Giancarlo Stanton reaches out to the Angels with heartfelt Instagram post after the death of Tyler Skaggs
By Julian Garcia
Giancarlo Stanton knows how it feels. He's lost a teammate before and he's had to figure out a way to grieve on the baseball field.
So Stanton reached out to the Los Angeles Angels via Instagram Monday night, putting up an emotional post just hours after Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs was found dead in a room at the team's hotel in Texas prior to a scheduled game against the Rangers.
"RIP bro," the Yankee slugger wrote. "My heart goes out to your family."
Then after posting a praying hands emoji, Stanton addressed the Angels directly, offering advice on how to deal with the loss of a teammate.
RIP Bro, My heart goes out to your family🙏🏽 My message to the @angels while having no time for yourself to grieve is to hug each other, laugh, cry, lift the ones taking it extra hard up. You're going to wonder why all of this is happening , is it real, why are u suiting up to play a game that seems irrelevant. Some Anger will ensue while u have to grieve in a fish bowl.. A lot will go through your mind. So stay together through that. The first days back to schedule are the weirdest feeling, from the energy to the questions to having to walk by his locker. Try to Focus & understand how important your strength is for his family, all of your supporters & anyone looking for the power to overcome something. They're looking @ you for guidance. So you all really need each other right now. Stay strong fellas I'm thinking about you!
A post shared by Giancarlo Stanton (@giancarlo818) on Jul 1, 2019 at 7:17pm PDT
Sadly, Stanton is all too familiar with such a tragic scenario as he was a member of the 2016 Miami Marlins when star pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident off of Miami Beach. Fernandez was 24 years old and considered one of the top pitchers in baseball at the time.
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Fernandez's death was particularly shocking because of the manner in which he died and because he was one of the biggest stars in the game. In March of 2017, a final report on the accident that killed the pitcher revealed he had both alcohol and cocaine in his system and was driving the boat recklessly. His family has disputed the report.
Two days later, the Marlins played their first game after Fernandez's death and Stanton was one of the players who took on the burden of talking to the media after such a crushing blow. He also addressed his teammates in an emotional pregame meeting before the Marlins beat the Mets, 7-3.
"My message to the @angels while having no time for yourself to grieve is to hug each other, laugh, cry, lift the ones taking it extra hard up.
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"You're going to wonder why all of this is happening, is it real," Stanton wrote, "why are you suiting up to play a game that seems irrelevant.
"Some Anger will ensue while you have to grieve in a fish bowl.. A lot will go through your mind. So stay together through that."
Authorities have not yet announced the cause of Skaggs' death but have ruled out foul play or suicide. The left-hander had just pitched on Saturday against Oakland and was 7-7 with a 4.29 ERA this season.
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Stanton's post had well over 40,000 likes and more than 500 comments within about 40 minutes of going up.