Sympathy for the Devil
A former Angels PR man was found guilty of providing the drugs that killed pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Was a 22-year sentence too harsh?
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Despite nearly a century of futility, the Phillies never became a sentimental favorite of fans elsewhere
We are living in the golden age of Phillies baseball.
Whether they win or lose the 2022 World Series, this is the club’s fourth appearance in the Fall Classic in 29 years. They made the Series in 1993, 2008, and 2009, winning the Series in 2008.
Four trips to the World Series and one, maybe two Series crowns in almost three decades is hardly a dynasty. But it is as close as the Phillies have ever come.
Before this run of glory, the Phillies also went to the Series four times and won once — in a span of 109 seasons.
The franchise traces its roots back to the Philadelphia Quakers, who began playing in the National League in 1884. The team never made the 19th-century World Series between the National League and American Association champions. The Phillies (they changed the name for the 1890 season) did not qualify for the Temple Cup, a postseason series between the first- and second-place National League teams that ran from 1894 to 1897. They did not play in the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup, another postseason series between the first- and second-place National League teams that was played in 1900.
The franchise finally made it to the postseason in 1915. The Phillies lost to the Red Sox in five games.
The Phillies didn’t return to the World Series until 1950 when they were swept by the Yankees.
Of the 16 teams in MLB when the modern World Series began in 1903, the Phillies were the last one to win the Fall Classic. Only the St. Louis Browns-Baltimore Orioles, who broke through in 1966, were even close.
Yet, when the Phillies finally won it all in 1980, besting the Royals in six games, I don’t remember the factoid getting a mention.
The fact that this was the Phillies’ first Series title wasn’t even a big part of the hype surrounding the series.
The narrative or storyline for the Phillies in the 1980 World Series mostly concerned the tension between Phillies veterans and hard-driving manager Dallas Green.
The Phillies’ quest for a title inspired none of the poetic tributes to the fans’ frustration that accompanied the Red Sox and Cubs, and to a lesser extent the White Sox, as they came close to or finally ended their long title droughts.
There were no fables about how Pete Alexander, Chuck Klein, or Jim Konstanty put a curse on the team.
Nor I do remember anyone recounting the Phillies’ disastrous collapse in 1964 — the what-might-have-been aspect similar to the groundball going through Bill Buckner’s legs in the Red Sox’s loss to the Mets in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.
The Phillies’ colorful history as a threadbare franchise was never brought up. We were never regaled with tales about how the team supposedly used sheep rather than lawnmowers to keep the grass at a playable height.
I don’t remember TV showing pictures of the team’s old home at the Baker Bowl with its right field wall adorned with a giant ad for a soap brand that carried the tagline “The Phillies use Lifebuoy” to which someone once painted, “And they still stink.”
I asked a friend who grew up in Philadelphia if he thought it odd that the 1980 Phillies didn’t get the treatment the Cubs received in 1984 when they went to the NLCS?
“Yes,’’ he texted, “but Philly doesn’t do warm & cuddly.”
A bitter pill
Eric Kay was found guilty in the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Then the PR man made his situation worse.
Walter White: “I don’t understand. What exactly are you offering to do for me?”
Saul Goodman: “What did Tom Hagen do for Vito Corleone?”
Walter White: “I’m no . . . Vito Corleone.”
Saul Goodman: “No s —.” Laughs. “Right now, you’re Fredo.”
— Scene from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”
In the eyes of the law, Eric Kay is a drug dealer.
Kay, a former Angels public relations man, was convicted on Feb. 17 of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances in connection with the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
Skaggs was found dead of a drug overdose — after taking oxycodone laced with fentanyl — in a South Lake, Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019, when the Angels were in town to play the Rangers.
Kay is not the kind of drug dealer we are familiar with through fact or fiction.
