When the Los Angeles Angels tossed a no-hitter by committee on July 13th, Tyler Skaggs’ presence was felt in more ways than one.
On the night in which recently deceased Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs was to be honored by the Angels organization, three separate occurrences demonstrated just how everpresent he was in the game.
First, the night kicked off with Skaggs’ mother tossing the ceremonial first pitch of the game as all of his teammates, donning #45 in his honor, stood on the sidelines watching. Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Skaggs, tossed a strike from the mound before pointing up to the sky — perhaps foreshadowing how the game would end?
Soon after, Skaggs’ presence would be felt for a second time when Mike Trout stepped up to the plate. Wearing Skaggs’ number, Trout would send the first pitch he saw of the 454-feet to center field, according to Statcast.
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Later, on the 103rd pitch of the game, Felix Pena would induce a grounder to the right side of the field to complete the no-hitter. Just like Mrs. Skaggs did to start the game, Pena would remove his cap and point to the sky.
What’s more, according to Stats By Stats, the last time any team in the state of California managed to toss a combined no-hitter was on July 13, 1991, the same day Tyler Skaggs was born. If you were fortunate enough to watch the game on the east coast, the game ended just before 1 AM on July 13.
Skeptics would call all of these occurrences coincidence, but there comes a time where you have to question just how all of this could be possible. In a postgame interview, Trout shook his head in bewilderment at what had taken place.
“You can’t make this stuff up,” Trout would tell a crowd of reporters, “I’m speechless.”
You really can’t make all of this up.