Seton Hall
A no-hitter for the ages
Date: July 14, 2019By Justin Morris
454 was the distance, in feet, that Mike Trout’s first inning home run traveled in the Angels’ home game versus the Mariners Friday, a deep shot to center field on the first pitch Trout saw that evening. The Angels would go on to plate six more runs that inning to supplant Trout’s two-run bomb (Trout would add another two RBI’s as the team batted around in the inning), eventually adding six more insurance runs to that total in a 13-0 rout of Seattle, recording the same amount of hits as they did runs in the process. The home run ball was Trout’s 29th of the year, tops in baseball on the year, as are his 73 runs batted in, and Halo fans have grown accustomed to the superstar staking his claim in the nightly box. Trout no doubt has plenty of special numbers that showcase the uniqueness of his hall of fame career. This number though, 454, was an extra special one not only for Trout, but for the entire Angels organization. For Los Angeles, it was just another sign, an emerging reassurance of the presence of their late teammate and friend, pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who wore number 45.
Skaggs, who had been drafted by the Halos back in 2009, was pronounced dead upon arrival just weeks ago in his hotel room after the Southlake Police Department in Texas responded to reports of an "unconscious male" at the site. The Angels had just arrived in Texas for a three-game road trip the day before, and were slated to face off against the Rangers before the baseball world received word of the horrible news, which ultimately ended up in the game's postponement.
The outpour from fans, executives, and fellow players alike was huge, and while understanding the damaging effects of losing a teammate to an organization, felt an added sense of sympathy in wake of the Angels' brush with death just years earlier (rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver in '09). The team announced that Skaggs' number 45 would be on the mound for the remainder of the season, and also had a mural of the pitcher's face placed on their outfield wall. Upon returning to their home field in Anaheim for the first time since his death, the Angels decided to honor their fallen teammate the best way they knew how: by playing with the same type of passion and excitement Skaggs had all those years, with a little help from his number 45, which could be seen with his name, on the back of every Angels jersey Friday night.
The fans came out in droves to support their beloved Halos, with signs honoring No. 45 dotting the stadium. Skaggs' mother Debbie threw out the first pitch, a perfect strike, and that was just the beginning of the magic that night. Right handed pitcher Taylor Cole started the game on the mound, leaning down beside the #45 imprinted into it and appearing to say something before tossing two scoreless innings. It was a short outing for Cole though, and he was relieved by right-hander Felix Pena, who also did not give up a run, striking out six batters through seven innings, a combined no-hitter for an Angels' squad, who, while depleted from the loss of their teammate, received the spiritual boost of a lifetime from their fallen hero, and players gathered in emotional embraces, tears and hugs as they stretched out their 45 jerseys across the mound in celebration after the game. Pena said that he felt Skaggs' spirit all night. "We now have an Angel protecting us from above," he said in Spanish after the game.
Now, while no scientific evidence, distance measurement, or launch angle calculation can be done to determine whether or not the Angels had supernatural help Friday night, a night like this after a tragedy of this magnitude was well needed. Trout's home run was hit 454 feet exactly. It was the franchise's 11th no-hitter (Skaggs' number in high school), and all the team could do after the incredible performance they saw Friday, was point to the sky. "We're nasty" was one of Tyler's favorite sayings according to teammates, and for those who knew and loved him, one can only imagine that's exactly what he would've said after the magnificent events that took place Friday.
Justin Morris can be reached at justin.morris@student.shu.edu.
