ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Joe Maddon was an outsider when Tyler Skaggs died unexpectedly on July 1. He only read about the nasty fallout, which thrust the Los Angeles Angels into the middle of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Maddon never asked about any of it during the interview process. It never came up, he said. But now, as the new manager in the midst of what is arguably the darkest time in this franchise's history, he hopes to help.
"This is an insidious situation that permeates our entire population, not just here," Maddon said, alluding to the opioid crisis afflicting this country.