It didn’t include the Reds catcher that killed himself in the stretch run of the 1940 season.

 

When Lombardi got hurt for the Series, coach Jimmie Wilson had to fill in for the Reds.

 

Terrific SI piece from 1991 about just that.

 

The Razor'''s Edge | Vault

Terrific SI piece from 1991 about just that.

 

The Razor'''s Edge | Vault

 

That's where I first knew of the story. :thumb:

 

"All right, now be quiet," the coach said. "I want to tell you something. Willard Hershberger has just destroyed himself."

 

The Razor'''s Edge | Vault

Especially if it’s something bad, it’ll leak before then. Too much technology for that stuff to work today.

 

Someone will tell someone else in confidence and that someone will become your anonymous source you read about in the paper once their pockets are lined enough.

 

Agreed. If we don't know the suspected cause of death before the end of July, it will be shocking.

There was a story released by (I believe) the Santa Monica Chronicle that has since been scrubbed from their site after complaints by the Angels.

 

The story referenced Skaggs’ passing being related to opioid overdose in which he had gotten prescriptions from multiple doctors and accidentally taken a lethal cocktail of them.

 

I hope this is wrong, but having known an MLB teams trainer and a few guys who briefly played on the level it wouldn’t be overly shocking. I’m not saying opioid use is rampant in the MLB, but I will say they can get their hands on just about anything they want.

 

I sure hope the article was scrubbed because it is wrong.

There was a story released by (I believe) the Santa Monica Chronicle that has since been scrubbed from their site after complaints by the Angels.

 

The story referenced Skaggs’ passing being related to opioid overdose in which he had gotten prescriptions from multiple doctors and accidentally taken a lethal cocktail of them.

 

I hope this is wrong, but having known an MLB teams trainer and a few guys who briefly played on the level it wouldn’t be overly shocking. I’m not saying opioid use is rampant in the MLB, but I will say they can get their hands on just about anything they want.

 

I sure hope the article was scrubbed because it is wrong.

 

I can't be the only person that immediately thought something drug related might have been the cause when a young athlete is found dead in their hotel room.

I can't be the only person that immediately thought something drug related might have been the cause when a young athlete is found dead in their hotel room.

 

That’s literally the first thing I thought of considering the circumstances.

Skaggs overdosed according to an autopsy. Fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol.

My question is, how can this happen???

Obviously, these guys must have found a way to get around the drug testing.

 

Hernandez from Miami was killed in a boat accident the night (or two) before he was scheduled to pitch. The autopsy revealed that he too had drugs in his system.

 

Which begs the question, how prevalent is drug use among active players????

 

This obviously wasn't a one time, first time event with these two.

Which begs the question, how prevalent is drug use among active players????

 

Probably just as prevalent as the normal workplace. Maybe more. And it’s always been prevalent in sports. Drug testing in professional sports has long been nothing more than a sham to give the appearance of caring.

I heard the family came out with a statement that an Angels employee was involved somehow.