Skaggs' mom: Knew about son's addiction; wasn't asked by Angels - ESPN

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Debbie Hetman, the mother of deceased Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs and one of the plaintiffs in the family's wrongful death civil lawsuit against the franchise, testified Monday that she didn't know whether her son ever informed the team about his drug addiction, but that the organization never asked her any questions about him.

If the team had asked, Hetman said, she would have told the Angels he became addicted to Percocet after the 2013 season. She said her son came to her and asked for help. The Angels traded for Skaggs before the 2014 season.

The Angels have long said they were not aware of Skaggs' drug problems, one of the key arguments the defense has been building in the trial that entered its sixth week Monday. The Angels contend they are not responsible for Skaggs' death, and it was his reckless decisions in mixing alcohol and opioids that led to his death from an accidental fentanyl overdose in a Texas hotel room in 2019.

Monday saw the two main plaintiffs in the case — Hetman and Skaggs' widow, Carli Skaggs — take the stand in emotional testimony.

Hetman explained how Skaggs came to her and Skaggs' stepfather following the 2013 season, when Skaggs pitched in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, and told them he was addicted to Percocet. They worked with Skaggs to see doctors and a psychiatrist with experience in addiction.

She described her son taking drug tests — part of his medical plan and insisted upon by his mother — as late as the following summer to make sure he was staying clean. By then, he had been traded to the Angels. Hetman believed her son was OK following the 2013 admission because he looked more like himself than the «very sullen and lost» person she saw after