The Los Angeles County medical examiner found that former MLB infielder Sean Burroughs was under the influence of fentanyl when he passed away in May in the parking lot of a baseball field in Long Beach, California.
Two months after Burroughs was found unconscious next to his car after dropping off his son Knox for a Little League game, his death was declared an accident. After CPR attempts to revive the 43-year-old, who remained unresponsive, he was declared dead at the spot.
The San Diego Padres selected Burroughs with the ninth overall choice in the 1998 MLB Draft. He spent four seasons as a player for the Padres and one season each with the Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Tampa Bay Rays.
Following his 2005 season with the Rays, Burroughs battled alcoholism and drug addiction for a number of years, which kept him out of baseball. Burroughs was given a chance to make a comeback in 2011 by former Padres general manager and current Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers.
Burroughs played in 528 games during his career, hitting.278 with a.690 OPS, 68 doubles, 12 home runs, 143 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. His first full major league season, 2003, was his best season. That season, he batted.286 with a.755 OPS, 27 doubles, 7 home runs, 58 RBI, and 7 steals.
Apart from his stint in Major League Baseball, Burroughs had a successful career in youth sports. He played for the Long Beach club that captured the Little League World Series in 1992 and 1993 back-to-back.
Doug Wittman, the president of Long Beach Little League, posted on social media that Sean “was a legend in LLBL and the baseball community.” “He moved away from Long Beach to play in the Major League Baseball for multiple clubs, but he came back to Stearns Champions Park, his hometown, to mentor his kid.
“Sean has been a pleasure to coach with for the past two years. He always brought a fun and engaging attitude that the kids found appealing, a depth of baseball knowledge that could help any child break out of a batting slump, and a humility that was admirable. To put it mildly, this is a significant loss.
In May, Little League International posted a notice of Burroughs’ passing on its website.
Additionally, Burroughs won a gold medal for Team USA in Sydney, Australia during the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Executive director and CEO of USA Baseball Paul Seiler released a statement saying, “We at USA Baseball are heartbroken to hear of the tragic demise of Sean.” “Sean played for one of our favorite teams and did a first-rate job of representing our nation both on and off the field. The Burroughs family is in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Burroughs was the son of Jeff Burroughs, a 16-year big league player who was selected first overall by the Washington Senators in the 1969 MLB Draft and went on to win the 1974 American League MVP title while playing for the Texas Rangers.
