Angels outfielder Mike Trout testifies he loved late teammate Skaggs and saw no signs of drug use

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout testified Tuesday that he loved his teammate Tyler Skaggs like a brother and never saw signs of drug use before he died of an overdose on a team trip to Texas in 2019.

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout testified Tuesday that he loved his teammate Tyler Skaggs like a brother and never saw signs of drug use before he died of an overdose on a team trip to Texas in 2019.

Trout, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player who hit his 400th career home run this year, took the stand in a civil trial in Southern California over whether the MLB team should be held responsible for its communication director Eric Kay giving Skaggs a fentanyl-laced pill that led to his death.

Trout, who acknowledged he didn't like speaking in public, told the courtroom about his friendship with Skaggs from the time they roomed together in a host family's basement as rookies in Iowa and through playing for the Angels. Both were drafted out of high school as teens in 2009 — Trout from New Jersey, and Skaggs from California.

Skaggs was "very funny, outgoing, fun to be around" and toted around a boom box as the team's DJ, Trout said.

Tyler Skaggs.Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty ImagesTrout said Kay was good at his job, getting players to give interviews and guiding them on which questions they might be asked. Trout said the players used to pay Kay for stunts like taking a fastball to the leg, shaving off his eyebrows and eating a pimple off Trout's back. At one point, a clubhouse attendant suggested the players should stop, Trout said, because Kay might be using the money for a "bad purpose."