He wasn’t burying bags full of cash in the yards like the guys in the “Cocaine Cowboys” documentaries. He wasn’t operating a giant car wash to launder his illicit profits like Walter White in “Breaking Bad.” Kay wasn’t like the tough kids who peddle their dope on the streets as they are followed by a camera crew from Nat Geo’s “Drugs Inc.” He wasn’t like Youngblood Priest in “Super Fly,” driving around in a fancy car and being a general badass
Kay is no badass. A bit of a dumbass. Mostly he is a sad figure.
The go-for
Eric Kay was an addict.
Kay’s circle of addicts included Angels players C.J. Cron, Matt Harvey, Cam Bedrosian, and Skaggs. Cron, Harvey, and Bedrosian testified at the trial. Kay's role with the group seems to have been acquiring the pills.
ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported that Kay and Skaggs had a deal that Skaggs would pay for the drugs Kay acquired.
Kay was more of an errand boy than a supplier. If this was booze instead of pills, Kay would be the guy who was sent to the liquor store all the time. You fly, I’ll buy.
What emerged from the trial were scenes of Kay texting with potential sources he found on the OfferUp app, trying to buy 10 30mg tablets at a time, hoping to get the seller to swing by Angels Stadium during a game, and attempting to sweeten the deal with free tickets or a Mike Trout autographed baseball.
Kay’s OfferUp account was tied to his work phone number and email. Not exactly a criminal mastermind.
Kay became addicted to oxycodone around 2013, his mother, Sandy Kay, told reporters.
In April 2019, Eric Kay overdosed and went into rehab. Sandy Kay said she was present at the hospital when Kay’s boss with the Angels, Tim Mead, visited. According to Sandy, Eric said Skaggs was texting him for more drugs and asked his boss to get “Skaggs off his back.”
Mead has denied the conversation took place. Eric Kay told investigators that Mead was aware of Skaggs’ drug abuse as early as 2017.
Mead has denied any knowledge of Skaggs’ drug abuse.
The stiff sentence
The major issue of the trial was who provided Skaggs with the specifics that killed him.
The sentencing was delayed several months. The license of one of Kay’s lawyers was suspended. The other withdrew from the case, accusing Kay’s mother of secretly recording a conversation with him.
Terry R. Means, the semiretired federal judge on the case, said he first thought the minimum sentence was too harsh. Kay is a non-violent offender and has no criminal history
But Means went with the minimum and then added two years because of disparaging remarks Kay made about Skaggs, the Skaggs family, and the jury.
Kay’s remarks came after his conviction. He made them during phone conversations and emails with his family during his nearly eight-month stay in federal custody awaiting sentencing. Federal law enforcement monitored his communications.
The remarks were obviously hurtful to the Skaggs family and to the citizens who served as jurors — and their dentists.
Kay apologized for the remarks at the sentencing, saying he was “mad at the world” and didn’t mean it. Means wondered aloud if he might be a target of Kay’s anger.
Assistant United States Attorney Errin Martin said these comments show the “real Eric Kay” and his lack of remorse.
Sticker shock
Kay’s attorney, Cody Cofer told the court that the original defense team and prosecutors had discussed a sentence of 5 years to 10 years in prison.
So a sentence of more than double what had previously been discussed was a bit of a shock — because of remarks that the government found out about by eavesdropping.
My wife pointed out that Kay should have assumed the government was spying on him while he was incarcerated.
But this whole story shows Eric Kay made a lot of bad choices.
Not the least of which was taking this to trial.
Federal prosecutors win more than 95% of the case they take to trial. Given those odds, only about 2% of defendants charged with federal crimes go to trial.
And the feds play for “keepsies,” as we used to say when shooting marbles on the playground.
There’s no parole in the federal system. And limited time off for good behavior. You can only qualify to have 54 days per year taken off your sentence if you meet somewhat vague criteria, as judged by the Bureau of Prisons
You can qualify to go to a halfway house or some sort of house arrest toward the end of your sentence.
