This is Painfully All Too Familiar

Not again, Oh no, please - not again.

Tyler Skaggs is gone.  Unfortunately for Angels fans, this is an all-too-familiar place.  We’ve been here before.  It’s not a comfortable place.  It’s a very sad and very confusing place and we will never, ever get used to it.

We Angels fans, like every other fan base often use terms like “us” and “we” when discussing our favorite team.  That speaks to the level of connection we have with our team.  We experience the emotional highs and lows that go along with winning and losing.  Even though it may be a bit silly, we feel that the team’s victories are also our victories.  

We all lost Tyler Skaggs,  but… this loss is not about us.

This time is about Tyler’s family and those that were close to him.  Our thoughts and our prayers go out to them as they try to manage their grief, their sorrow and their pain.

I don’t know how the Angels move forward from this.  I really don’t.  Baseball is hard enough as it is. 

Perhaps we fans can play a role in helping the team move forward by simply showing up.  It’s time to show how much we care and that when we say “we” and “us” we really mean it.  

It is my hope that on July 12 when the Angels return home for their first home game since Tyler's passing, Angels fans show up in huge numbers. We need to show up even if it's hard. We need to show up even if we don't want to because again, it's not about us and showing up matters.

We also "show up" by telling stories.  It’s important to tell the stories that speak to a time when we might have had an interaction with Tyler that meant something special to us.  We share the good things we’ve read or heard about Tyler too. We recount those stories to others and in doing so we all remember. 

We remember that Tyler Skaggs was one of us. We remember that Tyler Skaggs competed at the highest level and he sought out victories so that we could experience joy.   

We are also thankful for having had the opportunity to be connected to him in some small way.  He may not have known our names, but he definitely felt our presence every time he stepped on a baseball field. Tyler showed up for us and now it's time for us to do the same.

We will all miss Tyler Skaggs, but more importantly – we will never forget him.