argued that the team is not responsible for what their employees and players did when they weren’t on the clock, per ESPN.

Theodora also claimed that team officials were not aware of Skaggs’ drug use or that Kay had been supplying substances to players, according to the outlet, saying, Skaggs “decided to obtain the illicit pills and take the illicit drugs along with the alcohol the night he died.”

PEOPLE has contacted the Los Angeles Angels and a representative for Trout for comment.