Sean Burroughs, former MLB player, Olympic champion, dies at 43

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Sean Burroughs, a two-time Little League World Series champion, Olympic gold medalist and former MLB player, has died at the age of 43.

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Burroughs died on Thursday, according to the online records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office obtained by The Associated Press. Burroughs’ cause of death was listed as deferred.

The Orange County Register reported that Burroughs was found unconscious by his car in a parking lot at Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach, according to Doug Wittman, president of Long Beach Little League. He had just dropped his child off at a Little League game. Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived and provided life-saving measures but Burroughs was pronounced dead at the scene.

Burroughs was the assistant coach for his son’s team and others were concerned when he didn’t show up so they went looking for him, which was how he was found, according to the newspaper.

Long Beach Little League (LBLL) confirmed his death, according to USA Today. Burroughs played baseball with the league when he was a child as a pitcher in 1992 and 1993.

“It is with heavy heart that I am writing this message to inform you that yesterday afternoon one of our Coaches, Sean Burroughs, tragically passed away,” Wittman said, according to the AP.

“Sean was a legend in LBLL ... While he left LB to play for several clubs in the MLB, he returned to his home fields at Stearns Champions Park to coach his son,” the LBLL said in an Instagram statement, according to USA Today. “To say this is a huge loss is an understatement. ... We will have his family in our thoughts and prayers during this time and try to end the season playing the kind of baseball Coach Sean would be proud of.”

Burroughs won a gold medal with the United States baseball team in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, the AP reported.

“We at USA Baseball are heartbroken to hear of the tragic passing of Sean,” USA Baseball executive director and CEO Paul Seiler said in a statement obtained by the AP. “Sean was a part of one of our most beloved teams, and he represented our country on and off the field in a first-class manner.”

Burroughs’ father, Jeff Burroughs, was a three-time All-Star and the American League MVP in 1974 with the Texas Rangers, the AP reported.

Sean Burroughs was set to play for the University of Southern California but he ended up getting selected as the ninth pick in the first round of the draft and ended up signing with the San Diego Padres, the AP reported. Burroughs followed in his father’s footsteps and was selected as an MVP of the 2002 All-Star Futures Game.

He played with the Padres until he was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005. By December 2006, he signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners, according to the AP. He was then let go halfway through the season.

Burroughs didn’t play baseball for a few years as he was dealing with substance abuse issues, Burroughs told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2012, according to the AP.

Around November 2010, he signed a major league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He ended his MLB career in 2012 after he played 10 games with the Minnesota Twins, ESPN reported.

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