Kay sentenced 22 years for role in Skaggs’ death
FORT WORTH, Texas — A former Los Angeles Angels employee was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday for providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in Texas.
Eric Kay, dressed in an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs and leg shackles, didn’t react when U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means read his sentence. Kay faced at least 20 years in prison on one of the two counts.
There was no reaction from Skaggs’ widow and mother or members of Kay’s family, including one of his sons who read a statement on his behalf before sentencing. A bailiff had warned observers they would be removed from the court over any outbursts.
Prosecutors presented evidence of Kay, 48, making derogatory comments about Skaggs, his family, prosecutors and jurors in phone calls and emails after he was convicted in February.
There was emotional testimony from both sides in federal court in Fort Worth, about 15 miles from where the Angels were supposed to open a four-game series against the Texas Rangers on July 1, 2019, the day Skaggs was found dead in a suburban Dallas hotel room.
Kay was convicted on one count each of drug distribution resulting in death and drug conspiracy. Means recommended Kay serve his time in his home state of California. He has been in prison in Fort Worth since the conviction.
A coroner’s report said Skaggs, 27, had choked to death on his vomit and that a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was in his system.
The trial included testimony from five major league players who said they received oxycodone pills from Kay at various times from 2017 to 2019, the years Kay was accused of obtaining pills and giving them to players at Angel Stadium. Kay also used drugs himself, according to testimony and court documents.
After revealing the sentence, Means said he dreaded this day from the beginning of the case because the 20-year minimum could be considered too harsh for the crime.
Means said he added two years because of Kay’s comments to his family in jailhouse conversations after the conviction.
Kay said of the Skaggs family during a recorded call, “All they see are dollar signs. They may get more money with him dead than [when] he was playing because he sucked.”
The judge interrupted Kay to quote the former public relations employee as saying in another exchange, “I’m here because of Tyler Skaggs. Well, he’s dead. So f— him.”
“That’s disgusting,” Kay responded. “I don’t know why I said that. I was mad at the world.”
Means appeared skeptical, even saying at one point after delivering the sentence that he would probably become a target of Kay’s anger.
The judge said Kay displayed “a callousness and refusal to accept responsibility and even be remorseful for something that you caused.”
“Tyler Skaggs wasn’t a perfect person,” the judge said. “But he paid the ultimate price for it.”
Kay sobbed while one of his three sons spoke to the judge from the lectern in a plea for leniency. Carli Skaggs, the widow, fought back tears much the same way she did when she testified during the trial.
“Not only am I grieving the loss of my husband,” she said. “I’m grieving the loss of myself.”
Defense attorney Cody Cofer, who took over after Kay’s two trial lawyers were removed, sought a motion that would have allowed Means to consider a sentence below the 20-year minimum. It was denied.
“We are very grateful to everyone who worked so hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay,” the Skaggs family said in a statement. “Today’s sentencing isn’t about the number of years the defendant received. The real issue in this case is holding accountable the people who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl.”
Kay served as the team’s public relations contact on many road trips, and the trip to Texas was his first since returning from rehab. Kay was placed on leave shortly after Skaggs’ death and never returned to the team. He didn’t testify during his trial.
The government argued at trial that Kay was the only one who could have given Skaggs the drugs that led to his death, that the delivery was in Texas and that fentanyl was the cause of death. Prosecutors say Kay gave Skaggs counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
BALTIMORE — Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford hit for the cycle in Sunday night’s 11-2 win against the Orioles, completing the feat with a three-run homer down the left-field line in the eighth inning.
It was the first career four-hit game for Langford, who was drafted last year by the Rangers with the No. 4 overall pick and made a swift rise to the majors to make Texas’ Opening Day roster this season.
It was the first cycle in the major leagues in 2024.
Langford tripled in the fourth, doubled in the fifth and singled in the sixth.
At 22 years, 229 days old, Langford is the youngest player in Rangers history to hit for the cycle. He’s the 15th rookie to hit for the cycle since Major League Baseball established an official definition of rookie status in 1958.
The only other rookie in Rangers history to hit for the cycle was Oddibe McDowell, in 1985 against Cleveland. He recorded his in his 59th career game; Langford had his in his 60th career game.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Buster Olney, ESPN Senior Writer
BALTIMORE — The rules for the 2024 Home Run Derby have been altered significantly, with some of the changes designed to reduce the frantic pace that has concerned past participants.
Within each player’s timed round, the hitter will see a maximum of 40 pitches — similar to how there is a maximum number of basketballs shot in the NBA 3-point contest. This will place a greater premium on efficiency between the batting practice pitchers and the hitters.
Since the Derby moved to a timed format in 2015, the rounds of swings have often shifted into a race of the hitter and pitcher trying to get through as many swings as possible. In last year’s Derby, all of the participants averaged more than 43 swings per round.
Some past participants have spoken about how exhausting the event has become, and have privately fretted about what they perceive to be a heightened risk for injury because of the accelerated pace, which is not typical for hitters taking batting practice.
The hitters will have three minutes in each of the first two rounds, and two minutes in the championship round.
Also, the bonus time for each hitter will no longer be clocked. Instead, the hitter will continue until he’s made three outs — a swing that generates a result other than a home run. A fourth out can be earned with a 425-foot home run in the bonus time. This change will allow for an unlimited number of home runs in the bonus period, meaning that a hitter who is behind will always have a chance to make up a deficit.
Additionally, the first round will no longer be a head-to-head bracket. Instead, the top four first-round scores from the eight hitters will advance to the semifinal bracket, with ties broken by the longest home run in the first round.
Toronto‘s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the 2023 Home Run Derby in Seattle. He and his father are the first father-son duo to win the Derby, which is typically among the highest-rated MLB events every year.
Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson became the first player to publicly commit to participating in the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on July 15, making the announcement himself during Sunday Night Baseball. Henderson is among the MLB home run leaders with 26.
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Rachel Doerrie, ESPN
The 2024 NHL draft was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Count me among those who wouldn’t mind seeing the event held at Sphere going forward. I understand wanting to spread league events around, but when you hit a grand slam like the NHL did here, don’t mess with what works.
In terms of the selection process itself, some teams had fantastic drafts, extracting value with each selection, while other teams left value on the table with the talent available.
When considering a grade for each team, the totality of their work was considered: quality of players drafted, selection value and value derived from trades. Here’s our grade for every front office, with insights on particular high-value picks and trades (as well as questionable ones).
Jump to a team:
ANA | BOS | BUF | CGY
CAR | CHI | COL | CBJ
DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH
NJ | NYI | NYR | OTT
PHI | PIT | SJ | SEA
STL | TB | TOR | UTA
VAN | VGK | WSH | WPG
ATLANTIC DIVISION
When you have only four draft selections and three are in the 100s, it is difficult to come away with much.
Dean Letourneau was a quintessential Boston pick, even if it was a bit of a reach. The potential for Tage Thompson 2.0 has to be enticing for a franchise that needs help down the middle. He’s going to take a few years, but there is a real chance Letourneau is a unicorn, and Boston took that swing.
Elliott Groenewold, Jonathan Morello and Loke Johansson don’t have NHL projections, but you don’t expect that from midround picks. It’s a long shot for those three to make it, but they are fine bets.
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