Kay is 47 now. So he will probably be past retirement age when he is released from federal custody.
The attractive victim
Skaggs has pitched in seven seasons for the Diamondbacks and Angels. He had a 28-38 record with a 4.41 ERA. He never finished a season with an ERA under 4.00.
But his ERA-plus in his final two seasons was 104 and108, meaning he was slightly better than the average pitcher those two seasons.
Because he pitched for the two teams I follow most closely I saw him pitch his first game in the majors and his last. And quite a few in between. He was a guy with a lot of potential who had never put it all together for long stretches. But it is not unusual for pitchers to find themselves in their late 20s.
I have now watched two Angels pitchers throw a game and then die within a few days. (Nick Adenhart was the other.) It is something I hope to never experience again.
Skaggs was due to make $3.7 million in 2019 and he would have been eligible for free agency. He would have commanded a good salary on the open market.
Tyler Skaggs was — and always will be remembered as — tall, dark, and rather handsome. He was 12 days short of his 28th birthday when he passed away
So on one side, you have an attractive wealthy athlete who died young.
On the other side, you have a middle-aged man who looks like a CPA with, in the words of Homer Simpson, “a weakness for snack foods.”
Defense attorney Michael Molfetta in his closing argument said the government wanted Kay to be the fall guy for this tragedy. "Do you think if Eric Kay was dead we’d be here?"
Molfetta argued that Skaggs himself was responsible for his demise: “When does a grown man who's living a life of complete luxury and privilege -- he doesn't even carry his own luggage — when does he take responsibility for his own actions? Tyler Skaggs didn't deserve this; no one does. But he was responsible for it."
Skaggs’ family
Kay is hardly a standup guy. He initially lied to investigators, telling them he knew nothing of Skaggs’ drug use.
And what he said about Skaggs, his family and a jury of his peers was horrible.
But these were conversations Kay believed were private. And wouldn’t it be natural to feel some frustration and resentment?
Why did the DOJ feel the need to monitor Kay?
There is no ring or cartel that was supplying Kay. This guy was getting his drugs through what is essentially an online rummage sale, where people sell used furniture and computer parts.
Skaggs’ family, naturally, was devastated by the death and this only added to the pain.
Skaggs had just Carli Miles on New Year’s Eve 2018.
“The person I once was left with him,” she told the court during the sentencing hearing.
Isn’t a better place to make the family whole (in a legal sense) the civil courts? The family has retained Rusty Hardin, who was NFL quarterback DeShaun Watson’s lawyer in the suits brought by more than 20 young women.
The family is suing the Angels, Mead, and Kay.
Was this justice?
Kay committed a felony and someone died. He deserves some prison time.
Still, this left a bad taste in my mouth.
Assuming that the judge was looking at a sentence in the neighborhood of ten years — we don’t know that of course, but it feels that way — then Kay got 10 years for providing the drugs that killed Skaggs and 12 years for venting.
My wife is a former Arizona Highway Patrol officer. She told me a story about when she was training, an instructor told the recruits that when they pulled someone over they should never up the penalty. In other words, if you were going to let someone off with a warning, don’t make a ticket just because they were rude.
Now I know federal judges are not bound by 45-year-old training tips for Arizona troopers. And I know showing remorse is a major factor.
But I wish Means had followed the Arizona Highway Patrol instructor’s reasoning.
Things you should know about MLB
Astros dynasty: This is not only the golden age of Phillies baseball, but it is the most successful era for the Houston franchise, which began life as the Colt .45s in 1962. It took the Astros until 2005 to get to the World Series when they lost to the White Sox. The Astros are in their fourth World Series in six seasons. They won their first Series crown in 2017 when they beat the Dodgers in seven games.
Sixth Series for Dusty: Astros manager Dusty Baker has participated in almost as many World Series as the Phillies, who are in their eighth. Baker played in three with the Dodgers, winning one, managed the Giants in one, and is in his second Series with Astors. He has not won as a manager.
