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U.S. news

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs dies suddenly, game vs. the Texas Rangers postponed

"Tyler has, and always will be, an important part of the Angels Family," according to a team statement.

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs dies suddenly

July 1, 201900:55

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July 1, 2019, 9:09 PM UTC / Updated July 1, 2019, 9:54 PM UTC
By David K. Li and Doha Madani

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, 27, was found dead in a Texas hotel room Monday, prompting the team to postpone its game against the Texas Rangers.

"It is with great sorrow that we report that Tyler Skaggs passed away earlier today in Texas," the American League team from Anaheim, California, said in a statement.

"Tyler has, and always will be, an important part of the Angels Family. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Carli and his entire family during this devastating time."

The team did not immediately say how Skaggs died. The Southlake Police Department issued a statement that said officers found Skaggs unconscious in a Hilton hotel room and pronounced him dead at the scene.

"At this time, no foul play is suspected," police said. "This investigation is ongoing and we will release pertinent information as it is available."

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Skaggs is a native Californian, born and raised in Santa Monica. The Angels drafted the left-handed pitcher in 2009 in the first round but ultimately traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2012 but was traded back to the Angels the next year.

The Texas Rangers issued a statement offering the team's condolences on Skaggs' death.

"The Texas Rangers organization wants to express its deepest sympathies to the family of Tyler Skaggs and to the entire Angels organization on this shocking loss," the statement read. "The thoughts and prayers of every member of the Texas Rangers and all their fans are with the Angels organization at this difficult time."

A number of other MLB teams, including the Chicago Cubs, the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers, put out statements on social media offering sympathies to Skaggs' family and teammates Monday.

The league's commissioner, Robert D. Manfred Jr., said in a statement Monday that he was "deeply saddened" by the news.

"All of us at Major League Baseball extend our deepest condolences to Tyler’s wife Carli, their family, their friends and all of his Angels’ teammates and colleagues," the commissioner said. "We will support the Angels’ organization through this most difficult period, and we will make a variety of resources available to Tyler’s teammates and other members of the baseball family.”

Fellow left-handed pitcher and Tampa Bay Rays prospect Ryan Sherriff spoke out on Skaggs' death on his Twitter account Monday.

"RIP to my longtime friend and Little League teammate i love you brotha," Sheriff wrote. "RIP Tyler Skaggs."

The Angels have been touched by a stunning number of tragedies in the team’s relatively short history.

Shortstop Mike Miley, 23, was killed in a one-car crash in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, before the 1977 season.

Popular outfielder Lyman Bostock, 27, was gunned down near the end of the 1978 season. The Angels were on the road playing the Chicago White Sox and Bostock was visiting family in Gary, Indiana.

The estranged husband of a family friend opened fire on a car carrying Bostock, killing the career .311 hitter. The killer, Leonard Smith, was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

And in April 2009, rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart, 22, and two others in his car were killed by a drunken driver, just hours after he pitched six shutout innings against the Oakland Athletics.

Infielder Luis Valbuena, who played for the Angels in 2017 and 2018, was killed in Venezuela during a car crash and attempted robbery.

The 33-year-old and José Castillo, also an infielder who last played with the Houston Astros, died when their SUV veered off the road. They were trying to avoid an object placed in their path by bandits who planned to rob them.

David K. Li

David K. Li is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

Doha Madani

Doha Madani is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. 

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