In trial testimony, former Angels’ VP denies knowing staffer was providing illicit drugs to players

Testimony in the wrongful death trial against the Los Angeles Angels began Wednesday, Oct. 15, with a former team vice president saying he didn’t recall seeing illicit drugs in the home of a communications staffer who two years later gave pitcher Tyler Skaggs a counterfeit pill containing fentanyl that led to the ballplayer’s death.

Taking the stand in a Santa Ana courtroom, Tim Mead, a former VP in charge of communications for the Angels, acknowledged that he at times saw concerning and erratic behavior by Eric Kay, a longtime team public relations director who later was convicted in connection with Skaggs’ death. But Mead said he believed the “off” behavior was due to Kay’s struggles with mental illness and legally prescribed drugs, and Mead denied knowing prior to Skaggs’ death that Ka