Accomplishments tarnished: Sadly, this era of Astros’ success will carry an asterisk with much of the public over the use of electronic devices to steal opponents’ signals. Baseball has an odd history of dealing with cheating. In 1974 Gaylord Perry admitted in his autobiography, titled “Me and the Spitter” that he regularly threw illegal pitches. MLB reacted swiftly. A scant nine years later, Perry was out of baseball at the tender age of 45. And he was only voted the Cy Young winner one more time He wasn’t elected to the Hall of Fame until his third year of eligibility. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are suspected of using steroids to compile what maybe literally be unreal numbers. No punishment, except they didn’t get elected to the Hall of Fame by the writers. But Bonds and Clemens will get in. I think the majority of fans under 40 think the two should not be punished. In the case of the Astros, there was actually some punishment. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for the 2020 season and the team was fined $5 million. Luhnow and Hinch were fired. Former bench coach Alex Cora was suspended for a season and temporarily lost his job as Red Sox manager. Carlos Beltran, who retired after the 2017 season, lost his chance to manage the Mets. No active players were punished.
Sorry, Dodgers. No give-backs: When it was revealed half a century after the fact that the New York Giants had a player stationed in the center field office at the Polo Grounds to steal cacher’s signs to the pitcher during the 1951 season — including the final game of a tie-breaking series with the Brooklyn Dodgers — the Giants didn’t offer to give the pennant back to the Dodgers. And the Astros haven’t offered the Commissioner’s Trophy from 2017 to the Dodgers.
More rule-breaking by the Astros: We assume this was by accident. Astros catcher Martin Maldonado asked for and received some bats from his former teammate Albert Pujols. Maldonado used one in the World Series opener. The Pujols model is an illegal bat. It is legal for Pujols but not Maldonado. MLB changed the rules for bat specs in 2010. Pujols was grandfathered in. But any player who debuted after 2010 can’t use that model of bat. After Maldonado was informed of the rule, he went back to his own model of bat for Game 2.
If they could change bat specs . . . I don’t remember hearing or reading anything about a change in bat specifications. I don’t really know what they changed. I don’t think it had much effect on the game. One thing that strikes me as odd: MLB has time for that minutia, but it can’t bother coming up with a definition for what constitutes a check swing. This comes up all the time, especially during the World Series. The announcers tell us what a tough call it is for the umpires “because it is not defined in the rule book.” Here’s a novel idea, MLB: Come up with a definition.
Greatest five-game series ever? The Astros and Phillies have met in postseason play before. The Astros were in the National League from 1962 through 2012. They first qualified for the postseason in 1980 and faced the Phillies in the NLCS, which was then the best three out of five. Four of the games went into extra innings. Facing elimination in Game 4, the Phillies overcame a 2-0 deficit after seven innings, winning 5-3 in 10. In Game 5, the Phillies were down 5-2 in the eighth and wound up winning 8-7 in 10 innings. Phillies reliever Tug McGraw described Game 4 this way: “It was like a motorcycle ride through an art museum. You see the pictures but afterward, you don’t remember what you saw.” That would have been a good description for the whole series.
Best mustache available: Andrew Chafin, who has what I believe to be the best mustache in the game today, is on the open market. He exercised his option with the Tigers, turning down $6.5 million to see what he can get on the open market. Chafin, a lefty who is heading into his age 33 season and has a career ERA of 3.23. In his past two seasons, he’s had a 2.29 ERA in 125 appearances with the Cubs, A’s, and Tigers.
Interesting take on this tragic situation. I have no opinion on the prosecutors or the sentence. I am curious what we will learn about the extent of knowledge within the franchise. It does not seem plausible that no one within the organization knew about some of these addictions, relationships or even arrangements. An MLB team spends months on the road with maybe 40 people interacting every day. What was that term we often heard from investigative reporters, “It goes up higher than you think.”