May 11 (UPI) — Olympic gold medalist and first-round draft pick in the MLB Sean Burroughs died suddenly after dropping his son off for a Little League game in Long Beach, California, the league announced. He was 43.
Burroughs died Friday after he was found unconscious next to his vehicle in the parking lot, Long Beach Little League President Doug Wittman, told The Long Beach Sun.
Burroughs’ mother, Debbie, told the newspaper he died of cardiac arrest.
After retiring from the MLB in 2012, Burroughs coached his son in the Long Beach Little League, which officially announced his death in an Instagram post.
“I have had the privilege of coaching with Sean for the past two years, and he always came with a fun and friendly attitude the kids were drawn to, a wealth of baseball knowledge that could get any kid out of a batting rut and humility worth emulating,” Wittman said in the post.
“To say this is a huge loss is an understatement.”
Burroughs, himself, began his baseball career with the Long Beach All-Stars team, winning back-to-back Little League World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.
The San Diego Padres drafted Burroughs ninth overall in the 1998 draft. He played seven seasons in the league, including stints with the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins. He retired from the MLB with a career .278 batting average, 12 home runs and 143 runs batted in.
In 2000, he won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Sydney.
His former teams offered their condolences to his family in social media posts late Friday.
“We mourn the passing of former Padres third baseman Sean Burroughs,” the Padres posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this very difficult time.”
The Diamondbacks said that “Sean was a member of the 2011 [National League] West champion team and beloved by his teammates, coaches, staff and fans.”
Burroughs is survived by his son, Knox, mother, Debbie, and father, Jeff, who played with the Texas Rangers, earning the American League Most Valuable Player award in 1974.
