ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Debbie Skaggs was noticeably anxious as she boarded the elevator that would take her to the field for the heart-wrenching ceremony to honor her lost son. She was to deliver the ceremonial first pitch, in front of a row of Los Angeles Angels players outfitted in Tyler Skaggs' No. 45 and an entire stadium full of fans still reeling from his sudden death. She was to throw it to Andrew Heaney, her son's best friend on the team.
"I hope I make him proud," Debbie, who in many ways inspired Tyler's love of the game, said from the suite level of Angel Stadium on Friday afternoon.