SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) — Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout testified on Tuesday in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Tyler Skaggs.

The lawsuit claims the Angels ignored warning signs that former communications director Eric Kay was supplying opioids to players.

Just one month after hitting his 400th career home run, Angels superstar outfielder Mike Trout made an appearance in Orange County Superior Court. He took the stand as a witness in a civil trial more than six years after his teammate and good friend was found dead in a Texas hotel room after a drug overdose.

“He met Tyler when he was only 17 years old, and they were roommates together. He knew him intimately, so if anyone could attest to the character, the kindness, and generosity of Tyler, it would have been Mike Trout, and he did that,” said William Haggerty, an attorney for the Skaggs family.

Haggerty is part of a team of attorneys representing the Skaggs family, which is suing the Angels after Tyler’s death for $118 million for lost earnings, as well as compensation for their pain and suffering and punitive damages against the team. They say even though former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted of supplying Skaggs with the fentanyl that killed him, the team also bears responsibility for Skaggs’ death.

SEE ALSO: Mother, widow of late Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs break their silence in interview

The widow and mother of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs tell their story on camera for the first time since Skaggs died after taking fentanyl-laced oxycodone in 2019.

“We think the Angels are responsible, or we wouldn’t have brought this lawsuit. They knew or should have known that Eric Kay was distributing drugs, not just to Tyler Skaggs, but to five other players on the team, and ultimately that led to Tyler’s death,” Haggerty said.

Trout got emotional on the witness stand as he testified for close to three hours.

When asked by the Skaggs family’s attorney whether he knew of clubhouse attendees –known as clubbies — providing drugs to players, his answer was non-committal, saying “maybe.”

“I think we have evidence of that. I think it will be through other witnesses, but we have evidence that the clubbies were doing that,” Haggerty said.

Attorneys representing the angels told Eyewitness News last week that Saggs himself is the one ultimately responsible for what happened.

“Angels baseball did not kill Tyler Skaggs. We wish he had told us about his troubles, and we could have helped him,” said Todd Theodora, the lead trial counsel for Angels baseball.

At least five other players are scheduled to testify later in the trial, which is expected to last until early December.

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