Former Atlanta-native MLB player dead after collapsing at little league baseball park
A former Major League Baseball player who was born in Atlanta “tragically passed away” earlier this week. He was 43.
Sean Burroughs played several seasons in the MLB with San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins. He also won an Olympic gold medal during the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s online records said Burroughs died Thursday, with the cause of death deferred.
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The Long Beach Fire Department responded to the Stearns Champions Park shortly after 5 p.m. on a report of a person in full cardiac arrest in the parking lot. “We did all of our lifesaving measures, but we weren’t successful,” public information officer Brian Fisk said Friday, adding that the person was declared dead at the scene.
Doug Wittman, president of the Long Beach Little League, announced Burroughs’ death on social media on Friday.
“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,” the post read. “To say this is a huge loss is an understatement.”
His father, Jeff Burroughs, played for the Atlanta Braves from 1977 to 1980. Sean Burroughs was born in Atlanta while his dad played for the Braves.
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Sean Burroughs committed to play baseball at the University of Southern California, but the San Diego Padres selected him with the ninth pick in the first round of the 1998 MLB draft and he signed with them instead.
He was a career .278 hitter, with 12 home runs and 143 RBIs with the Padres, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Minnesota.
He was named most valuable player of the 2002 All-Star Futures Game.
Burroughs broke into the majors as a third baseman in April 2002 with the Padres. He hit a game-winning single in the first game played at San Diego’s Petco Park that year.
After the 2005 season, the Padres traded Burroughs to Tampa Bay, but he saw limited playing time before being optioned to the minors and designated for assignment.
In December 2006, Burroughs signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners, but was released less than halfway through the season.
Burroughs was out of baseball for four years while struggling with substance abuse issues that “took away from my aspirations and my dreams,” he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2012.
In November 2010, Burroughs signed a minor league contract with Arizona. The following spring he joined the Diamondbacks and hit .261, but was outrighted to the minors. After third baseman Melvin Mora was released, Burroughs was promoted back to Arizona in July and returned to the starting lineup.
Burroughs became a free agent that fall and signed a minor league deal with Minnesota in December. He made the major league club in spring training, but was let go in May.
From 2013-2017, he played for multiple independent minor league teams.
He appeared as an extra in TV shows “Knots Landing” and “Saved by the Bell,” as well as the film “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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